Chapter 3 Chapter 2 The Flames of War on the Balkans

In his early years, Bismarck asserted ferociously that some assholes in the Balkan countries would ignite the next war.Historically an eventful place, the Balkans is located at the southeastern tip of Europe and serves as Europe's gateway to Asia and Africa, not only of economic importance but also of strategic importance from a global point of view .Historically, Christian forces and Islamic forces have confronted each other here several times, see-sawing back and forth.By the 19th century, the Ottoman Turkish Empire had ruled the region for four or five hundred years.With the rise of the industrial revolution and the democratic revolution in Europe, the consciousness of national independence in the Balkans began to awaken. They fought and fought one after another, trying to break free from the brutal rule of Turkish feudal autocracy.By the beginning of the 20th century, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro gained independence one after another.Although Ottoman Turkey is dying and is ridiculed as the "sick man of Europe", the centipede is dead but not stiff.In Europe, Turkey still occupies Albania, Macedonia, Thrace and other areas and the Aegean islands including Crete. The people living in these areas are Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians, Greeks, Albanians and Wallachians.The Balkan region is a place where various ethnic groups live together and has complex religious components, which has always been one of the focuses of conflicts in Europe.With the decline of Turkey, the struggle of the oppressed peoples, the covetousness of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia for the Balkans, the open and secret struggles for territorial expansion among the independent Balkan countries, and the conflicts between them and the intervening powers, the Balkans The situation in the region has become more complicated and confusing.

The intervention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Balkan affairs was an important reason for the turmoil in the region.The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a dual empire formed by Austria and Hungary in 1867, both of which were ruled by the Habsburg family. The Austrian Emperor was also the King of Hungary and had three common ministries: the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Military Affairs. .The internal affairs of Hungary are handled by the Hungarian government itself. In addition to the 24 provincial assemblies, there are two parliaments in Austria-Hungary.This peculiar country is composed of 11 nationalities, they are: Germanic, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serb, Slovenian, Croat, Romanian, Ukrainian, Italian.Among them, the Germanic people accounted for a quarter of the total population.Each nation has its own tendencies, Italians want to return to the motherland.Among the South Slavic peoples, the Croats and Slovenes lean toward the West, and the Serbs toward the East.

The relationship between Austria-Hungary and Serbia is an important factor restricting the situation in the Balkans.In 1804, a Serb named Kara George revolted against Turkish rule. In 1813, George led the rest of his troops to retreat to Hungary. In 1815, Milosh Oblenovich rose again and succeeded George in his cause. In November 1817, the Serbian rebels reached a compromise with Turkey, and Milos became the hereditary Grand Duke of Serbia.In this way, through two uprisings, although Serbia did not gain complete independence, it gained the status of an autonomous principality. At the Berlin Conference in 1878, Western powers forced Russia to abandon the "Treaty of San Stefano" signed between it and Turkey.According to the "Treaty of Berlin", the contracting countries recognized the complete independence of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro.Bulgaria became an autonomous and tribute principality under the Turkish suzerainty.The two provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be occupied and governed by Austria-Hungary, but still belong to the territory of the Turkish Empire in name. In 1882, Serbia was declared a kingdom. King Milan pursued a pro-Austro-Hungarian policy and was willing to be its vassal. The relationship between the two countries was relatively harmonious.But this situation soon changed.

In June 1903, King Alexander of Serbia (Milano's son) was killed in a coup, and Peter ascended the throne. He appointed the leader of the Radical Party, Basic, as prime minister.Due to the unification of Germany and Italy and the establishment of nation-states, nationalist passions in the Balkans began to boil. The Great Serbian Empire that unified the Balkans in the 12th century often provoked the ambitions of the Serbs. Basic is a typical "Great Serbism". Claim: Serbia's main goal is to save fellow Yugoslavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.Then in 1906 there was a trade conflict between Oseria and Serbia. In order to control Serbia, Austria-Hungary requested all its arms to order from itself. Instead of giving in, it sought new markets in Western Europe, established new relationships with other countries, and benefited economically and politically.In this way, Serbia not only got rid of its dependence on Austria-Hungary economically, but also deepened its resentment towards Austria-Hungary.As a result, the relationship between Austria and Serbia deteriorated sharply.

