The First Balkan War
The First Balkan War (Bulgarian: Балканска војна, Greek: Α΄ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος, Serbian: Prvi balkanski rat, Turkish: Birinci Balkan Savaşı; October 1912 - May 1913) is a war fought between the Balkan Alliance (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece) and Montenegro) and the Ottoman Empire. The combined army of the Balkan states defeated the numerically inferior and strategically endangered Ottoman army and achieved rapid success.
As a result of the war, the Allies conquered and divided almost all European territories of the Ottoman Empire. These events also led to the creation of an independent Albania. Despite the success, Bulgaria was dissatisfied with the division of booty in Macedonia, triggering the start of the Second Balkan War.
Causes and alliances
The Balkan nation-states, having liberated themselves from Turkish occupation, also broke with the remnants of the feudal system and began to develop. This development was marked by the penetration of new, capitalist social relations, the strengthening of national feeling, and the aspirations for the liberation of areas still under Turkish rule. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 created unbearable conditions for non-Turkish peoples within the Turkish state, which the great powers wanted to use for their personal goals and raise the question of the division of Turkey. The Austro-Hungary, supported by Germany, which tried to penetrate from the occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina through Thessaloniki, Kosovo and Metohija to Thessaloniki, a goal known as "Drang nach Osten", stood out. Such a development of the situation caused the rapprochement of the Balkan states and the creation of their alliances. Russia, as a member of the Triple Agreement (Entente), was especially interested in creating these alliances, believing that this would prevent the Austro-German penetration of the Balkan Peninsula.
Serbian-Bulgarian alliance
Work on the creation of the Balkan Alliance began in the fall of 1911 and took place through bilateral negotiations between the Balkan states. During those negotiations, the biggest difficulties were imposed in the negotiations between Serbia and Bulgaria. Namely, both countries were looking for the same territories. Under pressure from Russia, an agreement was reached, so on March 13, 1912, an agreement on cooperation and friendship was signed. The agreement was signed by General Putnik and General Fichev. The public part of the agreement had a defensive character, while the other part, secret, foresaw an offensive war against Turkey and the partition of Macedonia. On the basis of the agreement and the secret annex, the Military Convention was concluded on July 2, which envisages military obligations of both sides in the case of both defensive and offensive war. According to that convention, Bulgaria was not allowed to have less than 200 thousand, and Serbia not less than 150 thousand soldiers. In addition to this, the convention also contained some special conditions, such as in case Austro-Hungary attacked or in any way challenged Serbia, Bulgaria had undertaken to send a certain number of troops to help Serbia, and vice versa, if Romania attacked Bulgaria, Serbia was obliged to help Bulgaria with a certain number of soldiers, etc. Under this agreement, a deployment of forces was also envisaged, according to which it was considered that the main Turkish forces would be on the Vardar front. In that case, the entire Serbian army would operate on that front, as well as only one Bulgarian army with three divisions, due to the possibility of developing the Marica front or the Thracian front.
Bulgarian-Greek alliance
Work on an alliance agreement between Bulgaria and Greece also began in 1911, but negotiations were soon suspended due to disagreements over the partition of Macedonia. At the initiative of the Greek government, the negotiations were renewed in March 1912, and the agreement on the defense alliance was concluded on May 29, 1912. Both sides committed to full military co-operation, mutual assistance and joint intervention in negotiations with Turkey and the military. The issue of military cooperation was regulated by the Military Convention of October 5, 1912. According to that convention, the Greek fleet had the task, in case of war, to prevent Turkish maritime traffic between Asia Minor and the European part of Turkey. The agreement did not provide for the division of Turkish territory between Bulgaria and Greece.
The alliance between Bulgaria and Montenegro was signed in July, and between Serbia and Montenegro on September 27, 1912. The alliance between Montenegro and Serbia foresaw the directions of action of the Serbian and Montenegrin armies, the manner of cooperation and command in case of joint operations on the same territory. As for the conquered territories, each side would keep what it conquered, with the possibility of later corrections.
