History of the Balkans. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Türkiye from the formation of the state to the First World War

The history of the Balkans covers the formation, development and foreign and domestic policies of five states - Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania and Turkey. Considering the territorial and political entities on the peninsula, the authors trace the origin and formation of the national composition of the countries, their Christianization, periods of rise, strengthening, decline, expansion and revival again under the rule of various sovereigns, periods of revolutions and wars up to the First World War.

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by liters company.

Bulgaria

The arrival of the Bulgarians on the Balkan Peninsula 600-700.

The advance of the Bulgarians to the Balkan Peninsula and all their movements, until they finally settled there in the 7th century, are shrouded in the darkness of the unknown. They were first mentioned in ancient and Armenian sources in 482. It is reported that they roamed the Black Sea steppes along with other Asian tribes. Some researchers have suggested that at the end of the 5th century. and throughout the 6th century. they were mistaken for the Huns and later for the Avars during their frequent incursions into the eastern part of the empire, which have already been mentioned. Bulgarian scientists point out with some contempt the fact that the history of Russia begins only in the 9th century. They tend to exaggerate the antiquity of the history of their own country and name the extremely early date of the possible appearance of their ancestors in the kaleidoscope of scenes of the Balkan theater. They do not want to admit that the Bulgarians were preceded by the Slavs; they prefer to think that the Slavs appeared on the peninsula thanks to the energetic offensive actions of the Bulgarians against the Greeks, and as soon as the Bulgarians got a break and looked around, they saw that all the best places were already voluntarily occupied by the Slavs.

Of course, it is very difficult to give a definite answer to the question whether the Bulgarians were present or not in the chaos of constant migrations of Asian peoples that swept Europe, with a short break at the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries. But even if they were then, they settled somewhere south of the Danube no earlier than this era. It is certain that this could not have happened earlier than the 7th century, despite the fact that the Slavs undoubtedly settled on the Balkan Peninsula a century earlier than the Bulgarians, before they crossed the Danube.

Like their predecessors the Huns and Avars, the Bulgarians, and the Hungarians and Turks who followed them, were tribes from East Asia who were a branch of the Mongol or Tatar people. They all migrated from Asia westward to Europe. This movement of countless people occurred at considerable intervals starting around the 4th century. and continuing until the 14th century. The distances were enormous, but the steppes lying on the path of the nomads Southern Russia, treeless, covered with thick grass, with sufficient supplies of water, made it possible to move easily. Nomads often made long stops. A significant number of Bulgarians settled on the Volga, at the confluence of the Kama River. In the 5th century Great or White Bulgaria arose there. These Bulgarians later merged with the Tatars, who immigrated from Asia, and created the powerful Kazan Khanate, which only Tsar Ivan IV managed to crush in 1552. According to views Bulgarian historians, the Volga and Don basins and the steppes of Eastern Russia provided the Bulgarian tribe with insufficient space for the effective application of their energy, and they decided to move further to the west. Nevertheless, a significant number of Bulgarians separated and began moving to the southwest. In the VI century. they probably settled in the Northern Black Sea region and formed a colony called Black Bulgaria. It is rather doubtful that the Bulgarians are said to have taken part in the daring but unsuccessful raid on Constantinople in 559 under the command of Zabergan, the leader of one of the Tatar tribes. However, there is no doubt that the Bulgarians participated together with the Slavs and Avars in equally grandiose, but also unsuccessful campaigns against Thessaloniki in 609 and Constantinople in 626.

In the last quarter of the 6th - beginning of the 7th century. The various branches of the Bulgarian people, spreading from the Volga to the Danube, were united under the leadership of Khan Kubrat, who fought on the side of the Greeks (Eastern Romans) against the Avars, and was then baptized in Constantinople. The power of the Bulgarians grew, and the role of the Avars fell, but after the death of Kubrat in 665, the Khanate was divided between his sons. One of them began to rule in Pannonia, where his warriors united with the surviving Avars. The Bulgarians lived there until the Hungarian invasion in 893 and were defeated by them. Another son, Asparukh, or Isperikh, settled in 640 in Bessarabia between the Prut and the Dniester, and a few years later migrated to the south. His successor after 660, leading sporadic fighting with Constantinople, finally defeated the Greeks, who at that time were at war with the Arabs, captured Varna and finally established his rule between the Danube and the Balkan ridge. From that time on, the Danube was no longer the border of the Eastern Roman Empire.

It is not known how many Bulgarians settled south of the Danube, but what happened to them is generally known. They repeated the fate of the Franks, the conquerors of Gaul, who were assimilated by the larger local population. The Bulgarians disappeared into the Slavs. The merger was so complete and the influence of the conquered people so strong that no traces of the Bulgarian Turkic language remained, with the exception of only a few surviving proper names. The modern Bulgarian language, which included a certain number of Turkish words during Turkish rule, is purely Slavic. The situation was different with the Bulgarian nationality. As is often the case with half-breeds, this nation, in comparison with the Serbs, who are purebred Slavs, is characterized by energy, cohesion and assertiveness. However, it must be assumed that her problems were immeasurably simpler.

The initial period of the formation of the Bulgarian state and the adoption of Christianity 700-893.

From the time of their establishment in the country to which the Bulgarians gave their name, this people became a thorn in the side of the Greeks, and since then both peoples have looked upon each other as natural and hereditary enemies. The Bulgarians, as was the case with all barbarian tribes before them, were attracted by the treasures of Constantinople. And although they never managed to capture it, they never gave up trying to achieve this.

For two centuries after the death of Asparukh around 700, the Bulgarians waged constant wars with the Greeks and used weapons to sort things out among themselves. It also happened like in 718, when the Bulgarians, responding to the call of Emperor Leo, came to the aid of the Greeks and saved Constantinople from the Arabs who besieged the city for the third time. From about this time, the Bulgarian monarchy, which was hereditary, became elective; and the anarchy of the crowd, which the Bulgarians encountered when they arrived in their new habitat, and which their rulers, representatives of the nobility, were able to counteract, gave way to the anarchy of individuals. One khan replaced another, war followed war. Everything depended on the will of the feudal nobility. These civil strifes naturally played into the hands of the Greeks, who generously helped the rival parties.

At the end of the 8th century. The Bulgarians who settled south of the Danube united with the Bulgarians who lived north of it in order to push back the Avars, who, defeated by Charlemagne, again began to advance southeast, towards the Danube. In the war with the Avars, the Bulgarians under the leadership of Khan Krum were completely successful. Buoyed by their victory, they immediately placed Krum on the throne, who was a more capable ruler than they had imagined. He not only united the Bulgarians north and south of the Danube into a single union, but also brought the headstrong nobility into submission and restored autocracy and a hereditary monarchy. Having dealt with the enemies in the north, he turned his attention to the Greeks, against whom he had no less success. In 809, Krum conquered from the Greeks the important city of Sofia (in Roman Serdika, in Slavic Sredets), currently the capital of Bulgaria. The loss of this city was a blow to the Greeks, since it was a major center of trade, where the strategic and trade routes of the peninsula crossed. Emperor Nikephoros, wanting to take revenge and return his lost possessions, was completely defeated by the Bulgarians and died in 811 on one of the Balkan mountain passes. Following subsequent victories at the battles of Mesembria (modern Nessebar) in 812 and Adrianople in 812, Krum appeared near Constantinople, where he was nearly killed in an ambush while negotiating peace. In 814, during preparations for the final attack on Constantinople, he suddenly died. It cannot be said that Krum civilized Bulgaria, but, in any case, he made the country more powerful and left behind more developed governing bodies. Under him, a code of laws was drawn up that was particularly strict, which was, without a doubt, necessary for the Bulgarians and, as a result of its application, beneficial for them. Krum put an end to internecine wars, which contributed to the prosperity of trade and agriculture. His heir, whose identity is unknown, founded in 822 in Eastern Bulgaria between Varna and Silistria the city of Preslav (called Pereyaslav by the Russians), which was the capital of the country until 972.

The reign of Tsar Boris (852–888) was glorious: Bulgaria and its ruler finally converted to Christianity. It was during this period that the active educational activities of the two great “Slavic” missionaries and apostles, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, who are considered by all Slavs of the Orthodox faith to be enlighteners, took place. Of course, Christianity penetrated into Bulgaria (then Moesia) long before the Slavs and Bulgarians arrived here, but the barbarian hordes that rolled in one after another did not, naturally, favor its growth. The conversion to Orthodoxy of Tsar Boris in 865 (or 864) (due in large part to the influence of his sister), who had spent many years as a prisoner in Constantinople, was a triumph for Byzantium and the Greeks. Despite the fact that the Church was then nominally united, the rivalry between Rome and Constantinople had already become quite serious and a struggle began for the division of spheres of spiritual influence. In 863, the Prince of Moravia, who sought to introduce Christianity into the country in a form understandable to his subjects, personally turned to the Byzantine (East Roman) Emperor Michael III for help. Rome could not provide suitable missionaries with knowledge of Slavic languages, and the German, or more precisely, Bavarian, hierarchs, to whom Rome entrusted the spiritual care of the Slavs of Moravia and Pannonia, used their knowledge of local conditions for political rather than religious purposes. The Germans, exploiting their ecclesiastical influence, tried to completely subjugate the Slavs politically, and as a result the latter were allowed to look at the Church only through “Teutonic glasses.”

In response to the appeal of the Moravian prince, the Eastern Roman emperor sent two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, who were Greeks from Thessaloniki who knew Slavic languages ​​well. They created the Slavic alphabet, which is used in our time in Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro and in many areas of Austria-Hungary, and translated the Gospels into the Slavic language. It is for this reason that they are treated with such reverence by all members of the Eastern Church. Their mission was a great success (it must be remembered that at that time the various Slavic languages ​​were perhaps more similar than modern ones), and both brothers were warmly received in Rome by Pope Adrian II, who formally allowed, for the benefit of the Slavs, the celebration of the liturgy in Slavic (significant permission confirmed by Pope John VIII). The triumph, however, was short-lived; St. Cyril died in 869, and St. Methodius - in 885. Subsequent popes, especially Stephen V, were not so sympathetic to the Slavic question; it was impossible to resist the machinations of the German church hierarchy(which, even in those days, involved falsifying documents). And finally, the invasion of the Hungarians in 893 put an end to the remnants of the Slavic Church in Moravia. Missionary brothers may have passed through Bulgaria in 863 on their journey north, but did not stop there. Many of their students, expelled from the Moravian Principality by the Germans, went south and took refuge in Bulgaria in 886; and there, in more favorable conditions, they continued the work of their mentors. Tsar Boris considered that it was easier for him to accept Christianity himself than to force all his subjects to do the same. Even when he showed his will towards the rebellious boyars and executed many of them, he was only at the very beginning the hard way. The Greeks were happy with the new flock in the person of the Bulgarians, but they did not want the formation of an independent autocephalous Church and episcopate in Bulgaria, seeing them as their rival. On the other hand, Boris, no doubt filled with genuine spiritual zeal, was primarily impressed by the power and glory that the basileus (Eastern Roman emperors) received from the Church of Constantinople. He also admired the pomp of church worship and wanted to have his own patriarch who would crown him, and his own bishops who would serve him. Having received no response from the Greeks, he turned to Rome, and Pope Nicholas I sent him two bishops to conduct church affairs in Bulgaria while the Holy See was preparing the investiture of Boris. These bishops zealously set to work, replaced the Greek language of worship with Latin and brought Bulgaria under the complete influence of Rome. But when it was discovered that Boris intended to create an independent Church, their enthusiasm died down, and in 867 they were recalled to Rome.

Pope Adrian II lost interest in the matter; and during the reign of Emperor Basil I, it was decided without fanfare that the Bulgarian church should be subject to the Patriarch of Constantinople. This was stated on the basis that the kingdom of Boris was a vassal state of Byzantium, and from its point of view, contrary to the view of Rome, the state comes first, and the church comes second. In Moravia, Gorazd, a disciple of Methodius, was appointed metropolitan. After his death, the department was occupied by his compatriot and also a student of the Slavic teacher Clement. He built many churches and monasteries, thereby achieving much in the enlightenment of Bulgaria. The transfer of the Bulgarian Church to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, that is, the Byzantine (East Roman) Church, was an important matter and had far-reaching consequences. Boris was reproached for having succumbed to the influence of the Greeks and making the country dependent on them, but at that time the choice was simple - either Constantinople or Rome (there was no third way). In view of the proximity of Constantinople and the brilliance of its civilization, which influenced the entire Balkan Peninsula, it is not surprising that the choice was made in favor of the Greeks (Romans).

Formation and fall of the first Bulgarian kingdom 893-972.

During the reign of Simeon, the second son of Boris, which lasted from 893 to 927, Bulgaria achieved its greatest power and prosperity. The Bulgarians considered Simeon, nicknamed the Great, the most outstanding monarch, and his reign as the most brilliant period of their history. He spent his childhood in Constantinople and was educated there; he became such an admirer of Greek civilization that he received the nickname Emyargos (Half-Greek). His teachers did such a good job that Simeon was fascinated by Constantinople for the rest of his life. And although he laid the foundations of a strong empire in the Balkans, his only aspiration was to conquer Byzantium and become basileus, which never came true. His first war against the Greeks was not successful in all respects, because the latter turned for help to the Hungarians who had settled in Pannonia, and they attacked Simeon from the north. Simeon responded by calling on the Pechenegs, a ferocious (nomadic) tribe, for help, but this ended with them settling in Romania. During the twenty years of peace, which, oddly enough, fell in the middle of his reign and lasted from 894 to 913, Bulgaria developed successfully. The country received reliable governance, trade was encouraged, and agriculture flourished. In the second war with the Greeks, which took place in the last years of his reign, he enjoyed greater success. Simeon inflicted a serious defeat on them at Anchial in 917, but still he could not get what he wanted from them. Finally, in 921, he declared himself basileus And autocrat all Bulgarians and Greeks; however, no one recognized his new title. Simeon appeared near Constantinople in the same year, but achieved nothing, only, as usual, devastated its surroundings. In 923, a solemn reconciliation took place between Rome and Constantinople; the Greeks were smart enough to prevent Rome's legates from visiting Bulgaria on their way back. Simeon, who longed to meet them and establish direct relations with Rome, received a decisive refusal from the legates. In the same year, Simeon attempted to form an alliance with the Arabs, but the Arab envoys were intercepted by the Greeks, who convinced them not to continue their journey to Bulgaria.

In 924, Simeon made another super-effort in the fight against Constantinople. First he ravaged Macedonia and Thrace. When, however, he approached the capital of the empire and, fearing to storm the walls and be attacked by catapults, entered into negotiations, the Greeks, as usual, abandoned them and he received no reward for all his hopes and preparations. In the west, his troops fought more successfully, and he established his dominance over most of the territory of Eastern Serbia. Judging by his actions, it can be concluded that he was not a diplomat, although he did not lack enterprise and ambition. The point was that, although he created a strong state to force the Greeks to obey (they were even forced to pay him tribute), still Constantinople with its insurmountable walls, a well-organized army, a powerful navy and crafty and experienced statesmen was for Simeon is too tough a nut to crack.

Simeon significantly expanded the borders of his country, and most of the interior regions of the Balkan Peninsula south of the Danube and east of the Morava and Ibar rivers in Serbia and the Drin River in Albania came under his rule. The Byzantine Church greatly increased its influence in Bulgaria during his reign, and various works on theology grew like mushrooms after rain. This was the only type of literature that was popular in Bulgaria, and we would know very little about Bulgaria if not for the work of Greek historians.

Simeon died in 927, and his son Peter, who succeeded him, was a peaceful man who loved comfort; he married a Byzantine princess, and during his reign (927–969) Greek influence greatly increased, despite several rebellions raised by the Bulgarian nobility. The capital Preslav became Constantinople in miniature. In 927, Rome recognized the kingdom and the Bulgarian patriarchate, and Peter was crowned papal legate. The Greeks looked at this with displeasure and continued to call Peter only autocrat and prince, the greatest title awarded to each sovereign. Only in 945 did they recognize Peter basileus; Only Byzantine emperors were given such a title, and until that time not a single ruler had been granted to them. Peter's reign was unsuccessful for the country, both in internal and external affairs. In 931, the Serbs, under their leader Caslav, freed themselves from Bulgarian rule. Simeon once captured him, but he escaped and achieved independence for his country. In 963, a great uprising led by a certain Shishman shook the entire state. He managed to wrest Macedonia and all of Western Bulgaria, including Sofia and Vidin, from Peter’s rule, and proclaimed himself king (title Caesar, or tsar, in Byzantium it was often granted to relatives of the emperor or distinguished figures of Greek and other nationalities, and although initially this was the highest title, it has long ceased to be such; the emperor was called basileus And autocrat). From that time on, two Bulgarias began to exist - Eastern and Western. The eastern part of the country was just a province of Byzantium, and Western Bulgaria became the center of national life and the focus of national aspirations.

Another factor that hindered the development of the country was the Bogomil (Bogumil) heresy, which spread in the 10th century. This unusual doctrine was based on the dualism of the Paulicians, who became an influential political force in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the Balkans it was preached by a certain Jeremiah Bogumil, about whom nothing was known except his name. He made Philippopolis the center of his negative activities. After a while, it was already difficult to use force against them. The Bogumils did not recognize either the power of the Church or the state, or the validity of the oath, or social laws. They refused to pay taxes and obey authorities and from conscription for military service. They permitted theft, but regarded any form of punishment as unjustifiable; They denied marriage and were strict vegetarians. Naturally, such a heresy, frightening in its individualism, shook the still unformed Bulgarian society to its foundations. Be that as it may, it spread, despite all the persecution, very rapidly; and her popularity among the Bulgarians and, of course, among all the Slavs of the peninsula, was no doubt partly due to political reasons. The episcopate of the Greek Church, which supported the ruling classes of the country and sanctified their power, and at the same time strengthened its own, aroused sharp rejection among the Slavs; Nationalist views and the intolerance towards the domination of the Church, always inherent in the Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula, gave additional strength to the Bogumil heresy. But neither the civil nor the church authorities were able to cope with the problem. They could only minimize its influence, and the heresy was never eradicated until the appearance on the stage of the history of Islam, which was as attractive to schismatics as the well-established Orthodox Church is hated.

In the third quarter of the 10th century, under Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, a great revival of the rule of Constantinople took place. The emperor conquered Cyprus and Crete from the Arabs and ushered in an era of prosperity for the Eastern Roman Empire, giving its development a new impetus. Wanting to restore the supremacy of the Greeks on the Balkan Peninsula, he first of all refused to pay tribute to the Bulgarians in 966; his second initiative was to organize a new campaign against them, but in order for his enterprise to achieve success with less expense and be more reliable, he established cooperation with the Russians under the leadership of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. His mother Olga visited Constantinople in 957 and was baptized (despite the fact that her son and the majority of the people remained zealous pagans). Trade relations between Russia and Constantinople, carried out along the Dnieper and the Black Sea, were quite lively at that time. Svyatoslav did not hesitate and, arriving on ships with an army of 60 thousand people, defeated Eastern Bulgaria in a few days in 968; The Russians were helped by Shishman and the Western Bulgarians, without thinking about what price was paid for the defeat of Peter and the Eastern Bulgarians. Svyatoslav was recalled to Rus' in 968 to protect Kyiv from the Pecheneg invasion. But, having finished with them, he decided to return to Bulgaria, attracted by its riches and fueled by the hope of capturing Constantinople.

Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas realized the danger that threatened him due to his own actions and made a futile attempt to conclude an alliance with Eastern Bulgaria. However, the Bulgarian prince Peter died in January 969, and in December of the same year, Emperor Nikephoros II Phocas was assassinated by the ambitious John Tzimiskes (John the Less), originally from Armenia, who henceforth became Emperor John I. Svyatoslav, in the absence of resistance from his enemies , returned and in March 970 captured and plundered Philippopolis. Emperor John I Tzimisces, a more talented commander and diplomat than his predecessor, quietly prepared for war and did not encounter the Russians until the fall, when he utterly defeated them at Arcadiopolis (modern Lüleburgaz). The Russians retreated north of the Balkan Mountains, but the Greeks continued their pursuit. John Tzimiskes besieged them in the capital Preslav, storming and destroying most of the garrison in April 972. Svyatoslav and the surviving soldiers retreated to Silistria (Durostorum of the time of Trajan) on the Danube, where they were again besieged and defeated by the never-weary emperor. Finally, peace was concluded in July 971. The Russians were allowed to leave. The adventurous Svyatoslav fell at the hands of the Pechenegs on his way back to Kyiv. The triumph of the Greeks was complete, and it was difficult to imagine that anything remained of clay Bulgaria after the violent collision of two iron vessels on its surface. Eastern Bulgaria (Moesia and Thrace) ceased to exist, becoming an ordinary Greek province. John I Tzimiskes made a triumphal entry into Constantinople, followed by two sons of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter on foot; the eldest was deprived of royal regalia and became magistros, the younger - a eunuch.

The formation and fall of the Western Bulgarian kingdom and the era of Greek domination 963-1186.

Since Western Bulgaria was not affected by the fighting, it was from Silistria (Dorostol) that the Bulgarian Patriarch Damian went there after the Greek victory, stopping first in Sofia and then going to Ohrid in Macedonia, which the traitor Shishman made his capital. Western Bulgaria included Macedonia and parts of Thessaly, Albania, Southern and Eastern Serbia and the westernmost regions of modern Bulgaria. It was here that numerous anti-Greek uprisings began after the death of Emperor John I Tzimisces in 976. The uprising culminated during the reign of Samuel (977–1014), one of Shishman's sons. This ruler was gifted and energetic, but also inhuman and unprincipled, as his position required. He began by killing all his relatives and some members of the nobility who did not support his decision to restore the absolute monarchy. The Holy See recognized him as king in 981, and he began a war with the Greeks - the only possible occupation for any self-respecting Bulgarian ruler. The emperor at that time was Basil II (976–1025), who was brave and patriotic, but young and inexperienced. During his first campaigns, Samuel achieved everything he wanted: in 985 he conquered Northern Bulgaria, in 986 - Thessaly and in the same year defeated Vasily II near Sofia. Later he conquered Albania and the southern regions of Serbia and modern territories Montenegro and Herzegovina. In 996, he began to threaten Thessaloniki, but first decided to put his army on ships and make an expedition against the Peloponnese. Here the Greek (Eastern Roman) commander, following him, unexpectedly attacked him and defeated him. Samuel and his son barely escaped with their lives.

Happiness began to betray him in 996, the Greeks again occupied Northern Bulgaria in 999 and regained Thessaly and part of Macedonia. Almost every year Vasily II attacked the Bulgarians, the country lay in ruins and could no longer resist. The final catastrophe erupted in 1014, when Basil II completely defeated his treacherous enemy in a mountain pass near Strumica in Macedonia. Samuel fled to Prilep. But when he saw his returned 15 thousand. army, all the soldiers of which, after being captured, were blinded by the Greeks, he died from the blow. Basil II, known as the Bulgarian Slayer, went from victory to victory and finally, in 1016, occupied the Bulgarian capital Ohrid. Western Bulgaria ended its existence, repeating the fate of Eastern Bulgaria that fell in 972. The rest of the royal family followed the emperor to the Bosporus, to an honorable conclusion. The triumph of Constantinople was complete.

Bulgaria, as an independent state, did not exist from 1018 to 1186. Vasily II, although cruel, was not in the least degree a tyrant towards the Bulgarians, and treated the conquered territory more as a protectorate than as his possession. But after his death, Greek rule became more difficult. The Bulgarian Patriarchate (existed since 972 in Ohrid) was reduced to an archbishopric; and in 1025 the department was occupied by the Greeks, who hastened to remove the Bulgarians from all important posts in the diocese. Many noble Bulgarians were sent to Constantinople, where they were given honorary titles, which should have made them forget about further resistance. In the 11th century The Balkan Peninsula was often invaded by the Pechenegs and Cumans (Cumans), whom both the Greeks and the Bulgarians called to their aid. Their raids did not always bring benefit to the inviting party. Barbarians tended to stay for long periods of time and deal a lot of damage. Often, some of them settled as unwanted settlers.

The ethnic map of the Balkan Peninsula thus became increasingly variegated. The colonies of Armenians and Vlachs founded by imperial decrees were added to the nomadic settlers. The final touch was put on the map by the Normans who invaded here in 1081 and the crusaders who crossed the peninsula in 1096. The widespread robberies on the part of the latter led to the fact that the inhabitants of the Balkans could hardly be sympathetic to the cause of the participants in the Crusades. One of the consequences of all these turbulent events and the heavy oppression of the Greeks was the rapid spread of the Bogumil heresy. She became a refuge for feelings of patriotism, in her he found his way out. Emperor Alexius I Komnenos (reigned 1081–1118) brutally persecuted the Bogumils, which only led to the growth of their ranks and the rapid advancement of the doctrine from their center to the west into Serbia.

The reason for the final overthrow of the Bulgarian monarchy was undoubtedly national disunity and the lack of an organizing principle. Lasting success could only be achieved by an extremely gifted ruler who could put an end to the centrifugal tendencies of the feudal nobility; Simeon and Samuel were a clear example of this. Other unfavorable factors were the Byzantine influence on the Church and the state, the lack of a permanent large army, the spread of the anarchic Bogumil heresy and, of course, the fact that the majority of the Slavic population did not want to participate in conquests and fight for national greatness.

The rise and fall of the second Bulgarian kingdom 1186-1258.

From 1186 to 1258 Bulgaria experienced a temporary revival. Its brevity was more than compensated for by the many significant events that happened during this period. Greek oppression and violent exactions led to a Bulgarian uprising, the center of which was Tarnovo on the Yantra River in Northern Bulgaria. It was a natural stronghold of strategic importance, which allowed control of several of the most important passes of the Balkan Mountains. This uprising coincided with the growing weakening of the Eastern Roman Empire, which, surrounded on all sides by enemies - Cumans (Cumans), Saracens (Arabs), Turks and Normans, was experiencing a severe crisis that preceded its collapse. The uprising was led by two brothers who were Wallachian shepherds. The rebels were blessed by Archbishop Vasily, who crowned one of the brothers, Ivan Asen, as king in Tarnovo in 1186. Their initial actions against the Greeks were not successful. But, having secured support from the Serbs under the leadership of Stefan Nemanja in 1188 and the Crusaders in 1189, they managed to somewhat improve their position. However, the Greeks still had enough strength, and Bulgarian victories alternated with defeats. In 1196, John Asen I was killed, and after long internal strife and a series of murders, he was succeeded by his relative Kaloyan, or Ivan the Handsome. This cruel and unprincipled, although decisive, ruler soon put an end to all enemies within the country and in eight years achieved such success in foreign policy that Bulgaria almost restored its former borders. Moreover, he restored relations with Rome, much to the displeasure of the Greeks, and as a result of negotiations, Pope Innocent III recognized Kaloyan as the king of the Bulgarians and Vlachs (according to Villehardouin), and Basil as the ecclesiastical head of the country. In 1204, celebrations of the coronation of Kaloyan and the dedication of Vasily as papal legate took place in Tarnovo. The French, who settled in Constantinople during the 4th Crusade, recklessly, instead of becoming allies, became enemies of Kaloyan, and he, with the help of the Cumans (Cumans), inflicted several defeats on them, capturing Baldwin I and brutally dealing with him. But in 1207 life path Kaloyan's life was cut short - he was killed during the siege of Thessaloniki by one of his commanders, who had a close relationship with his wife. After 11 years of anarchy, John Asen P. became king. During his reign, which lasted from 1218 to 1241, Bulgaria reached the pinnacle of its power. He was the most enlightened of all the rulers of the country, and he led not only successful wars with its external enemies, but also put an end to strife in the country itself. The prerequisites for the development of agriculture and trade appeared again. The king encouraged the founding of numerous schools and monasteries. He adhered to the traditions of his family and therefore made Tarnovo the capital of his country, which under him grew and was decorated with new buildings.

Constantinople at this time was famous for three Greek emperors and one French. First of all, John Asen II got rid of one of them - Theodore, who proclaimed himself basileus in 1223 in Ohrid. Following this, he annexed to his dominions all of Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus and made his brother Manuel, who married one of his daughters, co-ruler with residence in Thessaloniki. Another of his daughters married Stefan Vladislav, who was king of Serbia in 1233–1243, and the third in 1235 became the wife of Theodore, the son of Emperor John III, who ruled in Nicaea. Previously, Emperor Baldwin II the Younger sought the hand of this daughter, and French feudal lords even came to Constantinople for her, but preference was still given to the daughter of the King of Jerusalem. John Asen II was deeply hurt by the refusal, which prompted him to draw closer to the Greeks, with whom he entered into an alliance in 1234. John Asen II and his ally Emperor John III were, however, utterly defeated by the French under the walls of Constantinople in 1236, and the Bulgarian ruler, not wanting to see the Greeks reassert their power in Constantinople, began to doubt his decision to enter into an alliance with them . Other Bulgarian kings were also unprincipled, but all foreign policy this king was based on betrayal. John Asen II betrayed the Greeks and entered into an alliance in 1237 with the French. Pope Gregory IX, a great Greekphobe, threatened him with excommunication. The Bulgarian king forced his daughter to leave her Greek husband. The next year he again defected to the Greeks; then fear of the pope and his brother-in-law the king of Hungary pushed him to go over to the side of Baldwin II, to whom he came to help in the fight against the Greeks with a large army in 1239 in Thrace. While waging a war with the Greeks there with varying success, he learned of the death of his wife and eldest son from the plague and immediately returned to Tarnovo, ending the war and returning his daughter to her lonely husband. This monarch, easily adaptable to changing circumstances, died of natural causes in 1241. The three rulers of his family who occupied the throne after his death and whose reigns spanned the period 1241–1258 managed to undo everything that their predecessor had done. One after another, provinces were lost and internal anarchy grew. This famous dynasty came to an inglorious end in 1258, when its last representative was killed by his nobles, and from that time Bulgaria was only a shadow of its former self.

Serbian rule and final collapse 1258-1393.

It can be said that, starting in 1258, Bulgaria continued to decline until it finally ceased to exist as a state in 1393. Throughout this period, Bulgaria never had its say in deciding the fate of the Balkan Peninsula. Due to the fact that no ruler was able to restore order to the disintegrating country, there was constant rivalry between local princelings, an unceasing series of marriages concluded for political reasons, and murders, conspiracies and rebellions of the feudal nobility. In addition, the country's borders were repeatedly redrawn by warring principalities, which tore the fabric of the Bulgarian state apart. From the point of view of foreign politicians, characteristic feature This period is the actual disappearance of the independence of Bulgaria to the benefit of the surrounding states, which, alternating, exerted their influence on the country. It is especially worth paying attention to the dominant position at this time on the Balkan Peninsula of Serbia.

The Serb Constantine, whose grandfather was Stefan Nemanja, occupied the Bulgarian throne from 1258 to 1277; he was married to the granddaughter of John Asenya P. After the fall of the Latin Empire in Constantinople in 1261, the Hungarians, who became the masters of Transylvania, entered into an alliance with the Greeks against Constantine; the latter called for help from the Tatars from the southern Russian steppes, who were at the height of their power, and won. However, as a result of his diplomacy, the Tatars henceforth played an important role in the Bulgarian civil strife. Then the daughter of the Greek emperor became the second wife of Constantine, and thus Constantinople gained influence on the internal affairs of the Bulgarian state. Constantine was succeeded by upstart rulers, over whom the Serbian king Urosh II (1282–1321) won a series of victories, who conquered Macedonia from the Bulgarians. In 1285, the Tatar-Mongols of the Golden Horde carried out a devastating raid on Hungary and Bulgaria. But the main danger threatened from the south, where dark clouds gathered, later falling into a stormy downpour on the peninsula. In 1308, the Turks appeared on the shores of the Sea of ​​Marmara, and in 1326 they strengthened themselves in Brusa (from that time Bursa). From 1295 to 1322, Bulgaria was ruled by Svyatoslav, a nobleman from Vidin. He was untroubled by the Greeks and now saw the threat from the Turks; he managed to maintain order in the country, to which his subjects were not accustomed. After his death in 1322, chaos reigned again. One of the rulers who replaced him married the daughter of the Serbian king Uros II, but unexpectedly entered into an alliance with the Greeks against Stefan Uros III and sent his wife to Serbia. The Greeks and Bulgarians, unlikely allies, were defeated by the Serbs at Kyustendil in Macedonia in 1330.

From 1331 to 1365, Bulgaria was ruled by John Alexander, a noble nobleman of Tatar origin, whose sister became the wife of the greatest ruler of Serbia, Stefan Dusan. Moreover, John Alexander recognized Stephen as his overlord, and from that time Bulgaria became a vassal of Serbia. Meanwhile, the Turkish storm was gaining strength. In 1354, Osman I's son Orhan crossed the Hellespont, and in 1366 Murad I made Adrianople, which he captured in 1362, his capital. After the death of John Alexander in 1365, the Hungarians invaded Northern Bulgaria, and the king's successor called on the Turks for help in the fight against them, as well as the Greeks. This was the beginning of the end. The Serbs, taking advantage of the Sultan's absence in Asia Minor, launched an offensive, but were defeated near Adrianople in 1371 by the Turks, who captured Sofia in 1382. In response, the Serbs entered into a grand alliance with the South Slavs, which Bulgaria refused to join, but after a brief success against the Turks in 1387, the Serbs were defeated by the Turks at the famous Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Meanwhile, in 1388 the Turks occupied Nikopol on the Danube, and in 1393 destroyed the Bulgarian capital of Tarnovo, sending Patriarch Euthymius into exile in Macedonia. So the state of Bulgaria passed into the hands of the Turks, and the Bulgarian church went to the Greeks. Many Bulgarians converted to Islam, and their descendants, Pomaks, or Bulgarian Muslims, live in the country to this day. When Romania was conquered in 1394, and the Hungarian king Sigismund, who hastily assembled an anti-Turkish crusade in Western Europe, was defeated at Nicopolis in 1396, the Turkish conquest became complete and final, although the Battle of Varna had not yet occurred (in 1444 ) and Constantinople had not yet been captured (in 1453).

Turkish rule and liberation 1393-1878

We can rightfully say that from 1393 to 1877 Bulgaria had no history, but this fact can hardly be called happy. National existence was completely suppressed, and what was understood in those days as national identity was in oblivion. It is well known, and many people in our time admit it, that the Turks have many remarkable qualities among other peoples, they are distinguished by religious fervor and military passion. At the same time, it cannot be denied that, from an aesthetic point of view, one can hardly say much good in praise of Muslim civilization. Who does not prefer the minarets of Istanbul and Edirne (Turkish name for Adrianople) to the architecture of Budapest, the famous ideal of the Christian South- of Eastern Europe? However, it cannot be disputed that the Ottoman peace brought prosperity to those who came within its sphere of influence (albeit until their identity was dissolved in the religion of their conquerors).

The peoples conquered by the Turks faced an alternative - slavery or Turkification. Those who could not accept either one or the other were forced to emigrate or, finding themselves outside the law, go to the mountains to become bandits. The Turks dominated the European peoples of the Balkan Peninsula for five centuries, and from the Turkish point of view this was undoubtedly a brilliant achievement. This was significantly more than what the ancient Greeks and Romans achieved; and from a humanistic point of view, there is no doubt that during the five centuries of Turkish rule on the Balkan Peninsula less human blood was shed than during the five centuries of Christian rule before the Turkish invasion. Indeed, it would be difficult to shed more of it. It is also a pure illusion to think of the Turks solely as brutal and cruel people; they are good-natured and benevolent, like other people. Only when they were overcome by military and religious passion did they become more ruthless and ferocious in comparison with others.

However, from the point of view of the Slavs of Bulgaria and Serbia, Turkish rule was synonymous with the concept of "suffocation". If the Turks were in reality what their ardent admirers think of them, the history of the Balkan Peninsula in the 19th century. would have turned out differently and would have been different from what it was in reality, namely: an endless series of anti-Turkish uprisings.

Of all the Balkan peoples, the Bulgarians experienced the greatest oppression. The Greeks, thanks to their omnipresence, their brains and money, were soon able to make the Turkish wind turn the wings of their mills; the Romanians were to some extent protected by the Danube and distance from Constantinople; The Serbs were also spared Turkish outbursts, and the inaccessibility of most of the country gave them some protection. Bulgaria was completely destroyed, and its population, already far from homogeneous, experienced strong influence numerous Turkish and Tatar settlements.

For all these reasons, Bulgaria was the last Balkan state to gain freedom. And for these same reasons it was least susceptible to prejudice and lacked what is called national preference and internal cohesion, and therefore the heterogeneity of the nation made it energetic and enterprising. The attitude of the Turks towards Christians was always the same; generally speaking, it worsened as the Sultan's power weakened. In the 15th century Christians were given relative freedom to peacefully practice their religion and perform rituals. But starting from the 16th century. control by the Sultan, as well as the power of the center, weakened, anarchy intensified in the Ottoman (Ottoman) Empire, and the power of local rulers became more despotic.

