First Balkan War
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| First Balkan War | |||||||
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| Part of Balkan Wars | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
 Ottoman Empire |
Balkan League: Bulgaria Greece Montenegro Serbia |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Nazim Pasha, Zekki Pasha, Esat Pasha, Abdullah Pasha, Ali Rizah Pasha | Bulgaria: Vladimir Vazov, Vasil Kutinchev, Nikola Ivanov, Radko Dimitriev Serbia: Radomir Putnik, Petar Bojović, Stepa Stepanović Greece:Crown Prince Constantine, Panagiotis Danglis, Pavlos Kountouriotis Montenegro: King Nicholas I, Prince Danilo Petrović, Mitar Martinović, Janko Vukotić |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 350,000 men | Bulgaria 300,000 men, Serbia 220,000 men, Greece 115,000 men, Montenegro 35,000 men | ||||||
| First Balkan War |
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| Sarantaporo - Giannitsa - Kumanovo - Kirk Kilisse - Pente Pigadia - Prilep - Lule-Burgas - Vevi - Bitola - Elli - Adrianople - Lemnos - Bizani |
During the course of the Balkan Wars the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria) first conquered Ottoman-held Macedonia and most of Thrace and then fell out over the division of the spoils.
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[edit] Background
Tensions among the Balkan states over their rival aspirations to the provinces of Ottoman-occupied Roumelia, namely Eastern Roumelia, Thrace and Macedonia, subsided somewhat following intervention by the Great Powers in the mid-19th century, aimed at securing both fuller protection for the provinces' Christian majority and protection of the status quo.
But the question of the viability of Ottoman rule was revived after the Young Turk Revolution of July 1908 compelled the Sultan to restore the suspended Ottoman constitution, and the significant developments in the years 1909-1911.
Serbia's aspirations towards Bosnia-Herzegovina were thwarted by the Austrian annexation of the province in October 1908, and so the Serbs focused their attention onto their historic cradle, Kosovo and the south for expansion. Greek officers, revolting in August 1909, had secured the appointment of a progressive government under Eleftherios Venizelos which they hoped would resolve the Cretan issue in Greece's favour and reverse their defeat of 1897 by the Ottomans. Bulgaria, widely perceived as the strongest Balkan state, which had secured Ottoman recognition of her independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia for expansion. In March 1910, an Albanian insurrection broke out in Kosovo. In August 1910, Montenegro followed Bulgaria's precedent by becoming a kingdom.
In 1911, Italy launched an invasion of Tripolitania, which was quickly followed by the occupation of the Dodecanese Islands. The Italians' decisive military victories over the Ottoman Empire greatly influenced the Balkan states to prepare for war against Turkey. Thus in the spring of 1912, consultations between the various Christian Balkan nations resulted in a network of military alliances which became known as the Balkan League.
The Great Powers, most notably France and Austria-Hungary, reacted to this diplomatic sensation by trying to dissuade the League from going to war, but failed. In late September, both the League and the Ottoman Empire mobilized their armies. Montenegro was the first to declare war, on September 25 (O.S.)/October 8. The other three states, after issuing an impossible ultimatum to the Porte on October 13, declared war on Turkey on October 17.
[edit] Order of battle and plans
The four allies had not laid out any overall plan or made any attempt to coordinate. Instead, the war was to be conducted by each state individually, and thus it can be separated in four geographically defined fronts. Bulgarians faced the bulk of the Turkish forces in Thrace, that protected the routes to Constantinople; Serbians and Montenegrans operated in Kosovo and northern Macedonia and Albania; the Greeks operated in southern Macedonia to take Salonika and in Epirus to take Ioanina.
[edit] Bulgaria
Bulgaria, often dubbed "Prussia of the Balkans",[1] was militarily the most powerful of the four states, with a large, well-trained and well-equipped army. Upon mobilization, Bulgaria fielded 11 infantry divisions of 3 brigades each, 1 cavalry division and a cavalry brigade, totalling ca. 310,000 men under the nominal command of Tsar Ferdinand. The Bulgarians also possessed a small navy of six torpedo boats, which were restricted to operations along the country's Black Sea coast.
