A war that killed at least 15 million people began with two quick gunshots in the Balkans. The fighting of World War One began in the Balkans, and eventually saw some of its greatest bloodshed in this same region. Popular historians often talk about the assassination at Sarajevo, because it sucked in many of the other nations of the world – including, eventually, the United States. But subsequent events in the Balkans tend to be unknown among the general public, even lesser-known than the complex origins of the war that one can find there. Thus, this may be a good time to examine the events of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and how they engulfed much of the rest of the world when those two fateful gunshots were fired there.
Sarajevo citizens reading a poster with the proclamation of the Austrian annexation in 1908
The origins of World War One, in the various conflicts in the Balkans
Many European powers had longtime ambitions in the Balkans – from Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to local Slav states like Bulgaria and Serbia. But other ambitions came from the Middle East, in the form of the Ottoman Empire. Since 1878, the Ottomans had controlled the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In nearby West Asia, the Ottomans had committed early genocides against the Armenians in the 1890s, and again in 1909. But in the Balkans, there was a Bosnian Crisis from 1908 to 1909, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexed the region for itself. This was timed to coincide with Bulgaria’s Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. In 1911 and 1912, Italy fought its own war with the Ottoman Turks, which went somewhat badly for the Ottomans. Thus, the “Balkan League” was formed – which included Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Greece. In 1912 and 1913, this new league fought in the First Balkan War, and quickly overran most of the Ottoman territory there. As Wikipedia puts it, “The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia. In a meeting the next day, the Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unwilling to precipitate a war for which they were not as of yet prepared to handle.” (see source)
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, then the heir to the Austrian throne
Further conflicts in the Balkans, leading to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Quoting again from Wikipedia, the Great Powers then “sought to re-assert control through the 1913 Treaty of London, which created an independent Albania, while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War, when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania.[footnote] The result was that even countries which benefited from the Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their ‘rightful gains’, while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany.[footnote] This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the ‘powder keg of Europe’.” (see source) In 1914, there was a visit to the recently-annexed territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The heir’s name was “Archduke Franz Ferdinand,” and the city that he was then visiting was Sarajevo. Someone threw a grenade at his car earlier that day, killing two of the Archduke’s aides. But, for the moment, the Archduke himself survived. Later that day, there were two quick gunshots, one of which killed his wife. But the shot that killed the Archduke himself was the one that eventually plunged Europe into chaos. This led to an expansion of violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the Austro-Hungarians retaliated against the locals.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife at Sarajevo, a few minutes before their assassination (1914)
July Crisis, the Schlieffen Plan, and the beginning of the First World War itself
The next phase of this struggle was the “July Crisis,” a month of diplomatic maneuvering between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Britain, France, and Russia. Time does not permit me to examine all of the details of this frantic diplomacy, but suffice it to say that there was a lot of it going on behind the scenes here, which I am forced to skip over. Germany had promised to support the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, but there were differing interpretations about what this meant. The Austro-Hungarians believed that the Germans would cover their northern flank against Russia. Whatever this promise meant, the Austrians and Serbs clashed in August of 1914. Under Germany’s “Schlieffen Plan,” the Germans then responded by invading Belgium and France, which were way on the other side of the continent from the Balkans. Thus began the infamous “Western Front” of World War One. But the Germans had already declared war on Russia in that same month, so the “Eastern Front” was also getting started now.
An engagement in Hungary, 1914
The Balkans campaigns were connected with those in Central and Eastern Europe …
There is controversy about whether or not the Balkans Front was a part of the “Eastern Front,” but most would agree that it was at least connected with the Eastern Front. Indeed, the Russians were important allies of the Serbians. Thus, some additional comments on the Russian involvement might be warranted here. This involved fighting in Central and Eastern Europe (as you may know), but it also involved some forgotten fighting in the Caucasus – which was in nearby West Asia. Thus, some brief comments on that campaign might be warranted here. Indeed, anything that involved the Russians is automatically relevant to our story, since their battles with the Ottoman Empire in West Asia tied up troops that could have been sent to Europe.
