Original subtitles

The origins of the first world war are

still the cause of lively debate amongst

historians more than 100 years after the

assassination of the heir to the

Austrohungarian throne in June 1914. The

complex July crisis that followed the

deaths of Kfedinand and Sophie Hoteek

led to a generalized great power war

that shaped the 20th century. But this

crisis can also be seen in the broader

context of the so-called long fuse.

long-term causes that made war more

likely in post-Napoleonic Europe. In the

decades before the First World War broke

out in 1914, industrialization led to

huge increases in wealth and

urbanization, but also created stark

inequalities in society. Ruling groups

needed to manage the resulting tensions.

So, encouraging nationalism and pride

and imperial expansion helped to channel

the anger and energy of the popular

classes elsewhere. But this caused

problems abroad. Britain, France, and

Russia had wellestablished empires by

the late 1800s when a new player arrived

on the scene. Germany became a unified

state in 1871 and eventually began to

create its own overseas empire and

bluewater navy to appease its growing

commercial class and to offset the

powerful influence of social democratic

parties at home. Germany's ambitions for

its quote place in the sun caused a

spike in tensions between the great

powers who were already in competition

with each other. Great power rivalries

became part of popular culture with

jingoistic press, militaristic education

in schools and everything from

children's toys and thriller novels and

even movies focusing on feats of arms or

dangerous potential enemies.

One of the flash points of imperial

competition since the 1870s was Africa,

and the so-called scramble for Africa

led to a crisis between future allies in

1898.

The great powers had come to a general

agreement about the rules of imperial

expansion in Africa. If a power couldn't

effectively control a region that it

wanted to colonize, other powers could

contest its claim. And from the mid

1880s, Britain faced an Islamist and

anti-Egyptian uprising in the Sudan

known as the Modest War. Given the

instability in Sudan, the French hoped

they could gain territory along the Nile

in the 1890s. So, they sent an

expedition which after a 14-month

journey reached the abandoned Egyptian

fort of Foda in July 1898. Soon after

the British and the Egyptians defeated

the modests and sent a flotilla of

gunboats under Herbert Kiter up the

Nile. He presented French officer Jean

Baptiste Marshan with a letter from

Paris backing down. France was divided

by the DFU affair about alleged German

spying and did not want conflict with

Britain. As author Victor Enri put it,

Germany keeps slapping us in the face.

Let's not offer our cheek to England.

By early November, the French left

Fashoda and the crisis was over. Though

French nationalists felt humiliated,

Foda made clear that the 19th century

international order was weakening and

the next crisis might just be around the

corner. Despite the tensions, the great

powers could still cooperate in a crisis

as long as they had common interests.

Nearly all the powers including Russia

and the United States worked together to

defeat the Chinese boxer movement and

theQing government in 1900 and European

navies blockaded Venezuela in 19023 to

force it to repay loans and property

damage. Most of the powers though

criticized Britain for its war in South

Africa. In the late 19th century

conflict was brewing in southern Africa.

The Dutch had colonized the region from

back in the mid7th century and the

settlers arrived in what became the Cape

Colony. They called themselves Africanos

and spoke their own dialect of Dutch

known as Africans, but they were often

simply known as Bo, the Dutch word for

farmer. Most of these settlers farmed

lands that they seized from the local

native population, many of whom the

Africaners then enslaved. In 1806,

Britain captured Cape Town during the

Napoleonic Wars and kept permanent

control of the Cape Colony after 1815.

But problems between the British

administration and the Boore population

soon emerged over language, cultural

outlook, and legal systems. The tipping

point came when Britain outlawed slavery

in 1834.

This enraged the Boers who relied on

slave labor to work their farms. Between

1835 and 1840, the Boers migrated out of

British territory in what they called

the Great Trek to find new independent

homelands in eastern South Africa. There

they founded two new Boore republics,

the Orange Free State and the South

African Republic or Transfal. The new

Boore states maintained some forms of

slavery and expropriated their land from

native Africans. But the British Boore

struggle continued. The British Empire

slowly expanded its control of South

Africa by taking over more native

African territories and by the 1840s it

shared a border with the Boore

republics. Frequent border skirmishes

blew up into the first Boore war of 1880

1881. The Boers won the war and forced

the British government to formally

acknowledge Boore independence. And then

came the transfoul gold rush.

Prospectors discovered enormous gold

deposits between 1884 and 1886.

Immigrants from all over the British

Empire flooded to South Africa to seek

their fortune. And the newfound mineral

wealth of Transfal drew the interest of

British statesmen and businessmen.

Foremost among these was Cape Colony

Prime Minister and mining magnate Ceil

Roads who led the campaign to bring the

Boore republics under British rule to

secure their natural resources for the

empire. But his scheme to overthrow the

Boore governments using a force of

mercenaries in the Jameson raid of 1895

ended in fiasco and alerted the Boers to

the threat of British annexation.

Despite the failure of the Jameson raid,

Britain relentlessly pressured the Boore

republics to make territorial and legal

concessions. By 1899, British troops

were massing in their colony of Natal

and the Boers feared an invasion was

imminent. So rather than await the

inevitable, the Boers decided to strike

first. And on October 11th, 1899, the

second Boore war began.

So the Boore's desire for independence

and British imperial expansion had come

to a head with the outbreak of war in

1899.

So let's take a look at the fighting

forces that each side brought to the

battlefield. The Boes did not possess a

standing army and instead relied on a

militia system. In times of war, the

government would muster all able-bodied

men between the ages of 16 and 60.

Citizens were expected to arrive with

their own rifle and horse, but the

government also bought and distributed

thousands of German Ma rifles at the

start of the war. The Boers had no

formal military training, but they were

formidable fighters noted for their

excellent marksmanship. In peace time,

Boore citizens developed their skill by

hunting game and through target shooting

competitions, a practice noted by

American journalist Howard Hiligus.

Target shooting was the chief of

amusement in Transfal. Demand for rifle

ammunition was constant and firing at

marks may almost be said to have taken

the place occupied by billiards in

Europe.

Every boar fighter was a mounted

rifleman. They could move quickly and

seize key terrain before dismounting and

delivering a hail of accurate rifle

fire. Decades later, Winston Churchill

named Britain's special forces after the

Africana word for military unit,

Commando. The riflemen were backed by a

small professional artillery branch,

which deployed a mixture of modern

French and German guns, including four

155mm Ko guns, which the British

nicknamed Long Tong. The Boes were

motivated, well-armed, and determined to

defend their independence. They had

about 60,000 men available to fight, but

their weakness was their ability to

sustain a long war. The Boers relied on

military imports from Europe. Their

small population meant that they could

not afford a war of attrition, and they

feared an African uprising or attack

from the Zulu Kingdom. They had to

strike fast and win a clear victory.

The British army was immensely

experienced in colonial warfare and with

250,000

troops, it could field more men than the

Africconers. One of them, in fact, would

be my great-grandfather.

The Second Bore War would be the 226th

out of 230 wars fought during the reign

of Queen Victoria. The British won

nearly all these conflicts thanks to the

army's advantages in discipline and

technology and tactics based on close

formations and crushing fire. But the

army had very little experience of

facing modern firepower since the

colonial enemies it had defeated fielded

little more than a handful of secondhand

rifles. Imperial troops would face an

unpleasant surprise under bore rifle and

artillery fire. Still the British army

in South Africa was confident and seemed

to have forgotten its defeat at the

hands of the Boers in 188081.

British military thinkers reckon victory

would be swift and decisive against a

fragile boar force lacking in

discipline. Native black Africans also

played a role in the war. Officially,

both sides declared that the conflict

was a quote white man's war and that the

neutrality of black Africans would be

respected. In reality, black Africans

performed a variety of roles for both

belligerents. The Boores used African

forced labor to provide transport and

dig trenches, while the British hired

thousands of Africans for logistic work,

as well as native scouts and trackers,

some of whom fought in uniform.

The Boore militias and the British army

were set to clash. And when war broke

out in October 1899, the Boers tried to

make the most of their window of

opportunity.

At the start of the war, the Boers

outnumbered British forces in South

Africa 40,000 to 20,000. Since the

British were sure to send

reinforcements, the Boore plan

emphasized speed and aggression. They

would sweep into South Africa and crush

the British garrisons before fresh

troops arrived from the United Kingdom.

The Boore invasion had four main axes.

In the west, boar forces besieged the

railway town of Mafiking to prevent

British forces advancing from the

direction of Bichuana land. In the

southwest, the boores surrounded the

diamond mining center of Kimberly. And

in the south, Boore forces advanced into

the Cape Midland regent to disrupt

British rail transport. The main Boore

offensive though drove into Natal. The

British had most of their army here,

some 15,000 men, and had planned to use

the colony as a base to invade Boore

territory until the Boers beat them to

it. But British forces were poorly

deployed, and Lieutenant General William

Penn Simon's 4,000 strong detachment

bore the brunt of the Boore attack. On

October 20th, 1899, the first pitch

battle of the war took place as the

Boers got their artillery onto Talana

Hill and bombarded Simon's camp below.

The British were surprised, but they

quickly rallied and launched an assault

that drove the Boers from the high

ground. The attack was a costly success.

Simons was mortally wounded, and 10% of

his force became casualties. The nature

of the fighting surprised even veteran

British officers like Captain Nugent of

the First King's Royal Rifle Corps. The

ground in front of me was literally

rising in dust from the bullets, and the

den echoing between the hill and the

wood below, and among the rocks from the

incessant fire of the mousers, seemed to

blend with every other sound into a

long, drawn out, hideous roar. I looked

round over my shoulder. The whole ground

we had already covered was strewn with

bodies. At that moment, I was hit

through the knee. The actual shock was

as if someone had hit me with their

whole strength with a club. I spun round

and fell, my pistol flying one way and

helmet another.

