First Balkan War Facts & Worksheets

• The Ottoman Struma Corps, which had about 28,000 soldiers, was in charge of guarding the Vardar Army’s flank along the Struma River. The Yanya Corps, which had 22,000 troops, was preparing to engage the Greek Army of Epirus in Epirus and Albania. The VIII Corps, which had 29,000 troops, was stationed to guard the Thessalian passes that led to Thessaloniki.
• Another 25,000 soldiers from the Işkodra Corps were stationed in Shkodër to protect northern Albania. The Ottomans sent almost 200,000 troops to Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, and Epirus. They faced a total of 234,000 Serbian, 48,000 Bulgarian, and 115,000 Greek soldiers.
• Bulgaria sent the League the biggest and best-trained army, with 599,878 men from its 4.3 million people. It had nine infantry divisions, one cavalry division, and 1,116 artillery units in its army. Tsar Ferdinand had formal command, but General Mihail Savov was in charge of operations. 
• Bulgaria focused on Macedonia and Thrace. Along the Tundzha River, the First Army, led by General Vasil Kutinchev and comprising 79,370 men, was in operation. General Nikola Ivanov led the Second Army, which had 122,748 soldiers, in a siege of the fortress city of Adrianople (Edirne). General Radko Dimitriev led the Third Army, which had 94,884 men, towards Kirk Kilisse (Kırklareli). At the same time, the 2nd and 7th Divisions worked on their own in Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace.
• A small Bulgarian navy with six torpedo boats helped out along the Black Sea coast. Also, Armenian volunteers led by Andranik Ozanian and Garegin Nzhdeh joined the League and fought in Thrace and Macedonia.
• Serbia sent about 255,000 men to fight, along with 228 heavy guns. These men were organised into ten infantry divisions, two brigades, and a cavalry division. Radomir Putnik was in charge of the army, which had three main armies moving towards Skopje. The Second Army had 74,000 men and was led by General Stepa Stepanović. 
• This army included Bulgaria’s 7th Rila Division, but this division only followed orders from the Bulgarian High Command once hostilities began. The Third Army had 76,000 men and was led by General Božidar Janković. Its job was to take Kosovo. The Ibar Army and Javor Brigade, along with other smaller units, protected Serbia’s northwestern borders. Greece’s navy made it very important, even though its army was weaker on land.
• With a population of 2.6 million, it had an army of 125,000 men and another 140,000 on standby. Crown Prince Constantine led the Army of Thessaly, which had most of these troops. 
• Seven infantry divisions were trying to take Thessaloniki and Bitola. The Army of Epirus, which had about 13,000 men, was mostly focused on keeping Ottoman troops in Ioannina. The modern armoured cruiser Georgios Averof gave the Greeks control of the seas, which stopped the Ottomans from sending reinforcements across the Aegean. 
• This gave the Balkan League a big strategic edge. Although the Greek fleet was not ready at the start of the war, it effectively prevented Ottoman ships from navigating the sea. Montenegro, the smallest member of the Balkan League, received assistance from Russia and fought against Ottoman rule for a long time. It helped keep Ottoman troops busy in the northwest and was very important to Serbia’s campaigns.
• Political instability, bad infrastructure, and ongoing war with Italy made the Ottoman Empire, which had long been known as the “sick man of Europe,” very weak. Even though its population was much larger than that of its enemies, only a small number of people lived in European provinces, and non-Muslims were not allowed to join the military. Greek control of the seas kept reinforcements from Asia from getting through, leaving the Ottoman armies weak and scattered. Even though the Germans supported reforms and planned for war, the Ottoman High Command spread its troops too thin on too many fronts and could not stop the Balkan League’s coordinated attacks.

WAR OPERATIONS

• The First Balkan War was fought in three main theatres: Bulgarian, Greek, and Serbian-Montenegrin. Each theatre showed how the members of the Balkan League had different goals and plans. The allies were all against Ottoman rule, but they each had their own military goals that changed the balance of power in Southeastern Europe. The Bulgarian theatre focused on Thrace and the important battles that took place near Adrianople and Chatalja. The Greek theatre included land attacks in Epirus and Macedonia, which were backed up by naval superiority in the Aegean. The Serbian-Montenegrin theatre focused on operations in Kosovo, northern Macedonia, and along the Adriatic coast. Examining each theatre reveals not only the military aspects of the war but also the political rivalries that arose between the winners due to land disputes.

Bulgarian Theatre

• The Bulgarian theatre was the most important front in the First Balkan War. It was where the most fighting took place and where Bulgaria had the biggest army in the Balkan League. By October 1912, Bulgaria had called up more than 600,000 men, with about 346,000 of them fighting in Thrace against about 105,000 Ottoman troops. The Ottomans made a mistake by thinking that the main attack would come through Macedonia and putting their troops in the wrong places, which gave Bulgaria an early strategic edge.
• So, the Bulgarian theatre showed that the Balkan alliance was both strong in battle and weak in politics. Bulgaria won some of the biggest battles of the war, but its ambitions and disagreements with its allies led to more fighting.

Greek Theatre

• The First Balkan War had two main goals: to free Macedonia and Epirus and to show that the navy was in charge of the Aegean Sea. At first, Greece was uncertain about joining because Bulgaria was unwilling to commit to maintaining the borders between the countries. Still, Greece sent about 125,000 men to fight on land and at sea, where they played a crucial role. After declaring war on 18 October 1912, the Greek Army of Thessaly under Crown Prince Constantine moved north on the Macedonian front. The first big battle was at Sarantaporo on 9-10 October, when Greek troops broke through well-defended Ottoman positions.
• This win made it possible to get to western Macedonia. The Greek army kept moving forward and marched towards Salonika, a city that both Bulgaria and Greece wanted to control. The Greeks took Salonika on 9 November 1912, just hours before Bulgarian units that were moving forward arrived. The Greek occupation stopped Bulgaria from making claims and made sure that the port city became part of modern Greece. The Epirus campaign took longer and proved more challenging. Greek troops faced tough opposition in the mountains, with the Ottoman stronghold of Ioannina being a major problem.
• The Greeks did not win until March 1913, when they took Ioannina and took control of most of Epirus. This success gave Greece more power along its western border. The naval campaign was just as important. Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis led the Greek navy to victory at Elli (3 December 1912) and Lemnos (5 January 1913), which gave them control of the Aegean. These battles kept the Ottoman fleet in the Dardanelles and made it impossible for reinforcements to come from Asia Minor. Greek troops also took over several Aegean islands, such as Lesbos, Chios, and Lemnos, which helped them stay in charge.
• Greek victories greatly improved its political standing. Greece had an advantage in negotiations after the war because it had taken over Salonika. Its naval victories also made it hard for anyone to question its claim to the Aegean islands. However, Bulgaria’s refusal to agree to territorial agreements ahead of time left issues unresolved that would come up again after the war.

Serbia and Montenegro Theatres

• The Serbian and Montenegrin campaigns were mostly in Macedonia, Kosovo, and northern Albania, where both countries sought to expand their influence. Serbia sent about 288,000 men into three armies. The Battle of Kumanovo (23–24 October 1912) was the turning point of the war. Serbian forces beat the Ottoman Vardar Army, which opened the way into Macedonia. The Battle of Monastir on 16 November came after this victory and made Serbian control over most of the area stronger. Montenegro, on the other hand, was busy besieging Scutari (now Shkodër) in northern Albania.