The First Balkan War 1912-1913 - Case Study Example

The First Balkan War 1912-1913 A. The participants in the War and how they lined up Between 1911 and 1912, the Ottoman Empire was apparently weakening. Libya had lost to Italy and an “autonomist insurrection” taking place in Albania in the summer of 1912 compelled the Ottoman leaders to give in to the demands of the Albanians.1 It appeared as though the Albanian nationalist movement was about to obtain its goal for autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. The nationalist movements and governments of Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria saw this as a threat to their own goal of achieving autonomy and were motivated to make a pre-emptive strike against the Ottomans and the Albanians.2 Pursuant to their joint goals, Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria signed what was referred to as the Balkan Alliance3 and at times, the Balkan League.4 In 1911, Greece advocated some sort of agreement with Bulgaria as a means of offering protection to Christians that were being oppressed by the Ottomans in Macedonia. However, Bulgaria was sceptical of Greece’s strengths and was concerned that Greece was on the brink of war with the Porte relative to dispute over Crete. In addition, the weaknesses implicit in the Ottomans particularly during the Italo-Turkish War motivated these states to look beyond their own issues with one another. Thus, in 1912 a defensive alliance was signed between Serbia and Bulgaria. Greece followed with a similar alliance with Sofia and Sofia followed by singing a similar agreement with Montenegro. As Hodge puts it, “Balkan states formed a network of alliances against Constantinople”.5 B. The primary that set off the shooting World powers became concerned about their interests in the region. For example, France was concerned that Russia would gain dominance in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary was particularly concerned about Serbia’s possible expansion since it sat on the southern border. As a result, Austria-Hungary appealed to other European powers to warn Balkan states not to upset the “balance of power.”6 Nevertheless, the Balkan League was convinced of their power and on 8 October 1912, Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Four days later, the remaining states in the Balkan League would follow suit.7 Thus, the Balkan League was the aggressor in the Balkan War of 1912. C. Was the war legal when it happened? Would it be today? The applicable international instrument regulating the law of war at the time was the Hague Convention 1907. According to Article 1 of the 1907 Convention, states may not commence hostilities against one another unless an express advance notice is given “in the form of a declaration.”8 Since the war started with a declaration of war on the part of Montenegro which was followed by declarations by the remaining members of the Balkan League, the war was legal in 1912. However, today, the war would not be legal pursuant to the UN Charter in which various articles insist upon the peaceful settlement of disputes between states, forbid the use of military force and calls for respect of the integrity of sovereignty. The right to use force is only justified in defence of state sovereignty and generally where a threat is eminent.9 D. The Secondary Cause of War The seeds of discord leading to the first Balkan War were planted since the 1800s. At that time a wave of nationalism sweeping France and Germany filtered over into the Balkan Peninsular. Initially, the idea of nationalism in the Balkans centered around a demand for standardizing a Balkan language and thus emphasized a connection to a Balkan culture that predated the Ottomans. In the meantime, the nationalism movement in the Balkans took on a political tone. With nationalism taking on a political tone, there was a “strong desire to achieve national unity” which “motivated the Balkan states to confront their erstwhile Ottoman conquerors”.10 There was a common belief among Balkan nationalist movements that in order for the Balkan states to move forward successfully, they needed to be united. The people of the Balkans were determined to achieve the economic and political efficiency of Western states and felt that the best way to achieve this objective was to adopt a similar nationalist approach to “development”.11 The Balkan people were particularly disenchanted with the Ottomans’ “millet system” which permitted Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics and Jews to co-exist and thus placed limits on Balkan autonomy.12 The national movement in the Balkans were motivated by Italy’s 1861 unification and Germany’s 1871 unification which were both achieved via military power. Following suit, in 1876 Serbia and Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire while the Bulgarians revolted. The following year, Russia came to the aid of the Bulgarian nationalists. Within 9 months Russia had succeeded and a larger Serbia and Montenegro were established and Bulgaria became an independent state. This did not sit well with the great powers of Europe which did not want to see Russia with any degree of influence in the Balkans. Therefore, a conference was convened between the leaders of Western Europe with Otto von Bismarck. This was known as the Congress of Berlin.13 E. The Primary Cause of War The Congress of Berlin significantly reduced Bulgaria’s size and independence and made it an “autonomous Bulgarian principality” under the Ottoman Empire.14 Serbia was accorded full independence while Montenegro’s expansion was reduced and Austria-Hungary together with Bosnia-Hercegovina remained parts of the Ottoman Empire.15 According to Gerolymatos, the Berlin settlement was a disaster from the beginning. Gerolymatos goes on to state further: This state of affairs might have suited the Europeans, but for the Balkans, the Congress of Berlin was a harbinger of future conflict. The agreements made before and during the final settlement in the German capital reconfigured the Balkans in such a way as to guarantee both another war in the region and friction between the Great Powers.16 In particular, Bosnia-Herzegovina was ceded to Austria-Hungary as a means of keeping the Russians out of Constantinople and the Straits. The British had advocated the enlargement of Bulgaria and would support the Austrians’ desire to gain control of Bosnia. The British also gained control over Cyprus and this would contribute to the Greco-Turkish wars.17 F. What was the latest time that the conflict probably could have been avoided? The Berlin Congress was a perfect time for the European powers to mediate between the Balkan League and the Ottoman