What is the Balkan War?

1912 ~1913 the balkan war was divided into two stages. The first war was a Balkan Union composed of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro against Turkish control and oppression. This war lasted from 19 12 to 10 when the London Peace Treaty was signed in May 2003. The Second Balkan War lasted from June 29th of 19 13 to August 29th of 10. One side of this war is Bulgaria, and the other side is Serbia, Greece, Romania, Montenegro and Turkey. This is the result of the intensification of contradictions between the original allies in the first Balkan War. The two Balkan wars further intensified international contradictions and accelerated the outbreak of the First World War.

The Balkan Peninsula, located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, has suffered numerous war wounds in history. With the advent of the 20th century, many contradictions among western European imperialist countries, Balkan countries and between them and imperialist countries are constantly converging, struggling and changing, and wars may break out at any time.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the decadent Ottoman Empire still controlled a large territory of Balkan countries. The Albanian people have not yet gained independence, and the people of Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece are still subjected to feudal oppression and religious persecution by Turks in Macedonia and Thrace. 1912 in March, Serbia and Bulgaria signed an anti-Turkish alliance treaty. In May, Greece and Bulgaria signed an agreement, and Montenegro also participated in August. However, the European powers are unwilling to let the Balkan people control their own destiny, and they interfere with each other with the ambition of aggression and expansion, making the Balkan issue more complicated.

Balkan countries decided to use the opportunity of the Italian-Turkish war to wage war against Turkey. 19 12 18, Montenegro declared war on Turkey first, and Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece also issued ultimatums to Turkey on 17 and18 respectively, demanding that all ethnic groups under Turkish rule be granted autonomy and that Turkish troops withdraw from the Balkans. The Turkish government rejected this request and began to mobilize the army. This constitutes a direct excuse for the Balkan Union to declare war on Turkey. 1On 9 October, Montenegro took military action against Turkey. 18, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece also took action one after another.

Balkan countries are superior to the enemy in both the number of troops and the quality of weapons, especially the quality of artillery and the level of military combat training. Encouraged by the goal of national liberation struggle, the morale of the troops in these countries is high. The Bulgarian army consists of three army groups in the direction of Istanbul. Serbia's main force fought against the Turkish army group in Macedonia. The Greek armies of Saglia and Epirus were prepared to deal with Thessalonica and Janina respectively. The Greek navy is ready to take action against the Turkish navy to ensure the allied sea power in the Mediterranean. The task of the Montenegrin army is to cooperate with the Serbian army in Macedonia. The allies surrounded the Turkish army and prepared to defeat the enemy before the Turkish reinforcements arrived. The headquarters of the Turkish army tried to take active action to stop the allied attack before the arrival of reinforcements. Turkey regards Bulgaria as the most dangerous enemy and launches major groups to deal with it.

Montenegro's army attacked the Turkish army in northern Thrace and northern Albania together with the Serbian Ibar army of 20,000 people. Bulgarian troops crossed the border and pushed south. 10 year122 October, engaged the Turkish army. The 2nd Army on the right wing of the Baojun Group repelled the Turkish army and began to besiege edirne (Fort Adrijana). Fighting on the left 1, the 3rd Army of the Bulgarian Army defeated the 3rd Army of the Turkish Army near kyrk-Kiliser (Los Segler) on October 22-24, 65438/Kloc-0, and began to advance southward. 65438+1October 29th to165438+1October 3rd, fierce fighting broke out in Lulei burgas. The fourth army of the Turkish army was defeated and retreated hastily, and the Baojun headquarters failed to organize effective pursuit. Turkish troops held their positions in Jajurei, Catal, 35-45km west of Istanbul. Baojun failed to occupy the above position in June165438+1October 17- 18, and the front began to stabilize here.