Bulgaria's war aims were focused on Thrace and Macedonia, and although the latter would have to be partitioned with Serbia and Greece, the Bulgarians still hoped to seize most of it, including the important city of Salonica. But they deployed their main force in Thrace, forming three armies. 1st Army, under General Vasil Kutinchev with 4 infantry divisions, was deployed to the south of Yambol, with direction of operations along the Tundzha river. 2nd Army, under General Nikola Ivanov, with 2 infantry divisions, was deployed east of Malko Tarnovo and expected to advance along the Maritsa river, while 3rd Army, under General Radko Dimitriev, with 3 infantry and 1 cavalry division, was a reserve ready to exploit 1st Army's success and advance towards Kirk Kilisse. 2nd and 7th divisions were assigned independent roles, operating in Western Thrace and eastern Macedonia respectively.
[edit] Serbia
Serbia called upon ca. 220,000 men, grouped in 10 infantry divisions and 2 independent brigades, under the effective command of former War Minister Radomir Putnik. The Serbian High Command, in its pre-war wargames, had concluded that the likeliest site of the decisive battle against the Turkish Vardar Army would be on the Ovče Polje plateau, before Skopje. Hence, the main forces were formed in three armies for the advance towards Skopje, while a division and an independent brigade were to cooperate with the Montenegrins in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar.
The First Army was commanded by Crown Prince Alexander, and was the strongest in number and force, forming the center of the drive towards Skopje. The Second Army was commanded by General Stepa Stepanović, and consisted of one Serbian and one Bulgarian (7th Rila) division. It formed the left wing of the Army and advanced towards Stracin. The inclusion of a Bulgarian division was according to a pre-war arrangement between Serbian and Bulgarian army commanders, but that division ceased to obey orders of Gen. Stepanović as soon as the war began, and followed only the orders of the Bulgarian High Command. The Third Army was commanded by General Božidar Janković and, being the right-wing army, had the task to liberate Kosovo and then join the other armies in the expected battle at the Ovče Polje.
[edit] Greece
Greece was considered the weakest of the three main allies, since it had suffered a humiliating defeat against the Ottomans in 1897, and was not expected to contribute decisively against the Turkish army. It was able to field only ca. 110,000 men during the first stages of the war, but it had a strong navy, which was vital to the League, as only it could prevent Turkish reinforcements from being rapidly transferred by ship from Asia to Europe.
The army, recently reorganized by a French military mission, was grouped upon mobilization in two Armies. The "Army of Thessaly", under Crown Prince Constantine, with Lt Gen Panagiotis Danglis as his chief of staff, fielded 7 infantry divisions, a cavalry brigade and 4 independent Evzones battalions, equalling roughly 100,000 men. It was expected to overcome the fortified Turkish border positions and advance towards western and central Macedonia, aiming to take Salonica.
Further 10,000 to 13,000 men in 8 battalions, were assigned to the "Army of Epirus" under Lt Gen Konstantinos Sapountzakis, which was intended to advance into Epirus. As it had no hope of capturing its heavily fortified capital, Ioannina, its initial mission was simply to occupy the Turkish forces there until sufficient reinforcements could be sent from the Army of Thessaly after its successful conclusion of operations. The Greek Navy, in the meantime, was expected to seize the islands of the Aegean Sea that were still under Ottoman rule and secure naval supremacy. The "Fleet of the Aegean", under Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, was assiged this task, and deployed 3 ageing battleships, the brand-new cruiser Averof and 7 destroyers. Small task forces of destroyers and torpedo boats were assigned to scour the Aegean and Ionian seas of small Ottoman vessels. Greece joined with Serbia.
[edit] Montenegro
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After completing mobilization in the first week of October, Montenegro fielded 35,000 men organized in 4 divisions, each of 3 brigades. Their nominal commander-in-chief was King Nicholas, with effective command in the hands of his chief of staff, General Lazarović. The main war aim was the capture of the important city of Skadar, while secondary operations were to be carried out in Novi Pazar.
[edit] Ottoman Empire
Ottoman war aims were to protect what European possessions the could from the forces allied against them. The Ottomans' military capabilities were hampered by instability caused by the Young Turk Revolution and the counterrevolutionary coup several months later (see Countercoup (1909) and 31 March Incident). Ottoman forces in Thrace and Macedonia were poorly paid and equipped due to the turmoil and furthermore had been subject to attacks from partisans funded by all three of the young Balkan states.
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[edit] Operations
Montenegro started the First Balkan War by declaring war against the Ottomans on September 25 (O.S.)/October 8, 1912.
The first great battles were at the Adrianople - Kirk Kilisse defensive line. The Bulgarians defeated the Ottoman army near Gechkenli, Seliolu and Petra. The fortress of Adrianople was besieged and Kirk Kilisse was taken without resistance under the pressure of the Bulgarian Third Army.
