The First Balkan War began, a war of the Balkan coalition to separate territories from the Ottoman Empire. The war began in October and lasted until May 1913. Between the Balkan allies (Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria) there was also a dispute regarding the division of territories that would be separated from the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan allies took advantage of the empire’s military weakness and internal political problems in Istanbul. They inflicted heavy and successive losses on the Ottoman Empire on all fronts of the war. The bloodiest match took place in the Battle of Kumanovo, where there were many killed and wounded on both sides, but which was won by the Balkan coalition. The ongoing war between the warring parties took place around the cities of Shkodër, Ioannina and Edrene. These cities were kept under siege under the threat of Serbian, Montenegrin, Greek and Bulgarian forces. The losses of the Ottoman army in these areas created favorable conditions to conquer the Albanian territories and other territories inhabited by Macedonians. The Serbian army, together with the Montenegrin one, within a short time occupied the main cities of Kosovo, such as Pristina, Prizren and Gjakova. Then they crossed the Drini river and across the Dukagjini Plain headed for Shkodra. A part of the Serbian and Montenegrin military units occupied Mirdita, Lezha, Kruja, Tirana and Durrës. Some other Serbian units marched in the direction of Skopje, occupying Manastir, Ohrid, Dibra, Struga, and then moving on to Elbasan and other areas of Central Albania. In the south, after continued successes and victories in Thessaly and Epirus, the Greeks took Sazan, Himare and other surrounding provinces. On the other hand, the Albanians found it very difficult to face the Serbian, Montenegrin and Greek forces, as they were tired of the anti-Ottoman uprisings and found it impossible to face the Balkan alliance due to unequal forces both in men and in armaments. The Ottoman Empire, seeing that it had lost on all fronts of the war, sought the intervention and mediation of the Great Powers. On May 30, 1912, the Peace Treaty was signed between the warring powers. According to the Treaty, the Ottoman Empire lost its possessions in the Balkans, with the exception of a few territories near the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. Also, according to this agreement, the Ottoman Empire renounced Albania and recognized the right to the Great Powers to determine the borders and decide on its future. (In the photo: Map of the Balkans, year 1900)
Text: The encyclopedic dictionary of Kosovo – Vol. II , Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Prishtina, 2018, page 999–1000.
Photo: © https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balkan-Wars
Graphic processing: AHCF