In 1908, a revolution broke out in Turkey, and the "Young Turk Party" won power.The Austro-Hungarian Empire believed that the time had come to completely annex Bosnia and Herzegovina, so they secretly reached a secret deal with Russia: Russia agreed to Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in exchange, Austria-Hungary agreed to open the Black Sea for the Russian fleet.Soon, Germany also agreed to Russia's request on the condition of obtaining "compensation".Italy also supports Russia, on condition that Russia agrees to Italy's possession of Tripoli.But for Russia, if it wants to freely enter and exit the Black Sea Strait, it is more important to obtain the support of Britain and France. For this reason, Russian Foreign Minister Izvorsky went to Paris and London.However, Ellenthal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a daring adventurer. He decided to formally annex Poland and Herzegovina without waiting for Russia to reach an agreement with other relevant powers.This time Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, which was eager to break away from Turkey, joined forces. On October 5, 1908, Bulgaria declared its complete independence, and on October 7, the Austro-Hungarian Empire officially announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Austria-Hungary's move caused an uproar internationally, and Turkey and Serbia were indignant and protested like waves.But the government was powerless, and Russia also opposed the one-sided actions of Austria-Hungary and demanded an international conference to resolve the dispute.Russia had hoped that Britain and France would support it on the issue of the Black Sea Strait, but it failed.France took a vague position, Britain flatly rejected it, and Germany actively supported Austria-Hungary.After the crisis lasted for several months, in February 1909, under the mediation of Germany, Austria-Hungary offered cash as compensation in exchange for Turkey's approval of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Subsequently, Austria-Hungary assembled troops on the border of Serbia. In March of the same year, Germany issued an ultimatum, asking Russia to accept the fact that Austria-Hungary annexed Poland and Herzegovina, and asked Russia to force Serbia to accept this fact.Due to the fact that Russia has not yet fully recovered from the old wounds of the "Russian-Japanese War", without external support and internal preparations for war, Russia had no choice but to swallow this breath, and this crisis ended accordingly.

In the Bosnian crisis, Austria-Hungary became the big winner, Turkey had little power to fight back, and Russia got nothing and was busy.The whole country of Serbia was indignant, because what the Serbs dreamed of was to unite all Yugoslavs and establish a unified nation-state in the Balkan Peninsula. According to the ultra-nationalists in Serbia, the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina had already been included in the territory of the future "Greater Serbia Republic". Now it is taken away by Austria-Hungary, and about one million compatriots are forced to become subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This is a heavy blow to Serbia, whose nationalist consciousness has been extremely inflated.After experiencing the Bosnian crisis, the relationship between Austria and Serbia became more tense.

In addition to Austria-Hungary and Russia coveting the Balkans, the small Balkan countries that have become independent can't wait to carve up Turkey's "inheritance" in Europe.They have their own plans: Greece dreamed of restoring the Greek and Byzantine empires that spanned Europe and Asia. Because of the "Great Greece" thinking, it not only wanted to capture Crete, but also wanted to expand in both directions west and north, capturing Macedonia and southern Albania. large tracts of land. Bulgaria hopes to realize the ideal of "Great Bulgaria" in the "Treaty of San Stefano", swallowing Macedonia and Thrace alone, occupying ports such as Thessaloniki and Kavala, and entering the Aegean Sea.

Serbia intends to annex most of Macedonia and part of Albania, occupy Thessaloniki, obtain two outlets to the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and establish a "Greater Serbia" country. Montenegro (also known as Montenegro) expects to divide Novi Barca, seize northern Albania, open the channel, and connect with Serbia. These "small countries" and Turkey's "one-on-one" confrontation are obviously not rivals. In order to jointly attack Turkey in order to achieve their own goal of carve-up, they have begun to brew alliances and wait for the opportunity to strike.The opportunity was soon delivered from the distant continent of Africa.