After the alliances were made, the Allies began accelerated preparations for war against Turkey. The events that took place in the summer of 1912, such as the Albanian uprising, the uprising in the Edirne garrison, the fall of the Young Turk government, were used by the Great Powers to intervene in the Balkan question. Namely, the Great Powers tried to maintain the status quo, so Russia demanded that the Allies not take any armed action against Turkey, while Austria-Hungary demanded gradual decentralization in European Turkey, counting on an autonomous Albania as its stronghold.
However, such a policy of the Great Powers did not suit any of the allied states, so on September 19, the Allies sent an ultimatum to Turkey to carry out reform, implement administrative autonomy, introduce local assemblies, allow freedom of instruction, establish local police and others. In response to that ultimatum, on September 23, Turkey carried out a partial mobilization in the European provinces, seized Greek ships in Constantinople and war material that was sent to Serbia from abroad via Thessaloniki. The allies responded with a general mobilization on September 30, which Turkey did a day later.
On October 8, Montenegro was the first to declare war on Turkey. To prevent a conflict, Russia and Austria-Hungary protested sharply to the Allies on October 10, stressing that Turkey had taken steps to implement reforms under Article 23 of the agreement reached at the Berlin Congress and that they would not allow any territorial changes in European Turkey. there was a war. Serbia and Bulgaria declared war on Turkey on October 17th, and Greece on October 19th.
War plans and initial operations
The Allies did not have a common plan for war against Turkey, but acted according to their own separate plans, on separate fronts, without a strong operational link, which greatly eased the situation for Turkey.
Serbia
The war plan for the war with Turkey began in 1878, when Serbia got a new border in the south, but the basic idea of the mode of action and the distribution of forces was finally established only in 1898. It was then concluded that Serbia should, in order to achieve national ideals, reckon with an offensive war against Turkey, which is possible only in union with the Balkan kingdoms of Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro; that the Serbian offensive should be directed at the Komanovo-Skopje line, where the majority of the Turkish army would most likely gather. This conclusion served as the basis for the elaboration of plans for mobilization, concentration of forces and strategic development, which were completed in February 1903. According to them, the Serbian army entered the war against Turkey, with several changes caused by the military convention with Bulgaria. The basic idea was: by concentric movement of the main forces (three armies) in the Kosovo, South Moravian and crooked direction, to surround and beat the Turkish main forces, which were supposed to be in Ovče Polje. Auxiliary forces were to secure the right side of the main forces.
Montenegro
The final decision on the basic idea of the Montenegrin war plan was made at the session of the War Council on October 3, 1912. It was decided that the main forces (Zeta and Primorski detachments) would operate west and east of Skadar Lake and take Skadar with a quick raid, and that the auxiliary forces would ensure the operations of the main forces advancing from the direction of Sandzak and Metohija.
Bulgaria
After the Serbian-Bulgarian war in 1885, Bulgaria considered Serbia its main enemy, so it made all war preparations for a new war with Serbia. Bulgaria had good relations with Turkey. Only when Bulgaria became politically closer to Russia did relations with Turkey deteriorate. The first plan, according to which Turkey would have mobilized sooner, foresaw defensive actions on the Marica and Macedonian fronts. That plan was soon rejected because it was concluded that Bulgaria could mobilize before Turkey, so in 1908 a new plan was made that foresaw an offensive on both fronts. The basic idea of this war plan was: the main forces (three armies) to undertake an offensive on the Marica front, with one army blocking the fortress of Jedrena, while the other two would attack the right side and rear of Turkish forces in the area between Jedrena and Krk Kilis. One division was part of the Serbian army on the Macedonian front, and the connection between the two fronts would be made possible by the Rhodope detachment. The fleet was to defend the Black Sea coast, especially the ports of Varna and Burgas.
Greece
The basic idea of the Greek war plan was: the main forces, gathered in North Thessaly, to undertake an offensive, defeat the Turkish forces on the border front and continue with the invasion until the capture of Thessaloniki. The fleet was to cut off Turkish traffic and occupy the islands in the Aegean Sea.