Despite the victory at Kana Hill, the

British were in danger. Mobile Boore

columns threatened to surround the

isolated force which endured a harrowing

retreat to join the main British

garrison at Ladymith. British forces

moved north to clear the retreat route.

And on October 21st, a British column

struck advancing boores at the battle of

Alan's Lton. A skillful British combined

arms attack drove the boores from their

positions before British cavalry swept

in from the flank and completed the

route. Yet the bore advance into Natal

continued. By the end of October,

British commander George White had two

options. He could withdraw to the south

and wait for reinforcements from

Britain. This would preserve his army,

but would cause political problems if

public opinion saw it as too passive. Or

he could attack the Boores and try for a

decisive victory to defeat the invasion.

This might turn the tide of the war, but

it also ran the risk of a disastrous

defeat. White chose to gamble on October

30th. He threw his forces into action at

the Battle of Lady Smith, but British

attacks were badly coordinated and the

Boers won a significant victory. White

retreated to Lady Smith and the Boers

laid siege to the town. The opening

weeks of the war had been a success

story for the Boers. They had defeated

Britain's main army in South Africa and

trapped it in Ladymith. If the town were

to fall, the Boers might just win the

war. In November 1899, a fresh British

army was on its way to help relieve

besieged Imperial troops in Ladymith.

Its 45,000 men had left the UK at the

start of the war under the command of

General Redver Buller. Buller had

planned to link up with White's force

and invade the Boore republics, but the

Boore siege of Lady Smith forced him to

scrap the idea. Instead, Buller split

his force in three. 15,000 men would

head west to relieve Kimberly. 5,000

troops would secure the Cape Midland

area. And Buller himself would lead

20,000 men into Natal and break the

siege of Lady Smith. And the British

were in a hurry to rescue the garrisons

since Buller could not be sure how long

they could actually hold out.

Since the British had to operate along

the railway lines, surprise was

impossible. The Boers had time to

prepare defensive positions and were

ready and waiting. On December 10th,

British troops in the Cape Midlands

attempted a complicated night march to

surprise the Boers at dawn. But the

British column got lost in the dark. And

when dawn broke, they found themselves

in the middle of the Boore position

rather than on its flank. The desperate

British launched a doomed frontal

assault and Boore riflemen mowed them

down and won the battle of Stormbach. On

the road to Kimberly, Lord Methun at

first drove the Boers back, but the

tables turned at the Battle of Mahar

Fontaine on December 11th. Once again,

the British wanted to move up at night,

but they were slowed by a thunderstorm

and were struck in the open at sunrise.

The Boores pinned them down under fire,

and the British retreated in disorder.

On December 15th, Buller's main army

attacked Boore positions on the Tugala

River on the way to Ladymith. British

artillery moved too far forward and the

boores quickly knocked out two

batteries. The British infantry assault

fared no better and as they advanced in

close order, Boore fighters ambushed

them and blasted the Imperial troops

from three sides.

18-year-old Boore fighter Denise

Wrights, who later served in the British

Army in World War I, recalled the

battle. We heard a British voice call

out, "Bayonets! Bayonets!" and they came

at us like a wall. We poured volley

after volley into their closely packed

ranks. We delivered such a volume of

fire that the column swerved away to the

left. Any soldier who got amongst us was

shot or made prisoner.

By midm morning, the battle of Kmeno was

over. The British suffered over 1,000

casualties and lost 10 field guns while

only 38 bore fighters were killed or

wounded. In just one week, the Boores

had defeated the mighty British Empire

three times, stunning UK public opinion

and causing the Times newspaper to refer

to the Black Week. By Christmas 1899,

many in the Boore Republics thought that

the war was all but won, even though the

sieges continued. But the shock and

humiliation of the Black Week had

galvanized the imperial government in

London. After a string of defeats in

December 1899, London sent its most

famous soldier to South Africa. Lord

Roberts arrived in January 1900 along

with tens of thousands of reinforcements

from all over the empire including

Canada, New Zealand, Australia and a

certain Moandas Gandhi who served with

the Indian Ambulance Corps at the battle

of Spion [ __ ] Roberts began to

reorganize the army, including transport

to free it from railways and new tactics

to counter boore firepower. The British

launched a new offensive on February

10th, 1900.

50,000 men advanced on Kimberly and

British cavalry caught the Boers

offguard by bursting through their siege

lines and threatening their line of

retreat. A British officer described how

the action evolved. The Enterprise

appeared to us at first as quite

hopeless. We believed only a few of us

could come out of it alive, and had we

made a similar attack in training, we

should certainly have all been put out

of action and have been looked upon as

idiots. When we galloped about a quarter

of a mile, we received a very hot

frontal and flanking fire, and I looked

along the ranks, expecting to see the

men falling in masses. But I saw no one

calm down, although the rifle fire was

crackling all around us. The feeling was

wonderfully exciting, just as in a good

run to house.

The boores lifted the siege and tried to

withdraw, but with wagons and artillery

in tow, they couldn't outrun the

British. So, the boores unwisely dug in

at Parair, which allowed Imperial troops

to surround them. After a 10-day siege,

4,000 Boore fighters surrendered on

February 27th. It was a crushing blow

for such a small army. Meanwhile, in

Natal, Buller continued his efforts to

relieve Lady Smith. The Boers were able

to repel British attacks at Spionop in

January and Falcrans in February. But

another British attack at the Tugela

Heights in late February broke the Boore

defenses. British artillery and infantry

launched methodical stepbystep attacks

that resembled the fighting of the first

world war and Lady Smith was relieved on

February 27th. The Boore army was

severely weakened and the British

capitalized on their victories by

invading Orange Free State and Transfal.

They occupied Blumfontaine in March and

Pritoria fell in June. Bore efforts to

halt the relentless advance were

overwhelmed by British numbers and

firepower. The last pitch battle of the

war took place at Bhandal in Transfal in

late August 1900 as the Boers struggled

to hold their last defensive line. After

several days of fierce fighting, the

British cleared the position and it

seemed that the war was over. By

September 1900, the British had occupied

the Boore republics and scattered their

armies. Lord Roberts proclaimed that the

war had been won and returned home to

England as a conquering hero. But the

boores refused to give in and unleashed

a guerilla war. In early 1900, the

situation for the boores was rapidly

changing. Some boore commanders, in

particular Christian devet, argued that

the boores should adopt guerrilla war

against Britain's numerical advantage.

There had already been successful boore

ambushes like the attack on an armored

train carrying war correspondent Winston

Churchill who made an observation that

would play a crucial role in the next

phase of the war. Nothing looks more

formidable and impressive than an

armored train. But nothing is in fact

more vulnerable and helpless. It was

only necessary to blow up a bridge or

culvert to leave the monster stranded

far from home and help at the mercy of

the enemy. Devid put his ideas into

practice with a spectacular guerilla

attack at Santa's post on March 31st,

1900. His commandos ambushed an

unsuspecting British column, inflicting

over 500 casualties and capturing seven

artillery pieces for the loss of just

eight men. Devet would continue his

guerilla campaign with great success in

1900, ambushing isolated British columns

and destroying the railway on which the

British relied for supplies. Taking

advantage of bore mobility and knowledge

of the terrain, Dvate could emerge from

the countryside to strike without

warning and easily eluded British

attempts to pursue his commandos.

Following the defeat at the battle of

Bhandal in August, the remaining Boore

commanders decided that conventional

warfare was futile and also turned to

guerrilla war instead. The Boore

campaign began in earnest from October

under the overall leadership of Louis

Bhua. Commandos attacked British columns

and supply depots, but targeted the rail

lines most of all. Lines were frequently

sabotaged and unguarded trains were

hijacked. During one such hijacking, a

surprised American businessman was

robbed at gunpoint by poor fighters. One

of them was Johannes Stain. The American

was stunned and as he handed over his

wealth, he said, "But sir, I thought

that this war was over." I replied, "You

were misinformed. This war is just

beginning." The British initially had no

answer to bore guerilla tactics. The

commando's speed and knowledge of the

terrain made them too elusive for slower

British columns to catch. The British

carried out great sweeps of the

countryside looking for commandos and

placed faith in the so-called prisoner

count of boers that they'd captured. In

reality, most of the prisoners were just

farmers or drifters seized by a passing

British column rather than actual boar

fighters. Frustrated by continued boar

resistance and their inability to

counter it, the British responded with

brutality. In mid 1900, Lord Roberts

ordered the destruction of farms thought

to be supporting boar guerrillas with

food or ammunition. His successor, Lord

Kiter, took this measure much further.

From December 1900 on, British troops

were to burn all Boore owned farms

regardless of whether they supported the

gorillas or not. This relentless

scorched earth campaign destroyed

thousands of Boore farms and made about

150,000 civilians homeless. Kitchener

also introduced the blockhouse system to

limit bore mobility. Blockouses were

small, easily constructed pillboxes

manned by eight soldiers. The British

built 8,000 blockouses along rail lines

and opposite river crossings. Each

blockhouse was linked to its neighbors

with wire obstacles, creating a

permanent defended barrier which greatly

hindered Boore movement. As with all

guerilla wars, the fighting was

prolonged and brutal, and both sides

inflicted cruelty on the civilian

population. Boore commandos plundered

African villages and pro- British farms

for supplies, and the British burned

down Boore farms. Combat between boar

guerrillas and British columns usually

took the form of ambushes and was often

close-ranged and exceptionally violent.

The boores looted dead or captured

British soldiers for equipment and the

British responded by sumearily executing

any boar fighter found to be using

British gear.

