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Peace Treaties of Bucharest, Athens and Constantinople After the devastating Balkan Wars, it was time for the final peace treaty to be signed between the belligerents. On 10 September, a Bulgarian peace delegation arrived and signed an armistice near the Romanians' besieging areas of Sofia...

Strange Friends [Ottoman and Romanian intervention] After defeating the Serbian 1st Army and halting the advance of the counterattacking Serbs, the Bulgarians proceeded northwards and attacked western Romania, crossing the Danube in anticipation of the Romanian mobilization. The Romanians...

No Orthodox and Slavic Love [operations against Serbia] The Bulgarian 1st Army attacked Bregalnitza on 30 June and the town was taken the next day. The Serbs had defeated the Ottomans in Macedonia while Greece took Epirus, Salonika and several islands. Bulgaria took most of Thrace. Besides, the...

Bulgarian Operations against Greece The Bulgarians attacked 12 hours later than scheduled, but still within the same day as planned [20 June]. It was night when the Greeks awoke to the sound of Bulgarian artillery and fled in shock. Gevleijila was captured and communications between the Greek...

Brewing for the Second Balkan conflict The Bulgarians had ambitions for taking Macedonia besides Constantinople and Thrace, so they weren't pleased with the 2nd San Stefano Treaty. In fact, it was a sign to Bulgaria that any treaty signed there would fail to fulfil the country's national...

Treaty of San Stefano [version 2] On 23 May 1913 [as in reality with butterflies], international pressure from the European great powers and the earlier mentioned San Stefano finally stopped the war. The treaty was signed at San Stefano as mentioned and planned earlier. The treaty was signed...

International Pressure and Perception After the siege of Adrianople, which was finished by April 1913 due to starvation and news of an armistice, the Ottomans lost all hopes of continuing the war, with the threat to Constantinople renewed and the Bulgarians continued their advance. The...

Intermission During the same time, the Ottoman islands in the northeast Aegean not occupied by the Italians fell into Greek detachment hands. The island occupations were done en route to the Gallipoli and Constantinople assaults by the Greek Navy. The Russian Black Sea Fleet sortied to...

Don't forget the diversionary role played by the Greek Army corps in denying reinforcements for the Ottomans and the exploits of the Greek Navy against the wrecked Ottoman Navy [if there was such a thing after the Italian naval assault]. No colonial troops used by the Greeks and Bulgarians...

Siege of Constantinople For December 1912, the residents of Constantinople would face the harshest miseries of their lives, but this was the truth. The Ottomans spent money purchasing several warships from Germany and Britain, but the sales were cancelled with the Balkan states' declarations of...

The march to Constantinople The Bulgarian Army continued to pursue the Ottomans vigorously after Kirk Kiliese was abandoned on 7 October and the Ottomans lost a brigade of troops in the retreat. By 10 October, the Ottomans were on the Lule Burgas-Bunar Hisar line and preparing for the next...

Bulgarian Offensive The Bulgarian Army had a total of 300,000 troops in Thrace against the 120,000 of the Ottoman Empire, plus some 50,000 in reserve or coastal defence. There were 3 Bulgarian Armies, all stationed in [Eastern] Thrace. The Erdine-Kirkliaerli line was the objective of the 1st...

First Balkan War Opening Campaign In support of the 'Albanian Revolt', Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 8 September 1912. Then, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece issued an ultimatum on the Ottoman Empire three days later. When the Ottoman Empire failed to comply, the league declared...

First Balkan War Introduction Exploiting the Italian victories, the Balkan states formed an alliance and imagined victory against the Ottoman Empire, followed by a carving of 'Turkey' for Christmas. Originally planned for October, the league of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece began...

Constantinople in flames and surrender By 17 August 1912, the Ottoman Navy was under the ocean floor other than the minor vessels that escaped from the city. The Italians started shelling what should be 'Russia's Third Rome and entrance to the Mediterranean' in the event the Ottomans...

The voyage to Constantinople and naval battle By evening on that day, the fleet was ready for assaulting Constantinople without encountering any resistance. The fleet arrived at the city entrances in the early morning and guns were shelled. The Ottomans weren't idle, though, and the navy...

Cannakkale The major resistance faced by the Italians would take place on 13 August. Several batteries surrounding the town started firing and they caught fire instantly, eventually causing a massive explosion. However, the Ottoman gunners became more determined at resistance and started...

The shelling of the Dardenelles Early morning on 12 August 1912, Ottoman gunners were awoken when the batteries of the Dardenelles caught fire and they attempted to alert the government authority in Constantinople. Ahmed Muntar and Mahmud Sevket Pashas ordered the Ottoman Navy to be readied and...

Preparations for the naval battle After the minor raids of July, the supplies for the battle, loaded in anticipation of the sailing, were underway. Prince Luigi of Savoia was quickly made Commander-in-Chief on 1 August of the Italian Navy while Alfredo Acton and Paolo Thoan di Rivel were bumped...

Minor Italian-Ottoman naval battles of summer 1912 In rehearsal for the battle, Italian destroyers raided the ports of Symrna and Preveza in the hope that the Ottoman light forces there would be unable to participate in the decisive battle. The battles were decisive, with the loss of 2 cruisers...