The Balkans to the Balkan nations: Overview of commanding and the role of military leaders in the country’s defense

Abstract

The paper describes the importance and role of military leaders in war circumstances with special emphasis on political and economic situation in the region of the Balkan Peninsula before the outbreak of the Balkan wars. The very beginning of the twentieth century was marked by very dramatic events that led the Balkan nations to the struggle for national liberation. Continuous decline and weakening of the Ottoman Empire made their wishes attainable, and their aspirations for the final liberation ever more realistic. Already in the autumn of 1911, the Italian-Turkish War was waged, in which Turkey suffered great losses, both in lives and in territory, losing a number of vilayets in Africa. In the following year, Albanian rebels seized several Turkish cities and entered Skopje, with German and Austro-Hungarian growing intentions to control the Balkans in their plans to advance and conquest the East. Small Balkan countries followed all these developments, while the weakness of the once great and mighty Ottoman Empire suggested a possibility of their national ideals being met. The resurgence of the idea of “the Balkans to the Balkan nations” suggested that the Balkan countries could overcome some of their mutual conflicts and prevent overwhelming influence of great powers in the region. Serbian military leaders also contributed to great military successes in these wars, and, using their knowledge and great military experience, defeated the enemy on almost all fronts and thus led to the fulfillment of the ultimate goal of these wars.

Keywords

• war
• commanding
• organization
• military leader
• war objectives
• the balkan wars