In the spring of 1911, a tribal uprising broke out in Morocco. Sultan Moulay Hafed was surrounded by rebel forces in Fes. On May 21, France sent 15,000 troops to occupy Fes and other cities in the name of restoring order and protecting the expatriates. .Spain also sent troops to northern Morocco.Morocco's independence is completely lost.Germany took the opportunity to blackmail France, demanding a part of Morocco's land to Germany as compensation, and hinted that it was willing to get compensation from other places.France did not reply in time. On July 1, 1911, the German gunboat "Leopard" sailed to the port of Agadir and aimed its guns at the city, and then the German light cruiser "Berlin" was also cruising in the territorial waters of Morocco.This event, known as the "Leopard of the Leopard", led to the "Second Moroccan Crisis". In mid-July, the talks between France and Germany entered a substantive stage. The French ambassador to Germany Jules Cambon proposed to let Germany build a railway in Turkey as compensation. German Foreign Minister Kidrun believed that these trivial matters were not worth talking about.In the end, when Conbon brought up the possibility of the French Congo as a compensation target, Kidrun said it was worth talking about.Kidrun then demanded the cession of all of the French Congo as compensation for Germany's recognition of the French occupation of Morocco.Kangbang was taken aback when he heard this, and almost fell on his back. He didn't expect the blackmailer to ask for such an exorbitant price, so he immediately refused.Kidrun threatened Kang Bang: "Then we will fight!" Kang Bang replied: "We have been prepared for a long time." At the critical moment when France and Germany were facing each other and swords were at war, Britain intervened with a tough stance and firmly supported France. , expressing that it cannot tolerate Germany establishing a naval base near Gibraltar and would not hesitate to fight Germany on the Morocco issue.Finally, France and Germany reached an agreement on November 4, 1911. France ceded a part of the French Congo territory (that is an area where sleeping sickness was endemic) totaling 275,000 square kilometers to Germany as compensation. crisis" is over.

One wave is not flat, and another wave rises again.When Germany, France, and Britain were stuck in the quagmire of the Moroccan crisis and had no time for others, Italy, which had been spying on North Africa for a long time, took advantage of the fire and, for reasons that could not be justified, issued an ultimatum to Turkey on September 28, 1911, demanding the cession of the territory. Tripoli and Cyrenaica.After being rejected, Italy began military operations with open fire, and the Turkish army retreated steadily. The war lasted until October 15, 1912, when Italy and Turkey signed an open treaty and ended.According to the treaty, Turkey was forced to cede Tripoli and Cyrenaica to Italy.

After the outbreak of the Italian-Turkish war, the small countries in the Balkans suddenly felt that they were blessed by God. The Bulgarian Prime Minister Geshov suddenly interrupted his recuperation in France. On the way home, he had a secret meeting with the Serbian Prime Minister Milovanovic.Subsequently, diplomats from the two countries had frequent contacts. In March 1912, under the mediation of Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia signed the 8-year Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Serbia.The treaty stipulates that if one or both parties are attacked by other countries or any powers attempt to occupy Turkey's possessions in the Balkans, the two countries will provide comprehensive assistance.The land in the northwestern part of the Sand Mountains belonged to Serbia, and the land east of the Rhodope Mountains to the Struma River valley belonged to Bulgaria.The two countries agreed to refer the disputed central Macedonian region to Russian arbitration.The two countries also signed a military agreement. With the participation of the United Kingdom, Bulgaria negotiated with Greece again. The two countries signed a three-year defense agreement in 1912, and signed a military alliance treaty in September of the same year.The Pausi Treaty stated that if the Turkish government violated the rights of Orthodox Christians, it would lead to war.This so-called "defensive" treaty has hidden murderous intentions, and it actually provides them with an excuse to declare war on Turkey at any time. At the same time, Bulgaria and Montenegro reached an oral agreement (a written agreement was signed after the start of the Balkan War), and if there was an anti-Turkish or anti-Austrian war, Bulgaria and Montenegro would provide comprehensive assistance.In this way, under the mediation of the big powers, the four small Balkan countries temporarily put aside their differences and established a "Balkan alliance" aimed at opposing Turkey.This alliance, as