Chapter 314 Balkan War

If I want to talk about one thing, it must be the compromise of the British Empire in warship construction. new

Although the modification of the naval plan was not made with much fanfare, the sudden cancellation of plans by some shipyards in the British Empire still attracted the attention of the media in Britain and Europe, especially the Germans.

At first, everyone thought that the British were trying to hold back their big move. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, there was no news from the shipyards that had canceled their shipbuilding tasks. This also forced everyone to believe the fact that the British Empire was actually building warships. Compromised.

For the German Empire, this is probably the best news in the second decade of the 20th century.

If the British's previous crazy construction plan was followed, the High Seas Fleet would never be able to rival the Royal Fleet.

Moreover, Germany also has army potential and it is impossible to spend all its defense budget on building a navy.

It is impossible for the Germans to be so stupid as to abandon their martial arts. Although they are the world's largest army power, they give up the expansion of the army.

The German media trumpeted that Britain's retreat was due to fear and incompetence of Germany's continuous expansion of military strength, and proudly announced that the German Empire was about to usher in another great victory.

Just as Europe was undergoing a sudden change due to Britain's retreat, in one region of Europe, a war was also quietly being planned.

The Balkans have a special location, where not only the interests of Russia exist, but also the interests of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Even great powers such as Italy, Britain, and Germany also have considerable interests in this area.

The Balkan Peninsula is located at the junction of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is the only way from Europe to the Middle East and the Near East. It has a very important geographical location.

Constantinople, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, controls the junction of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and also determines whether the Russian Black Sea Fleet can go to the Mediterranean and eventually enter the ocean.

In addition, the internal strategic resources of the Balkan Peninsula are very rich, and they are naturally competed for by major powers.

This small peninsula also has a large number of ethnic groups. The languages, cultures, religious beliefs and customs of these ethnic groups are different and conflict with each other.

The Balkans almost became a gathering point for all kinds of contradictions before the world war. Not only were the contradictions between the European powers - the contradictions between Germany, Austria and Russia, the contradictions between Britain and Germany, the contradictions between Austria and Italy, the contradictions between Britain and Russia, but also the contradictions between nations. That is, the conflicts between the various ethnic groups in the Balkans and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire.

In addition, the conflicts between the various ethnic groups in the Balkans are also an important reason for the instability in the Balkans. These various conflicts are overlapping and complicated, making this region a famous powder keg in Europe. new

The Ottoman Turkish Empire performed very poorly in the war with the Kingdom of Italy, which also accelerated the formation of the Balkan Alliance and prepared for war.

Although the goals of the countries participating in the Balkan League were not the same, they had a common enemy, which was the Ottoman Turkish Empire that enslaved this region.

The member states of the Balkan League are composed of the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Greece, and the Kingdom of Montenegro. The most important link, and the alliance between the two most powerful countries, was the alliance treaty between Serbia and Bulgaria.

According to the alliance treaty signed by Serbia and Bulgaria, it is agreed that if either side of the two countries is invaded by one or more countries, the other side has the responsibility to provide full support.

In addition, the two sides also made arrangements for the timing of launching a war against Turkey and the issue of carving up Turkey. They agreed that Russia should be notified first when going to war. If there is a dispute between the two countries, the issue should also be submitted to Russia for arbitration.

As can be seen from the alliance treaty established between Serbia and Bulgaria, Russia attempted to establish hegemony over the Slavic countries and become the arbiter of all issues in the Balkans.

Use this method to control Constantinople and control the only strait that allows the Black Sea Fleet to sail to the Mediterranean.

When French Prime Minister Poincare first learned of the treaty between Serbia and Bulgaria, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "This is completely a treaty preparing for war!"

Afterwards, he also commented on the treaty in his notes: "This treaty not only contains the seeds of war against the Ottoman Empire, but also contains the seeds of war against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He further established Russia's control over the Slavic countries. Hegemony, because according to the provisions of this treaty, Russia will become the arbiter of all issues in this region.”

