For the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, see Yugoslav Wars.
Balkan Wars
A Bulgarian postcard depicting the Battle of Lule Burgas.
Date
8 October 1912 – 10 August 1913 (9 months, 1 week and 3 days)
First Balkan War:
8 October 1912 – 30 May 1913 (7 months, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Second Balkan War:
16 June – 10 August 1913 (1 month, 1 week and 5 days)
Location
Adrianople
Scutari
Kosovo
Manastir
Salonica provinces
Aegean Islands
Aegean Sea
Result
First Balkan War:
Balkan League victory
Treaty of London
Second Balkan War:
Bulgarian defeat
Treaty of Bucharest
Treaty of Constantinople
Belligerents
First Balkan War:
Ottoman Empire
First Balkan War:
Bulgaria
Serbia
Greece
Montenegro
Second Balkan War: Bulgaria
Second Balkan War:
Serbia
Romania
Greece
Montenegro
Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Mehmed V
Enver Pasha
Nazım Pasha
Zeki Pasha
Abdul Kerim Pasha
Kölemen Abdullah Pasha
Hasan Tahsin Pasha
Rauf Pasha
Ferdinand I
Mihail Savov
Vasil Kutinchev
Nikola Ivanov
Radko Dimitriev
Stiliyan Kovachev
Ferdinand I
Mihail Savov
Vasil Kutinchev
Nikola Ivanov
Radko Dimitriev
Radomir Putnik
Petar Bojović
Stepa Stepanović
Eleftherios Venizelos
Crown Prince Constantine
Pavlos Kountouriotis
Nicholas I
Prince Danilo Petrović
Carol I
Ferdinand I
Strength
437,000+
600,000+
450,000+ 230,000 125,000 44,500 Total: 850,000 men
348,000 330,000 255,000 148,000 12,800
Total: 1,093,800 men
632,000–1,500,000 Ottoman Muslim civilian deaths[1][2]
400,000–813,000 Ottoman Muslim refugees[3][2]
c. 120,000–270,000 Albanian civilians killed[4][5] 60,000–300,000 Albanians deported from Old Serbia[4][6]
v
t
e
First Balkan War
Bulgarian Front
Kardzhali
Kirk Kilisse
Lule Burgas
Merhamli
Kaliakra
1st Çatalca
Bulair
Şarköy
Adrianople
2nd Çatalca
Serbian and Montenegrin front
Kumanovo
Lumë
Prilep
Monastir
Scutari
Greek front
Lemnos Island
Sarantaporo
Yenidje
Pente Pigadia
Sorovich
Himara
Lesbos
Chios
Driskos
Elli
Korytsa
Lemnos
Bizani
v
t
e
Second Balkan War
Kilkis–Lachanas
Doiran
Bregalnica
Knjaževac
Pirot
Dobruja
Vidin
Danube
Kalimanci
Adrianople
Kresna Gorge
Events leading to World War I
Unification of Germany 1866–1871
Franco-Prussian War 1870–1871
Second Concert of Europe 1871
Great Eastern Crisis 1875–1878
Campaign in Bosnia 1878
Dual Alliance 1879
Boer Wars 1880–1902
Austro–Serbian Alliance 1881–1903
Triple Alliance 1882
Berlin Conference 1884
Bulgarian Crisis 1885–1888
Reinsurance Treaty 1887–1890
Franco-Russian Alliance 1894
Anglo-German naval arms race 1898–1912
Fashoda incident 1898
Anglo-Japanese Alliance 1902
Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905
Entente Cordiale 1904
First Moroccan Crisis 1905–1906
Pig War 1906–1908
Anglo-Russian Convention 1907
Young Turk Revolution 1908
Bosnian Crisis 1908–1909
Racconigi Bargain 1909
Second Moroccan Crisis 1911
Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912
Balkan Wars 1912–1913
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand 1914
July Crisis 1914
v
t
e
The Balkan Wars were a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defeated it, in the process stripping the Ottomans of their European provinces, leaving only Eastern Thrace under the Ottoman Empire's control. In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against the other four original combatants of the first war. It also faced an attack from Romania from the north. The Ottoman Empire lost the bulk of its territory in Europe. Although not involved as a combatant, Austria-Hungary became relatively weaker as a much enlarged Serbia pushed for union of the South Slavic peoples.[7] The war set the stage for the July crisis of 1914 and thus served as a prelude to the First World War.[8]
By the early 20th century, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia had achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large elements of their ethnic populations remained under Ottoman rule. In 1912, these countries formed the Balkan League. The First Balkan War began on 8 October 1912, when the League member states attacked the Ottoman Empire, and ended eight months later with the signing of the Treaty of London on 30 May 1913. The Second Balkan War began on 16 June 1913, when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its loss of Macedonia, attacked its former Balkan League allies. The combined forces of Serbian and Greek armies, with their superior numbers repelled the Bulgarian offensive and counter-attacked Bulgaria by invading it from the west and the south. Romania, having taken no part in the conflict, had intact armies to strike with and invaded Bulgaria from the north in violation of a peace treaty between the two states. The Ottoman Empire also attacked Bulgaria and advanced in Thrace regaining Adrianople. In the resulting Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria managed to regain most of the territories it had gained in the First Balkan War. However, it was forced to cede the ex-Ottoman south part of Dobruja province to Romania.[9]
The Balkan Wars were marked by ethnic cleansing, with all parties being responsible for grave atrocities against civilians, and inspired later atrocities including war crimes during the 1990s Yugoslav Wars.[10][11][12][13]
^McCarthy, Justin. "1912–1913 Balkan Wars, Death and Forced Exile of Ottoman Muslims" (PDF). tc-america.org.