In Macedonia, the Turkish army launched an attack on the Serbian army 10/0 on October 23rd, but was repelled. The next day, the Serbian army launched a general attack, and the Turkish army group in Macedonia was shattered. Greek troops swept the Turkish army of Epirus and surrounded Janina. In southern Macedonia, the Greek army won near Yenijie on June 5438+065438+1 October1and 2, and launched an attack on Salonica. The defenders of the city surrendered on the 9th. The Greek navy blocked the Turkish navy's export to the Daniil Strait, and carried out the campaign to seize the Aegean Islands. 165438+1October 28th Albania declared its independence. However, the subsequent military victory of the allied forces was not in the interest of some big countries. Under the pressure of great powers, Turkey signed armistice agreements with Bulgaria and Serbia in 19 12 and 12 respectively.

Ambassadors of the warring countries began negotiations on the terms of the peace treaty in London. 191365438+123 October, a coup took place in Turkey, and the new government refused to accept the terms of the peace treaty. On February 3, the Balkan Union countries resumed war. In March, the Turks lost Jarna and edirne (Fort Adrijana). After several failures in succession, Turkey signed the second armistice agreement in April. Montenegro disagreed with this agreement and continued to besiege shkoder. Finally, the first Balkan War ended with the signing of the London Peace Treaty. According to this treaty, Turkey lost almost all its territory in Europe. The people of Balkan countries' desire to get rid of Turkish oppression has come true. This war objectively has the nature of progressive national liberation. Lenin pointed out: "The Balkan War is a link in a series of world events that marked the collapse of medieval society in Asia and Eastern Europe."

The Second Balkan War (June 29-August 65, 2003) was fought by Bulgaria on one side and Serbia, Greece, Romania, Montenegro and Turkey on the other. It was the result of the intensification of the contradiction between the original allies in the first Balkan War. The imperialist powers (especially Austria-Hungary and Germany) tried to undermine the influence of the allies in the Balkans and intervened, which further accelerated the outbreak of the Second Balkan War. 19 13 On the night of June 29th, Bulgaria took military action against the Serbian army and the Greek army in Macedonia. Serbian forces counterattacked and broke through the position of the Bulgarian Fourth Army. The attacks of the various army groups of the Baojun Army were blocked, and the fighting continued until July 6, when the Baojun Army was forced to retreat. In June 5438+00, Romania went to war with Bulgaria. Luo An's army occupied Brogat, and Luo's basic troops advanced to Sofia without resistance. 2 1, Turkey tore up the London Peace Treaty of 19 13, engaged in war with Baojun Army and occupied edirne. Bulgaria surrendered on the 29th under the threat of total rout. According to 19 13 Bucharest Peace Treaty (Bulgaria on one side, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Romania on the other), Bulgaria not only lost most of its recovered territory, but also lost the south of Brogat. 19 13 The Peace Treaty of Constantinople signed by Bulgaria and Turkey forced Bulgaria to return edirne to Turkey. The result of the Second Balkan War was the reorganization of forces in the Balkans: Romania left triple alliance in 1882 and had close ties with the Allies, while Bulgaria joined the German-Austrian Alliance. So far, the two Balkan wars have temporarily ended.

The deepening contradictions among Balkan countries after the war provided opportunities for imperialist powers to continue to interfere in and control Balkan affairs, and laid the fuse for the imperialist world war. It can be said that the Balkan War was also the prelude to the First World War. Because Germany and Austria are not satisfied with the outcome of the Balkan war. First of all, Turkey, a friend of Germany and Austria, lost a lot of territory because of defeat, and its national strength was greatly weakened. Secondly, the former Yugoslav Kingdom of Serbia, like a thorn in Austria's side, almost doubled its territory.

In the Balkan war, some changes have taken place in the methods of warfare. The range and firing rate of artillery have been improved, and new military technologies and equipment such as aircraft, armored vehicles and radios have been applied. The trend of transition to positional warfare is becoming more and more obvious. These had a positive impact on the armament development of imperialist countries and became an important factor leading to the outbreak of the First World War in 19 14.