Kitchener's relentless scorched earth

policy created thousands of Boore

refugees and their treatment by the

British would lead to the creation of

concentration camps. The British had

first considered a refugee camp system

for displaced boers in May 1900 and set

up several ad hoc camps. Kitner made the

system official in December 1900 as his

scorched earth policy created thousands

of additional refugees and the

concentration camp system was born. The

British initially intended the camps as

refugee centers that provided

accommodation, food and medical care.

But problems with the system soon

emerged. The camps were short of staff

since the army argued that they were a

civilian issue and refused to provide

officers while civilian authorities felt

that they were a low priority and

struggled to find suitable

administrative and medical personnel. As

a result, many of the camps were badly

organized, underresourced, and poorly

run. To worsen the situation, many camps

were constructed in locations without

adequate sanitation. But the most

critical problem was chronic

overcrowding. There were some 44,000

Boore civilians in the camps by March

1901, but this had risen to 110,000 by

December of the same year. These

conditions led to terrible outbreaks of

disease like measles and dtheria, which

killed many boores, including children.

Survivor Ha Johanna Maria was 7 years

old at the time. The camp was

licefested. My aunt had to cut all my

hair off. Thousands of newcomers arrived

at the camp. Hundreds became sick. The

marquee hospital tents were always full.

The doctors worked day and night. People

died like rats. Carts came down the rows

of tents to pick up the dead. And there

were funerals every day.

The shocking state of the concentration

camps was exposed by British aid worker

Emily Hob House in May 1901. Her damning

report caused worldwide outrage against

Britain. It presses hardest on the

children. They droop in the terrible

heat and with insufficient unsuitable

food. Whatever you do, whatever the

authorities do, and they are, I believe,

doing their best with very limited

means, it is all only a miserable patch

on a great ill. The British government

appointed suffragette Millisent Faucet

to lead an official investigation. Her

report confirmed Hobous's findings and

recommended major reforms. From November

1901 onwards, the camps came under

formal civilian control and conditions

steadily improved. By the end of the war

in May 1902, the monthly mortality rate

in the camps was lower than that of the

pre-war Bore republics. But these

British measures came too late for tens

of thousands of Boore civilians. The

British also created a parallel camp

system for black civilians. These camps

were intended to be self-sufficient and

had even fewer resources than the camps

for the Boers. Hob House never had a

chance to visit these camps, and the

Faucet Commission ignored them entirely.

All told, about 27,000 Boore civilians

died, of whom 22,000 were children under

the age of 16. At least 25,000 black

civilians also died in camps, bringing

the death toll to a minimum of 52,000.

The brutal guerilla war took a terrible

toll on South Africa. Both sides had

suffered thousands of military

casualties. Large parts of the country

had been destroyed and over 100,000

civilians were in turned in camps. In

1902, it finally came to an end. By

early 1902, the remaining Boore fighters

were exhausted. British scorched earth

tactics denied them supplies, and the

blockhouse system limited their

movement. The commandos were also

struggling to accommodate some 10,000

boore civilians who were sheltering in

the wilderness to avoid falling into

British hands. These civilians lacked

food, shelter, and medical supplies and

suffered so badly that in some cases,

Boore fighters took them to the gates of

concentration camps and left them for

the British to take them in. Boore

commanders calculated that there was no

longer any prospect of victory, and

continued fighting would only prolong

the suffering of the Boore population.

It had indeed been a bloody struggle.

The British Army suffered over 100,000

casualties, including 22,000 dead. And

Boore military losses are estimated to

be about 30,000 with 9,000 dead. Faced

with this grim reality, the Boers open

negotiations with the British, which led

to the peace of Fenhin in May 1902. The

Boers would surrender, but be granted

amnesty. The British promised to protect

the Dutch language. The poor republics

were absorbed into the empire but would

get self-government in due course and

the discussion of black African voting

rights would be delayed until

self-government.

The second bore war shocked Britain

which reformed its army and soon found

new allies in Japan, France and Russia.

It was also a baptism of fire for many

officers that would later play an

important role during the first world

war. The conflict foreshadowed many of

the horrors of the 20th century

battlefields and was a dark premonition

of modern warfare's horrors for

civilians.

The second South African war convinced

many in London that Britain might need

allies after struggling to defeat the

Boore republics, which helped pave the

way for the Anton Cordial with France in

1904. Meanwhile, one of Europe's smaller

nations experienced an internal crisis

that would also help set the stage for

1914.

By the turn of the century, Serbian

politics were dominated by the rivalry

between two aristocratic families,

Orenovich and Karajvich.

The other driving force in public life

was the idea of creating greater Serbia

by acquiring other cells regions like

Bosnia or Macedonia. King Alexander

Obenovich tried to play Russia and

AustriaHungary off against each other,

but instead his government alienated

both powers. He also had trouble at home

and in 1903 protesting students and

workers clashed violently with police.

Meanwhile, the ultraist secret society,

the Black Hand, led by officer Dragutin

Deitrivich, decided to launch a coup and

its members signed an oath.

Anticipating certain collapse of the

state and blaming for this primarily the

king and his paramore Draamashin. We

swear we shall murder them and to that

affix our signatures.

The night of June 10th 1903 they entered

the royal palace in Belgrade, killed the

king and queen Draa, mutilated their

bodies and threw them out the window.

The National Assembly then voted Petar

Karajvich as King Petar I. In the years

to come, Serbia's relations with

AustriaHungary suffered. Its

relationship with Russia grew closer,

and the Black Hand remained influential.

Russia was now more connected to any

future crisis in the Balkans, but soon

faced a war on its eastern frontier

against Japan. By the late 19th century,

Japan had emerged as a modern power

after centuries of isolation. Under the

Maji restoration, the government

prioritized the adoption of Western

science, dress, and military technology.

The pace of change astonished outsiders

like journalist George Rittner. In less

than 20 years, Japan has acquired the

knowledge it has taken us centuries to

learn. Japanese leaders decided to put

the country's new advantages to use and

defeated Imperial China in the

CenoJapanese War of 1894.

Japan was now the strongest power in

East Asia and this new status led to

rivalries with the European great

powers, especially Russia. After its

defeat in the Crimean War of the 1850s,

the Russian Empire turned its attention

to further expansion in the Far East.

The city of Leivasto was founded in 1860

and its very name made Russian

intentions clear. Lord of the East. From

1894, Tar Nicholas II tried to increase

Russian influence in Manuria and Korea

despite the opposition of some of his

ministers. After the CenoJapanese War,

Russia and the other European powers

forced Japan to give up the strategic

naval base at Port Arthur, which Russia

then forced the Chinese to lease to it.

Russian troops also participated in

suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China

in 1900 to 1903 and stayed in Manuria

afterwards. To Japanese leaders, the

situation was intolerable. In their

eyes, Russia was threatening Korea and

Japan itself. A so-called dagger pointed

at the heart of Japan. So, Japan went

looking for allies, and they found one

in Great Britain. The British were

worried about potential Russian

expansion towards British India. So, in

1902, Japan and the United Kingdom

formed an alliance. This agreement meant

that Russia and Japan would face each

other one-on-one if it came to war. The

weak emperors of China and Korea decided

it would be best to remain neutral even

if fighting broke out on their soil. So

by 1904, Russian and Japanese ambitions

in the Far East had reached breaking

point. After brief negotiations failed,

Japan began to prepare its new army and

navy for war. In 1904, 82% of Japan's

national budget went to the military,

which had grown to around 400,000 men.

The army modeled itself on the Prussian

general staff and prioritized education,

leadership, and morale. They also tried

to replace old clan loyalties with

Japanese patriotism.

The principal duty of soldiers is

loyalty to sovereign and country. It is

improbable that anyone born in this

country will be wanting in patriotism.

But for soldiers, this virtue is so

essential that unless a man is strong in

patriotism, he will be unfit for

service. Remember always that duty is

heavier than a mountain, while death is

lighter than a feather.

The Imperial Japanese Navy modeled

itself on Britain's Royal Navy and

boasted state-of-the-art Britishbuilt

capital ships. In 1904, it had the

fourth biggest fleet in the world,

including six battleships and six battle

cruisers. Britain also cooperated with

Japan in intelligence, and the Japanese

built an effective network of informants

in the Russian Far East. Meanwhile,

Russia's military was stagnating. There

were some quality units in its 1 million

strong army, but only 150,000 of these

were in the Far East. The vast majority

of the conscripts were poorly trained,

motivated, and led. The officer corps

was still the product of aristocratic

favoritism, and non-noble officers were

rare since they were considered

politically unreliable.

The situation was no better in the Navy.

Many sailors came from landlocked

provinces with little maritime

experience and they complained that the

officers didn't even know their names.

In Port Arthur and Vladivastto, the

Russians had seven battleships and 11

cruisers. But these ships were of an

older design than those of the Japanese.

So the Japanese set out to plan the

coming war, and their strategic thinking

was dominated by the Navy. Its first

strike would be planned in minute

detail. Japan's war plan was to defeat

the Russian fleet, win decisive battles

on land, and then achieve a favorable

peace deal. Russia's financial and

manpower resources were far greater than

Japan's. So, the Japanese wanted to win

a short war to force the Russians out of

Korea and China's Laoong Peninsula. The

Japanese high command planned to land

troops in Korea and then push north into

Manuria. Further landings would cut off

Port Arthur and open another line of

advance from the Laong Peninsula.

Japanese troops would then join forces

for a major battle and push the Russians

back to Harbin. The Japanese hoped that

at that point the United States would

intervene diplomatically and broker a

peace treaty. But for any of this to

work, Japan's maritime supply and

logistical routes must be secured. And

this meant crippling the Russian Navy in

a surprise attack. The Russian

government on the other hand didn't plan

war with Japan in spite of encouragement

from the German Kaiser. St. Petersburg

was convinced of its racial superiority

and that SAR assumed war would break out

only if he decided to start one. The

Russian chain of command in the Far East

was equally unprepared.