However, the Muslim conquerors were not the only enemies and oppressors of the Bulgarians. The role played by the Greeks in Bulgaria during Turkish rule was as important as the Turkish factor. The contempt with which the Turks treated the Christians and their religion was so great that they wisely left the Church under the direct control of the Christians, knowing that they would be mired in endless strife. From 1393 to 1767, the Bulgarians were under the jurisdiction of the Greek-Bulgarian Patriarchate, centered in Ohrid, all posts in which, from the highest to the lowest, were purchased from the Turkish administration at exorbitant and ever-increasing prices. The Phanariot Greeks (so called because they came from the Phanar quarter of Constantinople) were the only ones who could afford to occupy the highest positions; the church was ultimately controlled by Constantinople. In 1767 the independent patriarchates were abolished, and from that time on religious control by the Greeks was as comprehensive as that of the Turks. The Greeks did everything they could to destroy the last national Bulgarian traits that were preserved in the Church. And this explains the fact, which should never be forgotten and which has its origins in the distant past, but which was most clearly revealed at this time, that the personal hatred of the Greeks and Bulgarians for each other was always stronger than their collective hatred for the Turks.

Since 1472, when the Russian Tsar John III married Sophia Palaiologos, the niece of the last Greek emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, Russia began to consider itself the patron of Eastern Christians, the defender of the Orthodox Church and the direct heir to the glory and prestige of Constantinople. However, only in XVIII century, when the Russian state became stronger, Balkan Christians received protection and the role of Constantinople needed to be reconsidered. Russian influence first appeared in Romania after the conclusion of the Treaty of Küçük-Kaynarci in 1774 (which ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774). Only the expected war with Napoleon in 1812 prevented the Russians from expanding their territory south of the Danube, which their border had already reached. Serbia became partially free in 1826, and Greece gained full independence in 1830, after Russian troops, having defeated the Turks, occupied part of Bulgaria and advanced as far as Adrianople. Located closer to Constantinople and not oppressed by it as much as before, Bulgaria had to bide its time. Attempts to raise an uprising at this time were suppressed in the bloodiest manner, which led to mass emigration of Bulgarians to Bessarabia. The free territories remaining after their departure were occupied by Kurds and Tatars. The Crimean War (1853–1856) and the short-sighted policy of support for Turkey by Western European powers prevented the achievement of Russia's goals. Moldavia and Wallachia in 1856 emerged from Russian control in the form of a semi-protectorate, which had been in place for a long time, and in 1861 they united into the single state of Romania. In 1866, the German prince Karl of Hohenzollern arrived in the country and began to rule. This was the first manifestation of German influence in the Middle East, although Romania at this time still recognized the authority of the Sultan.

In the first half of the 19th century, an active process of cultural revival was underway in Bulgaria, which was supported by wealthy Bulgarian merchants of Bucharest and Odessa. In 1829, a book about the history of Bulgaria, written by a native of this country, was published in Moscow. In 1835, the first school was organized in Bulgaria, and others soon followed. It should be remembered that at that time not only was nothing known in other countries about Bulgaria and the people inhabiting it, but it was necessary to tell the Bulgarians themselves who they were and what kind of people they represented. The population of Bulgaria was exclusively peasant; there was no upper and middle class, “intelligentsia,” or representatives of other professions in the country. Enlightened Bulgarians lived in other countries; the church was in the hands of the Greeks, who competed with the Turks in the oppression of the Bulgarian nation.

The two committees in Odessa and Bucharest, which promoted the ideas of enlightenment and liberation of Bulgaria, were different in composition and goals. Members of the former placed greater emphasis on educational and religious reform, intending to use it to achieve a gradual and peaceful restoration of their country. Representatives of the second committee wanted the immediate declaration of Bulgarian independence, and were ready to resort to violent and even, if necessary, military action.

The church issue was resolved first. In 1856, the Porte (Ottoman Empire) promised to carry out reforms in the church: to allow the appointment of Bulgarian bishops and to recognize the Bulgarian language in church and school. But these promises were not fulfilled, and the Bulgarians took matters into their own hands. In 1860 they refused to further recognize the Patriarch of Constantinople. In the same year, the Bulgarian Church attempted to come under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, but due to opposition from Russia, this attempt was unsuccessful. Tensions over the church issue grew, and in 1870, concerned about this, the Turks allowed the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate. The Bulgarian Church became independent and national, and the residence of the exarch was to be in Constantinople (Bulgaria continued to remain a Turkish province). The Greeks, aware of the blow this would cause to their supremacy, were able to postpone the ill-fated day for a short time, but in 1872 the exarch triumphantly settled in Constantinople, where he remained until 1908.

Meanwhile, revolutionary protests began to grow, but they were always severely suppressed. The most famous uprising broke out in 1875, led by Istanbulov, the future dictator. This uprising was organized in support of the uprising in Montenegro, Herzegovina and Bosnia, which occurred in the same year. As a result, both this performance and a similar one in 1876 ended in the infamous massacre of the Bulgarians. Indignation arose in Europe, and joint statements were immediately made to Constantinople. Midhat Pasha disarmed his opponents by temporarily adopting the British constitution in Turkey. But there is no need to say that the situation in Bulgaria did not change for the better as a result. Russia, however, continued its preparations, and when Turkey refused to stop military operations against Montenegro, on April 24 (12th according to the Art.), 1877, Emperor Alexander II, whose patience had run out, declared the beginning of war. Charles, the ruler of Romania, supported the Russian emperor. Thus, he hoped, his country, still a vassal of Turkey, would achieve final liberation and become a kingdom. The beginning of the war was prosperous for the Russians and Romanians, who were soon joined by a large number of Bulgarian rebels. Turkish forces were scattered throughout the peninsula. The committee in Bucharest was transformed into a provisional government, but the Russians, who intended to liberate their country, naturally had to temporarily concentrate administrative control in their hands, and they did not recognize it. The Turks, alarmed by the first victories of the Russians, placed the best commanders and selected troops under their banners and defeated the Russians near Plevna in July. However, in August the Turks failed to drive the Russians out of the important and famous Shipka Pass; the Turks were demoralized and their resistance quickly weakened. The Russians, aided by the Bulgarians and Romanians, fought with the greatest courage all summer. In December they took Plevna after a three-month siege, in January 1878 they occupied Sofia (December 23, O.S.) and Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and had already approached Constantinople itself.

The Turks were on their last legs, and in March (February 19, O.S.), 1878 in Adrianople, Ignatiev dictated the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, according to which the Bulgarian Principality was formed, under the nominal suzerainty of the Sultan. It extended from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and from the Black Sea to Albania, including all of Macedonia. The Turks were left with the territory from Adrianople to Constantinople, Chalkidiki and the city of Thessaloniki. Bulgaria was restored within the borders of the state of Tsar Simeon, who ruled 950 years ago.

This agreement, taking into account the ethnic aspect, was quite fair; however, he worried other powers, especially Great Britain and Germany, who suspected Russia of intending to establish its hegemony in the Balkans. It was believed that if the agreement was accepted, it would cancel out all the plans of Greece and Serbia. Instead, in July 1878, the Berlin Treaty was concluded, the initiators of which were Bismarck, who defended the interests of Austria-Hungary (as expected), and Lord Salisbury, a champion of the interests of Turkey (which was short-sighted). According to its terms, Bulgaria was divided into three parts. These were Northern Bulgaria, located between the Danube and the Balkans, which became an autonomous principality dependent on Turkey; Southern Bulgaria, quaintly called Eastern Rumelia (the Turks called the entire Balkan Peninsula Rumelia), became an autonomous province of Turkey under a Christian governor appointed by the Porte (Ottoman Empire); Macedonia and Thrace were left under Turkish rule, and Dobruja, between the Danube and the Black Sea, was annexed to Romania.

After release. Reign of Prince Alexander of Bapenberg 1878-1886

Relations between Russians and Bulgarians were better before the liberation of the country than in the post-Ottoman period. This may seem strange. After all, the Bulgarians would never have been able to achieve liberation so quickly on their own. The only power whose interests it was to free Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke was Russia, which immediately translated its intentions into concrete actions. Be that as it may, the laws that control the relations of states and peoples are very similar to those that control the relations of individuals; and it was quite possible to predict the further development of events.

What happens so often in relations between people also happened in relations between Russia and Bulgaria. It was only natural that Russia expected Bulgaria to be grateful to her for all her efforts and sacrifices. Moreover, she expected that gratitude would manifest itself in submissive and silent agreement with all the proposals and wishes of the liberator. Bulgaria was no doubt deeply grateful, but never had the slightest intention of expressing her gratitude in the manner mentioned above. On the contrary, most people who have regained their long-lost and so unusual freedom of action and find themselves obliged to someone for this, show a jealous and touchy feeling towards their right to independent judgment. Russophobe writers often claim that Russia wanted and intended to make Bulgaria a Russian province, but this seems implausible. The geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula does not provide it with the opportunity to become part of Russian Empire. Romance-speaking Romania, at that time already an almost independent state, was an insurmountable obstacle separating two compact and strong national entities. And finally, it is quite possible for Russia to own or exercise control over Constantinople, even without owning part of the coastline wedged between them.

It was quite natural that Russia wanted to have a decisive voice in determining the future fate of Bulgaria and thereby the entire peninsula. But it was equally natural that Bulgaria could reject these claims. The final result of this was the inevitable entry of Bulgaria into the sphere of Austrian and then German influence, which was probably an unforeseen circumstance for the statesmen of the time. Perhaps they did not realize the full significance of this event.

The Bulgarians, despite their origin and the constituent parts of their nation, are a purely Slavic people in language. Their ancestors were the pioneers of Slavic civilization, as they are described in the main theological works. However, they were never ardent supporters of Pan-Slavism, any more than the Dutch were Pan-Germanists. It is unreasonable to expect this from both peoples. The Bulgarians really thought of themselves that they were superior to the Slavs in the art of war and inherited the glorious traditions of the Turkic-Bulgarians of the seventh century, who gave them their name and introduced the Asiatic element into their people, endowing them with greater stability, energy and constancy than they possess purely Slavic peoples. On the other hand, the latter, and especially the Serbs, for the same reason, treat with contempt the mixed blood and what they call the Mongolian traits of the Bulgarians. It can be stated with confidence that between the Bulgarians and the Germans (including the German Austrians and Hungarians) there has never existed the strong, ineradicable and insurmountable antipathy that exists between the German (and Hungarian) and the Slav, wherever these peoples come into contact throughout the entire territory from the Baltic to Adriatic. There is nothing more striking than the attitude towards Bulgarians in Austria-Hungary and Germany at the beginning of the 20th century: they are studied, flattered and courted. And all this is to the detriment of the purely Slavic Serbian people, with whom they are constantly compared. This is explained by the simple fact that with the growth of the Serbian national movement, starting in 1903, Austria-Hungary and Germany experienced an instinctive and completely justified fear of the Serbs and tried to neutralize possible consequences their growing power in every possible way.

Briefly summing up what has been said, it can be argued that Russian influence, which grew in Bulgaria until 1877–1878, has been constantly declining since then. Germany and Austria-Hungary, which had reduced Bulgarian territory by half compared to the terms of Count Ignatieff's Treaty of San Stefano, reaped the benefits (especially in trade) of the war waged by Russia. In the intellectual field, especially in the matter of updating the Bulgarian language, when, despite the numerous Turkish words that entered the language during the rule of the Ottoman Turks, it was replenished with new vocabulary, especially words that were Slavic in form and essence, Russian influence was especially significant. In some respects, this situation continues to persist. In the economic field, partly due to geographical conditions, the presence of communications along the Danube and the main, eastern railway, connecting Bulgaria directly with Budapest and Vienna, partly due to the fact that the main buyers of Bulgarian grain were the countries of Central and Western Europe, ties between Bulgaria and Russia were maintained at a minimal level. In the field of politics, both Bulgaria and Russia pursued the same goal - the capture of Constantinople and the establishment of their hegemony on the Balkan Peninsula, and therefore their relations were doomed to further complications. The first Bulgarian parliament met in 1879 in difficult circumstances. The Berlin Treaty dashed the hopes of both Russia and Bulgaria. Russian influence was still predominant, and the prince's viceroy controlled the formation of the administration. The most democratic constitution was prepared, which did not contribute to the successful governance of the country due to the obvious inexperience of the Bulgarians. They turned to the German princes for help, who, as they naively believed, remained neutral in religion and politics. The choice fell on Prince Alexander of Battenberg, nephew of the Empress of Russia, who took part in the Russian army's campaign. Prince Alexander was a conscientious, energetic and enthusiastic ruler. However, he was not a diplomat, and from the very beginning his honesty acted as an obstacle to his success. He failed to maintain good relations with Russia and its representatives, of whom there were still many in Bulgaria at that time, and to stop destructive actions government formed by parliament. Emperor Alexander III, who succeeded his father Alexander II in 1881, advised the prince to insist on granting him dictatorial powers, which he successfully carried out. But when he realized that this only meant the growth of Russian influence, he again turned to the idea of ​​a parliamentary majority government (in September 1883); these actions caused confusion among Russian representatives, compromised him before the emperor and threw him back into the whirlpool of inter-party struggle, from which he never emerged.

Meanwhile, the question of Eastern Rumelia, or, more correctly, Southern Bulgaria, which still continued to remain a Turkish province, began to arise. Stormy agitation for the reunification of the two parts of the country continued for some time, and on September 18, 1885, the inhabitants of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) proclaimed a union under the leadership of Prince Alexander of Battenberg, who, during a solemn speech in Tarnovo, expressed support for this initiative and on September 21 made a triumphal entry into the city. Russia frowned at such a manifestation of spiritual independence. Serbia, in the person of its king Milan Obrenovic (1854–1901), instigated by Austria, initiated a new direction in its policy, which it often followed in the future, and demanded territorial compensation from Bulgaria. It must be remembered that it was Bismarck, using the Berlin Treaty, who limited Serbia in its territorial claims.

On November 13, King Milan declared the start of war and ordered a march on Sofia, located near the Serbian-Bulgarian border. Prince Alexander, most of whose army was on the Turkish border, bravely accepted the challenge. On November 18, the Battle of Slivnitsa, a small town 20 miles northwest of Sofia, took place, in which the Bulgarians were completely victorious. Prince Alexander, after heavy fighting, took Pirot in Serbia on November 27, rejecting King Milan's request for a truce, and began a march to Nis. Then Austria intervened and promised to send troops to Serbia if hostilities did not stop. Bulgaria was forced to submit, and on March 3, 1886, an empty peace treaty had to be signed in Bucharest by both warring parties. Prince Alexander's position did not improve after this; a more experienced pilot was needed to guide the ship through the whirlpools swirling around him. A strong Russophile party was formed in the army. On the night of August 21, 1886, supporters of this party, military officers of the Bulgarian army, entered Sofia and forced Alexander to abdicate. He was taken on a personal yacht along the Danube to the Russian city of Reni in Bessarabia. An order came by telegraph from St. Petersburg in response to a sent request that the prince needed to leave for Europe as quickly as possible, and on August 26 he already arrived in Lemberg (the German name for Lvov). But the conspirators who carried out this coup discovered that they were not at all supported in the country. A coup took place, led by the statesman Istanbulov, and on September 3, Prince Alexander appeared in Sofia to the enthusiastic applause of the crowd. However, his situation was hopeless; Emperor Alexander III forced him to abdicate, and on September 7, 1886, Prince Alexander left Bulgaria forever, to the regret of the majority of the people. He died in Austria in 1893 at the age of 37. After his departure, a regency was established, headed by Istanbulov.

The revival of the country during the reign of Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg 1886-1908.

Istanbulov (Stambolov) was born in Tarnovo in 1854 and was of humble origin. He took part in the uprising of 1876 and in the war for the liberation of the country. In 1884 he became chairman of the Assembly (parliament). From 1885 to 1894 he was the de facto dictator of Bulgaria. He was an ardent patriot, ambitious, decisive, energetic, cruel and unprincipled politician, these qualities were clearly reflected on his face with large features and a stern expression. His manner of address made weak people tremble with fear, and the strong were imbued with respect when they saw him. His policy was generally anti-Russian. Even before the general election began in October 1886, he had his main opponents jailed and armed patrols kept protest voters away from the ballot box. Of the 522 elected deputies, 470 supported Istanbulov. This meant the complete suppression of the Russophile party, which led to a break with St. Petersburg.

Whatever Istanbulov's methods - and few can deny that they were harsh - there is no doubt that something similar was necessary to restore order in the country. But once you started on this path, it was difficult to stop; Soon his dictatorial habits and delays in choosing the ruler of the country made his course unpopular among the people. Several armed protests were directed against Istanbulov, but all of them were suppressed. Finally, the throne of Bulgaria, which at that time was not very tempting, went to Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, who was born in 1861 and was the son of the gifted Princess Clementine of Bourbon-Orléans, daughter of Louis Philippe. This young man combined great ambition and perseverance in achieving his goals with extreme prudence, insight and patience; he was a consummate diplomat. His election as a Bulgarian prince was received with great disapproval by Russia; and for fear of spoiling relations with Emperor Alexander III, not a single European power recognized him.

Ferdinand was not at a loss and in July 1886 he and his mother settled in Sofia. He was concerned to make peace with his overlord Sultan Abdul Hamid. The prince made wise decisions, leaving all power in the hands of Prime Minister Istanbulov, who was unsympathetic and alien to him, when he felt the strength of his position, and the dictator began to be fiercely hated. Ferdinand's intelligent and wealthy mother brought brilliance and enlightenment to his surroundings, having a beneficial effect on the court. Using her feminine tact, she skillfully smoothed out the difficulties that arose; She was also involved in philanthropic activities. Thanks to the prince's influential connections in the courts of Europe and his ability to calmly wait for the resolution of any issue, his prestige in the country increased sharply. In 1893 he married Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon and Parma. In May 1894, as a result of the revealed abuses, Istanbulov, who, as it turned out, was also involved in them, submitted his resignation, expecting that this would be denied to him. To his utter chagrin, the resignation was accepted and he immediately launched a frenzied press campaign, but his aura faded; and on July 15, an unknown man made an attempt on his life on the street, who then disappeared. Istanbulov died three days later. People's emotions were so strong that his grave was guarded by soldiers for two months. In November 1894, Emperor Alexander III died, and as a result of these two events, the road to reconciliation with Russia was opened. Meanwhile, the German Emperor, who was on good terms with Princess Clementine, opened the way to Vienna for Ferdinand. And when in March 1896 the Sultan recognized him as Prince of Bulgaria and Governor-General of Eastern Rumelia, his international position was strengthened. Relations with Russia improved further when the young Crown Prince Boris (1894–1943) was baptized a second time in February 1896, now in accordance with the rites of the Eastern (Orthodox) Church. A couple of years later, Ferdinand, along with his wife and son, made a state visit to Russia in Peterhof, which turned out to be very successful. In September 1902, Nicholas II erected a memorial church on the Shipka Pass, and later an equestrian statue of Tsar Liberator Alexander II was placed in front of the parliament building in Sofia.