More than six months have passed since the establishment of the Balkan Alliance. In the past six months or so, the Balkan Alliance countries have carried out massive military expansion, and their purpose is self-evident.

1 Leah issued an ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire, demanding that Turkey allow Macedonian autonomy.

At this time, Turkey was already exhausted at home due to the war with Italy, but it refused to give in, so it decided to ignore Bulgaria's proposal and delay as much time as possible.

What happened in the Balkans quickly aroused the attention and vigilance of the major European powers.

Because the importance of this area is so high, no European country is willing to lose interests in this area.

Almost all the powers have expressed concern about this, but the attitude of all the powers is also the same, which is to sit back and watch the development of the situation in the Balkans.

For the European powers, if they do not end at the most critical moment, they will be disadvantaged.

No one knows whether the fire in the Balkans will burn them. This is naturally unacceptable to the European powers that are not fully prepared for war. new

At this time, the major European powers were like melon-eaters, quietly but very expectantly waiting for the development of the situation in the Balkans.

This group of melon-eating people was not disappointed. After Turkey made no statement, another powerful country in the Balkans, Serbia, also stood up and demanded that Turkey recognize the autonomy of the Macedonian region and compensate for the previous oppression of various ethnic groups in the Balkans.

The two most powerful countries have expressed their stance, and naturally the remaining Balkan Alliance countries cannot remain idle.

On February 1, Goro successively expressed their stance, asking Turkey to recognize the autonomy of the Macedonian region, and specifically stated that if there is no reply within a week, it will be regarded as a rejection of this document.

This ultimatum specifically stating the time can also be seen as the Balkan countries making final preparations.

After the government continued to remain silent for a week on February 2, the Bulgarian government announced a nationwide military mobilization.

Just one day later, on February 27, the Serbian government, the Greek government and the Montenegrin government also announced the general mobilization of national military forces.

Starting from February 27, the armies of the Balkan Alliance countries began to gather towards the Turkish border, and various weapons, ammunition, equipment and materials were quickly transported to the front line.

Turkey also had to follow suit and mobilize troops from the European region, and at the same time inquire as much as possible about the attitudes of European powers.

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But what disappoints the Turkish government is that apart from verbal sympathy and support, the European powers have tried to keep both sides calm without any practical actions.

On February 2, the Balkan Alliance army and the Turkish army clashed at the border for the first time. Both sides suffered dozens of casualties, which marked the arrival of war.

1The Kingdom of Bulgaria took the lead in declaring war on Türkiye. Then on March 2, Montenegro declared war on the Turkish government. Then came the full-scale war in Serbia, Greece, and the Balkans.

According to the previous agreement on the Balkan Alliance Treaty, Bulgaria sent a total of 300,000 troops, Serbia sent 220,000 troops, Greece sent 115,000 troops, and Montenegro sent 35,000 troops, for a total of 670,000 troops.

As for Turkey, although there are many Turkish troops, due to the constraints of the Italian-Turkish war, the maximum number of troops that can be dispatched is only about 350,000.

The gap in military strength between the two sides was already very large. In addition, the Balkan countries had been preparing for this war for a long time. However, due to the consumption of the Italian-Turkish war, Turkey was even more exhausted at home. As a result, the attacks of the Balkan countries were almost unstoppable. .

In the direction of attack, Bulgaria, which sent the most troops, chose to go south, occupy eastern Macedonia and Thrace, and attack in the direction of Constantinople.

Serbia, on the other hand, chose to go south and occupy North Macedonia to expand its territory and also compete for an outlet to the sea.

Although Serbia has the ambition to rise, it wants to establish a Slavic Serbian state.

But if you want to become a powerful country, the most important thing is to have an outlet to the sea. Previously, Serbia was a completely landlocked country with the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the north, Romania and Bulgaria to the east, Montenegro to the west, and Turkey to the south.

The main purpose of this expansion to the south is to obtain an outlet to the sea.

