History of the Balkans, Lecture 6

I. Ottoman Balkans, 1860s-1878

II. Russo-Turkish War to the Treaty of Berlin, 1878=>
Age of the Balkan Nation-States
III. Balkan Wars, 1912-13
IV. Stunted Industrialization, 1878-1914
V. Causes of World War I regarding the Balkans
VI. Who fought, why, and what happened?
VII. Social tensions during the war
I. Ottoman Balkans, 1860s- 1878

A. Background conditions in the 1860s-1870s

1. Double tithe in Bulgaria
2. Tax farming and crop failure in Bosnia (major peasant revolt, 1875)
3. Conflicts over grazing rights between Albanians and Slavs
4. Age of insurrections: Crete (1866), Bosnia (1875), Bulgaria (1876), Thessaly (1877-78)
B. Ottoman problems Alexander Cuza
1. Tanzimat reforms secure property in Ottoman Balkans, but oversight councils are not effective
2. Rival nationalists seek to take remaining Ottoman territory (Greek quest for Thrace/Macedonia; Bulgarian nationalists seek
independence; Serbian principality seeks Kosovo/Macedonia)
Basic program: insurrection, unification, formation of a large state
* None had meaningful programs of social and economic development.
3. Austria-Hungary and Russia wish to weaken/dismember the O.E.; they compete for influence
4. O.E. carried heavy debt load; had to accept European oversight of its banks
5. Severe internal turmoil, 1876: the “year of the three sultans”=> Young Ottomans and Grand Vizier Midhat Pasha introduced
a constitution and bill of rights, but rejected by Sultan Abdul Hamid II
C. National developments

1. Danubian Principalities/ Romania

- Roma slavery (beginning 14th century) ended by legislation in 1850s.
- Unification of Danubian Principalities into Romania (1861).
- Agrarian Reform, 1864.
- Development of political parties (Liberal and Conservative)
- Both parties supported military coup to overthrow Prince Alexander Cuza (liberal boyar) Georgi Benkovski
- Accepted Charles (Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen line) as Prince (Balkan pattern of foreign monarchs)

2. Bulgarian nationalism
- Reorganization of millet system )(1856)=> Bulgarians demanded national church
- Bulgarian competition with Greek Orthodox to establish their own church (Bulgarian Exarchate, 1870)
- Failed nationalist conspiracies, 1870s
April Uprising (led by Georgi Benkovski, failed, 1875)
1876 uprising- Bulgarian revolutionaries killed peaceful Turks to catalyze Ottoman reaction (atrocities termed “Bulgarian
Horrors”), prompting European intervention=> Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 (Russian victory; troops in Pleven and Adrianople)
II. Settling the Russo-Turkish War=>
Age of the Balkan Nation-States (1878-
1944)
A. San Stefano Treaty
1. Large Bulgarian autonomous principalities
(Russian plan, clientelism)
2. Major territorial gains for Serbia and Montenegro
3. Albanians shut out, protested Montenegrin and
Greek gains)
=> Great Power objections to Russian plans=>
Bismarck (Imperial Germany) convened the
Congress of Berlin, leading to the Treaty of Berlin,
1878

B. Congress of Berlin=> balance-of-power

diplomacy
Revision of San Stefano:
1. Smaller Bulgarian autonomous principality
(under German prince, Alexander of Battenberg,
later topped by coup, 1886- replaced by Prince
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg)
2. New autonomous area: “Eastern Rumelia” under
a Christian govt. appointed by OE.
3. * Formal recognition of the independence of
Serbia, Montenegro and Romania
4. Macedonia remained under Ottoman control
5. Bosnia/Hercegovina- Austria was allowed to
occupy and administer (Reichstadt agreement with
Russia, 1877: Austria promised to support Russia’s
demand to open the Black Sea Straits to Russian
warships) Proposed borders under Treaty of San Stefano Final borders under Treaty of Berlin, 1878
B. Consequences: Balkan irredentism, rebellions, revolutions, and new territorial
annexations

Examples:
1. Albanians: League of Prizren, 1878 (the Albanian League, led by Abdul Frashëri):
demanded autonomy under OE for all Albanian-inhabited lands; armed resistance
against Montenegrin and Greek territorial claims
=> Great Power pressure limited Greek claims in Epiros; Ottoman military crushed
Albanian rebel movement in Kosovo, 1881)