Bulgaria, meanwhile, was developing rapidly. Railways were built, exports increased, and the general situation in the country improved significantly. It is interesting to compare the remarkable achievements of Bulgaria during the new 35-year period of its existence with the much slower progress of Serbia over a longer period. Publicists from Austria-Hungary and Germany wrote a lot about this, but they forget that even before the last Balkan War, the geographical position of Bulgaria, which had access to the sea, was much more favorable for its economic development than that of Serbia, which found itself as a result of the adoption of the Berlin Treaty. treatise surrounded by the territories of Turkey and Austria-Hungary. Moreover, Bulgaria, twice the size of Serbia at that time, had more resources for development.

Since 1894, the power of Ferdinand I Coburg in the country and his influence abroad have constantly strengthened. He understood well the importance of railways and became the same avid traveler as the German emperor. His estates in Southern Hungary were always at the center of his attention, and he was a frequent visitor to Vienna. The German Emperor, although he could not help but admire Ferdinand's success, always felt some fear of him. The Emperor felt that his intentions were so similar to those of Ferdinand that in case of extreme danger he could not count on him. Moreover, it was difficult to reconcile Ferdinand's ambitions in the extreme southeast of Europe with his own claims. Ferdinand's relations with Vienna, on the other hand, and especially with the late Archbishop Francis Ferdinand, were close and cordial.

The position of the Ottoman (Ottoman) Empire gradually worsened. This was especially evident in Macedonia, which never became part of Bulgaria, where the state of anarchy, which began with the uprising of 1902–1903, gave rise to a reign of terror. A strengthened Serbia had been in a spiritual upsurge since the Karageorgiević dynasty came to power in 1903, which caused concern in Sofia no less than in Vienna and Budapest. The July Revolution of 1908, carried out by the Young Turks in Ottoman Empire, and the triumph of the Union and Progress Committee silenced critics of Turkey who cited the need for forced reform as a pretext for interfering in the country's internal affairs. The possible revival of the Ottoman Empire required quick and decisive action to be taken against it. In September, the cabinet in Sofia ordered the military to occupy the Turkish-owned Eastern Railway in Eastern Rumelia after a deliberate strike was staged there. This decision was made under the pretext of political necessity. At the same time, in Budapest, the Emperor of Austria received with royal honors Ferdinand I and his second princess wife, the Protestant Eleonora Reis, whom he married in March of this year. On October 5, 1908, in Tarnovo, the ancient capital of the country, Ferdinand I Coburg proclaimed the complete independence of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, already in royal dignity. On October 7, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Turkish provinces it had ruled since 1878, nominally under Turkish suzerainty.

Kingdom 1908-1913

The events that took place in Bulgaria since 1908 revolved around the question of Macedonia, which we have not yet touched upon. This was an extremely difficult question. It arose from the assumption that the process of disintegration of Turkey, which continued throughout the 19th century, would eventually end. And now the question was how to new reality The territorial claims of three neighboring countries will be satisfied:

Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. Claims based on historical and ethnic reasons, based on the number and distribution of "homeless" compatriots in Macedonia. At the same time, it was necessary to avoid European military intervention.

The origin of the Macedonian question dates back to no earlier than 1885, when the ease with which Eastern Rumelia (that is, Southern Bulgaria) threw off the Turkish yoke and was spontaneously united with the semi-independent principality of Northern Bulgaria struck the imagination of statesmen of the Balkan states. From that time on, Sofia began to cast envious glances at Macedonia, which was considered a “non-reunified” part of Bulgaria. Istanbulov's last success came in 1894, when Turkey received consent to install two bishops of the Bulgarian Exarchate for Macedonia, which was a heavy blow for the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Macedonia was mentioned in the Berlin Treaty of 1878, the 23rd article of which provided for reforms in this province; but at that time the Balkan states were too young and weak to turn to Europe for help or worry about the fate of their coreligionists in Turkey. They already had a lot to do to get their own house in order. Nobody in Macedonia was interested in reforms, so Article 23 remained just an expression of feelings of philanthropy. This indifference on the part of Europe left open the possibility for the Balkan states, as soon as they found the strength, to launch a campaign to expand their spheres of influence in Macedonia.

Beginning in 1894, the Bulgarian propaganda campaign in Macedonia intensified, and the Bulgarians were soon followed by the Greeks and Serbs. The reason for such a passionate desire to define the boundaries of their territorial claims and the fierce rivalry between the three countries that it generated was the following. Nowhere in Macedonia, with the exception of the border areas of the three countries, was the population purely Bulgarian, Greek or Serbian; in most cities the population was represented by at least two nationalities, not to mention the Turks (who were still the masters of the country by right of conqueror), Albanians, Tatars, Romanians (Vlachs) and other peoples. The population of Thessaloniki both in the past (from the end of the 15th century) and at the beginning of the 20th century. was predominantly Jewish, and in the countryside Turkish, Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian villages were inextricably mixed. Generally speaking, the coastal strip was mainly Greek (only Greeks lived on the coast itself), during internal areas Slavs lived on the peninsula. The problem for each country was to stake out as much territory as possible and by every possible means to ensure that the majority of the population in the disputed areas recognized themselves as Bulgarians, Serbs or Greeks, and when the Ottoman Empire fell, every part of Macedonia would automatically fall into the hands of those who will accordingly be her liberator. The Church and the school became the instruments of influence in the game that had begun, since the unfortunate Macedonian peasants first of all needed to open their eyes to who they were, or rather, who they should be. At the same time, the Church, as always, served as a convenient cover for achieving various political goals. As soon as such actions were given the go-ahead, relatively speaking, the agent provocateur of each of these three countries threw a bomb at the Turkish representative of the government, which inevitably led to the massacre of innocent Christians by the Turks, cruel, but, in fact, equally innocent. The European press immediately reacted angrily to this.

Bulgaria started first and had an early lead over the other two opponents. Bulgaria claimed the whole of Macedonia, including Thessaloniki and the entire Aegean coast (except Chalkidiki), Ochrida and Monastir; Greece - for all of South Macedonia, and Serbia - for certain areas of North and Central Macedonia, known as Old Serbia. The catch was and is that the claims of Greece and Serbia did not collide, while Bulgaria drove a wide wedge between Serbia and Greece, which gave Bulgaria undoubted advantages. Bulgarian hegemony on the peninsula was in irreconcilable conflict with the interests of both of its rivals. The importance of this position was attached to the Nis-Thessaloniki railway, Serbia’s only access to the sea; it went through the whole of Macedonia from north to south, following along the western bank of the Vardar River. If Bulgaria blocked this road, Serbia would economically become completely dependent on Bulgaria, as had already happened in the north of the country, when it paid a heavy price, remaining at the mercy of Austria-Hungary. Nevertheless, the Bulgarian propaganda was so effective that Greece and Serbia never thought that they could easily and to mutual benefit extend a hand to each other, as they subsequently did.

Albania, from which they did not know what to expect, was also an important factor. Her people, although small in number, were formidable fighters. They would be glad to have a contiguous border with Bulgaria (with which they had no contradictions) as support with their traditional enemies - the Serbs in the north and the Greeks in the south, who did not abandon their intentions to invade its territory. The population of Macedonia, still under Turkish domination, was uneducated and ignorant; needless to say that they had no national consciousness, although the Slavs had an advantage over the Greeks in this respect. It was the Slavic population of Macedonia that was distinguished by its ardor and shed so much blood. The dispute about their belonging to the Serbian or Bulgarian nation caused endless and bitter disputes. The truth was that they were neither Serbs nor Bulgarians. But the Bulgarian missionaries, bearers of the Bulgarian language and national identity, appeared first in this country, and they convinced the Macedonian Slavs for so long and persistently that they were Bulgarians that after several years Bulgaria could, with some truth, declare that this was indeed the case.

Macedonia was successively ruled by Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs, before the Turks came; but the Macedonian Slavs, until recently, were so divorced from the Bulgarians and Serbs that both in their national features and in their language the characteristic features of one of these two nations, which originally belonged to the southern Slavs, did not appear, and as a result a very simple neutral Slavic type emerged . If the Serbs had appeared here first instead of the Bulgarians, the Macedonian Slavs could just as easily have turned into Serbs, as knowledgeable experts are quite convinced of.

In addition to these three nations, mention must be made of Romania. She was suddenly horrified by the sad plight of the Vlach shepherds, who had carelessly moved their flocks across Macedonia since the days of Ancient Rome. Since the borderless pastures could not be annexed by Romania, by their presence the shepherds gave her the opportunity, on the day of reckoning, to demand territorial compensation in some other place. Meanwhile, the Vlachs (Macedonian Romanians, or Aromanians) in Turkey were recognized in 1906 by the Porte as a separate and authentic people.

Now it is necessary to give a brief periodization of the solution to the Macedonian question up to 1908. Russia and Austria-Hungary, the two “most interested powers”, which from the 18th century. divided the Balkans into zones of their interests, came to an agreement in 1897 designed to regulate final decision Turkish question. But it never came to fruition and was never put into practice. Meanwhile, Macedonian chaos was constantly growing, and the major uprising of 1902–1903, followed, as always, by repression, greatly alarmed the leading powers. In December 1902, Hilmi Pasha was appointed chief inspector of Macedonia, but he failed to restore order. In October 1903, Emperor Nicholas II and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (b. 1830, reigned 1848–1916), together with their foreign ministers, met at Mürzsteg in Styria and developed a plan of reforms known as the Mürzsteg Programme. The central point was the establishment of an international gendarmerie; all of Macedonia was divided into five regions, each of which was responsible for one great power. Due to Turkey's policy of delay in resolving issues of agreement and the extreme complexity of the financial arrangements that had to be worked out in connection with the reform plan, the negotiations were never completed and ratified until April 1907, although gendarmerie officers arrived in Macedonia in February 1904

Here again it is necessary to remember the attitude of the various stakeholders to this issue. Great Britain and France had no territorial claims against Turkey, and they did everything possible to ensure that reforms were carried out not only in the vilayets of Macedonia, but also in the financial area of ​​the Ottoman Empire. Italy's interests focused on Albania, whose possible fate, for geographical and strategic reasons, could not leave it indifferent. The only concern of Austria-Hungary was to use any means to prevent the rise of the Serbs and Serbia and Montenegro itself, in order to maintain control over the routes to Thessaloniki (not to mention ownership of them), which passed through the territory of these two countries, which clearly impeded the German advance to the East. Russia is already bogged down enough in the adventure on Far East and, moreover, starting from the war of 1878, she lost influence on Constantinople, where until then her word was law. The Berlin Treaty dealt a blow to the prestige of Russia, and from that time on, its ambassadors to the rulers of the Porte worked poorly, they were either old or lazy. Germany, on the other hand, was judicious and successful in choosing its representatives. The main characteristic feature of German diplomacy in Turkey was the ability to make decisions in a timely manner, ahead of events. A fact that speaks in favor of the German ambassadors in Constantinople. Since Wilhelm II's triumphal trip to the Bosphorus in 1889, German influence, due in large part to Baron von Radowitz, has steadily grown. The culmination of this activity occurred in the period 1897–1912, when Baron Adolf Marshall von Bieberstein was ambassador to Constantinople. It was the Germans who gave Turkey full support and encouraged its actions, resorting to flattery, and refrained from cooperation with other powers that urgently demanded that Abdul Hamid carry out reforms. Germany also provided Turkey and its extravagant ruler with pocket money as much as the Turks requested. In 1904, Germany refused to send its officers to its area of ​​​​responsibility in Macedonia and in 1905 did not participate in naval exercises off Mytilene (Mytilene). This German policy encouraged the Porte to continue its policy of excuses and delays. Soon Türkiye began to look at Germany as the only strong and selfless friend in Europe. Germany was responsible for the constant chaos and bloodshed, while other states actually struggled to undertake the thankless task of implementing reforms.

The blow that Tsar Ferdinand I Coburg dealt to the prestige of the Young Turks in October 1908 by declaring the independence of Bulgaria gave significance to Bulgaria's participation in the Macedonian question. Serbia, puzzled by the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary and infuriated by the fact of the proclamation of Bulgaria as a kingdom (its economic progress up to this point was underestimated by Serbia, because in its eyes it was just a vassal principality), it seemed that it would soon be crushed, as if in an iron vice compressed on both sides. The international position of the country at that time was such that Serbia could not expect help and support from Western Europe. The events of 1908 showed that Russia would also not be able to support it. Greece, which had loudly demanded compensation, received an answer from the Western European powers that if it made a fuss, it would receive nothing, but if it behaved like a well-behaved child, Crete might eventually be given to it. Well, the events of 1908 awakened Russia, forcing it to see the real state of affairs in the Middle East, it unexpectedly discovered the increased influence of Germany in Constantinople, the clear revival of Austria-Hungary as a great power, which announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, briefly confirming its influence in Bulgaria . Despite the fact that the already built railway through Serbia along the Morava River valley is the only economically and strategically advantageous road from Berlin, Vienna and Budapest to Thessaloniki and Constantinople, in January 1908, Baron A. von Ehrenthal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary, published his fantastic plan for the construction of an Austrian railway through the Novipazar Sanjak. Russia realized that the days of the Mürzsteg program were numbered. From that time on, a struggle developed between the Slav and the Teutone for the capture of Constantinople and dominance in the Middle East. Something had to be done to restore lost positions in the Balkans. After Aehrenthal met the Young Turks halfway in January 1909, providing them with a guarantee against losses, thereby ending their boycott, Russia in February of the same year freed Turkey from paying the remaining amounts of the old war indemnity of 1878. The issue was settled in this way, that Bulgaria had to pay the capitalized dues not to its ex-suzerain the Sultan, but to Russia in small tranches on preferential terms.

On the consequences of the Young Turk revolution of 1908–1909. in the Balkans; about the events that led to the formation of the Balkan Union, which was favorably received by Russia; about the general realization that neither parliamentary rule nor the overthrow of Abdul Hamid meant the beginning of a golden age in Macedonia and Thrace. It is usually argued that the idea and merit of creating the Balkan Union belongs to Tsar Ferdinand I and M. Venizelos. However, everything was kept secret and was so professionally organized that it is still impossible to firmly say which of them has the greater honor of initiating this significant event. Bulgaria was a democratic country, but Tsar Ferdinand, thanks to his foresight, patience and experience, as well as his influential dynastic connections and passion for travel, was almost always his own foreign minister. Despite the fact that the Tsar was a major Hungarian landowner and had a deep predisposition towards the empires of Central Europe, it seems quite plausible that Tsar Ferdinand directed all his talents and violent energies towards the creation of the Balkan Union when he saw that the time had come for Bulgaria to determine its future destiny at the expense of the Turks. And if the three other Balkan states could be persuaded to accept the same decision, it was therefore better for them all. It was absolutely clear that Russia could not react to the creation of the Balkan Union in any other way than with sincere participation. The ideology of Pan-Slavism had long lost its influence, and not a single person in Russia even dreamed or wanted any part of the Balkan Peninsula to become part of the Russian Empire. It is possible to control Constantinople without owning the Balkans, and Russia only welcomed the possible crushing of the Turks by the forces of the Greco-Slavic alliance, thereby preventing the further advance of the German states to the East.

It was a malicious invention to accuse Russia of envy of the military successes of the Balkan Union, which caused gnashing of teeth in Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. This was obvious to anyone who visited Russia in the winter of 1912/13.

From 1908 to 1912, at first glance, no important events happened in Bulgaria, although much was done, without attracting attention, to increase the combat capability of the army, and material well-being grew. Relations with other Balkan countries, especially Serbia and Montenegro, had improved significantly and there was scope for further improvement. Outwardly, this was manifested in frequent mutual visits of representatives of the royal families of the three Slavic kingdoms of the Balkans. In May 1912, an agreement was signed between Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as between Bulgaria and Greece, on the delimitation of the borders of the provinces captured from the Turks as a result of hostilities. The most controversial, of course, was the territory of Macedonia. Bulgaria claimed Central Macedonia with the cities of Ohrid and Monastir, the lion's share of the disputed area, due to its ethnic composition. This issue has already been discussed earlier. It was assumed that Greece and Serbia were unlikely to agree to territorial compensation elsewhere in exchange for allowing Bulgaria to wedge itself deeply between the two states. The future demarcation line between Serbia and Bulgaria was to be determined by an arbitration court. The issue of the possible formation of Albania was not considered.

In August 1912, Bulgaria celebrated with great jubilation in the ancient capital of Tarnovo the 25th anniversary of the arrival of Tsar Ferdinand in the country. True, the celebrations were overshadowed by the news of the terrible massacre of the Bulgarians by the Turks in Kochan in Macedonia. This sad event caused a genuine explosion of patriotism that swept the entire country. Somewhat later that month, Austria-Hungary's foreign minister, Count L. von Berchtold, alarmed Europe with his project of reform in Macedonia, its so-called "progressive decentralization". How did this event influence the final decision of the four Balkan countries declare war on Turkey will be described in detail below.

The Bulgarian army was completely ready for war. Under the pretext of maneuvers in the fall of 1912, significant forces were secretly concentrated for the offensive. On September 30, an order for mobilization was given in Bulgaria. On October 8, Montenegro declared war on Turkey. On October 13, Bulgaria, together with other Balkan states, in response to protests from Russia and Austria, declared that its patience had been exhausted and that now only weapons could be forced to treat the Christian population of the European part of Turkey humanely. On October 17, Turkey, after unexpectedly making peace with Italy after the Libyan war, decided to declare war on Bulgaria and Serbia. On October 18, King Ferdinand made an emotional appeal to his people to free their compatriots still languishing under the rule of the Crescent.

The Turkish troops opposing the Bulgarians in Thrace numbered more than 180 thousand people. Approximately the same number of Turkish soldiers were deployed in Macedonia against Serbia. Although the Turks considered Macedonia the most important theater of war, the proximity of the Bulgarian border to Constantinople forced them to keep large numbers of troops in Thrace. On October 19, the Bulgarians took the front-line city of Mustafa Pasha. On October 24, they defeated the Turks at Kirk Kilise (modern Lozengrad), located to the east. From October 28 to November 2, a great battle took place at Luleburgaz, which ended in the complete victory of the Bulgarians over the Turks. The humiliating defeat of the Turks was equally rapid and general in Thrace. By mid-November, the remnants of the Turkish army were holed up behind an impregnable defensive line at Çatalji, while a large Turkish garrison was besieged at Adrianople in late October. The Bulgarian army had to some extent exhausted its strength in the brilliantly carried out lightning campaign, so attempts to storm the defensive fortifications of Chataldzhi were unsuccessful. Such an operation would lead to significant losses that the Bulgarian state could hardly bear, and on December 3, under pressure from the great powers, a truce was signed. Negotiations that took place in London for two months were fruitless, and on February 3, 1913, hostilities resumed. The Bulgarians moved on to a more vigorous siege of Adrianople, which was not lifted during the truce. To help them, Serbia, which had the opportunity to withdraw some units from the front in Macedonia, sent 50 thousand soldiers and heavy siege artillery, which Bulgaria lacked. On March 26, 1913, the fortress surrendered to the Allied armies.