Turkey
The ideological creator of the Turkish war plan against the Balkan countries was the German general von der Golc. Considering that Turkey would be much slower in mobilizing and deploying forces than the Balkan states, he had suggested that Turkey remain in its original positions first, until the gathering of forces is completed and the fighting directions of the Balkan armies are determined. However, the Minister of the Turkish Army, Nazim Pasha, rejected the plan and, underestimating the strength of the Balkan armies, wanted to take the initiative at the beginning of the war, advancing on two sides, towards the Vardar and Thracian fronts.
The course of the war
The operations of the First Balkan War are divided into two periods:
- from the beginning of the war to the armistice (December 4, 1912) and
- from the armistice to the end of the war.
Period I - Operations until the armistice (December 4, 1912)
Montenegrin front
The main goal of the Montenegrin army was to capture Shkodra before the Turks could gather stronger forces for its defense. The operations of the Montenegrin army began on October 8 with three detachments. The Zeta detachment moved towards the border front and took up positions towards the Turks near Tuzi. On the morning of October 9, after a brief artillery preparation, the attack began. By October 15, the Turkish resistance had been defeated and Turkish positions had been taken. A large part of the Turkish forces was captured. The rest of the Turkish units fled to Shkodra in an uncontrolled escape and caused panic in the background. With this victory at Tuzi, the road to Shkodra was opened to the Montenegrin army. However, due to soldier exhaustion and heavy losses, the Montenegrin command gave its army a few days off. The attack on Shkodra began on October 28 from two sides, the right, the eastern shore of Lake Skadar and the left, which managed to take control of Veliki Bardanjolt. On October 9, a coastal detachment crossed the Turkish border and clashed with Turkish forces on Tarabosh and expelled Turkish forces towards Shkodra. Due to poor communication, Montenegrin commanders were unaware of their success, and that the Turks had already fled. The Turkish army took advantage of that mistake of the Montenegrin army and recaptured Tarabosh on October 11. The Montenegrin army had to wait for its artillery to carry out a new attack on the re-established Tarabos. Preparations for the attack ended on October 21st, and after three days of artillery fire on Turkish positions, the Montenegrin army was to carry out the attack again on October 25th. However, on the eve of the attack itself, on the night between October 24/25, King Nikola decided not to carry out an attack on Tarabosh, so as not to lose people unnecessarily, but only to continue with artillery fire on Turkish positions. King Nikola considered that the capture of Taraboš was unnecessary, because the main goal was Shkodra, which he thought would certainly surrender on its own in a few days. To that end, the Montenegrin army blocked Shkodra from the south and met the Serbian army near Lješa, which broke through Albania to Shkodra. On October 8, the Eastern detachment started the movement from the area of Kolasin and Andrijevica and on October 9 crossed the Turkish border, captured Mojkovac and Bijelo Polje, and continued the operation towards Berane and captured Berane on October 16. The majority continued to penetrate from Berane towards Čakor and Mokra planina, and after two days of fighting, they captured them. On October 30, the Montenegrin Eastern Detachment entered Peja and Gjakova, where it met with the Serbian Drina Division. By order of the Supreme Command, the Eastern Detachment set out on a march through Bogićevica, Plava Gusinja and the valley of the Cijevna River towards Shkodra, where it arrived on November 20 with 6,000 men and became part of the Zeta Detachment. Janko Vukotić was appointed Commander of the Supreme Command Staff.
Serbian Front
The plan of the Serbian army was to surround and defeat the Turkish units on Ovčje polje by the mutual action of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies. Since the 3rd Army was furthest from the conflict site, the Serbian High Command intended to send it a day earlier than the other armies on their way to Ovčje Polje. Due to the raid of Turkish units near Merdar between October 15 and 19, the 3rd Army could not move until October 21, that is. when the other two, and a day later on October 22, occupied Pristina.
Operations until the Battle of Kumanovo
The 1st Army, moving in two columns, arrived in front of Kumanovo on October 22 and, by order of the Supreme Command, stopped to wait for the arrival of the 3rd Army from the direction of Pristina. Due to the lack of intelligence, the 1st Army did not know the exact strength of the Turkish forces in Kumanovo. Only some minor protective forces were thought to be there. The 2nd Army also advanced in two columns, with the right column occupying Stracin and the left Kratovo on 22 October. Due to the impossibility of establishing a strong mutual connection, the three Serbian armies are 22/23. October were deployed on the line Pristina - Kumanovo - Kratovo - Stracin, without reporting on the strength of Turkish forces and the belief that the main battle against the Turks would take place on Ovce Polje.