Minister of War Alexe Kuropatkin was in

charge of the military. But in Manuria,

he was subordinate to viceroy Alexev and

the two did not get along. In case of

war with Japan, Kuropatkin wanted to

retreat and wait for reinforcements from

Europe. Alexev wanted to stand and fight

and his opinion counted for more since

he was the Tsar's favorite uncle. Japan

was ready and declared war on Russia on

February 8th, 1904. But before the

declaration arrived in St. Petersburg,

the Japanese combined fleet arrived at

Port Arthur. The Russian Pacific Fleet

was not overly worried about a Japanese

attack. The ships had anchored outside

the main harbor, and some torpedo nets

had been laid, but few ships were on

full alert, and many sailors were ashore

in Port Arthur's bars. There was even a

party on the flagship Petro Pavlovk.

Admiral Togo Hehachiro was worried that

Russian coastal batteries might put his

irreplaceable battleships at risk. So he

planned a nighttime sneak attack. The

capital ships waited at some distance

while 10 destroyers armed with torpedoes

crept up on the unsuspecting Russian

ships in the darkness. At 11:30 p.m.,

the first four Japanese destroyers

launched their torpedoes from a distance

of 650 m. Six missed their targets, but

two hit the cruisers Palada and Revan.

The Russians opened fire on the second

group of destroyers, forcing them to

fire their torpedoes from 1.5 km away. A

Russian sailor recalled the moment the

battleship Tesarvich was hit.

At 11:38 p.m., the commander heard the

order, "Trpedo defense!" in the cabin.

To get dressed and on deck was a matter

of 2 minutes. During this time, they

opened fire. Barely on deck, the

commander recognized two Japanese

torpedo boats at the rear and a torpedo

aiming at the ship from port. A second

later, the explosion occurred.

Togo ordered his fleet to close in, but

the Russian coastal batteries soon

forced the Japanese vessels back. No

Japanese ships were lost, but only a few

Russian ships were damaged and all could

be repaired. Psychologically though, the

attack had shaken the Russians and

achieved its strategic goal since the

cautious Russian commanders ordered

their fleet to stay in Port Arthur. This

gave the Japanese a free hand to

continue landing troops as they'd

planned. In fact, before the Port Arthur

attack began, the Japanese started

landing 3,000 troops in Korea at the

international port of Chimulpo. Two

Russian warships watched closely, but

couldn't intervene in a neutral port.

Eventually, in contravention of

international law, the Japanese told the

Russian ships they had to leave the

harbor or face destruction. The Russians

faced impossible odds, but hoisted their

battle flags and engaged the Japanese.

British Captain Lewis Bailey witnessed

the scene.

Here were 694 Russian officers and men

going to almost certain death for no one

expected them or at any rate many of

them to survive the most unequal

conflict. And yet they had their bands

playing and were cheering. And their

cheers were heartily returned by about

400 British officers and men who felt

very sorry for them and admired their

pluck in giving battle.

The waiting Japanese defeated the

Russians in the battle of Chimupo Bay

and the Russian commanders scuttled

their own ships. The Russo-Japanese war

began at sea but without a decisive

engagement. Instead, the focus of the

war now shifted to the land. The

Japanese First Army landed 42,000 men in

Korea and had planned to land more at

Dali to cut off Port Arthur. For the

additional landing, First Army would

have to push back the 19,000 men of the

Russian Eastern Detachment along the

Yaloo and I rivers. The first clashes

pitted Russian Cossacs against the

Japanese in wintry conditions.

Despite the Ksak's fierce reputation,

military translator Usa Oihiko was

unimpressed.

The Ksak army is an army in name only.

In fact, they are nothing more than

trick riders. There are several

hundred,000 cosaks. But if all of them

were to come together, what would they

be able to do? They are useless soldiers

in a war. The fast flowing Yalu River

was a natural defensive position, but

the Russian chain of command was

disorganized. Kuropatkin ordered local

commander General Mikail Zasulich to

retreat if attacked, while Alexev told

him to stand firm. Zasulich chose to

stay and fight. The Japanese dug

artillery pits to hide their guns and

scouts disguised as Korean fishermen

reconoided Russian positions. The

Russians, on the other hand, moved

around openly and didn't camouflage

their large artillery carriages.

Japanese engineers also built a large

bridge in plain sight of the Russian

artillerymen who opened fire and exposed

their gun positions even further.

Japanese counterb fire from concealed

guns, then knocked out many Russian

positions before the main attack began.

Zasulich expected the Japanese to attack

near the wide shallow mouth of the river

within range of their naval guns.

Instead, the Japanese used what would

become a common tactic in the war. The

12th Division crossed the Yaloo quite

some distance from the Russian flank.

Zasulich thought that this was a faint

and held his position which allowed the

12th Division to capture the high ground

and cross the A River after fierce

fighting.

Japanese Captain Taki Mina recalled,

"The fierce battle lasted 3 hours, and

all of those who fell were killed or

wounded when crossing the I River. It is

said that the soldiers standing in the

midst of the smoke and bullets were in

high spirits, and with a vigor that

could never be seen in ordinary

training, they chanted military songs in

one voice and kept pace as they

advanced. All is as it should be.

With the Russian left flank collapsing

on May 1st, the Japanese launched a

general assault in the center across the

Yaloo. They drove the Russians from

their trenches where the Japanese

artillery fired on them from the

heights. Russian forces retreated to the

gorges behind the river, which was also

a defensible position if it weren't for

the confusion in the Russian command.

The Japanese poured fire onto the

Russian columns and the 12th division

began to surround them. Lacking clear

orders, some Russian units surrendered.

The Battle of the Yellow River cost

around 2,000 Russian and 900 Japanese

lives. Most Russian forces had escaped,

but their most important positions in

Manuria were lost. The Japanese landings

at Dali went ahead and it seemed the war

was going Japan's way. Foreign banks now

began to loan Japan much needed cash as

well. After the battle on the Yalu, the

Japanese were in position to move on the

Russian naval base at Port Arthur from

the landward side. The arrival of

Admiral Stipan Macarov at Port Arthur

seemed to give the Russians some hope as

he led aggressive naval sorties against

the blockading Japanese fleet. But in

April 1904, the flagship Petro Pavlovsk

hit a Japanese mine and sank with all

hands, including the admiral. To make

matters worse, the Japanese third army

moved up from Dali and besieged Port

Arthur from the landward side. Japanese

commander General Nogi had captured the

town in one day in the Cenino-Japanese

War. But in 1904, it would be a harder

nut to crack. With concrete defenses,

barbed wire, machine guns, and hand

grenades, the Russian garrison inflicted

heavy losses on the first Japanese

assaults. Noi ordered suicidal human

wave attacks known as nikodan kyaki or

human bullets. In a single assault, the

Japanese lost 16,000 men. Buddhist

chaplain Mamia Aur recalled the carnage.

Some of them were missing half of their

bodies. Some had one arm and one leg

removed. Some had their heads torn off

with only the skin attached. and some

had their shoes filled with the flesh of

their feet and were abandoned. When

burned, they looked like blackened

rotten fish, and you couldn't know whose

son or husband they once were. No

illustration of the Buddhist hells has

ever portrayed such cruelties.

The Japanese government, however, hid

the scale of these losses from the

public. With Port Arthur under threat,

the tsar ordered Admiral Vilgam Vitkept

to take his ships and make a run to join

the cruiser force at Vladivasto.

Vitkept was not happy about the order,

but on August 10th, the Pacific fleet

steamed out with six battleships, four

cruisers, and eight destroyers. Admiral

Togo's combined fleet had four

battleships and two cruisers along with

smaller ships. Togo had previously lost

two battleships to mines, so he was

reluctant to take risks, but he could

not allow the Russian fleets to join.

The Japanese first tried to sail across

the front of the Russians in a maneuver

known as crossing the tea, but they

ended up behind the Russian ships. The

Japanese chased the Russians while the

fleets exchanged fire, and a heavy

Russian 12-in shell hit Togo's flagship,

Mikasa. The Mikasa withdrew, but just as

the Russians seemed to be slipping away,

two Japanese 12-in shells smashed into

the Russian flagship Cesarich. Admiral

Vitk was killed, and the ship jammed in

a port turn. The Russian fleet panicked

and lost cohesion, but was saved from

disaster when the battleship Ret Vizan

charged at the Japanese. The Pacific

Fleet limped back to Port Arthur and

decided to wait for reinforcements.

Those reinforcements were the Baltic

Fleet, which was renamed the Second

Pacific Fleet and set off on an epic

8-month journey around the world in

October 1904.

In a series of battles fought throughout

the summer of 1904, the Japanese army

gradually drove Russian forces away from

Port Arthur to defensive positions

around the Manurian town of Mukden. Then

in January 1905, Port Arthur capitulated

and Japanese artillery sunk the Russian

Pacific fleet in the harbor. The string

of defeats caused much tension amongst

the Russians, including between General

Samsonov and Renamp, whose relations

would not improve by the time they

commanded at the battle of Tannenburg in

1914.

Interestingly, a German military

observer of this campaign was Max

Hoffman, who later met the Russian

generals again at the same battle during

the First World War. Japan had won a

string of important victories so far,

but they'd also suffered heavy

casualties. Russia's much larger

reserves meant that it could replace its

losses by sending fresh troops east on

the Trans Siberian Railway. Now that

Port Arthur had fallen, five Japanese

armies could join for the decisive

battle that their army staff had

envisioned to avoid a long war.

