Balkan Wars Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Balkan Wars

Battle of Prilep, depicted in a Serbian postcard from 1912

Date

8 October 1912 – 18 July 1913
(9 months, 1 week and 3 days)

Location

Adrianople
Scutari
Kosovo
Manastir
Salonica provinces
Aegean Islands
Aegean Sea

Result

First Balkan War:

Balkan League victory
Treaty of London

Second Balkan War:

Greek, Serbian, Montenegrin, Ottoman and Romanian victories
Treaties of Bucharest and Constantinople

Belligerents

First Balkan War
Ottoman Empire

Support

Austria-Hungary

First Balkan War
Balkan League:

Support

Russian Empire

Second Balkan War

Bulgaria

Second Balkan War

Commanders and leaders

Mehmed V
Enver Pasha
Nazım Pasha
Zeki Pasha
Essad Pasha
Kölemen Abdullah Pasha
Ali Rıza Pasha
Hasan Tahsin Pasha
İsmail Hakkı Pasha
Rauf Pasha

Nicholas I
Prince Danilo Petrović
Mitar Martinović
Janko Vukotić
Ferdinand I
Mihail Savov
Ivan Fichev
Vasil Kutinchev
Nikola Ivanov
Radko Dimitriev
Crown Prince Constantine
Panagiotis Danglis
Pavlos Kountouriotis
Radomir Putnik
Petar Bojović
Stepa Stepanović
Živojin Mišić
Carol I
Ferdinand I
Alexandru Averescu

Ferdinand I
Mihail Savov
Vasil Kutinchev
Nikola Ivanov
Radko Dimitrev
Stiliyan Kovacher
Stefan Toshev

The Balkan Wars were two big fights that happened in a part of Europe called the Balkan Peninsula. These wars took place in 1912 and 1913. They changed the map of Europe a lot and led to even bigger conflicts later on.

What Were the Balkan Wars?
Results of the Wars
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

What Were the Balkan Wars?

The Balkan Wars were a series of conflicts in Southeast Europe. They involved several countries in the Balkan region. These countries wanted to gain independence and expand their territories. The wars were mainly fought against the Ottoman Empire.

Why Did These Wars Happen?

For a long time, the Ottoman Empire had controlled a large part of the Balkan Peninsula. Many different groups of people lived under Ottoman rule. These groups, like the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians, and Montenegrins, wanted their own independent countries. They also wanted to unite with people who shared their culture and language.

The Ottoman Empire was getting weaker. This gave the Balkan countries a chance to fight for their freedom. They hoped to take over the lands where their people lived. This desire for more land and independence caused a lot of tension.

The First Balkan War (1912)

The First Balkan War started on October 8, 1912. It was fought between the Ottoman Empire and a group of countries called the Balkan League.

Who Was in the Balkan League?

The Balkan League was an alliance of four countries:

These countries joined forces to push the Ottoman Empire out of Europe. They wanted to take control of the lands where many of their people lived.

What Happened in the First War?

The Balkan League quickly attacked the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman army was not ready for such a strong attack. The Balkan League armies won many battles. They pushed the Ottoman forces back.

The war was a big success for the Balkan League. The Ottoman Empire lost almost all its land in Europe. This included important cities and regions. A peace treaty was signed in London in 1913. This treaty officially ended the First Balkan War.

The Second Balkan War (1913)

The Second Balkan War began on June 16, 1913. This war was different because the Balkan League countries started fighting each other.

Why Did They Fight Each Other?

After winning the First Balkan War, the Balkan League members disagreed. They couldn't agree on how to divide the newly won lands. Bulgaria felt that Greece and Serbia got more land than they deserved. Bulgaria was especially unhappy about the region of Macedonia.

So, Bulgaria decided to attack its former allies, Greece and Serbia. This started the Second Balkan War.

Who Fought in the Second War?

In the Second Balkan War, the sides changed:

Bulgaria fought against
Greece
Serbia
Montenegro

Soon after, two more countries joined the fight against Bulgaria:

Romania
The Ottoman Empire (who wanted to get some of their lost land back)

What Happened in the Second War?

Bulgaria was attacked from all sides. Its armies were quickly defeated. Greece and Serbia successfully defended their new territories. Romania took some land from Bulgaria in the north. The Ottoman Empire also managed to regain some land they had lost in the first war.

By the end of the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria had lost almost all the land it gained in the first war. New treaties were signed in Bucharest and Constantinople. These treaties set the new borders in the Balkans.

Results of the Wars

The Balkan Wars completely changed the map of Southeast Europe. The Ottoman Empire lost most of its European territory. New countries became stronger and gained more land. However, the wars also created new problems and tensions. These tensions would play a role in the start of World War I just a year later.

Balkan Campaigns during World War I
Balkan Campaigns during World War II

Images for kids

Map of the Ottoman Empire in 1900, with the names of the Ottoman provinces.
A Punch cartoon by English cartoonist Leonard Raven-Hill depicting Britain, France, German, Austria-Hungary, and Russia sitting on a lid on top of a pot marked "Balkan Troubles", satirizing the situation in the Balkans leading up to the First Balkan War
Bulgarian forces waiting to start their assault on Adrianople
Territorial changes as a result of the First Balkan war, as of April 1913 showing the prewar agreed line of expansion between Serbia and Bulgaria
The apple of discord: King George I of Greece and Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria at Thessaloniki, December 1912. Despite their alliance, Greco-Bulgarian antagonism over the city and Macedonia did not abate.
Cholera was common among the soldiers of the combatant nations
Boundaries on the Balkans after the First and the Second Balkan War (1912–1913)
Greek lithograph of the Battle of Kilkis–Lachanas
Tirana Bazaar at the turn of the 20th century.
Serbian propaganda poster, depicting king Alexander I beating the losing Bulgarian ruler.