During the night of 22/23. October, using Serbian ignorance, Turkish units developed and took up positions towards the lonely Serbian 1st Army with the aim of defeating it, with the Turkish commander Zeki-pasha having accurate data on the strength of the Serbian forces. Although strong, the attack, which began abruptly on the morning of October 23, failed to push the Serbian 1st Army out of position. Still in its ignorance, the headquarters of the 1st Serbian Army ordered a counterattack on October 24, thinking that it was a weak Turkish force and was pushing the Turkish forces, partly towards Skopje and partly towards Veles across Ovčje polje. Unaware of the success achieved, the headquarters of the 1st Serbian Army on October 25 ordered a further advance towards Ovčje polje, where the main Turkish forces were expected. Even after a brigade entered undefended Skopje, Serb commanders were still unaware of their success and did not have a clear idea of what was happening. Only after they managed to break out on Ovčje polje and in front of Veles on October 28, without any resistance from the Turkish forces, it became clear what happened in front of Kumanovo and that the chance was not used. The other two armies, 2nd and 3rd, advancing from left and right and not knowing what was happening in front of Kumanovo, did not use the opportunity to completely defeat the Turkish forces.
Operations after the Battle of Kumanovo
After the outbreak in Ovčje polje and in the Skopje area, the reorganization of Serb forces and the planning of further operations followed. The goal was to destroy the Turkish Vardar army, which retreated to Bitola, where it organized its defense. The decisive battle, which lasted for three days, took place on November 16, and the Serbian army entered Bitola on November 19. Turkish forces were expelled and after the capture of Ohrid and Debar, contact was made with Greek forces. Operations were suspended on December 4 due to the ceasefire.
Bulgarian Front
The Bulgarian army began its military operations on October 18, when its forces crossed the Turkish border and marched on Jedrene. The Turks had only partial data on the movement of Bulgarian forces. Namely, they knew the direction of movement of the majority of the Bulgarian army, but they did not have data on the movement of some forces of the 3rd Bulgarian Army and their coverage of Krk Kilise. Based on these incomplete data, the Turkish commander, Nazim Pasha, was convinced that the Bulgarian army was advancing in only one direction, from the north to Jedreni, so on October 21, he launched an attack on Bulgarian forces, where Turkish forces were squeezed all over the day. front and forced to withdraw. The Bulgarians continued to advance and on October 23 forced the Turks to flee, leaving the military fortress of Krk Kilise without a fight. Due to ignorance of the current situation at the front, Bulgarian forces stopped on the line Krk Kilise - Jenidze - the road to Jedeni, and thus gave the Turks the opportunity to regroup in the area of Lüleburgaz, where the battle took place on October 29. After three days of fierce fighting, the Turks were defeated again, but again the advantage was not used and the Turkish forces managed to reorganize and prepare for the defense of Constantinople, where there was great confusion. Trying to correct the mistake, Nazim-pasha fortified himself on Chataldja with the support of the Turkish navy on the flanks and waited for the Bulgarian attack there, whose attack began on November 17. After two days of fighting, the Bulgarians, with great losses in manpower, were repulsed, so a truce was concluded at the Bulgarian request on December 4, because the Turkish forces were also very weakened.
During the attack on Chataldzha, Bulgarian forces kept Jedrene under siege from October 27th.