The London Conference, held in the spring of 1913, established a new Turkish-Bulgarian border along the Enez-Midye line, which ran between two settlements located respectively on the shores of the Aegean and Black Seas. This delimitation of the border could give Bulgaria possession of Adrianople. However, by that time, Serbia, under pressure from Austria, was forced to leave the Adriatic coast, and the lands already occupied by the Serbian army became part of the newly created state of Albania. Therefore, Serbia and Greece, which supported it, intended to retain the entire part of Macedonia they had conquered, including the Vardar Valley, including the important railway, and thereby reliably protect their common border. In May 1913, a military agreement was concluded between them, and the Balkan Union, relations between the member countries of which had become increasingly tense since January, finally collapsed. Bulgaria, offended by this apparent disregard for the agreements on the division of Macedonia, signed a year earlier together with its former allies, did not wait for the end of the proceedings that were taking place in Russia, but in a fit of indignation resorted to arms.

Bulgaria began the Second Balkan War on the night of June 30, 1913, when it launched a surprise attack on the Serbian army in Macedonia. In order to defeat the Serbs and Greeks, troops were withdrawn from the southeastern and northern borders. But something completely unexpected happened. The Serbs defeated the Bulgarians in Macedonia. The Turks, seeing that there were no Bulgarian troops in Thrace, again occupied Adrianople; The Romanian army, determined to act before it was too late, invaded Bulgaria from the north and began to advance towards Sofia. By the end of July the campaign was over and Bulgaria had to submit to fate.

According to the terms of the Bucharest Peace Treaty, concluded on August 10, 1913, Bulgaria retained a significant part of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia, including a section of the Aegean coast with the seaport of Dedeagac. However, it was forced to transfer to Romania part of its richest province of Dobruja, including the regions of Silistra and Balchik in North-Eastern Bulgaria); the country lost Central Macedonia, most of which would have been awarded to it by Russian arbitration. On September 22, 1913, the Treaty of Constantinople was signed between Bulgaria and Turkey. Under its terms, Adrianople remained Turkish, like most of Thrace, which Turkey did not deserve after a series of shameful defeats in the fall of 1912.

The fatal dispute between Bulgaria and Serbia, which was the cause of the collapse of the Balkan Union, led to the tragic Second Balkan War of July 1913, which aroused the most bitter feelings. It is difficult to determine whose fault was greater. Both Serbia and Bulgaria were undoubtedly to blame for the choice of means they resorted to in resolving their differences. But the true culprits must be sought not in Sofia or Belgrade, but in Vienna and Budapest. The Balkan Union prevented the movement of German states to the East; the split of this union weakened Bulgaria and again placed Serbia at the mercy of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. After such unrewarding trials, it is not surprising that the Bulgarian people and their ambitious ruler were forced to go behind the scenes of history.

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An introductory fragment from the book History of the Balkans. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Turkey from the Formation of the State to the First World War (Neville Forbes, 2017) provided by our book partner -

Balkans, region. South-East. Europe, which now includes Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, European. part of Turkey, former Yugoslavia and Romania. Were inhabited by approx. 200 thousand years BC, for which there is an archaeol. evidence is the Aurignacian and Gravettian cultures of the Late Paleolithic. By 7000 B.C. Neolithic culture (Neolithic) developed here, incl. culture of painted (linear-band) ceramics. Then ter. settled by semi-nomadic tribes of farmers who came from the East (ca. 3500 BC), and later by the peoples of the culture of the fields of funeral urns from the Center. Europe. B. were part of several. successive empires: the Persians, Greeks, Romans dominated here, and in the beginning. Middle Ages - Byzantines. Serbs, Bulgarians (Bulgaria) and Magyars tried to create their own states, but in the end. 14th century could not resist the invasion of the 3. Ottoman Turks (Ottoman Empire). In 1354 the Turks reached the Dardanelles, in 1370 they captured Macedonia, and after the battle of Kosovo in 1389 - Serbia. The balance of power changed after the siege of Vienna in 1683, when the armies of the renewed Habsburg Empire and Russia, which stood up to defend the Balkan peoples, many. Of which there were Slavs and Orthodox. Christians (the Orthodox Church), pushed the Turks back.

Excellent definition

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BALKANS

Russian-Turkish War, 1877-1878). Crossing the Balkan Mountains of Russian troops under the overall command of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (over 130 thousand people) December 13-28, 1877 By the end of 1877, favorable preconditions had developed in the Balkans for the Russian army to go on the offensive. Its total number reached 314 thousand people. against 183 thousand people. from the Turks. In addition, the capture of Plevna and the victory at Mechka secured the flanks of Russian troops in Northern Bulgaria (see Mechka). But winter sharply reduced the possibilities of offensive actions. The Balkans were already covered in deep snow and were considered impassable at this time of year. However, at the military council on November 30, 1877, it was decided to cross the Balkans in winter. Wintering soldiers in the mountains meant their certain death. But if the army had descended from the passes to winter quarters , then in the spring we would have to storm the Balkan steeps again. Therefore, it was decided to descend from the mountains, but in a different direction - to Constantinople. Several detachments were allocated for the assault on the Balkans, of which the two main ones were Western and Southern. Western led by I.V. Gurko (70 thousand people) was supposed to go to Sofia, going behind the rear of the Turkish troops at Shipka. Southern detachment F.F. Radetzky (over 40 thousand people) advanced in the Shipka area. Two more detachments led by generals Kartsov (5 thousand people) and Dellingshausen (22 thousand people) were supposed to advance through Trajan Val and Tvarditsky Pass, respectively. In a word, the Balkans were broken through on a wide front (up to 200 km) in several places at once, so as not to give the Turkish command the opportunity to reliably seal them in one area. Thus began the most striking and unforgettable operation of this war. After almost six months of trampling under Plevna, the Russians unexpectedly took off and decided the outcome of the campaign in just a month, stunning Europe and Turkey. The honor of being the first to cross the Balkans fell to the Western detachment of General Gurko, who began his famous campaign on December 13. The troops were divided into several columns, each of which crossed the Balkans in its own sector. Due to a blizzard in the mountains, the detachment spent 8 days on the transition instead of the intended two. In stubborn battles near Tashkisen on December 19-20, advancing waist-deep in snow, Gurko’s courageous soldiers knocked down a 5,000-strong Turkish detachment from their positions on the passes, and then descended from the Balkans. As a result of the breakthrough of several columns, Turkish positions in other places were under threat of attack on the flank and rear, which forced the Turkish command to begin a general retreat. On December 23, the Russians occupied Sofia without a fight, freeing it from five centuries of Ottoman rule. Gurko’s order on the occasion of the occupation of Sofia noted: “Years will pass, and our descendants, having visited these wild mountains, will say with pride and triumph: “Russian troops passed here and resurrected the glory of Suvorov and Rumyantsev’s miracle heroes.” Gurko's crossing of the Balkans in parts made the task easier for General Kartsov's detachment. He had to overcome his route along the only narrow shepherd path. Due to the steepness of the climb and icy conditions, the horses pulling the guns stumbled, fell and fell down, dragging the teams with them. Therefore, they were unharnessed, and the soldiers themselves had to drag the guns onto the icy cliffs. Half of the soldiers carried rifles and the luggage of their comrades, half dragged guns. They changed every half hour. During the day the column covered 4-5 versts. No more than 4 hours were allocated for sleep and rest. Despite these incredible difficulties, Kartsov’s detachment on December 26 (on the feast of the Nativity of Christ) managed to take the Trajan Wall by storm, and then descended from the pass and on December 31, under New Year, established contact with Gurko’s detachment. The largest battle during the crossing of the Balkans took place south of the Shipka Pass, where the main Turkish army of Wessel Pasha (30-35 thousand people) was located in the area of ​​​​the village of Sheinovo. To defeat it, Radetzky planned to carry out a double envelopment of the columns of generals M.D. Skobelev and N.I. Svyatopolk-Mirsky. They were tasked with overcoming the Balkan passes (Imitliysky and Tryavnensky), and then, reaching the Sheinovo region, launching flank attacks on the Turkish army located there. Radetzky with the remaining units on Shipka was supposed to deliver a diversionary strike in the center. The first column to reach Sheinovo on December 27 was Svyatopolk-Mirsky, which attacked Turkish positions. Skobelev's right column was delayed in leaving. She had to overcome deep snow in harsh weather conditions, climbing narrow mountain paths. Skobelev's lateness gave the Turks the opportunity to recover from the first unexpected onslaught and launch a counteroffensive against the Svyatopolk-Mirsky detachment. But their attacks on the morning of January 28 were repulsed. Finally, having overcome the snow drifts, Skobelev’s units entered the battle area. They quickly attacked the Turkish positions and eventually captured the last line of defense of the Turks, who began to retreat to their camp. Meanwhile, parts of the Skobelev column bypassed Sheinovo from the south and united in Kazanlak with the units of Svyatopolk-Mirsky. As a result, the Turkish army was completely surrounded and capitulated. The rapid passage of the Russians through the Balkans had a demoralizing effect on the Turkish troops and the leadership of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, this operation opened up a free path for the Russians to Constantinople, deciding the outcome of the Russian-Turkish War (1877-1878) (see Philippopolis). The Turkish command was unable to give an adequate response to the rapid change in the strategic situation and was forced to conclude a truce on January 19, 1878. This campaign through the snow-covered and ice-bound Balkan ridge became a military feat, the like of which is rarely seen in history. By the way, the only time he attempted to make a winter crossing through the Balkans in order to defeat the Turks on the Thracian Plain was in the middle of the 15th century. famous Hungarian commander Janos Hunyadi. However, his troops, broken by bad weather and the stubborn defense of the Turks, were forced to retreat. Four centuries later, only the Russian army managed to cross the Balkans in winter, having overcome the snowy elements and the Turkish defense.

In the Bulgarian cave Bacho-Kiro

Around 34 thousand BC. e. Neanderthals are replaced by modern humans (Homo Sapiens). Their most ancient remains were discovered in Romania.

Balkan Neolithic

During the Neolithic era, the Balkans became the most important cultural center of Europe, from where technologies spread even to the territory of modern Netherlands (Linear Band Pottery Culture).

Around 4000 BC e. The first wave of Indo-Europeans penetrates the Balkans from the territory of the Ukrainian steppes (Cernavoda Culture).

Bronze Age in the Balkans

In the Bronze Age, the Mycenaean civilization forms at the southern tip of the Balkans, ending with the Dorian invasion.

Balkans in Antiquity

In the 4th century BC. e. the time has come for Macedonian hegemony.

Then, by the beginning of our era, the Balkans became part of the Roman Empire, where its most important centers were located, such as Solin, where the residence of Emperor Diocletian was located, and Constantinople, which claimed to be the Second Rome.

Balkans in the Middle Ages

The Balkans in the era of the great migration of peoples

The Balkans in the sphere of political influence of Byzantium in the 7th-9th centuries

Territories controlled by Constantinople in the early 8th century

In the 7th century, the emperors of Constantinople, formally owning the Balkans, practically lost control over a significant part of their territory.

The Slavs, mixing with the indigenous population, settled throughout most of the peninsula. Emperor Heraclius I (610-641) did not oppose Slavic expansion into the Balkans; moreover, he expected that the Slavs would be his allies in the fight against the Avar Kaganate. He allowed the Croats to settle in Pannonia and the lands on the Dalmatian coast, and the Serbs in the interior of the peninsula. Another inter-empire association of Slavs settled, possibly as federates of the empire, in Moesia.

First Bulgarian Kingdom

In the middle of the 7th century, the Turkic tribes of Khan Asparukh - the Bulgars (proto-Bulgarians) came to Dobruja from the Northern Black Sea region, pressed by the Khazars. Slavic tribes acted as his allies in his war against Byzantium in 680. Their support helped Asparukh successfully resist the Khazars in the east and successfully fight with Byzantium in the south. The weakness of its neighbors - Byzantium and the Avar Khaganate - contributed to the formation of the state of Asparukh in the space between the Danube and the Stara Planina mountain range to the Iskar River and the capital in Pliska.

After a series of internal crises in the 8th century, the Bulgarian state expanded its borders during the reign of Khan Krum (803-814). The Avars at this time suffered defeat after defeat from the Franks of Charlemagne. Taking advantage of this, Krum, for his part, struck them. Thus, through the joint efforts of the Franks and Bulgarians, the Avar Kaganate was defeated, and its territory was divided between the victors. The border between the Franks and Bulgarians passed along the Middle Danube. Then Krum started a war with Byzantium. In 811, Emperor Nikephoros I set as his goal the destruction of the Bulgarian state and was close to achieving it. After a successful siege, the Bulgarian capital was captured and destroyed, the garrison was killed. Krum raised the entire Bulgarian population to fight the invader, and Nikephoros I was forced to retreat. Retreating, almost the entire Byzantine army died. The emperor himself also died. In 814, Krum's army was already standing at the walls of Constantinople. The sudden death of Krum helped Leo V in 815 force the Bulgarians to conclude a peace treaty for thirty years.

Balkans under Byzantine rule in the 11th-12th centuries

Balkans in the XIII-XIV centuries

Restoration of the Bulgarian state

The uprising of 1185 restored Bulgarian independence. Its leaders were the brothers Peter IV and Ivan Asen I - co-rulers of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Kaloyan, who ruled Bulgaria from 1197 to 1207 - the younger brother of his predecessors on the throne - in 1199, taking advantage of the weakening of imperial power and numerous rebellions, resumed the war with Byzantium. The Cumans actually fought on the side of the Bulgarians. Byzantium was forced to come to terms with the fall of Bulgaria, and in 1202 Emperor Alexei III recognized the independence of Bulgaria. IN short term Bulgaria again became the strongest state on the Balkan Peninsula. In November 1204, Pope Innocent III recognized Kaloyan as king, and the Bulgarian Patriarchate again became independent from Constantinople.

Latin Empire and surrounding territories.

In 1204, the crusaders captured Byzantium and created the Latin Empire on its ruins. They considered themselves the heirs of Byzantium and, accordingly, all the territories that were subordinate to it. Therefore, they rejected the alliance proposed by Kaloyan to the first Latin emperor Baldwin. Then Kaloyan acted as the initiator of the uprising of the Greeks against the Latins. In 1205, the Greek uprising swept all of Thrace. The Latins suffered a crushing defeat, the emperor himself was captured and executed by Kaloyan. The surviving crusaders fled to Europe with the hope that the pope would declare Kaloyan an enemy of Christianity and proclaim a new crusade against him. But Kaloyan’s power was so great that the pope sent him a letter in which he warned about a new offensive of the crusaders from the West and advised him to make peace.

In 1206 the knights were defeated again. At the same time, Kaloyan devastated Thrace and resettled the Greeks on the Danube - he called himself a Roman fighter and said that he was taking revenge for the bloody massacres of the Bulgarians by Emperor Vasily II. Bulgarian fighters. At the same time, the Bulgarians, whether they wanted it or not, saved the Nicene Empire of Theodore Laskaris, the center of future Greek statehood, from destruction by the crusaders.

Apogee and decline of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom

Balkans in the 19th century

In the 19th century, the Balkans became the scene of Russian-Turkish wars, as a result of which the independent states of Greece (), Romania (), and Serbia () were formed.

Balkans in the twentieth century

Balkan Wars 1912-1913

In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. This gave rise to the Bosnian crisis, which threatened to escalate into a major European war.

Balkans before the 1st Balkan War

Balkans after the 1st Balkan War

In the spring of 1912, with the active diplomatic participation of Russia, a number of bilateral military-political treaties were concluded between Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro - the so-called Balkan Union was formed, in which Bulgaria and Serbia played a leading role. Russia, intending to use this alliance in its opposition to Austria-Hungary, took on the role of arbiter in it. The member countries of the union themselves pursued the goal of finally liberating the Balkans from Ottoman rule and, thereby, expanding their borders. At the same time, in an effort to expand their states at the expense of the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire, the members of the union partially laid claim to the same territories. Bulgaria and Greece - to Thrace; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria - to Macedonia; Montenegro and Serbia - to Adriatic ports. The Bulgarians sought to gain access to the Aegean Sea by annexing Thessaloniki and Western Thrace, the Serbs sought access to the Adriatic Sea at the expense of Albania.

In October 1912, the countries of the Balkan Union, contrary to the aspirations of Russia, began a war against Turkey. One of its episodes was the anti-Turkish Albanian uprising, as a result of which the independence of Albania was proclaimed. The war ended on May 30, 1913 with the signing of the peace treaty in London. The Ottoman presence in Europe was practically reduced to nothing, but the division of the territories conquered from Turkey by the member countries of the union had to be carried out themselves, without foreign mediation. With the support of the great powers, the state of Albania was only created within the borders that they defined for it.

Macedonia was divided between Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria received access to the Aegean Sea, but Serbia did not receive access to the Adriatic Sea. The partition border of Macedonia remained disputed. None of the participants in the Balkan Union was fully satisfied with the division that took place. And the very emergence of another state in the Balkans - Albania - did not suit either Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, or Montenegro.

Diplomats from Germany and Austria-Hungary persuaded the Serbian king to go to war with Greece and Bulgaria in order to gain access to the sea, and pushed the Bulgarian king to annex Macedonia. At the same time, the Bulgarian government insisted on strict compliance with all points of the Serbian-Bulgarian Union Treaty of 1912, which began the entire Balkan Union, while Serbia agreed with German and Austrian diplomats and began to prepare for a new war. Greece, dissatisfied with the strengthening of Bulgaria, already on the second day after the signing of the London Treaty, concluded an anti-Bulgarian agreement with Serbia. The situation was aggravated by the revanchism of the Young Turks, who wanted to return lost territories. Russia called for a peaceful settlement of the issue and proposed convening a conference at which new borders would be established.

The Balkan Union collapsed when, on June 29, 1913, Bulgarian troops went on the offensive on their section of the Macedonian border without declaring war. At the start of this war, Serbia did not have any special war plans; Bulgaria had such plans. After the start of the war, the governments of Serbia and Greece decided to restrain the Bulgarian troops by relying on diplomacy - accusing Bulgaria of violating the alliance treaties and thereby putting it in isolation.

Balkans after the 2nd Balkan War

On July 29, the Bulgarian government, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, signed a truce, and on August 10, a peace treaty. Having lost the war, Bulgaria lost almost all the territories captured during the First Balkan War (and also Southern Dobruja), although it retained access to the Aegean Sea. Serbia and Greece expanded their territories, but Serbia remained landlocked.

Türkiye did not participate in the signing of the Bucharest Peace Treaty. On 29 September, a treaty between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire was signed privately in Istanbul, establishing the Bulgarian-Turkish border and peace between them. Türkiye received back part of Eastern Thrace.

First World War 1914-1918

Interwar period 1918-1940

At the same time, the national liberation struggle turns into chauvinistic nationalism, pro-fascist forces appear: the Croatian Ustasha Pavelić, the Romanian Iron Guard. In Bulgaria in 1935, the “monarcho-fascist dictatorship” of Tsar Boris was established. All this makes the Balkans an ally of the Third Reich in World War II. The pro-German Independent State of Croatia is formed, Albania becomes a protectorate of fascist Italy.