the French Prime Minister Paincalet who was visiting Moscow at the time, said, "contains not only the seeds of war against Turkey, but also against Austria." Inspired by Italy's victory over Turkey, the Balkan Allies were determined to take tough actions. On October 8, 1912, Montenegro first declared war on Turkey. On October 13, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and other countries issued an ultimatum to the Turkish government. , requiring Turkey to carry out reforms in Macedonia and Thrace in accordance with the provisions of the 1878 "Berlin Treaty", allowing the nationalities there to gain autonomy, and Christian schools and Islamic schools to have equal status, etc.The Turkish government rejected the ultimatum. On October 17, Bulgaria and Serbia declared war on Turkey.The Turkish government reacted immediately and declared war on Bulgaria and Serbia.Turkey intends to cede Crete in exchange for Greece's neutrality in the war so that it can mobilize troops from Asia Minor to fight in Macedonia and Thrace.But the Greek government, honoring its treaty with its allies, joined the fray on October 18, and the First Balkan War began in full swing. The Balkan Alliance has nearly 700,000 troops and 1,500 artillery pieces.Turkey invested 400,000 troops and 1,600 artillery pieces.In contrast, the Balkan Alliance has a clear advantage.The battle had the character of liberating the enslaved countrymen of Macedonia and Thrace, and the troops of the Balkan Allies were in high spirits and fought to the fore. The Bulgarian army first invaded the eastern region of Thrace. Its 1st and 3rd armies pounced on Gechigili, Sherioglu, Eskibaulus and Petra, and fought fiercely for five days and nights. , Annihilated the main force of the Turkish army in eastern Thrace.The 2nd Paul Army besieged 60,000 Turkish troops in the famous Audrin Castle.Then, after the Baojun wiped out a Turkish army in the Rhodope Mountains, they took advantage of the victory and went south to attack Constantinople.The army was approaching the Turkish capital, but was soon blocked at the Catalza defense line 40 kilometers away from Constantinople. The commander of the Greek army, Prince Constantine, suggested sending two divisions of the Greek army to reinforce, but was rejected. Because Bulgaria wants to enjoy the benefits and historic honor of occupying the Turkish capital alone.However, until the end of the war, the Bulgarian army failed to capture the city. The main force of the Greek army entered the Northern Epirus area to fight. After fierce fighting, the main defense line of the Turkish army in the area was broken and they retreated.The Greek army followed and pursued, approaching Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia.At this moment a Brigade was also approaching the city along the valley of the Struma. On November 8, Hassan Taksin, the commander of the defending Turkish army, accepted the terms of surrender from the commander of the Greek army, Constantine.That night, Greek troops entered Thessaloniki.After negotiation, the Bulgarian troops also entered the city.In the Epirus area, the Greek army captured a large number of surrendered Turkish troops in places such as Kephilipia, Prevezi, and Janina, entered southern Albania, and successively occupied Norcaster, Korca, Teppelena and other towns.The Greek Navy defeated the Turkish Navy near the Dardanelles on December 16, completely controlled the Aegean Sea, and blocked the Dardanelles. The Serbian army first attacked Kumanovo, forcing the Turkish army to retreat to Bitola and other places.Then, the Serbian army cut off the connection between the Turkish army in Bitola and other places and Constantinople. On November 18, the Serbian army captured the strategic town of Bitola with the cooperation of the Greek army.At the same time, the Serbian 3rd Army and 4th Army entered Albania, rushed towards the Adriatic coast, and successively occupied Durres, Tirana, Elbasan, Berat and other places. The Montenegrin army has been besieging Shkoder, an important town in northern Albania, leaving the Turkish defenders trapped in the isolated city.King Nicholas of Montenegro threatened that he would "drink the horses of the Adriatic". Under the overwhelming blow of the four small Balkan countries, the Turkish government was forced to send a note to the major powers, requesting mediation.Russia was worried that Bulgaria would seize Constantinople and lose its advantageous position in the Balkans, so it was willing to mediate.Austria-Hungary was deeply disturbed by Serbia's access to the Adriatic Sea, and warned: Serbia cannot be allowed to annex Albania's ports.With the support of Germany and Italy, Austria-Hungary carried out military mobilization and began to gather large troops on the Oseria border to prevent the Serbian army from advancing to the Adriatic coast. With major powers about to intervene, making the situation more uncertain, Bulgaria