Prelude to the War

On May 20, 1882, Germany, Austria, and Italy signed the Treaty of Alliance in Vienna. The main content of the treaty: If Italy is attacked by France, Germany and Austria should give full assistance. If Germany suffers from French aggression, Italy also bears the same obligation. If one or two of the contracting states is attacked by two or more major powers (referring to France and Russia), the three contracting states shall fight together. Italy has a reservation to this: If Britain attacks Germany or Austria-Hungary, Italy will not be liable to assist its allies. When a large country (referring to Russia) attacks one of the contracting states, the other two contracting states should be neutral in good faith, that is, in the event of a war between Russia and Austria, Italy will be conservative and neutral. The treaty was valid for 5 years, and it was renewed 4 times in 1887, 1891, 1902, and 1912, and some obligation clauses were added.

Chentian has always held an attitude of strong contempt for the second and fifth boys like Italy. However, it was precisely because of this alliance and the secret covenant between Germany and Turkey's Kemal regime in 1910, when Italy in 1911 used the pretext of unfair treatment of Italians in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica as an excuse for Turkey. When the government issued an ultimatum threatening to invade the above-mentioned areas, the German government actively mediated it. In view of the fact that Turkey's military strength still needs some time to recover, and the above-mentioned areas are isolated overseas, once the war breaks out, it is almost impossible to send troops to support from the homeland. At the same time, the Balkan region is full of crises. Ceded to Italy, the war between Italy and Turkey in the original history was finally avoided.

After the establishment of the Turkish Democratic Republic in 1910, Kemal has been committed to strengthening economic construction and stabilizing the domestic contradictions of various ethnic groups, but Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro demanded separation from Turkish rule, which he and Turkey could not compromise. In the autumn of 1912, the Balkan Alliance formed by Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro and the Turkish government broke out for the first Balkan War.

At the beginning of the war, the first anti-Turkish uprisings broke out in Albania and Macedonia. Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece asked Turkey to grant autonomy to Macedonia and Thrace. The Turkish government rejected this request and began to mobilize the army, and the Balkan Alliance declared war on Turkey. Montenegro, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece also took action. They mobilized 950,000 troops, more than 700,000 soldiers, 1,500 artillery pieces, 4 battleships, 3 cruisers, 8 destroyers, and 11 gunboats of the Greek Navy.

Turkey mobilized 850,000 troops, about 400,000 soldiers, 1,200 artillery, 30 aircraft, 3 battleships, 1 cruiser, 8 destroyers, and 5 German submarines.

Under the leadership of the Kemal government and the training of German instructors, the morale and equipment of the Turkish army have been improved to a certain extent. The Balkan allies have a great advantage in the number of troops. At the same time, inspired by the goals of the national liberation struggle, their military morale is high.

The Bulgarian army is composed of three group armies in the direction of Istanbul, Serbia's main force is against the Turkish army's group in Macedonia, Greece's Fasalia and Ipilus are preparing to deal with Salonika and Yanina respectively. , The Greek navy should take action against the Turkish navy to ensure the allied power in the Mediterranean Sea. The task of the Montenegrin army is to cooperate with the Serbian army to fight in Macedonia. The Allied forces formed a siege to the Turkish army, preparing to defeat the Turkish army in the Balkans before the arrival of the Turkish reinforcements.

The Turkish Command Headquarters tried to take active actions to stop the Allied attack before the reinforcements arrived. Turkey considers Bulgaria to be the most dangerous enemy, so it develops its main group to deal with the Bulgarian army. The Montenegrin army and the Serbian Ibar unit fought together against the Turkish army in northern Thrace and northern Albania.

In October, the Bulgarian army crossed the border of the conservancy and advanced to the south, and fought fiercely with the Turkish army. The Turkish army was at a disadvantage and retreated after the battle. They built a fortified line of defense in Edirne, 150 kilometers west of Istanbul. The Bulgarian army launched a fierce attack on the defense line in November, but it was repelled by Kemal's People's Army. The Bulgarian army suffered heavy casualties and was unable to continue the attack.

In Macedonia, the Turkish army launched an offensive against the Serbian First Army in October, but was repelled, and the Turkish army then turned to defense. Soon after, the Serbian army groups launched a general offensive. Its 2nd army carried out an assault to the southwest, posing a threat to the right wing of the Turkish army group; the 1st army launched an offensive on Kumanovo and occupied the area at the end of October; Skopje carried out a wing assault and conquered it. The Serbian army quickly advanced south, and in mid-November coordinated with the Greek forces to attack Bitoli. The Turkish army group in Macedonia began a full retreat. The Serbian Army Corps entered the Adriatic coast and surrounded Shkoder with the Montenegrin army. The Greek army swept the Turkish army in Epirus and surrounded Anina. In southern Macedonia, the Greek army won near Yenij in November and launched an offensive on Thessaloniki, but the Turkish army resisted stubbornly and ultimately failed to capture the birthplace of Kemal.

On December 1, Albania declared independence.

The victory of the Balkan Alliance is not in the interests of the powers. Therefore, while supporting the Balkan countries, Russia was worried that the arrival of the Bulgarian army in Istanbul would be detrimental to the settlement of the Black Sea Strait issue. As Turkey's secret ally, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire do not want Turkey's power to suffer too much. Under pressure from the great powers, Turkey signed armistice agreements with Bulgaria and Serbia in December 1912, and the ambassadors of the warring countries began negotiations on the terms of the peace treaty in London. In February 1913, the first Balkan War ended with the signing of the London Peace Treaty. According to this treaty, Turkey lost most of its territory in Europe.

In May 1913, Serbia, which lost its mouth to the Adriatic Sea, demanded Macedonia to pay compensation. Greece also hopes to expand its territory at the expense of Bulgaria, and Romania puts forward a territorial claim on Dobrogea to Bulgaria. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany tried to undermine the influence of the Allied Powers in the Balkans and intervened in it, which accelerated the outbreak of the Second Balkan War. Under the instigation of the German-Austrian Alliance, Bulgaria took military action against the Serbian and Greek forces in Macedonia in May 1913. The offensive of the various armies of the Bao army was blocked. The Serbian army counterattacked and broke through the position of the 4th Army. The fighting lasted until July. The Bao army was forced to retreat. In July, Romania went to war against Bulgaria. The Romanian army occupied Dobrogea and pushed the main force to Sofia without encountering any resistance. Subsequently, Turkey tore up the 1913 London Peace Treaty, fought with the Bulgarian army, and advanced along the coast to Varna. Under the threat of a total defeat, Bulgaria declared its surrender at the end of July. According to the Bucharest Peace Treaty signed in August 1913, Bulgaria lost most of the territory it had recovered. In September 1913, the Peace Treaty of Constantinople signed between Bulgaria and Turkey forced Bulgaria to cede its southern territories, including the port of Burgas, to Turkey.

The two Balkan wars reorganized the military forces in the Balkans. Romania broke away from the three-pass alliance in 1882 and approached the Allies, and Bulgaria and Turkey joined the German-Austrian alliance. The Balkan War has led to further intensification of international conflicts, and the prelude to the war has already sounded...