Japanese commander General Oyama Iwao

knew the Russians were planning a

counterattack, so he decided to strike

first at Mukten. For the coming battle,

the Japanese concentrated 200,000 men,

7,300 cavalry, and 1,000 artillery

pieces. The three Russian armies had

around 275,000 men, 16,000 cavalry, and

1,200 artillery pieces. The Japanese,

however, had about twice as many machine

guns as did the Russians. Oyama planned

to once again outflank the Russian

position and trap them in a pinser

movement so that this time they could

not escape. On February 17th, the

Japanese army of the Yaloo began to move

through the hills of the Russian eastern

flank. A strong artillery barrage pinned

the Russian center and Kuropatkin

assumed the main Japanese thrust was in

the east. He shifted his units across

the 100 km long front which weakened his

western flank and it was in the west

that the Japanese third army launched

its primary effort. General Nogi swung

around Mukten to threaten the Russians

lines of retreat. German military

observer Captain Fonbeckman recorded the

Japanese use of machine guns in the

advance.

The Russian fire was silenced but broke

out again whenever the machine gun fire

slackened. The Japanese infantry used

these pauses in the enemy's fire to

press forward to close range under cover

of their own machine gun fire.

Russian troops began to panic. Officers

tried to organize counterattacks, but

the chaos turned into a route. Fleeing

Russian troops burned supplies and

looted the remaining vodka. Russian

officer Anton Denikin, who would later

lead the whites in the Russian civil

war, recalled the chaos. Individual

soldiers, sometimes in small groups,

then scattering again, helplessly looked

for a way out of the trap. The whole

field, as far as the eye could see, was

littered with abandoned boxes and heaps

of luggage. Even from the

commanderin-chief's baggage train,

wagons and carts, ambulances, and

riderless horses all rushed about in

different directions. For the first time

in the war, I saw panic.

Despite the disaster, Kuropatkin was

able to put together a rear guard and

prevent total defeat. The fighting had

been hard and the Japanese were once

again too exhausted to pursue the

weakened Russians. The Japanese had won,

but most of the Russian army had escaped

and Japanese casualties were an

unsustainable 25%.

The battle of Mukten was likely the

largest in history up to that point in

terms of troop numbers and ammunition

expended. The Japanese fired as much

ammo at Mukten as the entire German army

in the six-monthlong Franco-Russian War,

and the Russians used even more. The

Japanese were again victorious at

Mukten, but the land war had turned into

a meat grinder that they couldn't

continue for long. It was up to the Navy

to bring the victory that Japan so

desperately needed. The voyage of the

Russian Baltic Fleet had taken it around

the world. But by the time it reached

the theater of war in May 1905, it was

in a poor state. Its 29,000 km journey

had seen it accidentally fire on British

fishing trwers and face mutinies,

refueling problems, and mechanical

issues. Its commander, Admiral Zenovi

Mad Dog Roesfinsky, even referred to

some of his older ships as quote self

sinkers. The Japanese fleet was well

informed of the Russians journey and

used the time to make repairs and train.

Admiral Togo planned to ambush the

Russian ships as they passed through the

50 km wide Sushima Strait on their way

to Vladivasto. Torpedo boats would

harass the Russians at night and the

main Japanese fleet would strike the

next day. When the Japanese cighted the

Russian fleet early on May 27th, the sea

was too rough for torpedo boats. So it

would be an all or nothing attack with

the main fleet. That afternoon, the

Japanese fleet centered on four

battleships, eight armored cruisers, and

four protected cruisers, crossed in

front of the Russian force, led by eight

battleships and 10 cruisers, and

performed a bold U-turn on its port

side. For Admiral Akiyama Sanyuki, this

was the culmination of years of

preparation.

The navy had been built up through many

years of painstaking work, but it all

came to a head in a mere 30inute

maneuver. The decade I spent training

and tactics and strategy was also all

for the sake of those 30 minutes. It

could not have happened without a decade

of preparation. So we could think of it

as a decadel long war.

The Japanese ships steamed obliquely

towards the leading Russian vessels and

opened fire on the battleships. Both

sides scored hits and the Mikasa was

badly hit. The Russians had the heavier

guns, but the Japanese had a superior

rate of fire and better fire control.

The angle of attack also meant that the

Russians could only fire from their four

turrets while the Japanese could fire

broadsides using all available guns.

The effect was devastating as Admiral

Roesfinsky recalled. The paint burnt

with a clear flame on the steel

surfaces. Boats, ropes, hammocks, and

woodwork caught fire. Cartridges in the

ready racks ignited. Upper works and

light guns were swept away, turrets

jammed.

In the first hour of battle, the Russian

flagship Suborov was hit and Roesfinsky

was wounded. Shortly afterwards,

Japanese shells sank the battleship

Oavia, the first modern ship to be sunk

by gunnery alone. A Russian sailor on a

nearby destroyer watched his comrades

abandoned ship.

The whole of the starboard side as far

as the keel was laid bare. Her bright

plating looked like the wet scales of

some sea monster. And suddenly, as if by

command, all the men who crowded to the

starboard side jumped down upon these

scales. Most of them were dashed against

the bill keel and fell crippled into the

sea. in the water. They formed an

unimaginable mass and the enemy's shell

never ceased the whole time from

bursting over them. A few more seconds

and the Oabia disappeared beneath the

water. The battleship Alexander Trey

charged the Japanese line with all guns

blazing, which brought a temporary

reprieve for the hardpressed Russians.

At 7:00 p.m. the battle started up again

and damaged Russian ships were now easy

prey. The Japanese sank the Alexander

Trai then the battleship Baradino. As

night fell Togo sent in his torpedo

boats. The next morning only two Russian

battleships remained and the Japanese

had surrounded the remnants of the

Baltic fleet. As there was no hope of

reaching Vladivastto the Russian fleet

surrendered. The Japanese victory at

Tsushima was staggering. 34 of 38

Russian ships were sunk, captured, or

interned in neutral ports, including all

the battleships. About 5,000 Russian

sailors were killed. Japanese losses

were three torpedo boats and 110 dead.

The Russian Navy was all but gone, and

Sar Nicholas II agreed to negotiate

peace terms. The United States mediated

the peace talks in New Hampshire and

President Teddy Roosevelt was heavily

involved. Both belligerents needed to

end the war quickly. Japan was

victorious but militarily exhausted and

revolutionary unrest was brewing in

Russia. Japanese troops occupied Sakalen

Island in July to pressure the Russians

while the Russians sent fresh divisions

to Manuria in order to pressure the

Japanese. Eventually, the Treaty of

Portsmouth was signed on September 5th,

1905. Russia would withdraw from Manuria

and the Laoong Peninsula and grant most

of the railway concessions to Japan.

South Sakalene would remain Japanese

while Russia recognized Japanese

dominance over nominally independent

Korea. Russia, however, refused to pay a

war indemnity to now bankrupt Japan.

President Roosevelt received the Nobel

Peace Prize for his efforts with the

citation referring to Japan as quote one

of the world's great powers. In Japan,

shock at the supposedly lenient treaty

led to riots and martial law. But the

public was not aware of how tenuous the

Japanese position had become. The treaty

was not as controversial in Russia, but

the defeat strengthened opposition to

the autocratic regime and helped spark

the 1905 revolution that nearly toppled

the tsar. The Russo-Japanese war was a

deadly conflict. About 50,000 Russian

and 80,000 Japanese soldiers died in

combat or of disease. It also had a

global impact, hence the nickname World

War Z. Colonized peoples took

inspiration from the defeat of a

European power. While Western military

observers noted the destructive power of

modern weapons like the machine gun, it

weakened Russia, made Japan into a major

power, and caused some to conclude that

modern wars could be won relatively

quickly and decisively. Developments

that would cast a long shadow in the

years leading to 1914.

As Russia struggled with revolutionaries

at home, defeat in Asia, and a brief war

scare with Britain over the Dogger Bank

incident, the other great powers nearly

came to blows over Morocco. Morocco

occupied an important strategic location

with Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts,

proximity to British Gibralar, French

Algeria, and the Spanish enclaves of

Theuta and Melia. An 1880 agreement gave

12 states equal economic rights in

Morocco, but the French and Spanish put

Sultan Mule Abdelaziz under pressure.

Paris and Madrid signed a secret

agreement in 1904, accepting each

other's spheres of influence. But the

French went further. They wanted

indirect control of the country. So they

pushed west from Algeria and expanded

their economic presence at the expense

of other foreign powers and the Sultan's

government. When Britain agreed to

recognize French interests in Morocco,

though international tensions flared,

the German government didn't think

Morocco was important, but they wanted

compensation for any French gains.

Berlin worried it was being excluded

from imperial decision-making. So on

March 31st, 1905, German warships

appeared in the harbor at Tangier.

Kaiser Vilhelm himself was on board and

declared that Germany would protect

Moroccan independence and the first

Moroccan crisis began. The press was

full of war- rellated headlines for a

time and France and Spain signed another

secret influence sharing agreement. The

powers finally met at Aljaseras in 1906.

At the conference, the position of

Spain, France, and Britain with passive

support from Russia and Italy prevailed

over Germany supported only by

AustriaHungary. Although the conference

agreed all had equal commercial rights

in Morocco, France and Spain got

military bases there and Paris continued

to seek more control. The Moroccan

crisis of 1905 further damaged

cooperation between the great powers and

isolated Germany and AustriaHungary.

Just one year later, AustriaHungary

would try to isolate one of its

neighbors in the so-called pig war.