Greek front
Operations on the Greek front began at the same time with an attack by two Greek armies, the Tesla and the Epirus, on October 18 in two separate directions. After very quick victories over smaller Turkish forces, the Thessalian army reached Sarandaporon on October 22 and defeated the Turkish forces under the command of Hasan Taksim Pasha, and on October 29 captured Naus, Vera and Katerina and arrived in front of Thessaloniki, where it united with the Serbian and Bulgarian forces. After the fighting, Hasan Taksim-pasha signed the capitulation on November 8, and Greek forces entered Thessaloniki on November 9, which severed the link between the eastern and western Turkish armies. Contrary to other warring forces, Greece did not sign a truce with Turkey but continued operations, and organized its rule in Macedonia. The operations of the Greek army on the Macedonian front ended on December 16 with the conquest of Korcula. The Epirus army expelled the Turkish forces towards Ioannina, which it was unable to occupy. At the positions towards Janjine, it left its smaller forces and with the rest cleared the remaining area, whereby on October 21, it captured the island of Lemnos and set up a maneuver base on it and began the blockade of the Dardanelles. Although after the fall of Thessaloniki, it gathered enough forces to attack the Ioannina, Greece failed due to the winter, mountainous terrain and extensive preparations, to carry out an attack before the truce on the Ioannina, which took place on December 4 and determined that all forces remain on their own. positions without fortifying Jedrene, Janjina and Shkodra cannot be supplied from outside.
Armistice (December 4, 1912 - January 29, 1913)
Negotiations on the armistice began on December 13 in London and were conducted under the influence of the Great Powers, which were surprised by the rapid and successful penetration of the allied forces. In order to preserve its interests, the Great Powers established an autonomous Albania on December 4th, which was under the guarantee and control of the Great Powers. Turkey was required to cede all areas west of the Tekirdag-Midi line as well as all islands in the Aegean Sea, including Crete. Turkey did not initially agree to these demands, but only offered the autonomy of Macedonia and Albania, after which the negotiations were interrupted. However, at the urging of the Great Powers, Turkey agreed to accept the allied demands on January 22, but a revolt of the Young Turks broke out on January 23, led by Enver Bey, during which Nazim Pasha was killed and the government was overthrown. The Young Turks had opposed the surrender of Edirne and the Aegean islands, after which the truce was broken on January 29.
II. period - operations after the armistice (January 29 - May 30, 1913)
The time during the armistice was used by both sides to reorganize and rebuild their forces and to prepare for new operations. This was especially good for the Turks, because their forces were demoralized and suffered from the cholera epidemic. After the rejection of the allied demands on February 3, the war operations continued. The Turks launched attacks on Bulgarian forces on the front of their Eastern Army and in a short offensive (February 5-9) managed to suppress the Bulgarian outposts and recapture Chataldja. Despite initial dominance, Bulgarian forces managed to repel Turkish forces and thwart recent attempts by Turkish forces to unblock Jedren.
After the end of the preparatory operations, the Greeks attacked Janjine on March 4 and, after heavy fighting, captured the fortress on March 6, during which they captured a large number of Turkish forces. In addition, the Greek navy fought fierce battles with the Turkish navy, preventing it from transferring forces by sea.
After repelling the Turkish offensive, the Bulgarians decided to capture Jedrene, which housed about 60,000 Turkish soldiers, so a joint attack by Bulgarian and Serbian forces on March 25 began fighting for the Jedrene. Despite the large number of forces, the Turkish commander Shukri-pasha was forced to surrender Jedrene on March 26, which greatly improved the Bulgarian position, as the Svilengrad-Jedrene-Chataldza railway connection was established. Seeing the advantages of the Bulgarian army, the Turks immediately proposed a truce, which was concluded on April 16. Twelve pashas, thousands of Turkish officers and about 35,000 soldiers were captured in Jedrene, as well as significant amounts of war material.
On the Montenegrin front, immediately after the end of the armistice, Montenegrin forces, in cooperation with the Serbian one, launched an attack on Shkodra on February 7, which was repulsed with heavy casualties. Wanting to put the Great Powers before the final act, the Montenegrin King Nikola, again in cooperation with the stronger Serbian forces, which were transferred from Thessaloniki, prepared another attack on Shkodra. Due to the threat of the Great Powers that Shkodra must belong to Albania, Serbia withdrew its forces to Serbia, and King Nikola himself continued the siege of Shkodra, which ended with the surrender on April 23 due to famine. Under threat from the Great Powers, Montenegrin forces left Shkodra on May 14, handing it over to the Great Powers.
The final end of the war was on May 30, 1913, when Turkey signed a peace treaty in London and renounced all areas west of the Enos-Midi line. As a result of the First Balkan War, the state of Albania was established and the Turkish feudal system was overthrown.