The Bulgarian high command then decided to wait a few days, allowing the Turks to occupy defensive positions on the Luleburgaz-Karaagach-Bunarhisar line. Despite this, the initial Bulgarian attack by First and Third Army defeated the Turkish forces, numbering some 130,000, and reached the Sea of Marmara. But the Turks, with the aid of fresh reinforcements from the Asian provinces, established their third and strongest defensive position at the Chataldja Line, across the peninsula where Constantinople is located.
The Greek army advanced towards Thessaloniki from the south, and after successfully overcoming Ottoman opposition at Sarantaporo and Giannitsa, the city and its garrison surrendered to the Greeks on October 27 (O.S.)/November 9. At the same time, the Bulgarians had dispatched their 7th 'Rila' division from the north in the direction of the city, but arrived there a day after its surrender.
On November 4/17, the Bulgarians launched their attack on the Chataldja Line, but were repulsed. In the same time, the Greeks had begun transferring several divisions from Macedonia to Epirus. Gen Sapountzakis was replaced by Prince Constantine, who supervised the siege of Ioannina.
An armistice was agreed on November 20/December 3 between the Ottomans and Bulgaria, also representing Serbia and Montenegro and peace negotiations began in London. Greece also participated in the conference, but refused to agree to a truce, in order to continue its operations in the Epirus sector. But negotiations were interrupted, on January 23/February 9, when a Young Turk coup d'etat in Constantinople under Enver Pasha overthrew the government of Kiamil pasha. Upon expiration of the armistice, on February 16, hostilities recommenced.
New Turkish forces landed at Bulair and Şarköy but after heavy fighting they were crushed and overthrown by the newly formed 4th Bulgarian army under the command of General Stilian Kovachev. The offensive at Chataldja failed too.
On 11 March the final Bulgarian assault on Adrianople began. Under the command of General Vladimir Vazov the Bulgarians conquered the "untakable" city. At the same time, the Serbians and Montenegrins succeeded in taking Shkodra and the Greeks took Ioannina after overcoming the Turkish fortified positions at Bizani. On 17/30 May a peace treaty was signed between Turkey and the Balkan Alliance.
The Treaty of London ended the First Balkan War on May 17, 1913, but disputes over territory remained unresolved. As a result, the Second Balkan War immediately followed.
| Battles of the First Balkan War | ||||||||
| Name | Land/Sea | Attacking | Commander | Defending | Commander | Date | Winner | |
| Battle of Sarantaporo | Greeks | Crown Prince Constantine | Ottomans | Oct 22 1912 | Greeks | |||
| Battle of Giannitsa | Greeks | Crown Prince Constantine | Ottomans | Hasan Tahsin Pasha | Nov 1 1912 | Greeks | ||
| Battle of Kumanovo | Serbians | Gen Radomir Putnik (promoted to Vojvoda after the battle) | Ottomans | Gen Zekki-Pasha | Oct 23 1912 | Serbians | ||
| Battle of Kirk Kelesse | Bulgarians | Ottomans | Oct 24 1912 | Bulgarians | ||||
| Battle of Pente Pigadia | Greeks | Lt Gen Konstantinos Sapountzakis | Ottomans | Esat Pasha | Nov 6-12 1912 | Greeks | ||
| Battle of Prilep | Serbians | Ottomans | Nov 3 1912 | Serbians | ||||
| Battle of Lule-Burgas | Bulgarians | Ottomans | Oct 28-31 1912 | Bulgarians | ||||
| Battle of Vevi | Greeks | Ottomans | Nov 15 1912 | Ottomans | ||||
| Battle of Bitola | Serbians | Gen. Petar Bojović | Ottomans | Zekki-Pasha (Gen.) | Nov 16-19 1912 | Serbians | ||
| Naval Battle of Elli | Sea | Greeks | Rear Adm Pavlos Kountouriotis | Ottomans | Adm Ramiz Bey | Dec 16 1912 | Greeks | |
| Siege of Adrianople | Bulgarians & Serbians | Gen. Vladimir Vazov, Gen. Stepa Stepanovic | Ottomans | Gen Ghazi Shulkri Pasha | Nov 17-Dec 3 1912 (O.S.) | Bulgarians & Serbians | ||
| Naval Battle of Lemnos | Sea | Greeks | Rear Adm Pavlos Kountouriotis | Ottomans | Jan 18 1913 | Greeks | ||
| Battle of Bizani | Greeks | Crown Prince Constantine | Ottomans | Esat Pasha | Mar 5-6 1913 | Greeks | ||
