Search e-Library

Balkans : The Balkan Peninsula comprised all of Albania, continental Greece, Bulgaria, European Turkey, most of Yugoslavia, & south-eastern Rumania. These six countries, successors to the Ottoman Empire, were called the Balkan States or the Balkans. The Balkan Confederacy or Balkan League (comprising Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, & Montenegro – a republic South-West of Yugoslavia) was originally formed at the instigation of Bulgaria & Serbia with the aid of Russian diplomacy to limit increasing Austrian power in the Balkans. During 1912, however, the alliance became more anti-Turkish than anti-Austrian. First Balkan War began with Montenegro’s declaration of war against the Turks on 8 October 1912 (see Adrianople above, & Chatalja below) & the entry of its three allies of the Balkan Confederacy (q.v.) into the war ten days later. The Balkan States were victorious, & a treaty was signed in London on 30 May 1913. The League was victorious, but it disintegrated when its members quarrelled over the division of their territorial spoils. This dispute resulted in the Second Balkan War, against Bulgaria, in 1913.