The Balkans: A History of Bulgaria—Serbia—Greece—Rumania—TurkeyHogarth, D. G. (David George)
History
The Balkans: A History of Bulgaria—Serbia—Greece—Rumania—Turkey
Hogarth, D. G. (David George)
Balkan Peninsula -- History; Eastern question (Balkan)
Faced with division _ex post facto_, the allies found their _a priori_
agreement would not resolve the situation. Bulgaria, the predominant
partner and the most aggrieved, would neither recognize the others’
rights of possession nor honestly submit her claims to the only
possible arbiter, the Tsar of Russia. Finding herself one against two,
she tried a _coup de main_ on both fronts, failed, and brought on a
second Balkan war, in which a new determining factor, Rumania,
intervened at a critical moment to decide the issue against her. The
Ottoman armies recovered nearly all they had lost in eastern and
central Thrace, including Adrianople, almost without firing a shot, and
were not ill pleased to be quit of a desperate situation at the price
of Macedonia, Albania, and western Thrace.
Defeated and impoverished, the Ottoman power came out of the war
clinging to a mere remnant of its European empire—one single mutilated
province which did not pay its way. With the lost territories had gone
about one-eighth of the whole population and one-tenth of the total
imperial revenue. But when these heavy losses had been cut, there was
nothing more of a serious nature to put to debit, but a little even to
credit. Ottoman prestige had suffered but slightly in the eyes of the
people. The obstinate and successful defence of the Chataldja lines and
the subsequent recovery of eastern Thrace with Adrianople, the first
European seat of the Osmanlis, had almost effaced the sense of Osmanli
disgrace, and stood to the general credit of the Committee and the
individual credit of its military leader, Enver Bey. The loss of some
thousands of soldiers and much material was compensated by an
invaluable lesson in the faultiness of the military system, and
especially the _Redif_ organization. The way was now clearer than
before for re-making the army on the best European model, the German.
The campaign had not been long, nor, as wars go, costly to wage. In the
peace Turkey gained a new lease of life from the powers, and,
profligate that she was, the promise of more millions of foreign money.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account