and Serbia accepted Turkey's proposal for a ceasefire.Greece refused to cease fire, but stated: This does not mean that it has fundamental differences with other allies, but out of military needs; at the same time, Greece stated that it will participate in the negotiations to conclude a peace treaty. On December 26, 1912, negotiations with Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and Gates on one side and Turkey on the other were held in London, England. On January 6, 1913, during the 10th negotiation, the representatives of the Turkish side rejected the territorial claim put forward by the other side, which caused the negotiation to be interrupted for a while.Since then, under the pressure of the representatives of the big powers and Balkan countries, the representatives of the Turkish side reluctantly accepted the territorial demands of the other party.Agreed to give up all of Turkey's possessions in Europe except for Constantinople and other places.At this time, a coup took place in Turkey, and Mehmet Shefkert overthrew the Kiamir regime and established a new government.Shefkert's government rejected the terms of the armistice, and fighting resumed on February 3.Within a few rounds, the Turkish army was defeated again across the board. The Bulgarian army captured the historic city of Adrianople, the Greek army captured Yanikku, and the Men and Serbian armies entered Shkoder.Frustrated, the Turkish representatives were forced back to the negotiating table, this time only ready to sign. Like a gambler who has lost miserably, Turkey was squeezed out of the game, and the remaining people continued to bid around the Balkan table. The key lies in how to "justly" carve up Turkey's "European heritage". The focus of the differences is concentrated in Albania and Macedonia. The Albanians had waged a long and heroic struggle to establish their own national state. At the end of April 1912, the Albanians held a national general uprising.It first broke out in Jakova, spread to Kosovo in May, and swept across southern, central and northern Albania in June. On November 26th and 27th, representatives of insurgents from all over the country held a national assembly in Farona, declared the independence of the country, and established the first Albanian national government headed by Ismayil Jemali.However, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro ignored the independent desire of the Albanian nation and were eager to carve them up.The European powers also took advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters, trying to take advantage of the chaotic situation in the Balkans to crowd out their opponents and expand their sphere of influence.The goal of Austria-Hungary is to prevent Serbia from gaining access to the Adriatic Sea, and prevent Montenegrin from occupying Shkoder, so that they can control these areas by themselves and curb the penetration of Russian forces. For this reason, Austria-Hungary advocates Albanian autonomy .Austria-Hungary's position was supported by Germany and Italy. On December 27, 1912, a meeting of ambassadors in London chaired by British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Gray made a decision to grant Albania independence under the premise of Turkish suzerainty. The negotiations between the Balkan League and Turkey, after five months of marathon see-saw, finally came to an end. On May 30, 1913, representatives of participating countries signed the "London Peace Treaty". The "Peace Treaty" stipulates that "His Majesty the Sultan of Turkey will hand over all the territories of the European part of the Ottoman Empire (except Albania) to His Majesty the Allied Kings, and its western boundary line will be from Enez in the Aegean Sea to Media in the Caspian Sea." The "Peace Treaty" also decided that issues concerning the islands in the Aegean Sea and Albania would be left to the monarchs of Britain, France, Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. Although the "London Peace Treaty" was officially signed and announced, it did not take effect. Just as the countries were completing the ratification procedures, the Second Balkan War suddenly broke out. The Second Balkan War stemmed from the failure of the "London Peace Treaty" to meet the territorial expansion requirements of the victorious countries.According to the provisions of the "Peace Treaty", Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro must give up the occupied Albanian territory.This quickly intensified the internal contradictions of the Balkan Alliance that had been shelved in order to jointly oppose Turkey. Bulgaria felt that in the war against Turkey, it contributed the most, and should have more and better territory. It should occupy the cities of Skopje and Salonika in central Macedonia, and even believed that it was qualified to monopolize Macedonia.For this reason, Bulgaria is determined not to hesitate to turn against