^ abHupchick, Dennis P., The Balkans: From Constantinople to Communism. p. 321.
^McCarthy, Justin. "1912–1913 Balkan Wars, Death and Forced Exile of Ottoman Muslims" (PDF). tc-america.org.
^ abAlpion, Gëzim (2021). Mother Teresa: The Saint and Her Nation. Bloomsbury. pp. 11, 19. ISBN 978-9389812466.
^Ke, Jing. "Change the Hostile Other into Ingroup Partner: On the Albanian-Serb Relations" (PDF). Kosovo Public Policy Center: 83. 120,000–270,000 Albanians were killed and approximately 250,000 Albanians were expelled between 1912 and 1914.
^Qirezi, Arben (2017). "Settling the self-determination dispute in Kosovo". In Mehmeti, Leandrit I.; Radeljić, Branislav (eds.). Kosovo and Serbia: Contested Options and Shared Consequences. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 978-0822981572.
^Clark 2013, pp. 45, 559.
^Hall 2000.
^Winston Churchill (1931). The World Crisis, 1911–1918. Thornton Butterworth. p. 278.
^Biondich, Mark (20 October 2016). "The Balkan Wars: violence and nation-building in the Balkans, 1912–13". Journal of Genocide Research. 18 (4): 389–404. doi:10.1080/14623528.2016.1226019. S2CID 79322539. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
^Levene, Mark (2018). "'The Bulgarians Were the Worst!' Reconsidering the Holocaust in Salonika within a Regional History of Mass Violence". The Holocaust in Greece. Cambridge University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-108-47467-2.
^Farrar, L L Jr. (2003). "Aggression versus apathy: The limits of nationalism during the Balkan Wars, 1912–1913". East European Quarterly. 37 (3): 257–280. ProQuest 195176627.
^Michail, Eugene (2017). "The Balkan Wars in Western Historiography, 1912–2012". The Balkan Wars from Contemporary Perception to Historic Memory. Springer International Publishing. pp. 319–340. ISBN 978-3-319-44642-4.
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and the First World War broke out. List of places burned during the BalkanWars List of Serbian–Turkish conflicts List of wars between democracies Journalists...
The Second BalkanWar was a conflict that broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First BalkanWar, attacked its former...
The massacres of Albanians in the BalkanWars were perpetrated on several occasions by the Serbian and Montenegrin armies and paramilitaries during the...
Network Balkanization History of the BalkansBalkanWars Yugoslav Wars Languages of the BalkansBalkan sprachbund Balkan music Gray, Colin S.; Sloan, Geoffrey...
The participation of Greece in the BalkanWars of 1912–1913 is one of the most important episodes in modern Greek history, as it allowed the Greek state...
Third BalkanWar may refer to: Yugoslav Wars, or any of the individual wars, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s Balkans theatre of World...
War in the Balkans or Balkan(s) conflict may refer to: Yugoslav Wars, or any of the individual wars, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s...
the known war correspondents, war photographers, war artists, and war cinematographers who were active during the First and Second BalkanWars. The First...
Serbian–Ottoman wars and the Albanian-Ottoman wars. Much of this period was characterized by the Ottoman expansion into the Balkans. The Ottoman Empire...
The Chetniks in the BalkanWars, were paramilitary groups issued of the Serbian Chetnik Organization which, after fighting in the Macedonian Struggle...
The BalkanWars Museum (Greek: Μουσείο Βαλκανικών Πολέμων Mousio Valkanikon Polemon) is a museum in Gefyra, west of Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece...
Symmachia, Serbian: Балкански савез/Balkanski savez) "Wars of the World: First BalkanWar 1912–1913". OnWar.com. December 16, 2000. Retrieved 2009-08-14. Crampton...
the BalkanWars (8 October 1912 – 18 July 1913), gaining land in both conflicts. It experienced significant territorial gains in the Central Balkans, nearly...
The Balkans theatre or Balkan campaign was a theatre of World War I fought between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and the Ottoman...
neighbouring countries. Hall, Richard C. (2002). The BalkanWars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-1-134-58363-8. Hall...
September 1918, when the Armistice of Salonica came into effect. After the Balkanwars of 1912 and 1913, Bulgaria was diplomatically isolated, surrounded by...
1910s it engaged in three wars – the First and Second BalkanWars, and the First World War. Following the First World War the Bulgarian army was disbanded...
(2010). Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918. Indiana University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-253-35452-5. "The BalkanWars and World War I". p...
many causes of the First BalkanWar. The BalkanWars were two wars that took place in the Balkans in 1912 and 1913. Four Balkan states defeated the Ottoman...
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The identification of the causes of World War I remains a debated issue. World War I began in the Balkans on July 28, 1914, and hostilities ended on November...
First BalkanWar was one of the heaviest fronts of the First BalkanWar fought between 21 October, 1912 and 3 April, 1913 Tensions among the Balkan states...
crises. The Yugoslav Wars have alternatively been referred to as: "Wars in the Balkans" "Wars/conflicts in the former Yugoslavia" "Wars of Yugoslav Secession/Succession"...
flight as a certified pilot, becoming the first Turk to do so. During the BalkanWars, Evrensev was active in Thrace, conducting reconnaissance flights from...
about Canadian WWII war correspondents Journalists of the BalkanWars List of foreign correspondents in the Spanish Civil War List of war correspondents Milblog...
villages near Gallipoli". The Report of the International Commission on the BalkanWars mention destruction and massacres in the area by the Ottoman army against...
the War of Independence in the 1820s through the Balkanwars in the beginning of the 20th century. It started to fade after the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)...
Global Information
Bulgaria
c. 120,000–270,000 Albanian civilians killed[4][5]