Serbia got closer to Russia after the

coup of 1903, but its economy tied it to

AustriaHungary. 85% of Serbian exports

went to the Habsburg state, mostly

grain, livestock, and meat, especially

pork. But Hungarian land owners opposed

cheap imports, and Vienna feared Serbian

intentions towards south slavs in the

empire. So in April 1906, AustriaHungary

imposed tariffs partly for economic and

partly for political reasons. As

soontobe foreign minister Aloyo Fon

Erental explained,

"Whereas at the moment we are forced to

defend ourselves in any way we can

against greater Serbian greed, the South

Slav group created by us under the ages

of the crown of St. Steven would itself

exert such a strong magnetic force that

in the long run the Sava Kingdom would

not be able to resist. In economic

terms, the magnetic force would manifest

itself in Serbia itself being compelled

sooner or later to request membership in

our customs union.

Vienna gave Belgrade an ultimatum to

accept the tariffs or face a total

embargo. But the move backfired. Serbia,

Romania, and Bulgaria simply negotiated

trade deals with other countries like

France and Germany. By 1908, Vienna had

to lower the tariffs to win back the

Serbian market for its paper, iron, and

glass. So, Serbia had won the pig war

and demonstrated its sovereignty. But

AustriaHungary's embarrassing failure

further increased tensions between the

two countries. Things got even worse in

1908 when Vienna shocked Europe by

annexing Bosnia and Herzgoina.

AustriaHungary had occupied Bosnian

Herzgovena since 1878, but on paper they

were still part of the Ottoman Empire.

The Hapsburgs didn't want to risk

upsetting the other powers, especially

Russia, by annexing them, a move also

opposed by Serbia and Montenegro. In

fact, many Serbian and South Slav

nationalists felt that Bosnia and

Herzgoina should one day become part of

greater Serbia or a future South Slav

state. The Ottoman Empire, already

struggling with an uprising in

Macedonia, was rocked in July 1908 by

the Young Turk Revolution, causing even

more instability. Vienna was determined

to strengthen its position in the

Balkans and prevent what it saw as the

threat of Serbian expansion.

Austrohungarian Foreign Minister Aloyal

met with Russian Foreign Minister

Alexander Isvolski to discuss the

Bosnian annexation plan and Russian

ambitions to control the Turkish

straits. Erental left the meeting

thinking Isvoski had agreed to

annexation but Isvolski left the meeting

thinking that nothing had been decided.

On October 6th 1908 AustriaHungary

unilaterally announced that they were

annexing Bosnia and Herzgovina. Most of

the great powers except Germany were

outraged at what they viewed as a

destabilizing move especially the

Ottomans and Russians. Isolski claimed

that he'd been deceived, but Russia

didn't want to risk a fight after their

1905 defeat by Japan. Public protests

broke out in Serbia, Montenegro, and

some towns in Bosnia itself. Even

moderate nationalist politicians in

Serbia like Milovan Milovanovich were

furious.

The Serbian national program demands

that Bosnia and Herzgovena be

emancipated. One day in the near or

distant future, Serbia and all of

Serbdom will fight AustriaHungary in a

struggle for life or death.

Despite their opposition, in April 1909,

the great powers and the Serbian

government accepted the annexation.

Ottomans received some financial

compensation. Meanwhile, Austrohungarian

authorities had faced some active

resistance by Serb nationalists in their

new province. Archduke France Federinand

was not a war hawk, but he favored a

crackdown.

We have shown Europe once again that we

are still a great power. Now, however,

the main thing is to keep the peace in

Bosnia with an iron rod. Any attempt at

a push or an infiltration by Serb

militants from across the borders must

be met with execution by shooting,

hanging, etc. We have to keep an

especially tight reign on the Serbs in

Bosnia. Keep them frightened.

The Bosnian annexation crisis entrenched

hostile relations between AustriaHungary

and Serbia and further weakened the

international order which resulted in a

second crisis in Morocco.

The end of the Moroccan crisis of 1905

had not brought stability to the weak

kingdom. France and Spain still

distrusted each other and France and

Germany argued over the French arrest of

German members of the French Foreign

Legion in 1908. But the real driver of

the second Moroccan crisis was an

uprising against Sultan Mule Abdel

Hafid. In April and May 1911, France

intervened against the rebels officially

to stop anti-Christian and anti-European

violence, but in practice to protect its

own influence. As the French consulate

Fez made clear,

international agreements have given

France a special position in Morocco,

which it would prefer to acquire with

goodwill, but which it has made up its

mind to acquire anyhow. We will

cooperate with the Moroccan government

only if we can intervene with the army

in finance and in administration in

order to improve them while respecting

the principle of the Sultan's

sovereignty. That is what we mean by

collaboration.

Spain then decided without consulting

France to occupy the coast around the

town of Larash. The Germans

misinterpreted this as evidence that

France and Spain were about to occupy

all of Morocco, which German prestige

could not tolerate. The Franco Spanish

moves were in fact not the first step in

a full takeover, despite their secret

1904 agreement to do so, which the

Germans knew nothing about. Berlin

complained, and although Paris was

already considering how to compensate

Germany, the German gunboat Panther

steamed into Agadier Bay on July 1st,

1911. German foreign minister Alfred

Fonidalinvear took an aggressive

position.

Anyone who declares in advance that he

will not fight cannot achieve anything

in politics.

[Music]

Newspapers talked of war. Stock markets

plunged and there were runs on banks.

But France did not want war with Germany

and the German government realized it

had antagonized Britain. So in November,

the crisis was resolved by negotiations

in Berlin without Spain, which later

signed a Moroccan agreement with France.

The second Moroccan crisis, both the

French intervention and the German

threats, further damaged the already

weakened international system that

rested on secret agreements and unclear

alliances. FrancoGerman relations were

already bad, but Germany's aggressive

response also damaged relations with

Britain. In 1911 though, there was

another crisis in North Africa, one that

resulted in a full-on imperial war of

conquest in Libya. Following Italian

unification in 1871, nationalist

movements in the New Kingdom continued

to call for further expansion. Under the

banner of New Italy, nationalists

dreamed of the reconstitution of the

Roman Empire through imperial expansion

in the Mediterranean. But it was Britain

and France who ended up expanding their

influence in the region in the late 19th

century. Italian imperialists looked on

with dismay in 1882 as France took

control of Tunisia and Britain occupied

Egypt. The Moroccan crisis of summer

1911 was a clear sign that imperial

competition in the Mediterranean was

still alive and well. This left Ottoman

Libya, the provinces of Tripolitania,

Sirenica, and Fzan as the one viable

Italian target in North Africa, and some

Italians worried the French or British

might take it before they had the

chance. Italy did expand its soft power

via banks, schools, and hospitals in

Libya, but diplomats like Tomaso Titoni

called for military action.

Tripolitania is necessary to Italy for

the Mediterranean balance. We could wait

if there were not the danger that we

might lose it. And indeed, we waited

patiently until such danger appeared on

the horizon. Today, this danger begins

to take shape. And with the passage of

time, it will grow more severe. Thus,

the occupation of Tripolitania imposes

itself upon us as an unavoidable

necessity.

The Ottomans knew about Italy's

ambitions and tried to avoid the worst

by granting Italy economic concessions.

But these offers couldn't hide the

empire's weakness. It had suffered

decades of economic and military decline

and political divisions caused by the

young Turk revolution of 1908 and failed

counter coup by the Sultan in 1909.

Ottoman minister to Rome Seedinbe

understood things with Italy were

unlikely to end at the negotiating

table. The concessions that we make to

the Italians in our African provinces

will do nothing but increase their

appetite and offer them occasion to

intervene. Italian appetite is not

satiable and whatever concessions or

facilitations will be fatally followed

by others. In this way, the sacrifices

that we might undertake will have no

outcome but to represent temporary

satisfactions without lasting effects.

With tensions rising in 1911, Italian

Prime Minister Giovanni Gilotti and

Foreign Minister Antonio Danguliano went

on a public relations and diplomatic

offensive to win over nationalist

support. The press reported on Ottomans

supposed insults to Italian commercial

interests and citizens in Libya which

were grossly exaggerated. Goliti though

was still cautious. The nationalists

imagined that Tripoli is the territory

of a poor black simpleton whom a

European state can dethrone as he

wishes. But Tripoli is a province of the

Ottoman Empire and the Ottoman Empire is

a great European power.

Despite his hesitations, Joliti felt he

was running out of time. Not only was

there a danger of French or British

action, but Italy's allies were against

weakening the Ottomans. AustriaHungary

wanted stability in the Balkans, and

Germany wanted a strong Ottoman Empire

in case of war with the Antant. So, the

Italian government struck a deal with

the French. France wouldn't interfere in

Libya, and Italy wouldn't interfere in

Tunisia and Morocco. Meanwhile, the

Ottomans had actually moved troops away

from Libya to deal with a rebellion in

Yemen. Though they did bring in weapons

to arm the locals in Libya in

anticipation of the coming conflict. On

September 27th, 1911, Joliti gave the

Ottomans an ultimatum based on supposed

bias against Italian business interests.

Agree to Italian occupation of Libya

within 24 hours or face military action.

So Italy had thrown down the gauntlet in

its quest for imperial glory in Libya.

The Ottoman government offered some

further concessions, but the Italians

rejected them and the ultimatum expired

on September 28th. It would be war. The

Italurkish war began with a somewhat

reluctant sounding announcement from

Joliti. The Italian government therefore

finding itself forced to safeguard its

dignity and its interests has decided to

proceed to the military occupation of

Tripoli and Sirenica.

This solution is the only one which

Italy can accept.

