Balkan Wars (1912–1913): Why Were They Such a Turning Point for the Ottomans?

The Balkan Wars (1912–1913) were the wars that largely ended five centuries of Ottoman presence in Rumelia. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the war that broke out on 8 October 1912 caught the Ottoman army, torn apart by political divisions, unprepared. Salonica, Monastir and Skopje were lost; Edirne fell once and was then recaptured.

Quick Summary

The war began on 8 October 1912 with Montenegro’s declaration of war.
Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro attacked as an alliance.
Salonica was surrendered without a fight on 26 October 1912 (8 November in the new calendar).
Edirne fell on 26 March 1913 and was recaptured on 21 July 1913.
Great waves of migration took place from Rumelia to Anatolia.

Why was it such a major turning point?
The road to war
The First Balkan War
The Raid on the Sublime Porte and Edirne
The Second Balkan War and the recapture of Edirne
Consequences
Frequently asked questions

Why Were the Balkan Wars Such a Major Turning Point?

Since the 14th century Rumelia had been one of the centres of the state’s politics, military power and settlement. Cities such as Edirne, Salonica, Monastir and Skopje were the state’s main pillars in Europe. Edirne had been the capital of the state before the conquest of Istanbul. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, at the end of the war Macedonia and Thrace were divided among Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria. The Ottoman state was left only with Eastern Thrace, covering the Istanbul–Istranca–Keşan triangle.

This loss was not simply a change on the map. The state lost a large part of its sources of soldiers, its tax revenue and its lines of communication. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims had to leave the cities where they had lived for centuries. That is why the Balkan Wars are regarded as one of the sharpest turns in the process of the empire’s dissolution.

The Road to War

After the Ottoman–Russian War of 1877–1878, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania became independent, while Bulgaria gained autonomy. According to the encyclopedia, in this period Austria also occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the next thirty years Macedonia became an arena of rivalry among the states of the region. We described the background of these wars in our article on the Ottoman-Russian wars.

Before the Balkan Wars the states of the region drew closer to one another. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, fearing that they would lose their influence in Macedonia, these states formed an alliance in 1912 with Russian support. At that time the Ottoman state was occupied with the Tripolitanian War, which Italy had begun in 1911. According to the encyclopedia, peace with Italy could only be signed at Ouchy on 18 October 1912. In this peace, saving Istanbul took priority over Tripolitania.

Political division in the army was also a great weakness. According to the encyclopedia, the war caught unprepared an army torn apart by political differences. Shortcomings in mobilization, transport and unity of command were felt from the first days. The training of the reserve, or redif, units was also inadequate. We discussed the rise of nationalism in our article on the effects of the French Revolution.

How Did the First Balkan War Unfold?

The war began on 8 October 1912 with Montenegro’s declaration of war; Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece soon joined. The Ottoman army had to fight on four fronts at once. In Eastern Thrace the defeats at Kırkkilise and Lüleburgaz, and in Macedonia those at Kumanovo and Monastir, broke the defence. The army fell back as far as Çatalca, the last line of defence before Istanbul.

The Bulgarian army’s attacks on Çatalca in November 1912, however, were repulsed. This resistance saved the capital. But a cholera epidemic that broke out on the Çatalca line hit the army hard. In the west, meanwhile, the Serbian army entered Skopje in October 1912. Ioannina surrendered to the Greeks in March 1913, and Shkodër to Montenegro in April 1913.

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Greek army marched on Salonica from the south and the Bulgarian army from the north. The governor, Hasan Tahsin Pasha, handed the city over to the Greeks without a fight on 26 October 1912, 8 November in the new calendar. According to the encyclopedia, when the Greek army entered the city it smashed the inscription of the great tower dating from the time of Suleiman the Magnificent. The loss of Salonica caused a deep shock in public opinion.

According to the encyclopedia, until 1912 Salonica was a multicultural and cosmopolitan city. In the 19th century it was regarded as one of the most modern cities of the empire. Mustafa Kemal had also been born in this city.

According to the encyclopedia, these bad results forced the government of Gazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasha to resign. It was replaced on 29 October 1912 by the cabinet of Kıbrıslı Kamil Pasha. Albania, too, declared its independence at Vlorë on 28 November 1912 so as not to fall into Serbian hands.