World War II 1940-1945

And at the same time in 1940-41. Greece won the first victory of the anti-fascist coalition over the Axis countries, and the Resistance movement in Yugoslavia and Greece became one of the most powerful in Europe.

It is often said that the Balkans have been a crossroads of cultures and peoples throughout history. The location in South-Eastern Europe, between the large and powerful countries of Western Europe, the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire and Russia, led to the fact that many peoples of the Balkans were subject to strong blows from external forces. The Balkans unwittingly became a “fault line.”

In the Balkans, historically, the peninsula has been inhabited by many different nations and national groups, even if these nations do not have their own countries.

In almost all Balkan countries, a complex mixture of religious groups has developed, such as Eastern Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Jews. In addition to this, the geographically small Balkan states have always been adjacent to powerful countries that exert enormous influence on them and, to some extent, exercise control over the region. Examples of these strong countries are the Ottoman and Russian Empires, and subsequently Soviet Union, and the Habsburg Empire (Austrian).

In the first millennium BC. The Balkans were part of the Byzantine Empire. Ruled by the Greco-Roman city of Constantinople, this empire was multi-ethnic and very proud of its heritage, seeing itself as the main successor state to the former Roman Empire.

Gradually, the power of the Byzantine Empire declined, and independent Slavic states emerged in the Balkans, west of Constantinople: the Bulgarian, Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian kingdoms. Since these kingdoms appeared mainly sequentially and not simultaneously, sometimes some pieces of territory belonged to different time different kingdoms. This has created a number of problems in modern times when more than one nation claims historical rights to the same territory. This problem in Balkan history is usually called the term “imposition of kingdom”.

The arrival of the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans in the 14th century ushered in a period of major political change. By the end of the 15th century, all Balkan peoples (with the exception of Montenegrins and Croats) had lost their political independence and became subjects of the Turkish Sultan. History's most famous defeat of the Balkan peoples to the Turks occurred in 1389, when the Serbs and their allies (including Christian Albanians) suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Kosovo (Field of the Blackbirds), near today's Pristina (Kosovo).

Constantinople also did not survive the epoch-making battle in 1453. The Turks renamed it Istanbul, and the city became the capital of the Ottoman Empire until its final collapse after the First World War.

Before the First World War, new Balkan states were formed: Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Albania, Romania and Bulgaria. But after the end of the First World War, which was the defeat of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires, a united Yugoslavia appeared in the Balkans.

After 1945, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Albania became members of the Warsaw Pact, which opposed NATO during the Cold War.

1989 brought changes for most of these socialist countries. There was a fall that year Berlin Wall, the “velvet revolution” in Prague, and the coup in the Balkans that overthrew the Romanian tyrant Nicolae Ceausescu.

It is tragic that events in Yugoslavia were moving in a different direction at this time. The Yugoslavs, who had long enjoyed greater freedom and a higher standard of living than most other countries in Eastern Europe, lost much after the death of their long-time leader Josip Broz Tito in 1980. The country gradually experienced a collapse of central authority, accompanied by enormous economic problems, and, what played a more sinister role, with the rise of manipulative nationalist leaders such as Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia and Franjo Tudjman in Croatia. Thus, at a time of great change in Europe, the Yugoslavs, instead of striving for freedom and independence, found themselves teetering on the brink of their own disaster.

From the first position among the countries of Eastern Europe, in conditions of liberalization and prospects for positive change, they fell to last place. It was only a short downward spiral until the civil war that began in 1991 and led to the breakup of the country into separate states.

In contact with

The cause of the war was the desire of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece to expand their territories. The war ended with the Treaty of London.

The first period of the war (October - December 1912) was characterized by a large-scale offensive by the troops of the Balkan Union. During the truce, Türkiye, Serbia and Bulgaria stopped fighting, but Greece and Montenegro continued the war. The second period of the war (February - May 1913) was distinguished by positional warfare, not counting the assault on Adrianople (Odrina). At the end of the First Balkan War, the member countries of the Balkan Union were not satisfied with the London Peace Treaty, which led to the Second Balkan War.

Causes

Historical background. Great Power Politics

In the 15th century, the Turks, having occupied Asia Minor, began the conquest of the Balkan Peninsula, the Middle East and North Africa. After the conquest of Constantinople, the emerging Ottoman Empire began to include vast territories in the eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea region and western Asia. These lands were inhabited by many peoples different from the Turks in religion, nationality and worldview. Even before its inclusion in the empire, up to 15 peoples already lived on the Balkan Peninsula.

Repeatedly there were uprisings against Turkish rule on the peninsula, ending in the defeat of the rebels. In the 19th century, in the wake of anti-colonial wars and uprisings, a series of liberation wars took place in the region. States such as Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania appeared. Despite this, the Albanians did not achieve self-determination, and in the territories still controlled by the Turkish government there lived several million Bulgarians (by which meant mainly the groups now known as Macedonians), about a million Serbs and half a million Greeks. Also, these lands were historically considered parts of the newly formed Balkan states.

After the Italo-Turkish War, the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, opponents of the Ottoman Empire, realized the need for consolidation. The unifying factors were both common goals and common features of the peoples - the Serbs, Montenegrins and Bulgarians were Orthodox Slavs. The Greeks were also Orthodox. The Russian Empire played an important role in the region, which competed with Austria-Hungary in the Balkans, and it needed to establish itself in this part of Europe.

It was on her initiative that on March 13, 1912, an agreement was signed between Serbia and Bulgaria on the creation of a defensive alliance. On May 12, relations between the countries were strengthened. On May 29, Greece joined the alliance, which did not want to be left without territorial gains at the expense of Turkey, but Serbia and Bulgaria were extremely interested in the participation of the Greek fleet in military operations in order to block Turkish communications with Asia Minor and the Middle East. Later, the union treaty was signed by Montenegro and Bulgaria. Thus, as the Russian government intended, a powerful alliance was formed on the peninsula, directed against Austria-Hungary. It is worth noting that further events did not develop according to Russia’s plan, since the Balkan Union, instead of confronting Austria-Hungary, began preparations for war with its old enemy - the Ottoman Empire. Since the union was led by Bulgaria and Serbia, they decided to satisfy their territorial claims with the help of their allies.

Irredentism in the Balkans

At the beginning of the 20th century, the situation on the Balkan Peninsula changed greatly. The once mighty Ottoman Empire, which included Serbia, Greece, Romania, Montenegro and Bulgaria, dictated its terms to the entire region. The emergence of new states in the Balkans was due to pan-Slavism, pan-Romanism and various nationalist ideas. When these countries arose, the peoples living in them found themselves divided. Some of them still lived in Turkey.

Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece wanted to include the lands inhabited by these peoples and, moreover, achieve the greatest expansion of the borders of their powers. This meant that the Greeks strove for the idea of ​​a Greater Greece, after the First World War, for the embodiment of the Great Idea of ​​Venizelos, the Bulgarians - for a Greater Bulgaria, the Serbs - for the maximum expansion of their borders from the Danube to the Adriatic Sea and Greece. But the “great” states could not neighbor each other, since their territorial claims overlapped. Thus, Bulgaria and Greece jointly laid claim to Thrace; Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria - to Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia - to Adriatic ports.

Therefore, it was decided to first defeat Turkey and then solve territorial problems. Bulgaria and Serbia wanted to divide Macedonia between themselves by a demarcation line after the war. The Bulgarians sought to gain access to the Aegean Sea by annexing Thessaloniki and Western Thrace. Serbia and Greece wanted to divide Albania between themselves, as Serbia sought to gain access to the Adriatic Sea. After the end of the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War began, the reasons for which were the Balkan countries dissatisfied with the London Peace Treaty, which lost a common enemy - Turkey, after which they began to implement “great power” ideas through mutual destruction.

Preparing for war

Ottoman Empire

Plan

On October 13, 1912, Bulgaria presented an ultimatum to the Turkish government demanding autonomy for Macedonia and the non-Turkish peoples of the Balkans, as well as the creation of schools for Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs and the demobilization of a large part of the army in the region. The autonomous regions were to be headed by Belgian or Swiss governors; in total, the Balkan Union allocated six months to carry out reforms. The Ottoman Empire categorically refused to accept the terms of the ultimatum. Sultan Mehmed V sent a note of protest to the Bulgarian embassy in Istanbul and addressed his people with a speech that spoke of the Turks' tolerance for the national minorities of the empire and its neighbors.

Realizing that war was inevitable, the Turks developed their war plan. The principles on which it was developed were correct, but despite this, the plan was unrealistic. Its creator was Colmar von der Goltz, who also trained the Turkish army in the Balkans back in 1910, in preparation for war. But only after the Bulgarian ultimatum on October 14 did the Turks in the Balkans announce mobilization. The situation in the army was aggravated by the ongoing military reforms, which, according to the Sultan's plan, were to end in 1915. Therefore, by October 17, the day the war began, mobilization had not yet been completed. The Turkish troops were located along the Kirklareli - Yenice - Edirne line. The commander of the Eastern Army was Abdullah Pasha, his headquarters was located at Kavakli.

It was planned to conduct positional combat for the first month of the war, during which time the Turkish army would have time to mobilize and cross from Asia to the Balkans. The Turks were then to launch an all-out offensive on the Bulgarian border, push the Bulgarian troops north and strike Serbia, reaching the Serbian-Bulgarian border. From the Serbian-Bulgarian border and from Southern Bulgaria it was planned to strike Sofia and persuade the Bulgarians to peace. Since it was Bulgaria that bore the brunt of the war in the Balkan Union, the further defeat of the armies of Serbia, Greece and Montenegro did not present any particular difficulties.

Powers

From Asia Minor, at the beginning of hostilities, two divisions arrived in the Eastern Army, which defended the railway to Thessaloniki and the approaches to the Dardanelles. The 5th, 6th and 9th divisions, which had low combat effectiveness, arrived on the peninsula along the Black Sea. 40 squadrons of cavalry were stationed nearby. Of the corps already in Thrace, the 1st corps was located at Yenidzhe, the 2nd - at Kavakli in reserve behind the 3rd, which was located in the Kirklareli - Kuyun-Guyar section. The 4th Corps stretched from Edirne to Yenice, two of its divisions went into reserve. Engineering structures and fortifications in the fortified areas had not yet been completed by that time, which aggravated the situation.

At the beginning of the war with Bulgaria, the Western army under the command of Ali Ryza Pasha was in a worse position than the Eastern one. Already on October 6, 11 days before the start of hostilities in the eastern Balkans, the Montenegrin army spontaneously went on the offensive. The Turks lost the 24th division, since most of it surrendered (7,000 people and 22 guns) and the 21st. By the first days of October, the Western army grouped around Shkoder (Scutari) for its defense. The 20th Division covered Pristina and Mitrovica. In the south, on the border with Greece, the 23rd and 21st divisions were grouped near Ioannina.

In general, the Turkish army was not ready for the start of the war. Its forces did not have time to mobilize, and reserve units did not have time to arrive from Asia Minor. In the fortified areas, the fortifications were unfinished. The Allies managed to catch the Ottoman Empire by surprise with a preemptive attack.

Balkan Union

Powers and plans

First of all, the Allied command took advantage of the slow mobilization of Turkish troops. Montenegro unexpectedly attacked Turkish positions in Albania on September 25, while the remaining allies were still massing their armies. The premature attack of the Montenegrins was due to the spontaneity of mobilization, that is, people themselves joined the army without receiving summonses. Of all 50,000 soldiers in Montenegro, 10,000 were volunteers.

The location of the allied forces and their further actions were dictated by the interests of the Balkan powers. Bulgaria, which had the largest army among the countries of the Balkan Union, was going to attack Thrace and Istanbul first. Montenegro wanted to get the north of Albania, Greece and Serbia were preparing to attack Macedonia. In addition, the Greek fleet was supposed to cut off the connection between the Western Army of the Turks and Asia Minor, blocking the sea route through the Aegean Sea. Fearing an attack from Austria-Hungary, the Serbian and Bulgarian authorities sent separate units to the Danube to guard the borders.

Bulgaria, which was entrusted with the greatest responsibility by the allies, prepared for war thoroughly. The government of the country exempted Muslims from conscription, thereby strengthening its army. The core of the army was made up of militias from the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Later they were joined by mobilized soldiers and militias, and a pro-Bulgarian people's militia appeared in Macedonia. The mobilization on September 30 was successful; those called up for service even came from abroad. On October 17, the army was completely ready for the start of the war.

Armament

Greece and Bulgaria purchased all their artillery from France. European artillery was significantly superior in quality to Turkish artillery, and the number of artillery pieces in the Balkan Union exceeded the number of artillery in the Ottoman Empire. However, it is worth noting that Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, unlike the Turks, did not have mountain artillery, which subsequently affected the effectiveness of their armies in the Balkan mountains. Greece was the only country in the Balkan Union that had a fleet in the Mediterranean. It included the newest armored cruiser Georgios Averof, built in Italy, three old but modernized coastal defense battleships Hydra, Spetses and Psara, 13 destroyers built in Germany and England, two submarines French built. At the outbreak of war, the Greek government requisitioned nine commercial ships from their owners and armed them for use as auxiliary cruisers.

By the beginning of the First Balkan War, Bulgaria had a full-fledged military aviation. The first air force units appeared back in 1906. By the beginning of the war, Bulgaria had the Sofia-1 balloon and one Godard-type balloon. In addition, the Bulgarians purchased 14 airplanes from the Russian Empire, and another 9 were purchased in Western European countries. Due to the fact that there were no professional pilots in the country at all, volunteer pilots arrived from Russia along with the airplanes. Thus, the Bulgarian command decided to form military aviation units. In order not to depend on Russian pilots, 13 Bulgarian pilots, 6 mechanics and 2 balloon pilots were sent to Western European countries for training.

The training took a long time, and by the beginning of the First Balkan War, not a single aviation unit had been formed. Despite this, Bulgarian airplanes took part in large-scale military actions and operations. The 1st AO (aviation formation) was formed only in the first months of the war. This unit included foreign aircraft of the Albatros brand (3 pieces), Farman(4 pieces), Voisin(1 piece), Somer(1 piece), Sikorsky(1 piece), Bristol(1 piece), Nieuport(2 pieces) and Blerio(10 pieces). On the entire Balkan Peninsula, only Bulgaria had an air force equipped with the latest model aircraft. Neither other countries of the Balkan Union, nor Türkiye could afford such a number of aircraft.

Fighting

The first months of the war

From border battles to large-scale war

On September 25 (October 8), 1912, when the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs S.D. Sazonov was in Berlin making statements about “ensuring peace in the Balkans,” the official representative of Montenegro Plamenac informed the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs that Montenegro was declaring war on the Porte, after why he left Constantinople.

Montenegro’s premature start to the war against Turkey was explained by the spontaneity of mobilization and the presence of volunteers in the army. Since October 4, small clashes took place on the border of Turkey and Montenegro; on October 8, these clashes escalated into major battles, and on October 9, Montenegrins crossed the border in three columns. The war has officially begun. Turkish soldiers were unable to prevent the enemy's advance. A column of Montenegrin troops under the command of General Vukotic moved towards the city of Berane, two more detachments headed towards Bijelo Polje, Plav and Gusinj. In these cities there were 4 divisions of the Turks and another 9,000 Arnauts. On October 10, another 2,000 Ottoman Arnauts arrived in the region and tried to push the Montenegrins back to their original positions, but the maneuver failed. On October 11, the column of Prince Danilo stormed the border heights of Dedich and Shinshanik. From the guns abandoned by the retreating Turks, the Montenegrins opened fire at the enemy’s back. At the same time, on October 14, an incident occurred on the Serbian-Turkish border. Serbia and the Ottoman Empire were not yet at war when a small Turkish force crossed the border and attacked the arriving Serbian troops. They quickly reacted and drove the enemy detachment out of Serbian territory. It is still not clear why the unit went on the attack without notifying higher command. It was suggested that this was an unauthorized decision by the detachment commander.

On October 15, Montenegrin troops of Danilo took the city of Tuzi after a three-day siege. Nurri Bey, the city's commandant, surrendered it after the Montenegrins occupied the surrounding heights and opened fire on the city. At the same time, Vukotic and his detachment, despite enemy artillery fire, swam across the Lim River and took Obrovo and Bijelo Polje on the move. On October 16, the Montenegrins concentrated their forces in the direction of Berana and stormed the city on the same day. The next day they took Plava and Gusinje. Under enemy pressure, Turkish troops retreated to Ipek, leaving Rugova.

On October 5 (18), 1912, Serbia and Bulgaria declared war on Turkey, and the next day - Greece. Serbian troops, concentrated on the border line from Vranja to Uzhitsa, went on the offensive. On October 19, Bulgaria began active military operations. Before 100,000 Bulgarian soldiers entered enemy territory, the manifesto declaring war was read out verbatim and briefly described the failed mobilization in the Ottoman Empire. This information fell into the hands of the Bulgarian command from Slavic refugees from Thrace, who fled to Bulgaria before the war. The situation of the Turks was truly disastrous. All the fortifications at the strategically important Kirklareli were unfinished, the army on the Bulgarian border was only 45,000 strong, and reinforcements from Asia Minor were delayed.

On the same day, the 2nd Bulgarian Army captured the strategically important fortified point of Kurt-Kale and occupied a small border settlement without a fight. During the retreat, the Turks did not blow up the bridge across the Maritsa in the city and did not destroy the railway, which was their strategic mistake. The Bulgarians immediately began transferring troops to Edirne.

On October 20, in Brederevo, taken the day before by Montenegrin troops, the armies of Montenegro and Serbia united into a combined detachment and then moved to Ipek. By October 21, the 1st Serbian Army was fighting near Kumanovo, the 2nd Serbian Army was at the Sheep Field, the 3rd Army of Jankovic was storming Pristina, the 4th Army of Zivkovic, together with the Montenegrin army of Danilo, occupied the Novopazar Sandzak. On October 22, the 1st and 3rd Bulgarian armies met with the Turkish army at Erekler. The Turks lined up on commanding heights, but this did not stop the Bulgarians. First, the Turkish army was subjected to heavy artillery fire, then the Bulgarian troops rushed into hand-to-hand combat and forced the enemy to retreat to Kirklareli. On the same day, the 2nd Bulgarian Army blocked Edirne.

Battle of Kumanovo

While Montenegrin, Serbian and Bulgarian troops were advancing in all directions, the 1st Serbian Army under the command of Prince Alexander, approaching Kumanov, unexpectedly collided with the Western Army of the Turks. The Turks had 180,000 soldiers, the Serbs - 120,000. Another 40,000 Turkish soldiers were located nearby, on the Sheep Field. Reinforcements were approaching Alexander's army past the same field - the 3rd Army, which had already occupied Pristina.