The Italian military now had to arrange

an invasion on extremely short notice

since they weren't fully aware of

government plans until September. All

the same, between October 3rd and 21st

1911, 25,000 Italian troops landed along

the coast and captured Tripoli, Tobuk,

Berna, Benghazi, and Holmes. At first,

Ottoman resistance was generally light

since they were outgunned and

outnumbered. The Italian landings had

been successful, but advancing into the

Libyan hinterland would prove far more

difficult. The Italians knew so little

about the interior that some of their

planning documents even used ancient

sources like Caesar for topographic and

demographic information. Italian leaders

hoped that by seizing the towns, they

could force the Ottomans to surrender.

Instead, the Ottomans simply withdrew in

good order beyond the range of Italian

naval guns. As Italian soldier Inoenzo

Bianke wrote, "The invasion barely

seemed to be a war at all. I believe

that it is not real war but little

attacks and soon we shall overcome.

Overall, I'm very happy and you'll see

that it will be finished very soon.

Bianke was killed in action just 6 days

later. One factor the Italian plan had

not taken into account was the local

Arab population. Italian planners

assumed that the Arabs would welcome

them as liberators from Ottoman

oppression and did not expect local

resistance, which turned out to be a

mistake. So by late October, the

Italians were feeling confident. They'd

captured the coast and the Ottomans had

seemingly fled the field. But instead of

capitulating as the Italians expected,

the Ottomans and Arabs made common

cause. Militarily, the Italians seemed

to be in a strong position. The Italian

conscripts brought with them several new

pieces of equipment, like their modern

gray green uniform and the Modello 91

magazine rifle. Both of these pieces of

kit with some modifications would

actually continue in service until 1945.

The Italians also had the support of the

large naval guns of the Italian ships

offshore as well as maximum machine guns

and Germanbuilt crop artillery.

Estimates of the number of Ottoman

troops vary greatly. There were probably

somewhere between 2500 and 5,000 Ottoman

regulars and 20 to 35,000 Arab tribesmen

under the command of local shakes of the

Senosi Sufi order. They also had German

artillery, but had no heavy naval guns

to back them up. Their model 1893 Mouser

was considered superior to that of the

Italians because of its larger caliber.

British doctor Ernest Griffin was with

the Turkish Red Crescent in Libya and

explained why. The injuries produced by

the small 6.5 mm conicle bullets used by

the Italians were scarcely ever severe.

And if the wounds had not been infected,

we had the satisfaction of soon sending

our Arab patients back to their duties

in the field. Ottoman forces identified

what they felt was a weakness in the

fortified Italian line near Tripoli.

Italian trenches in this area did not

run through the usual scrubland, but

directly through an oasis, which could

provide cover for advancing Ottoman

troops. Additionally, the Italians had

not built many fortifications around the

settlement of Shah al-Shhat. On October

23rd, supported by diversionary attacks

to the south, Ottoman forces attacked a

6 km stretch of front between Fort Sidi

Messi and the sea. Around 1,800 men of

the 11th Beralieri regiment defended the

area and were awakened at 7:00 a.m. by

the sound of gunfire and dogs barking.

As the Italians scrambled to men their

positions, local Arabs came out of

Shahal al-Shhat and attacked them from

behind. Italian soldier Evangelista

Salvatoreé recalled the shock. The

Saraseni seemed to rise out of the earth

on every side of us. Italian

reinforcements arrived late and

eventually beat back the Ottomans, but

Italian losses were heavy. At least 21

officers and 482 men were killed,

including 250 who were massacred in a

cemetery after they'd surrendered. Some

of the bodies had been mutilated.

Officially, the Italian general staff

downplayed the setback. Our losses were

not light, but justified by the result

and showed that the morale of our troops

was excellent.

The Italian response on the ground was

swift and brutal as they executed around

4,000 Arabs by firing squad in the

following days. Sharat and other

guerilla raids caused the Italian

government to increase the expeditionary

force to 100,000 men, far more than

planned. They even brought in Ascaris

from Eratraa.

Joliti also escalated the war

politically and announced the full

annexation of Libya on November 5th.

This was mostly a symbolic gesture since

the Italians only controlled the coast,

but historian Bruce Vandervort argues it

ensured that the war would continue. In

retrospect, the annexation appears to

have virtually assured that the Turks

would have no option but to continue

fighting. The battle of Shahal Shhat was

a major psychological blow for Italy.

They had held their position, but it was

a defeat that showed the war would not

be as quick as they had hoped. By the

late fall of 1911, the Italo Turkish War

had ground to a stalemate. The Ottomans

couldn't expel the Italians, but the

Italians couldn't force a decisive

battle because the Ottomans and Arabs

began to wage a full-on guerilla war.

Italian naval supremacy also meant the

Turks couldn't send reinforcements, but

they did manage to sneak in shipments of

arms and a small group of volunteer

officers, including Anverb and Mustafa

Kimal. Kimal made it to Libya by sailing

to Egypt on a Russian ship and

disguising himself as a journalist.

Despite the previous struggles between

the Arab tribes and the Ottomans, the

two now work together against the

Italian invaders. Ottoman commander

Enver Verb and tribal leader Sheikh Omar

al- Muttar committed to the guerilla

strategy. Keep the Italians pinned in

the coastal towns and exhaust them

through attrition. Kimal, who ended up

being wounded in the eye, operated in

the Da sector and used his 9,000 men to

keep 15,000 Italians busy. The Ottomans

wanted to continue to dominate the

Arabs, but also saw much value in their

allies. As Enber expressed, I have

become the master of the situation. Into

my hands has fallen a power, the

Sanosia, a force for which the various

powers of Europe, the Italians, the

French, the English spend millions to

have in their hands. Even the Kadiv had

tried to appropriate and employ them

against us. And thus this force has come

to me without my spending a dime.

Arab leader Farhat Al- Zawi made the

somewhat different Arab motivations

clear to a French reporter. Our men are

patriots in bare feet and rags like your

soldiers of the revolution and not

religious fanatics. If the Turkish

government abandons us, we will proclaim

that it has forfeited its right over our

country. We will form the Republic of

Tripolitania.

Italian commanders wanted to push into

the desert, but they lacked the

intelligence and logistics, had poor

desert equipment, and were vulnerable to

the gorillas. So instead, they advanced

little by little, digging trenches as

they went, sometimes as often as every

100 m. One British journalist called it,

quote, purely imbecile. In December, the

Italians tried to bring the Turks and

Arabs to a decisive battle at Ain Zara,

an Ottoman base on the high ground with

commanding views around Tripoli. The

Italian attack opened on December 4th

with around 15,000 men supported by

heavy artillery and naval guns. Two

assault columns of Italian infantry

advanced on the rudimentary Ottoman

trenches with one running into some

severe difficulty. The defenders were

forced to abandon the trenches and were

then hit hard in the open by Italian

artillery fire. The Ottomans withdrew 40

km to the south, but the Italian cavalry

failed to surround them. This allowed

the Ottomans to escape once again, but

they did leave much of their artillery

behind. The Italian authorities and

government-friendly newspapers trumpeted

Ain Zara as a major victory. While

journalists from neutral states were

quick to point out Ain Zara was only a

few kilometers from the Italian lines.

Even though the Ottomans lost at Ain

Zara, they were becoming more confident.

Time appeared to be on their side and

there was always more desert to withdraw

into if need be. Meanwhile, as the

Italians advanced, their morale dropped

and disease spread. As Enverb well knew,

sometimes there come deserters who say

very interesting things of the Italians.

Almost every day, Italian losses from

dysentery are about 20 men. The

hospitals are full. The morale of the

troops is low and all want peace. From

December to March, the Italians made a

few more landings to consolidate their

position and to intercept Turkish gun

shipments. But these actions were simply

meant to boost public support back home.

As the war dragged on, Italian media

interests did not weaken. In fact, press

coverage was unprecedented for a modern

conflict. And one aspect grabbed

headlines more than any other, the war

in the air. The Italo Turkish War saw

the first significant wartime use of

airplanes for reconnaissance and

bombing. The Italian first airplane

flatillaa had nine machines including

Blero and Nupar monoplanes plus 11

pilots. On October 23rd, Captain Carlo

Piaza made the first ever official

combat flight when he reconidered

Ottoman positions along the coast. And

on November 1st, Italians made the first

ever bombing raid when pilots dropped

Chipelli grenades into the Ottoman

camps. On October 25th, Ottoman gunners

became the first to hit an enemy combat

aircraft with anti-aircraft fire.

Although such fire was usually

inaccurate, Captain Jeppi Rossi

experienced a close call. We flew at an

altitude of 600 m and had covered 15 km

when we spotted the first group of Arab

tents. These welcomed us with such a

volley of accurate fire that I had half

a mind to give up continuing the

mission. At 100 m away from the center

of the camp, I gave the second signal.

It was a wonderful sight. The bomb had

erupted with the intended effect. But

the joy of this perception was severely

impaired by the incessant crackle of the

volley of fire aimed at us. I tried to

climb but was unsuccessful and so was

passing over the left side of the camp

when my companion shouted that he was

wounded. I had turned around to look at

him when the engine stopped and we began

to descend. Happily, it started again,

but we were struck by two more bullets.

Although aerial bombing grabbed public

attention, its military effects were

relatively minor, reconnaissance,

whether from fixedwing aircraft or

balloons, was far more valuable to

Italian operations. The photos they took

supplemented the limited maps of the

region, and on several occasions, planes

were able to discover and disrupt

attempted Ottoman ambushes. But above

all else, the Italian efforts showed

that aircraft were robust and reliable

enough to be used in war. As the

conflict dragged on into 1912, the

Italians now looked not to the air, but

to the sea to bring the conflict to an

end. As the war expanded, it inevitably

clashed with the interests of the other

European great powers. The first targets

of the Italian naval strategy to defeat

the Ottomans were in the Red Sea and the

Gulf of Aiden. Italy had already

attacked Ottoman ports in the area in

fall 1911, but in January 1912, the

Italian Navy sank several Ottoman ships

and delivered weapons to rebellious

anti-toman groups in Yemen and Arabia.