leaders. This would have been the last opportunity to calm the tensions that have been brewing for years and an opportunity to meet the needs of both sides and compromise where necessary. Instead, Western European leaders used the Balkan issue to address their own political and security interest and the Balkans were no more than collateral damage. These great powers moved people and land as if they existed on a chess board. The result was “overlapping and contradictory national territories.”18 Having returned Macedonia to the Ottoman Empire, the great European powers proceeded to ignore Macedonia. This would prove to be a mistake as Macedonia represented a “microcosm of the Balkans, a mosaic of Muslim, Greek, Bulgarian, Serb, Albania, Vlach, Jewish and Gypsy communities.”19 G. How could the war have been avoided? Once the European powers realized that the Berlin Congress was creating more tensions and had done more harm than good, they could have avoided war by calling a new conference. Instead they did nothing. Tensions erupted almost immediately after the Berlin settlement had been completed. The Albanians led the charge having been neglected by the Ottomans and left out of the Berlin settlement and “opted to defend those of their lands awarded to Montenegro.20 Between 1878 and 1881, the Albanians battled with force for Montenegro, Serbia and the Ottomans. With pressure from the great powers, the Ottomans intensified their military responses. Violence broke out throughout the Balkans with the greatest levels perpetrated in Macedonia.21 H. Who was at fault for the conflict becoming a hot war? In July 1908, a group of young men from the Ottoman military self-named the Committee for Unit and Progress took control of the empire and immediately set about implementing reforms and reinstating the constitution of 1876. The committee was determined to promote Ottoman nationality throughout the Balkans.22 Russia and Austria-Hungary, which were determined to obtain influence and power in the Balkans, wanted to make moves before the Committee’s reforms were put in place. Russia wanted to seize control of the Straits and the Black Sea and Austro-Hungary wanted control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. While Russia was attempting to obtain approval from the great powers, Austro-Hungary seized control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. 23 With Austro-Hungary seizing control of Bosnia-Herzegovina, unrest reverberated throughout the Balkans. For the Serbs and Montengrins, the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a “major setback to their national aspirations.”24 Serbia attempted to form an alliance with other Balkan states as early as in 1908. In the meantime, Greece experienced a rebellion and a new government that promoted nationalism was seated. An attempted union with Crete was truncated and tensions in the Balkans continued to grow.25 Another source of tension and disappointment was brewing in the Balkans. This time it came from the Albanians who had always lent support to the Ottomans. This was hardly surprising since the Albanians had the Islamic and cultural values in common with the Ottomans. As a result, the Albanians enjoyed tax and weapon privileges. Albanians likewise lent support to the newly established regime and had hoped to be elevated to an autonomous status in the Balkans. However, the new regime was only interested in “centralization”.26 Afraid that they would lose their existing privileges, “discontent swept over much of the Albanian-inhabited regions” with the result that an “open revolt broke out” in the latter part of 1910.27 An Albanian committee called for the unification of Scutari, Janina, Kosovo and Monastir and to make them a part of an autonomous Albania.28 This would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I. What was the Outcome of the War? The war between the Committee and Italy and the Committee’s embarrassing loss to Italy essentially left the Committee “feebled and discouraged”.29 Complicating matters for the Committee, unrest was reverberating throughout the Balkans with Macedonia and Albania leading the way. When the Balkan League took decisive military action against the Committee, the Committee (formally known as Turkey) virtually depleted by the war with Italy, the Balkan League had an obvious advantage. The Committee’s troupes consisted of fewer than 500,000 while the Balkan League consisted of approximately 800,000 with 350,000 coming from Bulgaria and 250,000 coming from Serbia.30 J. Did the Country that started the war achieve its goal? According to Bowman, it did not take long for the Turks to be defeated. The Balkan League took one state at a time and a weakened Turkey agreed to the terms of a peace treaty proffered in May 1913, in London. The resulting peace treaty left the Turks with very little and the Balkan League with most the territory in the Balkans. However, peace would not last in the Balkans as tensions would arise once again before the year ended.31 K. Were there any long term effects? The Balkan War of 1912 can be described as a war that did not accomplish anything more than the Committee accomplished: a diverse set of states with diverse cultures and ideas. These pre-existing characteristics gave rise to tensions that divided the Balkans for years. Just as those tensions brewed under the Committee, they would brew after the 1912 War. A pre-existing and persistent desire for autonomy in the Balkans by diverse states was not resolved by a war. It would appear that the only time the different states were able to agree on anything was related to forming a military pack and going to war. As history has shown, it was virtually impossible for the Balkans to achieve peace and harmony. Bibliography Bideleux, Robert, and Ian Jeffries. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2007. Bowman, Isaiah. The New World: Problems in Political Geography. New York, NY: World Book Company, 1922. Diner, Dan. Cataclysms: A History of the Twentieth Century from Europe’s Edge. Madison, Wisconsin: 2008. Gerolymatos, Andre. The Balkan Wars. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2002. Hague Convention 1907. Hall, C. Richard. The Balkan Wars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War. New York, NY: Routledge, 2000. Hodge, C. Carl. Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism: 1800-1914. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. Nczyk, Osma, and Edmund Jan. Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreement. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003. Sweeney, J. C. “The Just War Ethic in International Law,” Fordham International Law Journal, 27(6) (2003), 1865-1903. Read More