Short Summary :
The Balkan allies were soon victorious. In
Thrace, the Bulgarians defeated the main Ottoman forces, advancing to the outskirts of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and laying siege to
Adrianople (Edirne). In Macedonia, the Serbian army achieved a great victory at Kumanovo that enabled it to capture Bitola and to join forces with the Montenegrins and enter
Skopje. The Greeks, meanwhile, occupied
Salonika(Thessaloníki) and advanced on
Ioánnina. In
Albania, the Montenegrins besieged Shkodër, and the Serbs entered Durrës.
The First Balkan War was fought between the members of the
Balkan League—Serbia, Bulgaria,
Greece, and Montenegro—and the
Ottoman Empire. The Balkan League was formed under Russian
auspices in the spring of 1912 to take
Macedonia away from Turkey, which was already involved in a
war with
Italy. The league was able to field a combined force of 750,000 men.
Montenegro opened hostilities by declaring war on Turkey on Oct. 8, 1912, and the other members of the league followed suit 10 days later.
The Balkan allies were soon victorious. In
Thrace, the Bulgarians defeated the main Ottoman forces, advancing to the outskirts of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and laying siege to
Adrianople (Edirne). In Macedonia, the Serbian army achieved a great victory at Kumanovo that enabled it to capture Bitola and to join forces with the Montenegrins and enter
Skopje. The Greeks, meanwhile, occupied
Salonika(Thessaloníki) and advanced on
Ioánnina. In
Albania, the Montenegrins besieged Shkodër, and the Serbs entered Durrës.
The Turkish collapse was so complete that all parties were willing to conclude an armistice on Dec. 3, 1912. A peace conference was begun in London, but after a
coup d’état by the
Young Turks in Constantinople in January 1913, war with the Ottomans was resumed. Again the allies were victorious: Ioánnina fell to the Greeks and Adrianople to the Bulgarians. Under a peace treaty signed in
Londonon May 30, 1913, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its remaining European territory, including all of Macedonia and Albania. Albanian independence was insisted upon by the European powers, and Macedonia was to be divided among the Balkan allies.