2. Bulgarian unification with Eastern Rumelia (1886), following a revolt in E.

Rumelia, Serbian invasion, Bulgarian army marched on Belgrade=> poor diplomatic
relations between Bulgaria and Serbia until 1903 (Black Hand assassination of King
Alexander Obrenović)
Macedonian guerrillas, from Leonidas Papazoglou, “Photographic
3. Macedonia: Competition among Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria to partition it Portraits from Kastoria and Its Vicinity from the Time of the Macedonian
Struggle"
- Establish rival schools , spread propaganda that Macedonians actually belong to
their ethnolinguistic group, military officers backed rival nationalist organizations=>
Development of Greek and Macedonian Slav guerilla and paramilitary movements,
attacking Ottoman gendarmes and villagers
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMR0, founded 1893): “Europe’s
first consciously created political terrorist organization” (Dennis Hupchick)
Goals: destabilize the OE administration, fight back rival Greek and Serb
nationalists, create an independent Macedonia (“Macedonians”: national concept,
not based on religion or ethnicity)
Illinden Uprising of 1903=> three-month uprising, brief establishment of a socialist
republic in Bitolj/Monastir=> Ottoman repression (200 villages burned), 70,000
homeless fled to Bulgaria=>
Great Power intervention: reform of the Ottoman gendarmerie under Austrian and
Russian inspectors
Plan to cantonize Macedonia Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization during Illinden
Uprising
B. Consequences: Balkan irredentism, rebellions, revolutions, and new territorial
annexations (continued)

4. Ottoman Empire: Founding of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, 1889):
military medical students who opposed Sultan Abdülhamid‘s suspension of the
Constitution (1876) and centralization (despite infrastructure advances)
Military officers formed secret organization (Society of Liberty, based in
Thessaloniki): shift to ethnic Turkish nationalism, „Western“ nation-state, rejection
of Ottomanism.
Causes: terrorist violence in Macedonia; dismemberment of the OE; resistance to
European intervention.
Young Turk Revolution, 1908: Macedonian officers demanded restoration of 1876
constitution; assainated govt. representatives, staged urban riots in Mac.
=> Sultan complied, but conservatives and modernates (supporting decentralization
and toleration of Christian minorities) staged counter-revolution, 1909.
=> Macedonian officers and the CUP deposed the Sultan and installed Mehmed V
(1909-1918)

5. Bosnia-Hercegovina: administered by Hungarian administration (infrastructure

development; balancing policy toward Muslims, Croats, Serbs)
Habsburg annexation, 1908. Introduction of a constitutional system (Bosnian Diet),
1910: cultural autonomy for the three confessional groups
=> cultural organizations became political/ideological; youth form conspiratorial
organizations to overthrow Austro-Hungarian rule (Mlada Bosna, Young Bosnia)=>
multiple attempts to assassination apparent heir to Habsburg throne, Franz
Ferdinand (successfully in 1914).

=> Disintegration of Ottoman imperial control in the Balkans

=> Acceleration of rival nationalist demands (Greek vs. Serbian vs. Macedonian vs.
Albanian vs. Turkish)
=> Development of Austrian vs. Russian diplomatic tensions
III. Culmination in Three Wars: Balkan Wars, 1912-13, and the First World War

A. Balkan Wars, 1912-13: : fought for the control and partition of Ottoman territory (Macedonia,
Sandjak of Novi Pazar, Thrace)
1. Russian diplomats encouraged Balkan states to build front vs. OE- the Balkan League, 1911
2. Bulgaria-Serbian alliance, 1912: secret clauses for Macedonian territory in case of war vs. OE
3. Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Bulgaria signed similar defense pacts
B. First Balkan War, 1912: Balkan states with 700.000 troops won easy victory against Ottomans
(unprepared, lack of telegraph communications, only 320.000 troops)
C. Bulgarians bore brunt of fighting near Const. and Adrianople, allowing Serbia to occupy Mac.
and Greece to take Salonika.
Initial armistice negotiations in 1913, but fighting resumed. OE lost all except Const.
D. Balkan League victors disagreed disagreement over division of Macedonia and control of
Salonika
=> Second Balkan War, 1913: Bulgaria attacked the Serb/Greek line in Macedonia
Greece, Serbia, Romania, and the OE fought Bulgaria (defeated)