Ottoman soldiers and the Balkan mountains symbolizing the loss of Rumelia during the Balkan Wars

The Raid on the Sublime Porte and the Fall of Edirne

According to the encyclopedia, the peace talks in London stalled over the questions of Edirne and the Aegean islands. In a note issued on 17 January 1913 the Great Powers demanded that Edirne be left to Bulgaria. The Unionists took action, claiming that the government was about to abandon Edirne. According to the encyclopedia, on 23 January 1913, led by Enver and Talat Beys, the Sublime Porte was raided, the Minister of War Nazım Pasha was killed and Kamil Pasha was forced to resign. Mahmud Şevket Pasha was appointed grand vizier.

This coup, however, could not save Edirne. During the Balkan Wars the city resisted a siege of about five months under the command of Şükrü Pasha. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Edirne, which was bombarded by artillery, was occupied by the Bulgarians on 26 March 1913. According to the encyclopedia, with the Treaty of London signed in May 1913 Macedonia was lost entirely. The treaty left the area west of the Midye–Enez line to the states of the region.

The Second Balkan War and the Recapture of Edirne

Unable to agree on how to divide the territories they had won, the states of the region now turned on one another. According to the encyclopedia, Greece, Serbia and Romania joined forces and defeated Bulgaria. The Ottoman army took advantage of this opportunity and recaptured Edirne on 21 July 1913. Enver Bey came to the fore in the operation, and this success had a great effect on public morale. After a series of defeats, the recapture of Edirne was a ray of hope for society.

The Ottoman state was not a party to the Treaty of Bucharest, signed on 10 August 1913. According to the encyclopedia, under this treaty most of Macedonia passed to Greece and Serbia. Greece received Aegean Macedonia, centred on Salonica, while Romania gained Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria. With the Treaty of Constantinople between the Ottomans and Bulgaria (29 September 1913), Edirne and Kırklareli remained Ottoman, and the Maritsa river was accepted as the border.

Peace treaties were signed with Greece in Athens in November 1913 and with Serbia in Istanbul in 1914. The old name of Kırklareli was Kırkkilise; one of the first great pitched battles of the war had been fought there. Albania’s independence, meanwhile, completely cut the state’s link with the Adriatic coast.

Ottoman soldiers defending the Çatalca line during the Balkan Wars

The Consequences of the Balkan Wars

The heaviest consequence of the Balkan Wars was migration. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees poured from Rumelia into Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. Turks, Albanians, Bosniaks and Pomaks left their homes because of war, persecution and hunger. Refugee quarters were founded in Anatolian cities, and the state had to deal with problems of settlement and supply. Some of the migrants were settled on vacant land in Anatolia.

The painful memories of the refugees from Rumelia also deeply affected later generations’ understanding of history. These memories show that the loss of Rumelia was the history not only of the state but also of families.

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the population of Edirne was about 87,000 at the beginning of the 20th century; after the wars and occupations it fell to 34,528 in 1927. According to the encyclopedia, the war of 1912–1913 even surpassed the earlier occupation in the suffering it left in the city and the damage it did to its historic monuments.

The political consequences were also heavy. With the Raid on the Sublime Porte, the Committee of Union and Progress became decisive in government. After the assassination of Mahmud Şevket Pasha in June 1913, the Unionists entrenched themselves fully in power. Ottomanism, which aimed to hold the different elements together around the idea of common citizenship, was badly wounded. Currents such as Turkism and Islamism grew stronger; we discussed these currents in our article on Ottoman intellectual movements.

Militarily, the war clearly exposed the army’s weaknesses in command, logistics and training. For this reason the reforms carried out with a German military mission before the First World War gained importance. Attempts were made to reorganize the army by 1914. But the state entered the world war in 1914 before it could heal these wounds. We described the process of collapse in our article on the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Frequently Asked Questions

When were the Balkan Wars?

The first war began on 8 October 1912 and ended with the Treaty of London in May 1913. The second war was fought between June and August 1913.

Who attacked the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars?

Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro attacked as an alliance.

When was Edirne recaptured?

The city was recaptured on 21 July 1913, during the second war.

When was the Treaty of London signed?

The treaty was signed on 30 May 1913, and the Midye–Enez line was accepted as the border.

How was Salonica lost?

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the governor Hasan Tahsin Pasha handed the city over to the Greeks without a fight on 26 October 1912.

Conclusion

The Balkan Wars largely ended the centuries-old Ottoman presence in Rumelia. Salonica and Macedonia were lost, and Edirne could only be recovered in the second war. Mass migration, the Raid on the Sublime Porte and the weakening of Ottomanism are the deep consequences of this defeat. That is why the Balkan Wars are one of the greatest turning points that shaped the last period of the empire.