The First World War was an unprecedented catastrophe that kill millions and set up the continent of Europe on the path to further calamity two tenner after . But it did n’t come out of nowhere . With the centennial of the eruption of hostilities coming up in 2014 , Erik Sass will be looking back at the lead - up to the war , when apparently minor moments of friction accumulated until the situation was ready to explode . He ’ll be cover up those events 100 old age after they fall out . This is the 79th instalment in the series .
July 21 and 22, 1913: Turks Retake Adrianople, Bulgaria Asks for Peace
After pose siege to Adrianople ( Edirne ) for six longsighted months in the First Balkan War , the Bulgarians finally charm the metropolis in a bloodybattlein March 1913 — but only held the ancient metropolis for all of four calendar month , before it was recaptured by the Turks on July 21 and 22 , 1913 , without a shot fire .
The fall of Adrianople was the crown loss of the disastrous Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria ’s Tsar Ferdinand attacked Bulgaria ’s former allies , Serbia and Greece , over the division of spoil from the First Balkan War , only to meet with swift , stunningdefeats . These furnish the signaling for Romania and the Ottoman Empire to attack Bulgaria from the rear , sealing its fate . While the Romanians marched into Dobruja in northern Bulgaria , the Turks advanced to reclaim Adrianople , which had been leave alone totally undefended by the overstretched Bulgarians .
The Turkish army ’s triumphal entry into Adrianople was conduct by War Minister Ismail Enver ( above ) , who became a home Heron , winning the honorific “ Pasha ” and the title “ Conqueror of Edirne . ” The victory also cemented the rule of the Committee of Union and Progress ( CUP , better known as the “ Young Turks ” ) . Ordinary Turks had been pull up stakes angry , humiliate and afraid by the defeat of the First Balkan War , and they were beatify to see the Young Turks fighting back . propagandist were stoking the nationalist fervor , with one pamphlet warning : “ There can be no dubiousness that our motherland ’s survival and well - being depend on the fostering of our defensive strength … Ottomans ! … If you do not desire to become striver , if you do not want to be destroyed evermore , quick yourselves for the scrap . ”
Meanwhile , Enver was pushing ahead with ambitious reforms to develop the Turkish military machine , include a purge of older officer who were no longer set to command , a new anatomical structure for Turkish divisions based on the cutting - boundary German model , and young , more effective plans for conscription and mobilisation . In a petty over a year the novel Ottoman army would prove a astonishingly redoubtable foe to Europeans whose ( low ) expectations had been shaped by its embarrassing performance in the First Balkan War .
Bulgaria Asks for Peace
With his Army reeling and enemy troops marching in virtually unopposed from several directions , in July 1913 Bulgaria ’s Tsar Ferdinand move to make peace — but too late . Having foolishly launched treacherous , sick - inclined attacks on Serbia and Greece , Bulgaria would now have to give the price in the form of major territorial yielding .
On July 21 , 1913 , Tsar Ferdinand institutionalise a personal telegram to Romania ’s King Carol asking for pacification — but Carol order it all depended on the attitude of Romania ’s new ally , Serbia and Greece . Unsurprisingly , the Serbs and the Greeks showed no foretoken of wanting to call off their triumphant troops , and delayed entering peace negotiation until July 31 , when they last jibe to meet the Bulgarians in Bucharest . The price of peace was going to be high .
See theprevious installmentorall entries .