E. Territorial settlement, Treaty of London, 1913

1. Ottomans lost all Balkan territory except Thrace and Constantinople. Virtual end of their
presence in Balkans.
2. Major territorial gains for Greece (Epiros, Thessaloniki/Salonika)
Serbia (eastern Macedonia (“Vardar Macedonia); Kosovo)
Bulgaria (Western Thrace; part of Mac.)
3. Creation of an independent Albania (Albanian revolts, 1911-12)
F. Broader impact
1. Nationalist conflicts remain (Albanian vs. Slav; Serb vs. Bulgarian)
2. Refugee flight and property loss
3. Recriminations/antagonism due to serious war crimes committed against civilians (see the
Carnegie Endowment report)
4. Virtually no opportunity to develop new institutions and integrate the territories before 1914
(outbreak of WWI)
IV. 1878-1914 industrialization? Partial but very stunted Bucharest, Palace of Justice, 1900. Note horse-drawn tram.
Reasons
1. Cultural attitudes: Serbian livestock breeders and trader
believed their occupation was more important than cash-crop
farming
Viewed other forms of entrepreneurship/money-making as
dishonorable
2. Illiteracy across the Balkans, approx. more than 95%. Resistance
to send children to schools
3. Lack of technical expertise: young men who attended university
received law degrees (to work in civil bureaucracy); students in
physical sciences and engineering represented smaller portion
4. Lack of skilled workers (low literacy level)=> industries were
based on agricultural processing
a. Serbia: beet sugar, meat packing, jam production
b. Bulgaria: tobacco, rose oil
c. Macedonian plains and valley: tobacco, cotton, opium, rice Sofia, Lion’s Bridge and surrounding area, 1910.
d. Thessaloniki/Salonika and Edessa (Vodena): - Competitive Note the electric tram and electricity poles.
textile manufacturing (wool, jute, cotton wadding, rope works.)
=> But hurt by rising material costs and labor strikes, 1900-1912
5. After 1878 (Treaty of Berlin), decline in demand and market size
due to Muslim emigration/flight from former Ottoman territories)
6. Lack of railroad transport across the peninsula: govts.
constructed them for internal military purposes, not to facilitate
transport across peninsula (fear of military invasion by OE)
7. Banks financed modernization of capitals (Sofia, Bucharest,
Belgrade)=> gas lighting, trams, halls of justice but not private
industry
=> “modernization without industrialization” (John Lampe)
V. Causes of World War I regarding the Balkans

A. Weaknesses in the continental alliance system in 1880s

1. Three Emperors’ Alliance of 1873 (Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany) was a
neutrality agreement, not a defensive security pact
2. Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) had limited benefits- from an
Austrian point of view, it might stop Italian irredentism; from an Italian point
view, Italy could choose whether an attack on Austria-Hungary qualified for its
defensive intervention
3. Bismarck fell in 1890: No longer present to curb Austrian ambitions;
administration of Wilhelm II allowed the German-Russian Reinsurance Treaty to
lapse.

B. Competition for hegemony and use of client states

1. Serbian military officer’s assassination of the pro-Austrian Obrenović king,
1903
- Civilian government accepted a new Karadjordević king=> pro-Russian
orientation, influence of Pan-Slavism
- Irredentism: “Black Hand” officers sought “Old Serbia,” i.e. Macedonia and
Kosovo (acquired in Balkan Wars, 1912-13)
2. Austria vs. Russia: Gavrilo Princip, captured after
- Habsburg annexation of Bosnia, 1908, over Russian objections attack in Sarajevo

- Russian interference in Bulgarian affairs, 1880s

- Russian shift to support Serbia, rather than Bulgaria, in Second Balkan War
(because Bulgarian army in the First Balkan War had nearly reached
Constantinople; Russia did not want a small Balkan power to set the terms)
- Habsburg’s Military Staff feared growth of Serbian power (due to Balkan War
victories); wished to check it and possibly annex the country
V. Causes of World War I regarding the Balkans (continued)