Greece, located in the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula, naturally expanded northward and recovered South Macedonia.

As for Montenegro, which is the weakest, they don't have many choices. They can only expand slightly eastward. After all, the country's strength also destined them to annex much land.

In fact, it can be seen from the direction of the troops sent by various countries that their purpose is definitely not to promote Macedonia's autonomy, but to divide Macedonia among the three countries.

Bulgaria and Greece gained more land, Serbia gained access to the sea, and Montenegro expanded on a small scale. This was also the spoils-sharing plan that the Balkan Alliance had discussed before.

Because of the advantages in numbers and equipment, as well as the opportunity to gain the upper hand, the expansion of several countries went smoothly. In just a few weeks, the Ottoman Turkish Empire lost more than half of its territory in Europe.

In the expansion of these countries, Britain supported Greece and Russia supported Serbia.

But at the same time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had conflicts with Serbia, was paying attention to Serbia's expansion. They did not allow a threatening enemy to appear around them.

As the war progressed, the great powers turned their attention to the direction of Bulgaria's attack.

To say that Turkey's most important area in the Balkans is naturally Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

From a historical perspective, Constantinople was the capital of the former Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. It has thousands of years of history and culture, and is also one of the holy places in the hearts of Orthodox Christians.

The importance of Constantinople is self-evident. It not only served as a bridge between the European and Asian parts of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, but also controlled the connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

Outside Constantinople, the Turkish Empire deployed a military stronghold to defend its capital.

Adrianople, one of the most solid military fortresses in the European part of the Turkish Empire, is second only to the capital Constantinople.

After the war broke out, the Turkish government specially deployed some Albanian and Macedonian troops to garrison Adrianople in Thrace.

It was the outpost of Bulgaria and the Balkan states on their way to Constantinople and the last line of defense for the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

If Adrianople is captured, Thrace will be in peace, and the enemy's army will soon reach Constantinople.

In order to conquer this important military town, Bulgaria mobilized an entire army group to surround the town. Its ambition to occupy Constantinople is self-evident.

The rapid expansion of the Balkan countries made the Turkish government very afraid, so it quickly recalled the European powers to request mediation.

You must know that the strategic position of the Black Sea Strait is very important and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

For this strait, several wars and crises have broken out in history, and this time will naturally be no exception.

Because of the Bulgarian army's massive offensive, not surprisingly, a new Strait crisis broke out.

On March 20, just over half a month after the war began, the Bulgarian army was only 25 miles away from Constantinople, which was already a very dangerous distance.

As the Bulgarian army launched an attack on Adrianople, Britain and France also sent troops to the Black Sea Strait.

The intervention of the great powers suddenly made the situation in the Balkans even more tense.

Russia did not dare to be careless, ordered the Black Sea Fleet to be on combat readiness, and privately advised the Bulgarian army to stop the attack.

But at this time, Russia's advice could no longer stop Bulgaria, which was going crazy due to its easy victory.

Bulgaria sent more troops to Adrianople, seemingly vowing not to return Constantinople until it was broken.

Just when Britain and France decided to take the next step, Bulgaria, dazzled by the victory, was confused.

1. After capturing Adebia Fortress, the Bulgarian army continued to attack Constantinople, but was successfully ambushed by the Turkish army and blocked from Constantinople.

The Bulgarian army's offensive came to a halt, and even though it was very close to Constantinople, it still could not advance an inch.

The defeat of the Bulgarian army relieved Russia, which originally supported Bulgaria, and made Britain and France decide to wait and see for the time being and stop taking action.

The security of Constantinople could be guaranteed for the time being, and the crisis in the Strait gradually eased and did not turn into a new round of international crisis.

Although the attack on Constantinople failed, the Bulgarian army's attack on East Macedonia and Thrace went very smoothly.

At the end of March, Albania publicly declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire and established a completely independent national government.

Since then, Turkey has lost almost all its land in Europe, leaving only some small lands and strongholds struggling to support itself.

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