yesterday's allies, and to use force to drive the Greek, Serbian and other allied forces out of Macedonia in order to achieve its goal of territorial expansion. Most of the territory Serbia occupied during the war was in Albania. Therefore, it wanted to allocate more territory in Macedonia as compensation.For this reason, it publicly proposed to revise the previous Serbia-Bulgaria Covenant and change the original agreement to carve up the Macedonian region. Greece was originally dissatisfied with the territory it had won, and it was even more unwilling to withdraw its troops from the Northern Epirus area.In Macedonia and Thrace, it resolutely opposed Bulgaria's territorial claims to Thessaloniki and other places, and attempted to expand its occupied areas. In order to jointly deal with the domineering Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia concluded a treaty of alliance and a military agreement on June 1, 1913 after secret talks. Montenegro stands on the side of Greece and Serbia. Not only is it unwilling to give up the northern part of Albania occupied by itself, but it also attempts to acquire Novi Bassa State in order to border Serbia. In addition, Romania, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, has been spying on Bulgaria's Nandobruja, waiting for an opportunity, because it is rich in resources and has a good port on the Black Sea.Turkey, which was defeated in the war, was not reconciled, waiting for the opportunity, and how much it could get back. The major powers intervening in Balkan affairs also have their own calculations. Germany supports the Greek-Syrian alliance, supports Romania's claim to Siristra, and opposes Bulgaria's territorial claim to Thessaloniki.The Austro-Hungarian Empire supported Bulgaria's acquisition of Thessaloniki, but persuaded it to give up Siristra to promote the union of Paul and Romania, and to win over Greece and Turkey to jointly oppose Serbia.In order to confront Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries, Russia, France, and the Allied Powers tried their best to mediate the contradictions among the Balkan countries, and opposed Serbia and Greece to conclude an anti-guarantee alliance.Russia invited the prime ministers of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Men to go to Petersburg for talks on June 16, 1913, in order to mediate the conflicts between them.But it was unsuccessful, so the Allied Powers openly sided with Greece and Serbia. On June 29, 1913, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, with the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, secretly ordered his army to launch a surprise attack on the Serbian and Greek troops stationed in Macedonia, thus opening the prelude to the Second Balkan War.The three countries of Serbia, Greece and Mongolia are not surprised. They have already made preparations and are trying to get what they failed to get on the negotiation table through war.So Bulgaria's challenge plays into its favor.Bulgaria has an army of 500,000, and it claims to be strong, but in fact, the three countries of Serbia, Greece, and Mongolia are more fully prepared for the war. The aid promised by the Hungarian Empire to Bulgaria was actually a blank check. Bulgaria thought they could beat each other in a few days.In fact, on the contrary, the Bulgarian offensive was crushed by the Allied forces of the three countries at the beginning, and they were forced to turn to defense. On July 4, the Greek army captured the city of Kilkis, which was garrisoned by more than 50,000 Bulgarians; on the 14th, it occupied the city of Drama.The Serbian army expelled the Bulgarian army from Zajchar, and captured Kechana, Koliwollak and other places in one fell swoop.The defeat of the Bulgarian army made Romania and Turkey feel that the time had come to take advantage of the fire. From June 30 to July 2, 1913, Romania's 500,000 troops crossed the Danube in two routes, entered the South Dobruja Plain and the northern region, and then quickly advanced to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.Turkey dispatched 25,000 troops, crossed the Midia-Nez line, occupied Adrianople, and then quickly advanced to the Bulgarian border. At the end of July, the Roman army approached Sofia from the north, and the Serbian and Greek armies also prepared to march towards Sofia from the west and south.The Baojun fell into the predicament of being surrounded.In the name of King Ferdinand, the Bulgarian government called the governments of Romania, Serbia, and Greece to request a ceasefire. On July 28, 1913, under the intervention and arrangement of major powers, negotiations were held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, with Bulgaria on one side and Greece, Serbia, Romania, and Mongolia on the other.On August 10 of the same year, the five countries of Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Greece and Mongolia signed the "Bucharest