C. Territorial instability and resentment from the changes of 1908-

1913
1. O.E.- loss of virtually all Balkan territory (Crete, 1908; Albania,
Macedonia, 1912- 1913); received military training and weapons
from Germany since 1890s
2. Bulgarian military and Macedonian revolutionaries sought
annexation of Vardar Macedonia (terrorism and guerilla fighting
against Serbia)
3. Serbian resentment that it did not receive an Adriatic Port after
the Balkan Wars (due to Austrian military ultimatum)
4. OE: Military officers feared partition, backed the Young Turk
revolution and recovery of Macedonia

D. Influence of military officers in Balkan political affairs

1. Greek officers staged coup in Athens, 1910 (following turmoil of
unification with Crete)- aligned with the liberal nationalist
politician Venizelos, 1911
2. Serbian officers (Black Hand) clashed with Serbian civilian
administration (Prime Minister Pašić) over administration of
Macedonia and Kosovo; Pašić failed to keep tight control over Apis
(military intelligence chief providing weapons/training to Young
Bosnia)
3. Bulgarian officers- deep resentment of loss of Macedonia in
Second Balkan War; believed partition of OE was inevitable and
Macedonia was rightly theirs
=> Caveat- war was not inevitable. Mitigating factors
1. Serbia was militarily exhausted after the Balkan Wars and did not
seek a campaign against Austria. But (counter-factual) what if Serbia
had agreed to all Austrian demands, including a police investigation
on its territory?
2. Clark: two rival alliance systems, but they were “mobile,” allowing
for adjustment (NB: He blames Serbian nationalism far more than
Mackenzie.)
3. Croats in the Habsburg Empire were not demanding secession; like
other Slavs, they sought federalism/autonomy/Trialism
4. July Crisis perhaps could have been resolved by international
conference if Britain had applied more pressure earlier (Ferguson)
=> More interesting question in the Balkans may be: Why did a local
war (Serbia vs. Austria-Hungary) lead to the entrance of other Balkan
states?

Germans in Berlin await the passage of Germany’s declaration of war against Russia, 1
August 1914

French in Paris mobilize in front of the Gare de l’Est, 2 August 1914

VI. Who fought, why, and what happened?
Military justice in Habsburg-
occupied Serbia: immediate
A. Serbia (Entente) executions for suspected spies
and guerillas
- Invaded by Austria-Hungary (troops stationed in Bosnia) in 1914
- Resistance and counter-attack, but collapsed by end of 1915. Belgrade
bombarded.
- Flight of army in harsh winter conditions via Albania, ferried by France to
Corfu and then Salonika. Plan: regroup and prepare for possible new front
and counter-attack.
- One-sixth of the country's population was dead; only 100.000 soldiers from
400.000 survived.
- Country totally occupied by Central Powers during the war. Harsh military
justice (executions) against population.
- Yugoslav political unification program: somewhat strengthened by the
Serbian defeat, but also complicated by: Shelter for women and children
- Entente unwillingness to partition Austria-Hungary in Belgrade at Tasmajdan

- No common agreement between Serbia and Montenegro about the

borders of a future state
- In Croatia (whose soldiers fought with the Central Powers), the Croat-Serb
coalition was pro-monarchy (trialist and legitimist), while in Slovenia, liberals
and clerics were pro-Yugoslav.
- 1916: Bulgarian surprise offensive, Allied counter-attack. Bulgarians and
Germans stopped north of Bitolj (Monastir), Macedonia. Trench warfare for
two years.
- Political purges: Prince Regent Aleksandar Karadjordjević had Apis and
Black Hand officers arrested, then executed after a trial in Salonika (April-
May 1917).
- No counter-attack on the Salonika front until very end of war.
- Country liberated by joint Entente forces, northern push through
Macedonia after overrunning the Bulgarian Army in Sept./Oct. 1918
B. Bulgaria (Central Powers) Bulgaria- WW1- Dugouts constructed by the Bulgarian 9th (Pleven) Division in the area behind
the hill known as Grand Couronne above the town of Doiran.