Russian soldiers in the Caucasus, 1914
… and with the Caucasus campaign (with brief comments on the Armenian genocide)
In the forgotten Caucasus campaign, the Russians fought against the Ottoman Empire and Azerbaijan – and, to a lesser degree, Germany and Georgia. On their own side of the war, the Russians were allied with the British, the Transcaucasus, the Centrocaspian dictatorship, and the Baku Commune. They were also allied with Armenia, who were the victims of a genocidal campaign perpetrated by the Ottomans. The Ottomans eventually committed an Assyrian genocide (also known as “Sayfo” or “Seyfo”), which is lesser-known than the widely-condemned Armenian genocide – which (sadly) returned during World War One. They also committed a Greek genocide (which included the “Pontic genocide”), which was against various ethnic Greeks in the Ottoman-controlled areas. This genocide had begun long before the war in 1913, and continued for some years after the war until 1923 – even after the Ottoman Empire had been dissolved. This was because it was also perpetrated by the postwar “Turkish National Movement,” which outlasted the Ottoman Empire. There was some postwar denial of the genocide, leading many Western governments to pass resolutions condemning it. These are among the most disturbing legacies of the massive Caucasus campaign, and of the First World War more generally. And like the West Asian campaigns, the Balkans and Eastern Fronts were bitter and bloody, and lasted for an uncomfortably long time.
The corpses of Armenians beside a road, 1918 – victims of the Armenian genocide
All of these campaigns were affected by the Russian communist revolution of 1917
In the World War One Balkans region, Bulgaria was allied with the Germans, the Austro-Hungarians, and the Ottomans. Allied with the British and the French were Russia, Italy, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro – and, eventually, Romania. There was fighting in Macedonia and Albania, as well as in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro. These campaigns lasted for years, but time does not permit me to cover all of the details of them here. Suffice it to say that things got a bit more problematic for the Allies, after two revolutions hit Russia in 1917. One was the “February Revolution,” which overthrew the Russian monarchy. The other was the “October Revolution,” which began communism in Russia. This led to an early Russian exit from the war – with an “Eastern Front” armistice in December 1917, and a Treaty at Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. Romania also signed a separate Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers in May 1918. This freed up German troops for use elsewhere in the war. Most of these troops went to the Western Front, but this also had repercussions for the various parts of the Balkans Front – which continued for months after the war’s so-called “Russian Front” had ended.
The remains of Serbs killed by Bulgarian soldiers during the Surdulica massacre, 1917
Various armistices ended these different conflicts, and were then followed by peace treaties
The war ended with a series of armistices in 1918. Bulgaria signed the Armistice of Salonica with the Allies. Austria-Hungary signed the Armistice of Villa Giusti with the Allies. The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros with the Allies, with the Ottoman Empire later being dissolved entirely (as mentioned earlier). And, since the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been split into Austria and Hungary, Hungary signed a separate Armistice of Belgrade – also with the Allies. Eventually, the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed, and the war ended entirely, eventually with a Treaty of Versailles in 1919 – along with other peace treaties, as I describe here. However, the Russian Civil War continued for some years afterwards, as I describe in another post about the Russian communist revolution of that time.
Trenches of the Macedonian front, 1915
The shots at Sarajevo may have achieved their true purpose, but the Balkans paid dearly for them
The Austro-Hungarian rule in Serbia had finally come to an end. Thus, as the BBC series “The Great War” puts it, the two shots fired at Sarajevo “may have achieved their true purpose.” But, if so, they came at an incredible cost to the various Balkan nations. The casualties there included some of the worst of the war. Romania lost at least 7% of its population in the conflict. Albania lost at least 8% of its population. Serbia lost 16%, which may be the worst losses of the war to combat. The only comparable losses were among the Ottoman Empire, which had lost 13%; and Persia, which lost 19% – although Persian losses also had something to do with a famine, which caused 2 million deaths. The famine was war-related, but Serbia’s death rate seems to have been the largest to be primarily due to combat in this war. Thus, they had paid a high price, for an end to the hated Austro-Hungarian rule. In Europe, the First World War also created the new countries of Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Czechoslovakia. In the Middle East, the war created the new countries of Turkey, Hejaz, and Yemen (among others). The Balkans would also see action during the Second World War, as I describe in another post. And it would also take part (somewhat, at least) in the later Cold War, as I describe in this post – albeit with relatively little bloodshed there in that period.
Romanian troops during the Battle of Mărășești, 1917
Epilogue about how these forgotten campaigns affected the rest of the war
The story of the First World War’s Balkans front is mostly forgotten – except for the opening part of the war, which sucked in much of the rest of Europe. Indirectly, the gunshots fired at Sarajevo would eventually draw in the United States – although it would take a number of other provocations before the Americans would become fully involved. (More about that here.) But the “powder keg of Europe” had lit the fuse, and at least 15 million people paid the price for it. One hopes that these events will not be repeated, and that the peace of Europe will be more enduring in the future – as it mostly has been for some years now.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
No comments:
Post a Comment