Peace Treaty".According to the treaty, Macedonia was almost completely occupied by Greece and Serbia.Serbia gets the western and central parts of Macedonia and the eastern half of Novi Barcelona.Greece not only occupied the southern part of Macedonia and the port of Thessaloniki, but also the port of Djejakachi in the western part of Thrace.The Bulgarian granary, the 800-square-kilometer Nandobruja, was forced to cede to Romania.However, Bulgaria also got Macedonia and a small piece of territory west of Thrace, which was the spoils of the last Balkan war.In addition, according to the "Constantinople Treaty" signed between Bulgaria and Turkey on September 29, 1913, the Turkish government recaptured Adrianople and part of Eastern Thrace, including Edirne, from Bulgaria. The two Balkan wars had several characteristics: starting from nationalism, it had the nature of Yugoslavia and other oppressed nations striving for independence and liberation; from the perspective of historical development, it was the victory of modern capitalism over medieval feudalism in the Balkans; from the perspective of international strategy From the point of view of the pattern, the confrontation between the Allied Powers group and the Allied Powers group, it is a victory for the Allied Powers, especially for Russia, this is a relatively successful expansion of power.The demagogic banner of "Pan-Slavism" played by Russia in order to expand to the Balkans was echoed by the Slavic peoples in the Balkans, enabling them to break free from Turkish rule and gain independence.What Russia has to do next is how to "return" the little Yugoslav brothers in the Balkans to the big Slavic family.The results of the two Balkan wars dealt a heavy blow to the Allies, and Germany's wishful thinking of building the Baghdad Railway and expanding eastward was disrupted.Both Turkey, supported by Germany in the First Balkan War, and Bulgaria, supported by Austria-Hungary in the Second Balkan War, were defeated.As a result, the economic interests and political prestige of the Allies in the Balkans were severely weakened, and Germany and Austria certainly would not let it go. Of course, in addition to the above-mentioned metaphysical nature of the above-mentioned several times, the most important thing is that it once again embodies a fact that has been repeatedly verified by history. Most wars are for fighting for living space and expanding territory. Slapped for the belly. The two Balkan wars produced a special psychological effect. All participating countries, regardless of whether they won or lost, did not believe that this territorial settlement was permanently bound, and that all the treaties signed in 1913 were just a pile of waste paper.These countries all hope that a new war will break out soon, and they will realize their respective territorial claims through another decisive battle. The Balkan War intensified the tension between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia. Serbia was the biggest beneficiary of the war. Its territory more than doubled before the war. Its repeated victories made it the nation to establish "Greater Serbia" The fanaticism of ism is getting out of hand.The 4 million Yugoslavs in Serbia appealed to the 8 million Yugoslavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to form a unified nation-state.This situation made the Austro-Hungarian government uneasy, so that the hardliner in the government, General Konrad, the Chief of Staff of the Austrian Army, repeatedly advocated going straight to Belgrade and completely solving Serbia by force. "The sole purpose of Serbia's existence is to merge the Yugoslav provinces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire." This is the unswerving creed of Serbian Prime Minister Basic, and it is also the central idea of ​​"Greater Serbiaism".In order to separate the Yugoslav ethnic areas within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Bašic government had a complete plan.The Serbs organized two alliances. One was the open "Defense Alliance" led by dignitaries of the Serbian government, responsible for cultural propaganda, organizing spy networks, conducting military training, and training guerrillas.The other is a relatively mysterious underground organization - the Mafia, whose public slogan is "unity or death".The second article of the secret organization's charter states: "The party values ​​terrorism over propaganda." The leader of the "Mafia" is a colonel in the Serbian General Staff Headquarters. Epis went underground and rose to prominence for his 1903 assassination of former Serbian King Alexander.Afterwards, Epis organized the assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, King Nikita of Montenegro, and King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and organized five missions against Austria-Hungary stationed in Croatia and Bosnia. Assassinations of the Governor-General were