- Govt. under Prime Minister Radoslavov (Liberal party): pro-

German (though population was pro-Russian)
-Govt. waited to get best territorial deal, late 1915: Central
Powers offered Thrace and Vardar (more than the Entente)
-Entered war in late 1915: occupied Serbia (Morava Valley)
and Thrace
-Task: hold the Central Powers’ front north of Salonika- vs.
much smaller Anglo-French expeditionary force and
weakened Serbian survivors.
- Total breakdown in relations between the Bulgarian and
Serbian Red Cross
- Bulgarian army was over-stretched (lack of food, 1915-16).
- Domestic crisis: Women revolt due to food shortages, 1917. Stambuliiski’s Orange Guard paramilitary at a
rally in Haskovo (post-war)
- Fall, 1918: 40% of male pop., 900.000 conscripted
- Army driven back into Bulgaria during the Salonika
breakthrough, fall 1918
- Radomir Rebellion (village SW of Sofia): March to capital to
reject government. German troops put down rebellion;
Bulgarian troops retreat from the Salonika line
- French forces advanced, required Tsar Ferdinand to abdicate
- New civilian govt under Aleksandar Stambuliiski (Agrarian
Union Party) took power
C. Romania (Entente) Dead Romanian soldiers near
- Liberal govt. (Prime Minister Brătianu) was initially Kronstadt, Romania, in 1916
neutral; waited until 1916 to see who would get upper
hand. (King Carol, German descent, had died in Oct. 1914).
-Entente deal was the best for Romanian liberals,
supporting ethnic unification of Romanians: Promised
Transylvania, Banat of Temesvar, and the Bukovina (all
territories in Austria-Hungary)

-Entered war in 1916, encouraged by Russian offensive

against Germany on Eastern Front (Brusilov Offensive)
- Due to ammunition shortages, suffered 250.000 casualties
by this point (dead, wounded, prisoners)=>
Rest driven into Wallachia by Austrians and Germans.
- Bucharest occupied by Germany
- Domestic politics: Brătianu promised land reform and
universal male suffrage after the war (to ensure peasant
support)
- Other Romania troops pushed into northern Moldavia,
retrained by French (after Russia left war following
Bolshevik Revolution, Nov. 1917, and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
with Central Powers, 1918)
- Brătianu’s government resigned rather than sign armistice
with Central Powers. Instead, Conservative party signed
Treaty of Bucharest with Central Powers in May 1918
- Romanians then joined with French/British division to
advance on Bucharest at end of war

- Treaty of Bucharest was voided. Future settlement to be

determined at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919
D. Greece (Entente)

- Conflict between Interventionists (Venizelos, pro-Entente) vs.

Royalists (King Constantine, pro-Central Powers): form of the state
(republic vs. monarchy); diplomatic orientation (pro-Britain and
France vs. pro-German)
- Oct. 1915: Entente landed expeditionary forces at Salonika
without government’s formal permission, creating the “Salonika
front” (British [including Irish and Indian], French, Serbian forces)
- Entente intervened in Greek politics, 1916-17: aided pro-
Venizelos military officers in the north (State of Thessaloniki),
forced King Constantine to depart and give throne to son
Alexander
- Venizelos purged royalist officers from army in 1917
- Army contributed divisions for the breakthrough on the Salonika
Front, Sept. 1918
- Venizelos ordered the “Smyrna Landing,” May 1919, during the
Paris Peace Conference
- Greek military killed and robbed massacred Turkish prisoners-of-
war; local Greeks attacked Turks, who retaliated. Turks formed
resistance and Turkish nationalist organizations.
- British Parliamentary inquiry and diplomatic pressure forced a
Greek inquiry and led to denial of Greek claims to annex coast of
Venizelos with General
Asia Minor. Regnault at Izvor during a visit
to the Serres Division.
VII. Social tensions during the war

A. Refugees- lack of shelter, lack of food. Confusion over citizenship/passports, especially in Kosovo and
Macedonia, where borders had just changed in 1912.
B. Disruption of trade, depopulation of countryside (due to military draft, refugee flight), abandonment of
arable land, introduction of ration cards for food and cooking gas
C. Ethnic tensions within neutral areas and border areas (conflicts between armed bandits and authorities;
conflicts in cities/towns between Greeks, Slavs, Albanians)
D. Government censorship of the post and newspapers
F. Governments arrest and intern alleged spies and traitors (Habsburg government targeted Serbs, Czechs,
Poles, Ruthenians); Dual Monarchy established a new imperial surveillance system
=> Paradox: breakdown of authority, intensification of authority

Left:
Muslim refugees (mother and her
sons) from Kosovo who fled to
Salonika
Right: Jewish refugees (family)
from Macedonia who fled to
Salonika