Several books and a few magazine articles do a good job in analyzing the political reasons why the Ottoman Empires fragmented and the Balkan Wars occurred. This series of articles are intended to provide additional information for the researcher and gamer on the military aspects of the Balkan Wars. Areas of coverage include military organizations, uniforms and battle data.

Tensions between the Ottoman Empire and their European Christian neighbors was high for decades. The 1800s was a period of constant warfare with the Greek Revolution in the 1820s, through the Crimean Wars of the 1850s, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 and the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. The early 1900s were no less troublesome with the Macedonian Revolt of 1903-08 and the Turkish-Italian War of 1911-12.

In 1912 with support from Slavic Russia, the various Christian states in the area formed the Christian Balkan League. The League was founded by a series of bilateral and multilateral treaties which focused on anti-Turkish goals. Often the signatories of one agreement did not know the conditions of the other pacts.

In March 1912, a treaty was signed between Serbia and Bulgaria based on division of western Macedonia. . Then in May, the Bulgarians signed a pact with Greece dealing with the Thrace area. War was declared in September with another pact signed in early October between Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro.

The Moslem Albanian independence groups were ignored but then later actually condemned for not joining the League as a pretext for annexing neighboring parts of Albania. Another state that was ignored was Christian Roumania which maintained a large Catholic in addition to Orthodox religious populations.

Strategic Goals

In regards to strategic goals, the Christian Balkan League knew that the Ottoman military was larger than their combined force. They also knew that those troops were spread over the Middle East and Northern Africa as well as its European holdings. Therefore, the Balkan League would attempt to achieve numerical superiority in specific areas. The Greeks, especially by the Bulgarians, were expected to focus on blockading the Turkish fleets and securing the numerous ethnic Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

In addition, the Greeks were expected to put pressure on the southern defenses of the Turkish forces. The Montenegro army was expected to attack northern Albania and secure the seaport of Scutari which would force local Turkish troops of the Western Army to move further from supporting bases in the east. The Serbian army was expected to smash south into western Macedonia and isolate then mop up the isolated Western Army. The Bulgarian Army was expected to defeat the Turkish Eastern Army in Thrace and then capture Adrianople thus isolating all of the Ottoman's European garrisons.

The strategic plan was a success. So much so, that the League allies began to out- advance their supply lines. Also the various League powers began to disregard territorial claims agreements and focus on a right of conquest ownership principle. This actually resulted in Greek and Bulgaian forces racing to towns and even skirmishing with each other while trying to defeat the common Turkish foe. The weakest showing was by the Montenegro forces which failed to capture, due in large part to a lack of heavy siege artillery guns, the port of Scutari. The Bulgarians smashed the opposing forces and marched south and east into Thrace. Their forces reached the Adrianople forts before they were halted due mainly to a lack of supplies and ammunition.

The truce allowed the League allies to reinforce and supply forward positions. When the truce ended in December, the League was able to capture many of the isolated forts which had held out during the initial assault. Scutari which had been reinforced initially by elements from the Turkish Western Army would fall after the truce period when the Serbians reinforced the Montenegro troops. The Bulgarians captured Adrianople with the Greeks and Serbians capturing other forts.

The Second Balkans War

The Second Balkans War occurred virtually as soon as the League states could again resupply their forward forces. However this time it was a convoluted affair with the member states fighting each other. There had been no love gained between member states during the recent alliance. The Bulgarians had regarded themselves as the most significant force in the region and began to not only consolidate their recent gains but now intended to expand their control over as much land as they could occupy. The Greeks and Serbians united to block the Bulgarian expansion.

The Ottomans watched and waited for the coalition to bloodied themselves to the point that the Turks could march in and reclaim lost territory. A new Player, the Roumanians, realized that the bulk of the Bulgarian forces would be tied up in the south and also entered the melee in an attempt to quickly grab eastern coastal areas of Bulgaria.

The Bulgarians feared the Serbians the most and reinforced the Serbian front with about 70% of their forces. The Bulgaians left only token garrisons facing the Turks and Roumanians. This allowed the Turks to recapture land up to and including Adrianople. The Roumanians not only made gains in the Black Sea coastal area but allowed a joint operation in the west to be conducted by a Serb-Roumanian Army.

This operation was conducted on the northern flank of the Serbian front and resulted in substantial gains for the allies. The surprising area of battle was the Greco-Bulgarian front where a smaller Greek Army defeated the Bulgarians and made large advances along both the Thracian coast and the Bulgarian southern flank.

A cease fire was arranged in 1913 but it would be only a few months before the whole of Europe became engulfed in a larger war. Had not World War One occurred, I am sure the Balkans would have erupted into war again within only a few years.

While the Balkan Wars have often been ignored, a study of them will answer some confusing questions about the early stages of the First World War.

• Why did the much smaller Serbian Army hold out against the much larger Austrian Army ?
  The Serbians were battle hardened veterans with recently trained reserves and tested supply and mobilization systems.
• Why did the British invade Turkey in 1915 and get stopped so easily?
  The British viewed the Turks as unwilling to fight, due in part to the poor showing of their field armies during the Balkan Wars. Unfortunately for the British, they failed to take note of how much better, the Turks fought in defensive positions and near their homeland.

  Why did the Allies focus on the Dardenalles rather than the Salonika Front?

  Some of the reasons are expressed in the earlier sentence. Sadly the British force requirements in the Dardenalles prevented a more advantageous deployment in the Salonika Front. The Balkan Wars had already proved that the Ottomans could be isolated from Europe but selecting the routes of attack were crucial.

  What was the Allied view of Bulgaria?

  The Bulgarian defeat in 1913 overshadowed the accomplishments of the army. The allies viewed the Bulgarians as a minor power with little ability. This underestimation of the Bulgarian military might resulted in the collapse of Serbia, Roumania and halting of the allies on the Salonika front for many months. (Note: The Salonika Front actually was more than just around the port of Salonika. It stretched west through Albania to the Adriatic Sea.)

Prelude to the Balkan Wars

A Timeline
1854-1896
Greco-Turkish War of 1897
Macedonian Revolt 1903-08
First and Second Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913