In this situation, Alexander decided to wait for reinforcements for another three days. The commander of the Western Army, Ottoman Zekki Pasha, decided on the contrary - to attack while the Turkish troops outnumbered the enemy. From October 21 to 22, the opposing armies stood against each other until the Turks launched an attack on October 23.

The battle began at ten o'clock in the morning with the attack of the Turkish infantry on the Serbian cavalry division on the left flank. Later the Turks attacked both the Danube Division on the left flank and the Moravian Division in the center. The attackers took the Serbs by surprise; moreover, they did not know the exact size of the Turkish army, assuming that the enemy forces were several times smaller than their own. Therefore, to repel the attack, the Serbs deployed small units of infantry, which were completely destroyed by two o'clock in the afternoon. Realizing that there were many more Turks, the Serbs sent three infantry divisions and one cavalry into battle. Two more divisions remained in reserve. To envelop the enemy from the flanks, the Turks took advantage of their numerical superiority and entered from the sides. In response, the Serbs stretched out their troops. As a result, the length of the front was 30 kilometers.

It was raining and foggy that day, so it was extremely difficult for the Serbian artillerymen to calculate the location of the enemy. The Turks knew about this, so before noon they launched major attacks on the enemy’s left flank and center. At the same moment, another Turkish corps was maneuvering, bypassing the Serbs from the right flank. However, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon the situation began to change on the left flank. Now in some places the Serbs were on the offensive. A Turkish corps was also discovered advancing to the rear of Alexander's 1st Army. His road was blocked, and the corps was forced to retreat. At 6 pm the battle stopped. The Turks, who had the initiative at the beginning of the battle, retreated.

At 7 pm the clouds cleared and the battlefield was illuminated by the moon. The Turks took advantage of this by attempting to take revenge: the Danube Division on the left flank was again attacked. Now that there was no fog, the Turks opened targeted artillery fire. After the shelling, the infantry began to attack, the Serbs opened weapons and artillery fire. The night battle between the Serbs and the Turks was much bloodier than the day, since the sides resorted to the help of artillery. At 11 pm the Turks retreated again, in turn, the Serbs managed to occupy some enemy positions. At night, Serbian soldiers began to prepare for a general offensive along a thirty-kilometer front.

In the early morning of October 24, the Serbs suddenly opened artillery fire on the Turkish positions, after which the enemy was attacked by infantry. The Turks did not expect an early attack and everyone was in the trenches, so the Serbs saved bullets and took the enemy to the sword. At 11 o'clock in the afternoon, the Turkish positions were completely occupied by the Serbian army, and local battles continued in some places. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the battle stopped, the Turks retreated to Skopje. They abandoned most of their artillery near Kumanovo - 156 guns. The Serbs captured 2,000 Turkish soldiers and about 100 officers.

Lozengrad operation

The key city on the way to the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, was Kirk Kilis (Lozengrad). In order to cut off the Western Turkish army from the eastern one and then invade Thrace, the Bulgarian troops needed to occupy the city and hold it, for which the Lozengrad operation was developed, led by Radko-Dmitriev. The latter believed that the success of the operation depended on the speed of the offensive. The Turks would not have had time to bring up reinforcements and complete fortifications in time to repel the attack. To capture Kirk-Kilis, it was decided to equip the 1st and 3rd armies.

However, the roads were washed away by heavy, multi-day downpours, and the fields were completely flooded with water. The Turks assumed that this would delay the enemy and allow them to better prepare for defense. However, the Bulgarians continued to advance towards the city. To increase the speed of movement, they unloaded the convoys, and carried ammunition and provisions on their hands. They did the same with artillery, which was pulled by several horses, and sometimes by several people. Thus, the Bulgarians managed to approach Kirk-Kilis in time.

By that time, the Turks had occupied the heights surrounding the city, installing their artillery on them. Kirk Kilis itself was never properly fortified, but the mountainous terrain allowed the Turks to greatly strengthen their position. The number of troops amounted to 45,000 people, they were commanded by Mahmud Mukhtar Pasha. The commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army considered Kirk-Kilis a powerfully fortified city, and the position of the local troops was quite successful. Reinforcements numbering up to 30,000 were approaching the Turkish garrison in the city.

Before the start of the battle, von der Goltz, an instructor of the Turkish troops, stated: “To capture Kirklareli it will take three months of time and an army three times larger than the Bulgarian one both in number and quality”. On October 22, all lagging units of the 1st and 3rd armies of Bulgaria pulled up to the city and turned around. On the same day, a battle began, during which the Turks abandoned all forward positions in front of Kirklareli. The next day, October 23, the Bulgarians attacked the city proper. Due to heavy rain and poor visibility, no artillery was used in the battle.

The Bulgarians bypassed the right flank of the enemy troops near the village of Kaivy by nightfall, which led to panic in the ranks of the Turks. All Ottoman troops on the right flank disappeared into the city. Following them, the rest of the Turkish forces left their positions, leaving behind weapons, ammunition, and guns. Mahmud Mukhtar Pasha was one of the first to leave Kirklareli. On the morning of October 24, the Bulgarians occupied the deserted city without a fight.

After the defeat at Kirk Kilis, Mahmud Mukhtar Pasha telegraphed to Constantinople about the poor training of the troops and their cowardice: “These are not troops, but bastards! The soldiers think only about how to quickly get to Istanbul, where they are attracted by the smell of Constantinople kitchens. It is impossible to defend successfully with such troops...". In turn, Metropolitan Methodius of Stara Zagora met with the Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand the next day. Regarding the capture of Kirklareli, he made a speech in which he mentioned Whole Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Emperor.

When asked by the Russian ambassador about “Complete Bulgaria,” the Metropolitan answered that this was only inspired by the victory at Kirklareli and was not a serious intention of the country. In its turn, Russian ambassador expressed hopes that Bulgaria will show restraint in the Balkans and will not seek to establish its hegemony in the region.

Defeat of the Turkish troops. Deadlock

Defeat of the Eastern Army

After the Lozengrad operation, the spontaneous retreat of Turkish troops continued. The 16th Corps, which was heading to the front, also succumbed to panic, and on October 24, it also began to retreat. No one pursued the Turks; the Bulgarians remained in captured Kirklareli, completely losing their strategically advantageous contact with the enemy. On October 27, Turkish soldiers who had left the front gathered in the city of Arkadiopol (Luleburgaz). In just three days, the retreating army covered 60 kilometers.

Following the soldiers, Mahmud Mukhtar Pasha arrived in the city. He managed to stop the spontaneous retreat of the army and form new units. By that time, reinforcements had arrived from Istanbul. In total, 120,000 troops accumulated in the region. Abdullah Pasha, commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army, decided to take revenge. He wanted to stop the Bulgarian advance in the swampy area near the Karagach River, and then launch a counter-offensive. Already on October 27, the Turks were completely ready for battle, and Mahmud Mukhtar Pasha sent his troops to Bunar-Gissar. In this region, the Turks were opposed by three enemy divisions under the command of Radko Dmitriev. The 1st Bulgarian Army rushed to his aid, intending to take Luleburgaz on the move.

Thus, a new Yani front appeared - Arcadiopolis. On October 29, the fighting became increasingly fierce, and the Bulgarian 1st Army was delayed due to roads washed out by rain. On October 30, the Turks attempted an offensive. Three divisions defending the area from Yani to Luleburgaz were ordered by the Bulgarian command “die in your positions, but don’t give them up”. On October 31, the Turks tried to capture the Bulgarian right flank, but the attack was repulsed with heavy losses. On November 1, the Bulgarian 1st Army approached Luleburgaz, and in the evening of the same day the situation turned in favor of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian 4th Infantry Division broke through the Turkish defenses in the center and went on the offensive at Karagach. On November 2, the Eastern Turkish Army retreated again along the entire front, de facto ceasing to exist. Its remnants retreated to the Chataldzhin defensive line. The Bulgarians captured 3,000 soldiers and officers and captured 4 enemy banners, 50 artillery pieces and 100 boxes of artillery ammunition.

Defeat of the Western Army

On October 25, the day after the Battle of Kumanovo, the retreating Turks began to approach Skopje. Together with them, refugees from the north of Macedonia flocked to the city, 150,000 in total. As a rule, these were Muslims, fearing the offensive of the Orthodox Serbs and Bulgarians. Some of the Ottoman troops remained in Skopje, others deserted. In total, 40,000 soldiers accumulated in the city.

Zekki Pasha also arrived in Skopje. From the city he sent a telegram to the commander of the Western Army in Thessaloniki. Zekki Pasha reported that he was going to reorganize the army and prepare for the defense of Skopje “to the last drop of blood.” In fact, this was impossible, since the Turkish troops were demoralized after the battle, and all weapons and ammunition remained in Kumanovo. The notables and the city commandant realized that another battle could end in the defeat of Turkey, and the bombing of the city by the Serbs would lead to the death of thousands of refugees, and dissuaded the commander from his plans. On October 26, Zekki Pasha secretly left the city. The remaining troops, having lost their command, went home. The city authorities turned to the Russian Consul General Kalmykov with a proposal to become a mediator in negotiations with Serbia in order to surrender Skopje to it in order to avoid anarchy.

On the same day, the 16th regiment of the 1st Army entered the city under the command of Prince Alexander Karageorgievich. The remnants of the Turkish Western Army continued their retreat. From Skopje they entered the valley of the Vardara River and began to advance along it all the way to Veles. They did not stay long in Veles, leaving the city to their opponents and going to Manastir (Bitola) through the city of Prilep. A reserve that had not yet been in battle was waiting for them in Manastir.

The Serbs understood the Turkish tactics, and Alexander's army tried to intercept the enemy at Prilep. To do this, the army was divided into two parts, each of which headed to the city in its own way: the first along the direct road from Veles to Prilep, the second along the road that ran through Krivolak. In Prilep the troops had to unite, since only one road led from it to Manastir.

On November 2, the Bulgarian 2nd Army occupied Nevrokop, thus beginning the isolation of Macedonia from the rest of Turkey. On the same day, on the way to Prilep, the first column of Serbian troops reached the Babine Planina pass. There she encountered a Turkish army of up to 20,000 men, who had mountain artillery. There were 40,000 Serbs, but because of the mountains their army could not deploy. In addition, the Serbian troops had only field artillery, which was unable to fire in the mountains. In such a situation, the Serbs lined up in rows of three companies and advanced on the Turks in a dense wall. Fighting also took place over the heights surrounding the pass, and on November 5, Turkish troops, despite technical and tactical superiority over the enemy, lost the battle and retreated to Manastir. Another battle took place near the city, during which 50,000 Turks voluntarily surrendered to Serbian troops. Even before the army’s surrender, Ali Riza Pasha and Zekki Pasha fled from the city. The latter managed to escape from encirclement with 30,000 soldiers and retreat to Florina. At Florina they encountered the Greek army, which was rushing to Manastir to help the Serbian allies. During the battle with the Greeks, Zekki Pasha died. Javid Pasha with the remnants of the army retreated to Ioannina and defended the city for several more days. Thus, the entire Western Army of the Ottoman Empire was destroyed.

Later on November 22, the Bulgarians entered Gumuljin, where a long artillery exchange with the Turks ensued. On November 26, the remnants of the Eastern Turkish Army began negotiations for a peaceful outcome of the battle, and on November 27 they capitulated on terms favorable to the Bulgarians. As a result, Bulgaria captured the head of the detachment, Mehmet Yamer Pasha, and 265 officers, as well as 12,000 soldiers. In addition, the Bulgarians received 8 mountain artillery guns, 2 machine guns and 1,500 horses.

Actions of Greek troops

The Greek army began the war by crossing the border and advancing deep into Turkey at the same time as the rest of the allies. Having fought from Thessaly to Macedonia, through the northwestern pass (Battle of Sarantaporo), the Greek army liberated the city of Kozani on October 12 (25). The commander of the Greek army, Crown Prince Constantine I, intended to continue the offensive to the north-west, towards the city of Manastir (Bitola), which at that time had a significant Greek population, but at the insistence of Prime Minister Venizelos, he deployed the army to the east, towards the capital of Macedonia, city ​​of Thessaloniki. On October 20 (November 2), the Greek army took the city of Giannitsa (Battle of Giannitsa) and thereby opened the road to Thessaloniki. On the morning of October 25 (November 7), the Greek army approached Thessaloniki. The city was a trading port with many foreign consuls stationed there. Having learned about the approach of the Greek army, they asked the city commandant to surrender without a fight, as they feared the destruction and plunder of Thessaloniki. On the same day, at 11 pm, Thessaloniki capitulated. 25 thousand Turkish soldiers were sent to barracks without weapons until the end of the war. At the same time, both the Greeks and the Turks showed respect for each other. On November 8, the city was liberated by the Greek army. The attempt of the belated Bulgarian army to establish dual power in the city, by forcing the Turkish commander to re-sign capitulation, now to the Bulgarians, was unsuccessful. The Turkish commander Tahshin Pasha refused to do this. The city became Greek again. Having established control over Thessaloniki, the Greek army again sent its main forces to Western Macedonia. The 4th division of the Greek army liberated the city of Florina on November 6 (19) and headed towards Manastir, but it was ahead of the Serbian troops. At the same time, after the liberation of Thessaloniki, the Greek command was able to begin transferring forces by sea to the province of Epirus. Here the heroic, so-called Epirus Front, which in reality represented 1 division, from the very beginning of the war and in violation of the defensive tasks given to it, carried out offensive operations, but did not have the opportunity to overcome the Turkish defense on the approaches to the capital of Epirus, the city of Ioannina. By the beginning of 1913 and after the transfer of troops, the Epirus front would become the main one for the Greek army (Battle of Bizani). The participation of the Greek fleet in the war was great value for the allies, since it completely disrupted the Ottoman sea communications in the Aegean Sea. On December 3, the Battle of Ellie near the Dardanelles took place between the Greek and Turkish navies. The battle was won by the Greeks, the Turkish fleet was forced to leave the Aegean Sea. As a result, the Greek fleet began to control the entire water space between the western coast of the Ottoman Empire and the eastern coast of Greece. The Turks decided to turn the situation in their favor, and for this reason, on January 18, 1913, the battle took place at Fr. Lemnos. The battle was again won by the Greeks, and the Turkish ships retreated to the Dardanelles, under the cover of coastal batteries.

Beginning of the Siege of Adrianople

At the very beginning of the war, the Bulgarian 2nd Army received an order to march on Adrianople (Odrin) and take it by storm. The city had a strategic position: railway tracks connecting the west and east of the Balkan Peninsula passed through it; Ammunition, provisions and reinforcements were delivered through Adrianople to the Western Army of the Turks. At the beginning of the siege, there were 70,000 Turkish soldiers in the city. The city was divided by rivers into four sectors: northwestern, northeastern, southwestern and southeastern. There was a fortress in the city; at a distance of several kilometers around it there were fortified areas. They connected with each other through good roads, which made it possible to deliver unexpected attacks on the enemy anywhere.

The detachments of the Balkan Union that approached the fortress met stubborn resistance from the Turks, which lasted until November 3, when the city was taken into a tight ring. To curry favor with the command, the blockade was reported on October 29.

After the blockade of the city, the Turks set themselves the goal of pushing the front as far as possible from the city fortress. In turn, the allies sought to “drive” the Turkish troops into the fort, from where they would not be able to leave. After this, the Turks could be starved to death, and they would not be able to prevent the movement of troops along the railways.

During the long blockade, the forces of the Balkan Union in the city changed several times. So, the 3rd division left the 2nd Bulgarian Army for the Chataldzhinsky Front, and was replaced by two Serbian divisions. Later she returned, but her composition was completely renewed after the bloody battles for Chatalja. The Kardzhali detachment also arrived with her. In general, the fighting continued until the truce. During the truce, provisions in the besieged city ran out, since according to the agreement the Turks did not have the right to supply ammunition, provisions, weapons, reinforcements, etc. to their besieged cities.

Battle of Chataldzhin

On November 2, both Turkish armies de facto ceased to exist: the Western, also called Macedonian, and the Eastern. Despite this, the fighting continued. In particular, the remnants of the Eastern Turkish Army fled to Catalca, where there were fortified positions. There the soldiers hoped to stop the Bulgarian advance.

The Chataldzhin fortified line was built before the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. It stretched along the eastern bank of the Karasu River from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. The line was designed according to the plan of the Belgian engineer Brialmont, then it was completed and re-equipped by Bloom Pasha. There were 27 forts and batteries, 16 field fortifications, 16 redoubts (8 in the south, 8 in the north). Each fort had a garrison: 4 long-range guns and 2 companies. They were protected by land mines, wire fences and numerous ditches. Strategically important forts had powerful gun mounts, the shells of which were automatically supplied from casemates. In addition, after the recent Italo-Turkish War, the Turks brought huge coastal guns from the Dardanelles and electric searchlights to the Chataldzhin line.

Fortified bunkers and casemates were built underground for the soldiers. All of them were connected by telegraph and telephone communications, and for movement along them there were special passages hidden from enemy fire. The northern edge of the line abutted the Black Sea coast, and the southern edge abutted the Marble Sea. The depth of the seas in these places was such that military ships could approach the shore directly and fire at the enemy. Because of this, it was impossible to bypass the line. The Chataljin line was connected with the capital of the Ottoman Empire - Istanbul - by two highways and one railway, which made it possible to replenish manpower losses and deliver ammunition in a short time. The headquarters of the line defense command was located at the Khadem-Kioi railway station. In total, at the beginning of the battle there were up to 125,000 Turkish soldiers on the line.

The advance of the 1st and 3rd Bulgarian armies stopped at this line. Their positions ran through difficult terrain - from the Black Sea to Marmara there were many mountains and swamps. By that time, reinforcements had arrived to the Bulgarians - the 3rd Division and part of the 9th Division of the 2nd Army, which had previously besieged Edirne. As a result, the Bulgarian forces were equal to the Turkish forces: 125,000 people and 208 artillery pieces. But the army was tired and demoralized after recent battles with the Turks, so only 1/3 of the troops were ready for battle. The Turks also had problems: cholera began in their army.

Despite the obvious superiority of the enemy and powerful fortifications on the way to Istanbul, General Radko Dmitriev did not wait for the arrival of siege weapons from Bulgaria and decided to take the first line of fortifications on the move. The commander wanted to speed up the course of events, not realizing that the Turkish troops were slightly superior to the Bulgarians, and the Chataldzhin line could withstand the attack of the tired Bulgarian armies. The order was given “attack the redoubts on the heights south of Lake Derkosa”, which was essentially a mistake.