unsuccessful.When carrying out these missions, the "Mafia" often employs young Bosnians living in exile in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. These young people are also fanatical believers in "Greater Serbiaism". Whether they fail or succeed, they will be regarded as heroes in Belgrade Come to praise, to praise as a warrior who has dedicated himself to the sacred cause of national unity. How to get rid of the country's internal and external troubles has always been a thorny issue for the Austro-Hungarian government. Military personnel advocated launching a pre-emptive war against Serbia, but the Austrian Crown Prince Ferdinand pointed out that this solution is very stupid.Franz Ferdinand was originally the nephew of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josoff, and became the heir of the Austrian Emperor after Prince Rudolf committed suicide due to a love dispute.He was once disqualified from succession to the throne due to tuberculosis, but he recovered his health with amazing perseverance and strict rules of life, and regained his qualifications as heir to the throne.The Emperor of Austria hoped that he would marry a cousin, the Duchess Maria, in accordance with the royal customs of the same family, but Ferdinand fell in love with a lower-ranking Countess of Bohemia, Sophia.This kind of same-sex marriage is likely to cause disputes over inheritance rights, and even cause the split between Austria and Hungary.The Austrian emperor tried to prevent the marriage, even asking him: "Can a person give up his responsibilities just for being in love?" Ferdinand loves first and refuses to budge.He told the Prime Minister: Unless he can marry Sophia, he will kill himself or go crazy.In this way, Ferdinand got his wish, but according to the royal family regulations, Sophia and her children could not inherit the title and property of her husband and father. In all the official ceremonies of the Habsburg royal family, Sophia could only be far behind. cannot be with her husband. According to the memories of his contemporaries, Archduke Ferdinand was a politician with profound talents and great ideas. He had a very clear understanding of the severe situation in his country, and the countermeasures he adopted internally and externally were also very clever.In terms of diplomacy, he stated: "I am absolutely not in favor of a war with Russia. I would rather sacrifice everything to avoid such a war. A war between Russia and Austria would result in either the overthrow of the Romanov dynasty or the overthrow of the Habsburgs. The dynasty, and even the two dynasties died together.” (History later proved that these remarks did show that Ferdinand had extraordinary political foresight, but the bullets in Sarajevo prevented him from showing his skills on the stage of history.) Ferdinand believes that Austria-Hungary must maintain peace externally and seek reform internally.He hired a professor from Columbia University to teach him about the U.S. Constitution and act as his advisor.His long-term plan is to turn the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state, and 11 different nationalities have their own independent local governments. Inspired by the United States, he called his future country the "Great Austrian United States". The Federation is a state of its own, and apart from having a common royal family, a common foreign policy, and a common national defense, it can enjoy complete autonomy.Under such reforms, the Yugoslavia issue would be resolved, and Belgrade's "Greater Serbiaism" would lose its appeal.如果奥匈境内的几百万南斯拉夫人都接受了这样的安排，那么像塞尔维亚这个小国家也会自动愿意加入这个联邦。但这就要求匈牙利分出一部分土地，划给其他民族实行自治，尽管国内的匈牙利贵族极端顽固，寸土不让，斐迪南私下表示，只要一朝大权在握，他就要强迫布达佩斯接受改革方案，甚至不惜使用武力。 斐迪南的计划不仅受到匈牙利人的仇视，更与塞尔维亚人成立统一的民族国家的目标发生了严重的冲突。塞尔维亚杰出的外交家希巴拉克维奇曾在1912年坦率地说过：“塞尔维亚必须在斐迪南继承皇位之前获得奥匈境内南斯拉夫人居住的省份，否则就会太迟了。” 于是，塞尔维亚国内的秘密组织、由极端民族主义分子组成的“黑手党”，把行刺的目标自然而然地对准了斐迪南大公。1914年初，“黑手党”首领迪米特里耶维奇决定必须暗杀奥国皇太子。他得知斐迪南将在6月底去波斯尼亚首府萨拉热窝视察军队大演习，觉得是个下手的千载良机。于是，在斐迪南预期到达的3个星期前，训练有素的杀手们就已分批秘密进入萨拉热窝市。塞尔维亚总理巴希奇与“黑手党”有着密切联系，所以在5月底就知道了这个暗杀计划，虽然他也是一个大塞尔维亚主义者，但也知道政府组织毕竟与民间组织不同，受国际公法约束，作为政府总理，他不想承担如此重大的责任，便召集内阁成员开会商议。由于内阁成员对胆大妄为的“黑手党”并无好感，加之担心自己的靠山俄国沙皇一听王室皇储死于非命，产生反感，所以全体表示反对。于是，内政部长下令边界守备部队阻止刺客出境。许多边防人员本身就是“黑手党”成员，便报告说：那些人早已出境了。内阁得报后再度开会，议员们主张向奥匈政府通告。也许仅仅用含蓄暗示的方式，奥匈政府会不以为然，而明确告知的话，恐怕“黑手党”很快会端掉自己的脑袋，也许还有种种其他顾虑，总之，巴希奇始终没有向奥匈发出警告。（剑桥大学三一学院研究员JMK维维安认为：“有一点完全可以肯定，他们（塞尔维亚政府）曾向维也纳方面提出过警告，不过过于谨慎从事，因而没有引起重视。”） 1914年6月28日，斐迪南驱车前往萨拉热窝，开始作正式访问，选定这个塞尔维亚人称之为“维丹日”的国耻节出访，似乎另有一番用意，因为五百多年前的今天，塞尔维亚和波斯尼亚联军同强大的奥斯曼土耳其军队在科索沃地区展开决战，结果塞、波联军战败，塞尔维亚和波斯尼亚从此并入土耳其版图。 斐迪南的车队在前往市政府的途中，遭到了一枚炸弹的袭击，两名侍从军官负伤。斐迪南要求停车查看，吩咐将受伤者送往医院，表现出从容不迫的贵族风度。到达政府后，参加了欢迎仪式，当萨拉热窝市长致欢迎词念到“萨拉热窝的市民以欢欣鼓舞的心情欢迎殿下的光临……”时，斐迪南幽默地插道“用炸弹来欢迎”。市长面红耳赤。斐迪南致完答词，有人劝他提早结束这次访问，以防不测，但他决定去医院看望负伤者。在去医院的路上，司机因弄错方向，需要倒车，所以突然停车，无巧不成书，斐迪南的坐车正好停在一个名叫普林西普的波斯尼亚年轻刺客几英尺远的地方。普林西普赶紧下手，连发数枪，索菲娅本能地扑向斐迪南，企图用自己的身体挡住射向丈夫的子弹，但已无济于事，夫妇俩双双中弹身亡。 德国首相俾斯麦去世前不久预言“迟早总会有一个巴尔干的蠢货挑起一场欧洲大战”。现在，萨拉热窝枪声迸出的火星，正向欧洲这只巨型火药桶飞溅而去。