Balkan Wars
| In 1912-13, two short wars were fought for the
possession of the European territories of the Ottoman Empire.
The outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War for the possession of Tripoli
(1911) encouraged the Balkan states to increase their territory at
Turkish expense. Serbia and Bulgaria accordingly concluded
(1912), with the aid of Russian secret diplomacy, a treaty of
alliance. In a secret annex, the treaty provided for joint
military action and the division of prospective conquests. The
outbreak of the war (Oct. 1912), in which Greece and Montenegro joined
the original allies, was followed by the speedy expulsion of the Turks
from all of European Turkey, except the Constantinople area.
After the conclusion of hostilities Serbia showed intentions of
annexing a large part of Albania, in order to gain an outlet on the
Adriatic, but this step toward a “Greater Serbia” was opposed by
Austria-Hungary and Italy and by the Albanians, who had proclaimed
their independence. Conferences of the ambassadors of the Great
Powers at London created (1913) an independent Albania of fair size,
thus cutting Serbia off from the sea. Dissatisfied with these
terms, Serbia demanded of Bulgaria a greater share of Macedonia.
Bulgaria thereupon attacked (June 1913) Serbia, only to be attacked by
Romania, Greece, and Turkey. As a result of this Second Balkan
War, Bulgaria lost territory to all her enemies by the Treaty of
Bucharest (Aug. 1913). The Balkan Wars prepared the way for
World War I by satisfying some of the aspirations of Serbia and
thereby giving a great impetus to the Serbian desire to annex parts of
Austria-Hungary; by alarming Austria and stiffening Austrian
resolution to crush Serbia; and by giving causes of dissatisfaction to
Bulgaria and Turkey. Bibliography: See G. Young, Nationalism and War in the Near East (1915, repr. 1970); E. C. Helmreich, The Diplomacy of the Balkan Wars, 1912-1913 (1938, repr. 1969). |
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