First Balkan war

The First War Balkan opposes from October 8th, 1912 to May 30th, 1913 the states of the Balkan Ligue including/understanding the Bulgaria, the Greece, the Montenegro and the Serbia with the Ottoman Empire. She concludes herself by the defeat from this last which lost the essence of its last European possessions (Macedonia and Thrace) after the signature of the Traité of London.

Historical background

At the conclusion of the intervention of the great powers in the policy of the Balkans, during second half of the 19th century, in order to protect the Christian populations from the area and to maintain there a status quo vis-a-vis the claims of the Russian Empire, from new tensions was born within the various Balkan States about the Roumélie, area including/understanding the Eastern Roumélie, the Thrace and the Othoman Macedonia and always under Othoman domination.

But the question of the reality of an Othoman effective capacity was started again, during the years 1909 - 1911, after the success of the revolution of the Young person-Turks which forced the Sultan to restore “the old Othoman constitution”. A period of disorders and agitation followed then among the various states of the area:

  • Serbia: the Empire Austro-Hungarian having deprived it of its claims on the Bosnia-Herzégovine while seizing some by annexation, in October 1908, the Serbia focused its attention towards its borders of the south and more particularly on the Kossovo, than she claimed under original historical territory and cradle of her nationality.

  • Greece: the Révolte of the Greek officers of August 1909 founded a mode progressist, directed by Eleftherios Venizelos, which was to enable them to solve the question of the Crete in their favor and to take their revenge about their defeat of 1897 vis-a-vis the Othomans.
  • Bulgaria: thanks to the support which the Russia provided him, the Bulgaria, the most powerful country among the new states, wished, after having gained its independence in April 1909, to recover the areas of Thrace and Macedonia, in order to increase at the expense of the Turkey.
  • Albania: in March 1910, an Albanian insurrection burst with the Kossovo, area that the Albania also asserted it like belonging to its historical heritage.
  • Montenegro: in 1910, according to the example of the Bulgaria, it became a Kingdom.

In 1911, the Italian invasion of the Tripolitaine (territory of current Libya), followed by the military occupation of the islands of the Dodécanèse, transfer the defeat of the Turkey vis-a-vis the Italy. This succession of defeats of the Othomans encouraged the Balkan States to consider a conflict against their former Turkish Master. And, dice spring 1912, several States Christian of Balkans were combined in what was called the Balkan Ligue.

The majority of the great powers of the time, and mainly the France and the Austria-Hungary, failed in their diplomatic attempt to alleviate the ideas warmongers of the new League. At the end of September 1912, this one and the Ottoman Empire, mobilized their armies and, dice on October 8th, 1912, the Montenegro was the first to declare later the war with the Turkey, followed nine days, on October 17th, 1912, by its three allied.

Various belligerents

Bulgaria

Serbia

Greece

Montenegro

Turkey - Ottoman Empire

Military operations

The Greek troops seized at the beginning of November 1912 Salonique, leaf of a few hours the Bulgarian troops. The Greek navy, modernized by the United Kingdom thanks to Eleftherios Venizelos, establishes its supremacy in Aegean Sea and seized Chios, Lesbos and Samos. Ioannina, capital of the Épire was conquered in February 1913.

Peace treaty

The First Balkan War ended in the signature on May 30th, 1913 of the Traité of London which ratified the conquests of the Balkan League on the Ottoman Empire. The Turks recognized these annexations during the negotiations.

Anecdotes

  • the First War Balkan is approached like backdrop of the novel Cécile among us (1938) in the Chronique of Pasquier of Georges Duhamel, where Joseph Pasquier, a speculator without scruples, fact of enormous businesses while being the French intermediary of the secret sale by Germany, however officially committed near the Turks, of ammunition in Bulgaria. For décrédibiliser the English official suppliers of ammunition of the helleno-Bulgarian troops, Joseph Pasquier invents and relays in the French newspapers a propaganda of défecteuses British balls which explosive and are thus prohibited by international conventions of the time, in order to gain the market.

See too

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