In the early morning of November 17, after shelling the redoubts at Derkos, the Bulgarians went on the offensive. On the right flank near the village of Ezetin, the 1st, 6th and 10th divisions of the 1st Army launched an offensive. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Bulgarians managed to enter several local villages, and the 9th and 4th divisions lost artillery support and dug in a kilometer from two Turkish redoubts. By noon, Turkish battleships approached the Black Sea coast and began shelling the Bulgarian troops. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the 1st Bulgarian Army dug in half a kilometer from the enemy redoubts, and at 9 o'clock in the evening the Bulgarians occupied three enemy redoubts, cutting off all their defenders. In turn, the Turks launched an evening counterattack, but the 1st Army held its position and repelled the attack. On November 18, the Bulgarians retreated to their original positions due to heavy losses. During the attack, the Bulgarian army irretrievably lost 10,000 people, and another 20,000 were wounded.

On November 19, the Bulgarian 1st and 3rd Armies began building fortifications and digging trenches to fight trench warfare. By that time, cholera and typhus had begun in the Bulgarian troops, which caused the soldiers’ performance to decrease. In such conditions, after several days of positional battles, the warring parties began to think about a truce. Negotiations began.

Aviation in the First Balkan War

On October 16, 1912, lieutenants of the Bulgarian military aviation Radul Milkov and Prodan Tarakchiev made the first combat flight in the Balkans, in which they conducted reconnaissance and threw several hand grenades. On this day, the Sofia-1 military balloon provided the first-ever interaction between aeronautical and aviation assets. On October 17, 1912, Lieutenant Hristo Toprakchiev and Russian pilot Timofey Efimov dropped leaflets on enemy positions on Blériot XI planes for the first time. Italian volunteer pilot Giovani Sabelli and Bulgarian observer V. Zlatarov carried out the first aerial bombardment in the Balkans. On October 30, 1912, on a plane piloted by Second Lieutenant St. Kalinov, for the first time in world history, a woman flew on a military aircraft on a combat mission - it was observer Raina Kasabova. On November 12, 1912, the first group combat mission in world history took place - lieutenants R. Milkov, N. Bogdanov, St. Kalinov and the Russian pilot N. Kostin attacked the Karaagac railway station in Edirne, approaching it from different directions. On January 26, 1913, Lieutenant P. Popkrystev and Italian J. Sabelli made the first combat flight over the Sea of ​​Marmara and for the first time in history attacked an enemy ship from the air, dropping bombs on the battleship "Hayreddin Barbarossa" Combat flight of Greek pilots Moraitinis, Aristides and Moutousis, Mikhail nad The Dardanelles on January 24/February 5, 1913 and the attack of Ottoman ships on a Maurice Farman MF.7 aircraft converted into a seaplane marked the beginning of the history of world naval aviation.

Truce

Signing of the truce

After the Bulgarian offensive on Chatalca faltered, the siege of Edirne dragged on, the Montenegrins unsuccessfully besieged Shkodra, and the Turks feared the Bulgarians were approaching Istanbul, negotiations began on a truce. The negotiations were approved by European countries, which feared new countries entering the war. By that time, Europe had developed dangerous situation, since Austria-Hungary was ready to enter the war on the side of Turkey due to fear of the strengthening of the pro-Russian Balkan Union. The Austro-Hungarian Empire could draw new European states into the conflict, which threatened a pan-European war.

The Bulgarian army needed to rest and replenish its supply of provisions and ammunition, and the Turkish army suffered significant losses in all theaters of the war, so the parties were in no hurry to sign the agreement and delayed negotiations. At first, the Balkan Union demanded the surrender of Edirne and Chataldzhin positions, these demands were soon rejected, but this time the Bulgarians demanded the withdrawal of Turkish troops to San Stefano. All this time, a positional war was going on near Shkodra, Edirne and Chataljoy.

On the evening of December 2, a peace treaty was signed. Only Greece did not sign it, citing the fact that if the Greek fleet ends the blockade of Turkish ports, Turkish ships will be able to freely transport infantry to Macedonia. Despite the fact that Greece did not sign the treaty, its delegation later still went to London for a peace conference. According to the armistice agreement, it was established:

1. The troops of both belligerents remain in the positions they were in before the signing of the treaty.
2. The besieged Turkish cities will not receive provisions, ammunition, medicine, etc.
3. The forces of the Balkan Union located at the front can be supplied with everything they need along the routes of communication they control and along the Black Sea, where the Turkish fleet was located.
4. On December 26 of the same year, peace negotiations were to begin in London.

Negotiations fail

On December 26, 1912, in the British capital - London - peace negotiations began between Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia on the one hand and the Ottoman Empire on the other. Regarding the unfavorable treaty for the Turks, Turkish Commissioner Osman Nizami Pasha directly stated: “We did not come to sign peace, but to prove that Turkey is strong enough to continue the war”.

Due to Turkey's disagreement with its territorial losses, negotiations dragged on until January 1913. To speed up the process, on January 27, the great powers Great Britain, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, France, the Russian Empire and Italy signed a collective appeal to the Ottoman government. It spoke of the inadmissibility of the spread of military operations to Asia Minor in connection with the approach of the Bulgarians to Istanbul. In this regard, the great powers asked Turkey to conclude a peace treaty, in exchange they promised to help rebuild the country after the war.

On January 22, all members of the Turkish government were convened for a council. The collective appeal of the great powers to Turkey was discussed. It was decided to make peace due to the fact that “a resumption of war would expose the Empire to great dangers and that under these circumstances it would be necessary to follow the advice of powerful European cabinets”.

However, a surprise occurred that Turkey’s opponents, who wanted the treaty to be signed as quickly as possible, could not have foreseen. On January 23, the day after the convening of the council, members of the Union and Progress Party and their supporters (including officers and soldiers), led by Enver Pasha, burst into the meeting room where the government members were sitting. During the clash in the hall, several ministers were killed, in particular the vizier and the minister of war. In addition, the soldiers beat the ministers of foreign affairs and communications, who were Christians. Enver Pasha, in his address to those in the hall, stated: “Since you stand for a shameful peace with the concession of Edirne and almost all European possessions, and a nation ready to die demands war, then on behalf of the entire country and army I propose to the cabinet to immediately resign.”.

The cabinet, as Enver Pasha proposed, resigned. In turn, power in the Ottoman Empire passed into the hands of the Young Turks. In this situation, on January 28, the Balkan Union sent a note to the new Turkish government: “Recent events in Istanbul have apparently eliminated any hope of concluding peace, which is why the Allies, to their extreme regret, are forced to declare the negotiations begun in London on December 3 last year terminated.”. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian troops telegraphed the Turkish command that the war would begin on February 3 at 7 pm. During the negotiations, Bulgaria was fully prepared for war.

Second period of the war

Resumption of hostilities

The Bulgarian 3rd Army, dug in in front of the Chataldzhin line at the end of November 1912, did not retreat anywhere before the resumption of hostilities. On the contrary, while negotiations were ongoing, the Bulgarians strengthened their positions, and their soldiers were able to rest after large-scale autumn battles. The Allied tactics amounted only to positional warfare in order to wear down the enemy and prevent him from liberating the occupied territories.

On February 3, the war officially resumed, and the Turks near Catalca went on the offensive. The Bulgarians were able to repel this attack. Near Kovazh, on another section of the front, the Bulgarians even managed to go on the offensive. The Turks retreated behind the Bulair fortified line, which the 1st and newly formed 4th Bulgarian armies intended to storm. The Bulgarians and Greeks needed to storm the line in order to reach the Dardanelles, destroy the Turkish coastal batteries, after which the Greek fleet would enter the Sea of ​​Marmara. Under the threat of bombing Constantinople, the Balkan Union would force Turkey to peace.

Assault on Adrianople

The siege of Adrianople, which began in the first phase of the war, continued. Information came from the fortress that there were provisions left for a few more days and Adrianople was about to fall. As it later turned out, this was disinformation: in fact, Adrianople was able to hold out for another two months, since the Turks managed to find grain reserves back in December 1912. Shukri Pasha, the commandant of the fortress, established strict rations in November 1912. Each city resident was given 800 grams of meat, 800 grams of bread and a wheel of cheese. In February 1913, the amount of cheese decreased significantly, bread was given out at 300 grams, and meat was also 300 grams.

The Bulgarians at first wanted to use a blockade to force the Turks to surrender the fortress, but then the Bulgarian command began to develop a plan to storm the fortress. It was planned to deliver the main blow to the northwestern part of the city, past which the railway passed. It was here that the Bulgarians had the opportunity to transport heavy artillery pieces by train. There was also a backup plan, according to which the attack should be carried out from the east. The Turks did not expect such a turn of events, since in the east of the city there were no high-quality roads and railways along which ammunition and reinforcements could be delivered. The Bulgarians decided to use buffaloes to transport ammunition.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon on March 11 (24), the Bulgarians began a general shelling of the city from all positions. At 8 pm it stopped in the south of the city, at midnight - in the north. The Turks, accustomed to days of shelling of Edirne, decided that this was just a break before the next bombing and relaxed. At 2 a.m. on March 12 (25), the bombing resumed with renewed vigor, and at 5 a.m. the Bulgarians were completely ready to storm the city. The Turks did not notice this due to the powerful shelling of the city by enemy artillery.

The Bulgarians took the Turks by surprise. The forward positions of the Turkish troops were located on the outskirts of the city outside the fortress. Bulgarian soldiers, under the roar of artillery guns, quietly crept up to the enemy trenches, positioning themselves at a distance of 50 steps from them. After this, the Bulgarians suddenly rushed at the Turks in the trenches, shouting. Before the Turkish infantry could come to their senses, the Bulgarians had already descended into the trenches and began hand-to-hand combat. Half an hour later, all advanced Turkish positions were occupied by the 2nd Bulgarian Army. From the captured 8 machine guns and 20 guns, the Bulgarians opened fire in the back of the Turks running towards the fortress. Now the Turks were blocked in the Adrianople fortress.

Following this, the Bulgarians went on the offensive from the south. During the day of fighting, March 13 (26), the fortress fell. The Turkish garrison capitulated along with the commandant Shukri Pasha. The Serbs, in turn, dissatisfied with the fact that Shukri Pasha surrendered to the Bulgarians, and not to them, sent out news that the commandant had fallen into their hands. The Bulgarians denied this information. The assault on Edirne was the last major battle in the war between Bulgaria and Turkey. The war turned into a positional war.

Siege of Shkoder

Encouraged by their first successes, the Montenegrins tried to take the fortified settlement of Scutari (Shkodra) back in 1912. Danilo's army blocked the city from the east, Martinovich's army arrived in time and surrounded the city from the west. At the first attempt to storm the city, the Montenegrins suffered huge losses. The siege of Scutari, whose garrison was led by Hussein Riza Pasha, was the most successful battle of the Turks during the entire First Balkan War.

Realizing that it was impossible to take Shkodra by storm, King Nicholas decided to completely blockade the city. On December 4, the Balkan Union agreed on a truce with the Ottoman Empire, but the siege of Shkodër continued. Great Britain, not interested in weakening Turkey, sent an ultimatum to Montenegro demanding that the blockade of the city be lifted. The Montenegrins did not submit to the will of London, and on April 4, 1913, an international squadron under the command of Cecil Burney entered the Adriatic Sea. The squadron stood near the Montenegrin coast. Great Britain, Italy, Austria-Hungary and the German Empire agreed on an indefinite blockade of Montenegro. Despite the blockade, the Montenegrins did not abandon their plans, since the international squadron did not pose any threat to Montenegro, which did not have its own fleet. After some time, a detachment of Serbs with artillery came to the aid of the Montenegrins. Great Britain demanded that Serbia withdraw its detachment from Shkodra, which it did. However, the Serbian artillery remained with the Montenegrins. At the same time, the mysterious murder of Huseyn Riza Pasha took place in the besieged city, and command of the garrison passed into the hands of Essad Pasha. The new commander immediately entered into negotiations with the king of Montenegro about the surrender of the fortress, but they were unsuccessful. At the beginning of April, the Montenegrins stormed Oblik and Brdice. Having learned of the enemy's capture of these key positions, Essad Pasha resumed negotiations, and on April 23 the entire Turkish garrison left the city.

Shkoder went to Montenegro. King Nicholas personally raised the Montenegrin flag over the city fortress. The Austrian-Hungarian authorities reacted violently to the capture of Shkodra. They stated that if the Montenegrins did not hand over the city to the international contingent, Austro-Hungarian troops would directly intervene in the conflict. The remaining European powers, realizing that this threatened a pan-European war, decided to support Austria-Hungary. In response, Nikolai sent a telegram to London: “My government, in its note on April 30, set out the reasons for its behavior in the Scutari issue. This conclusion is inspired by the unshakable principles of law. “I and my people once again declare that the right sanctified by the completed conquest, my dignity and the dignity of my people do not allow me to submit to isolated demands, and therefore I transfer the fate of the city of Scutari into the hands of the great powers.”. After the surrender of Shkodra, Turkey and Montenegro finally signed a peace treaty on May 30, 1913, which marked the end of the war.

Consequences

London Peace Treaty

In the First Balkan War, weapons were used that had never previously been used in Europe or in the world in general. In particular, for the first time after the Italo-Turkish War, aviation was used for military operations and bombing the enemy. In the First Balkan War, weapons were tested that were later widely used in the First World War.

On May 30, 1913, after a month of trench warfare, the Ottoman Empire on the one hand and Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro on the other signed a peace treaty in London. In fact, nothing much had changed since the failed truce, only Edirne had fallen, and now Turkey could not lay claim to it. According to the contract:

1. From the moment the treaty was signed between the Balkan Union and the Ottoman Empire, “perpetual peace” was established.
2. The Ottoman Empire placed almost all of its European possessions under the control of the Balkan Union (except for Albania, the status of which was agreed upon later, Istanbul and its environs).
3. The Great Powers had to begin negotiations on the status of Albania and ensure its security.
4. The Ottoman Empire abandoned Crete in favor of the Balkan Union.
5. The Great Powers were to begin guardianship over the Turks living on the islands of the Aegean Sea and its coasts (except for Crete and the environs of Mount Athos).
6. A special commission was convened in Paris to resolve the economic consequences of the war.
7. The remaining post-war issues (about prisoners of war, trade, relations and others) should be settled by separate, more specialized treaties.

Although the Ottoman Empire gave up most of its possessions in Europe to the Balkan Union, one caveat remained. The member countries of the union had to divide the conquered territories themselves, without foreign mediation. This was problematic, since the Greeks wanted to unite all the coasts of the Aegean Sea into a single Greece, the Bulgarian government wanted to create Great Bulgaria, the Serbs wanted access to the Adriatic Sea and the greatest expansion of the borders of their country, the Montenegrins wanted to annex the north of Albania to the Kingdom of Montenegro. Thus, a dispute arose between the allies about the ownership of Macedonia, Thrace, and northern Albania. None of the founding states of the Balkan Union was fully satisfied with the London Treaty and the result of the war. Serbia did not gain access to the Adriatic due to the formation of the new state of Albania, Montenegro did not occupy Shkoder, Greece did not annex Thrace. Bulgaria was dissatisfied with the Serbian claims to Macedonia, and a few months after the signing of peace with Turkey, the Second Balkan War began, the results of which became one of the causes of the First World War.

Albania and Kosovo

Even during the war, on November 28, 1912 in Vlore, during the Albanian uprising, the independence of Albania was proclaimed. The London Peace Treaty began negotiations on the status of the region. During the negotiations, the independence of Albania, a new Balkan state, was recognized. The great powers actually declared their protectorate over the newly created state.

According to the same London Treaty, the boundaries of the Albanian state were strictly defined. Serbia annexed Kosovo, which was one of the Albanian vilayets under the Ottoman Empire, and the northwestern part of Macedonia, also inhabited by Albanians, so these regions were not included in Albania. Before World War II, Albanian borders were not revised. During World War II, the so-called Greater Albania arose, over which an Italian protectorate was established. After the defeat of the Axis powers, the borders were again established by the Treaty of London, and were never revised again. Despite this, there was still an Albanian population outside of Albania in Yugoslavia.

In the second half of the 20th century, Kosovo Albanians made attempts to expand the autonomy of the region. With the collapse of Yugoslavia, the conflict between Serbs and Albanians began to escalate in Kosovo, leading to the NATO war against Yugoslavia and the declaration of independence of Kosovo. Conflict also occurred in northwestern Macedonia in 2001. Thus, the First Balkan War has far-reaching consequences.

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First Balkan War
in Bulgaria known as the Balkan War
Srb. Prvi balkanski rat

Bottom line

• Victory of the Balkan Union
• signing of the London Peace Treaty
• Changes The territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, except for Constantinople and its environs, came under the control of the Balkan Union
• status negotiations and Albanian independence

Opponents

• Ottoman Empire
• Balkans: Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia

Commanders

• Ottoman Empire: Abdullah Pasha Ali Riza Pasha Zekki Pasha Mukhtar Pasha
• Balkans: Nikola Ivanov (Bulgarian Nikola Ivanov) Ivan Fichev Vasily Kutinchev (Bulgarian Vasil Kutinchev) Radko-Dmitriev Konstantin I Alexander I Radomir Putnik Petar Boyovich Stepa Stepanovich Bozhidar Yankovic Nikola I

Strengths of the parties

• Ottoman Empire: 475,000
• Balkans: 632,000

Losses

• Ottoman Empire: 30,000 killed
• Balkans: 55,000 killed

In culture

The first works devoted to the themes of the First Balkan War began to appear in its first months. Yaroslav Veshin was the first Bulgarian battle painter. He began painting pictures on military themes even before the Balkan Wars, but he wrote his most famous works under the impression of the First Balkan War. So, in 1912-1913 a series of paintings dedicated to this war was painted. It included the paintings “On the Knife”, “Attack”, “Wagon Train at the Erken River”, “Retreat of the Turks at Luleburgaz”. At the same time as the artist, the Joki Bogdanovich film studio was working in Serbia, where short documentaries were shot about events at the front and in the rear. Jocke was helped by Russian photographer Samson Chernov, with whom a series of films about the First Balkan War were shot. Currently, these films are kept in the Serbian State Archives, as they are of cultural and historical value. European film crews also worked in Montenegro to film the war against Turkey. Particular attention was paid to the battles near Shkodra and the blockade of this city. After the First Balkan War, the films arrived in European countries, where they were used to make several film magazines dedicated to the First Balkan War.

The march “Farewell of the Slav” was written in the Russian Empire by composer and conductor Vasily Ivanovich Agapkin. V. Agapkin, inspired by events in the Balkans, wrote this march in 1912. The composer dedicated his work to all Slavic women of the Balkans, whose loved ones went to the front.

Literary works written during the First Balkan War were later used by Bulgarian and Serbian radicals and nationalists in the Second Balkan War and the First World War, but to oppose each other. Thus, Ivan Vazov, a Bulgarian poet, after the Balkan Wars in 1914 and 1916, published the collections “Under the Thunder of Victories” and “Songs about Macedonia.” The Bulgarian authorities during the First World War used these poems as a tool in the ideological struggle against the Serbs. Later, Vazov himself condemned his works.