The First World War was an unprecedented catastrophe that killed millions and set the continent of Europe on the path to further calamity two decades later on . But it did n’t number out of nowhere . With the centennial of the outbreak of hostility coming up in 2014 , Erik Sass will be wait back at the track - up to the state of war , when seemingly minor moments of rubbing accumulated until the situation was ready to break loose . He ’ll be cover those events 100 class after they occurred . This is the 57th installment in the series . ( See all entrieshere . )
27 January 2025: Origins of the Second Balkan War
Before the First Balkan War between the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire was even over , another conflict was brew — this clock time between the member of the Balkan League . Although Serbia and Bulgaria were still cooperating against the Turks , tensions were rising between the ally over the distribution of spoils in former Turkish soil . Meanwhile , Romania was also require Bulgarian territorial dominion , foreshadowing the formation of a new concretion against Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War , June through August 1913 .
On the surface , relation between Serbia and Bulgaria were fine . At Bulgaria ’s request , Serbian troops were helping lay siege to Adrianople , one of three self-aggrandising city in the Balkans still in Turkish manpower ( the other holdout were Scutari , under besieging by the Montenegrins and Serbians , and Janina , under siege by the Greeks ) ; Serbian backbreaking artillery would play a key role in the fall of Adrianople in March 1913 .
As it turned out , during the First Balkan War Bulgariacommittedmost of its troops to Thrace , bequeath Serbia to do most of the work in Macedonia , where the Serbs conquered both the “ open ” zone and soil that was assigned to Bulgaria . And because the Great Powers were deny Serbia access to the sea ( by creating an independentAlbania ) the Serbs were set to compensate for the loss by obligate on to their conquests in Macedonia , despite their agreements with Bulgaria .
On February 22 , 1913 , Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić transmit a diplomatic banknote to the Bulgarian government , formally requesting to revise the full term of the accord to give Serbia a bigger contribution of Macedonia . The Serbians debate that Bulgaria had failed to provide the anticipate number of troops to their combined mental process in Macedonia , while Serbia was provide more assistance than anticipate to the Bulgarians at Adrianople . In fact this was n’t the first time the Serbs asked to revise the treaty : a premature note made the same request on January 13 , 1913 . Both short letter were politely ignored by the Bulgarians , and Serbian solitaire was wearing thinly .
Needless to say , the Bulgarians were n’t about to give up their claim in Macedonia , for a telephone number of reasons . For one matter , the Serbians had signed the accord , and the Bulgarians were count on Russian support in mediation . Moreover Bulgarian claims were found on historic precedents from the medieval period , when the Bulgarians ruled an conglomerate covering most of the Balkan Peninsula ( of course of instruction , the knightly Serbian Empire covered much of the same territory , and the Serbs were evenly committed to regaining their lose resplendency ) . More late , Bulgarian title were also aligned with the Bulgarian exarchate — the ecclesiastic dominion of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church , which split from the Greek Patriarchate in 1872 .
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Romania Joins the Fray
European proportionality - of - power politics in the early 20th century resembled tiddler dividing up a cake : If one state expand its dominion , it was standard procedure for other United States Department of State to require “ compensation , ” in the form of territorial appropriation for themselves . Thus Bulgarian success in the First Balkan War also attracted the jealous gaze of Romania , the large Balkan state , which had claims to Dobruja , a clump of territory range Romania and Bulgaria between the Danube and the Black Sea . In return for recognizing Bulgaria ’s conquest of Thrace , Romania demand Silistra , the northmost part of Bulgarian Dobruja , implicitly threatening war if Bulgaria refused .
On February 24 , 1913 , the Bulgarians correspond to reconcile their conflict with Romania to mediation by the Great Powers at theConference of London , on the assumption that the Russians would protect the sake of their Slavonic full cousin in Bulgaria against the non - Slavic Romanians . However Bulgaria ’s trust in Russia call on out to be exclusively mislay , as ineffectual Russian diplomats ended up siding with their foeman in both mediation . The Bulgarians were understandably embittered by these perfidy , which leave Serbia as Russia ’s only real ally in the Balkans — and that , in act , meant that Russia had to back up Serbia in next disputes no matter what , or risk of infection losing all its influence in the region . In 1914 this would have unforeseen , and incalculable , consequence .
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