In February, Italian and Ottoman ships

fought a pitched naval battle in Beirut

Harbor, resulting in a decisive Italian

victory and 66 Beirut residents killed.

In April 1912, the Italians also sent a

flatillaa to the Dardinel Straits, a

vital international shipping lane,

giving access to the Ottoman capital of

Constantinople.

Following some inconclusive duels

between the Italian navy and Ottoman

shore batteries, the Ottomans closed and

mined the straits to prevent a threat to

the capital. This drew the attention of

Britain and especially Russia, whose

economy depended on shipping passing

through the dinels. This put pressure on

both the Italians and the Ottomans. But

in the end, it was the Ottomans who were

forced to reopen the straits to

shipping. AustriaHungary was also

worried about the war since they wanted

to keep the status quo in the Balkans

which was also enshrined in the triple

alliance with Germany and Italy. If the

Ottomans lost too badly, the Balkans

might erupt. The Ottomans though were

not able to take advantage of the

divisions among the Europeans. The

empire was diplomatically isolated and

the young Turk regime was badly divided

between those who were still loyal to

the Sultan and those who supported the

revolutionary committee of union and

progress. In 1911 and 1912, there were

three different grand vizers and three

different foreign ministers. But despite

the political risks, Italian leadership

still felt in May 1912 that naval

operations were the key to victory. So

much so that operations in Libya were

suspended in favor of a series of

amphibious landings on Turkeykey's

doorstep. The Italian command now turned

to the Ottomans island possessions in

the East Mediterranean. If they took

roads and the Dodic, Ottoman routes to

Libya and naval operations would be

further reduced. Admiral Calorare was

also thinking of the diplomatic

advantages as early as October 1911.

I think it might be useful for us in the

current war to occupy some part of the

Ottoman Empire that will compel them to

accept peace. Unfortunately, we do not

have a free hand and so we cannot act

for example on the west coast of the

Balkan Peninsula or by forcing the

dinels go to Constantinople.

But we can take some island as a

bargaining counter at least.

Strategically, the island of roads would

be most valuable.

This was another risky move since the

islands were covered by the same triple

alliance status quo agreement as the

Balkans. The Italians tried to calm

Austrian fears and eventually

AustriaHungary agreed to a temporary

occupation of the islands. And the

Austrians only allowed even that under

pressure from Germany, who wanted to

strengthen the Triple Alliance before it

came up for renewal in 1912.

Between April 28th and May 21st, 1912,

the Italians seized 13 Ottoman islands

in the Ajian with nearly no opposition

except on roads. The Italian gamble

worked since the occupation of the

islands increased Ottoman internal

divisions between those who wanted to

continue the struggle and those who

wanted a negotiated peace. So, in the

summer of 1912, it seemed there might be

a road to the peace table, but there

were obstacles. The Italians were

reluctant to compromise and had already

announced Libyan annexation, while the

Ottomans expected major concessions

since they had not yet been fully

defeated. Russian-led peace talks began

in May, but failed. And so, a new round

of talks began in Switzerland in June.

The Ottomans were willing to accept

Libya becoming an independent state

within an Italian zone of occupation.

Italian demands though were far more

substantial. So the Swiss talks also

fell through. One Italian diplomat put

the blame on his Turkish counterpart.

The Ottoman delegate had in his baggage

only one word, autonomy.

But internal pressure in Italy was also

growing. The war was becoming less

popular, especially among the working

classes, and rumors of talks increased

demands for peace. Italian soldiers were

also tired of the war, and there was

unrest in the trenches and even

desertions. The fact that the war was

costing Italy 47% of its total

expenditure was also helping to turn the

formerly pro-war newspapers against it.

On July 18th, the Italians tried one

last action to force the Ottomans to the

negotiating table. Five specially

camouflaged Italian torpedo boats snuck

into the dinels to attack the Turkish

fleeted anchor, not unlike the Italian

motorboat attacks against the

Austrahungarian Navy. A few years later,

Ottoman sentries spotted them and drove

them away, but the Italian press

exaggerated the raid to make it sound

like a bold strike against the heart of

the enemy state. Journalist Jeppe

Bevonyi was not present during the

attack, but waxed poetic. The water

boiled around the torpedo boats from

stem to stern, and jets of water flew

high as shells fell with horrible thuds,

as if volcanic eruptions were flashing

inexhaustibly beneath the water. The air

was full of flashes of flames,

explosions, and splinters,

convulsive, foaming, full of glare and

reflections. The sea seemed to become a

huge fiery furnace, but at the zenith

shan always the star of Italy. The

Dardinell's raid marked the height of

Italian naval adventures and peace talks

started up again in August. The new

Ottoman government under Gazim Mutar

Pashar was willing to negotiate partly

because of pressure from other powers

and the outbreak of the first Balkan war

in early October. The Ottomans still

wanted to avoid any peace deal that gave

the impression that they'd abandon the

Libyan Arabs since that might cause

problems in other Arab regions of the

empire. The peace treaty ending the

Italurkish War was signed on October

18th, 1912. The Ottomans declared Libya

independent to avoid accepting Italian

sovereignty over it, but they would not

object when Italy then declared that

sovereignty. The Sultan would continue

to be recognized as the religious head

of Libyan Muslims. The Italians promised

to return the Aian islands and pay some

reparations.

The other European powers quickly

recognized Italian control over Libya.

So Italy had won the Italo Turkish war

and taken Libya from the Ottoman Empire.

When peace was announced, the Italian

elites like popular contemporary

historian Chesar Koza were overjoyed.

Praise be to God. We are no longer

nothing. We are an old people that has

found its youth and strength. We are a

great nation.

The majority of Italians were less

enthusiastic. The war had not brought

the impressive victory that they'd been

promised and proved costly in blood and

treasure. 3,500 Italians had died,

mostly from disease, and 4,250

were wounded. The victory did little to

improve Italy's military reputation with

the other great powers, and its new

possession was not easy to govern.

Libyan Arabs would go on to resist

Italian rule for years, and the Italian

authorities brutally repressed them in

response. Italy would also refuse to

give up the Aian islands on the grounds

of the increased costs of the Libyan

occupation. For the Ottomans, losing

their last African province reinforced

their reputation as the so-called sick

man, but they managed to save some face

with the complicated arrangement in

Libya. And losing control of the region

actually improved their finances. They

suffered a similar number of military

killed and wounded as the Italians

despite Italian military superiority.

The suffering of the Libyan people was

however significant and special refugee

offices were set up in Constantinople

for those fleeing Italian repression.

The Italurkish War was the last typical

19th century Imperial small war, but it

also hinted at what was to come in 1914.

It featured trenches, machine guns,

airplanes. The first tactical use of

armored cars, Italian torpedo boat

attacks, and a stalemate. Though actual

combat was not comparable to the First

World War, the war also saw a guerilla

force successfully resist a larger and

more powerful conventional force, which

obligated the stronger power to seek

victory by means other than a decisive

battle. In fact, the very same Senosi

Arabs would also fight with the Ottomans

in 1914 to 1918.

The war in the air influenced military

thought. In fact, the war was referenced

in the founding charter of the British

Royal Flying Corps. And of course, the

Dardinels would also be a key objective

of the British in 1915.

The Italo Turkish War, just as Austria

had feared, did indeed destabilize the

Balkans and helped bring about the

Balkan Wars. Goliti himself had worried

about just such a scenario in 1911.

The integrity of the Ottoman Empire is a

condition for Europe's balance and

peace. Is it truly in Italy's interest

to shatter into pieces one of the

cornerstones of the old building? And

what if after we attack Turkey, the

Balkans move as well? And what if a

Balkan war causes a clash among the

groups of powers and a European war?

Could we take upon ourselves the

responsibility for igniting the

gunpowder?

The Italo Turkish War alone did not

start the First World War, but it was

one of the sparks that lit the long fuse

of 1914.

Just as the Italians were completing

their conquest of Ottoman Libya,

Constantinople's lands in the Balkans

come under attack as well. For

centuries, the Ottoman Empire controlled

the multithnic and multi-religious

Balkan Peninsula. But the 19th century

brought dramatic change. As the empire

grew weaker and nationalism among the

Balkan peoples grew stronger, new states

emerged. Montenegro, Greece, Serbia,

Romania, and Bulgaria gained first

informal and later formal independence.

This did not happen without bloodshed,

including uprisings, Ottoman repression,

independence wars, and great power

intervention to protect their own

interests. The decisive Russian victory

in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78

ensured the independence of the Balkan

states but also provoked the suspicions

of the other powers by creating a large

and Russia friendly Bulgaria. A

concerned AustriaHungary occupied

Ottoman Bosnia and Herzgoina and the

Sanjac of Novi Pazar in 1878 and Britain

worried that Russia might get too close

to the Turkish straits. So the powers

met in Berlin to modify the borders of

the preliminary piece of San Stefano to

limit Russian influence. They returned

most of Macedonia to the Ottomans, which

angered Bulgarian leaders like Ivan

Gishov. When we read the agreement in

which a short-sighted diplomacy in

Berlin partitioned our homeland, we were

left crushed and thunder struck. Was

such an injustice possible? Could such

an injustice be reversed? The peace of

1878 did not stabilize the region as no

state was satisfied with the resulting

borders. Serbia and Bulgaria even fought

a brief war in 1885 as did Greece and

the Ottomans in 1897.

By the start of the 20th century, local

and great power tensions in the Balkans

were running high. The new states hoped

to expand their territory at the expense

of the Ottomans and each other. And the

great powers were still nervous about

the balance of power in the region.

AustriaHungary worried that Serbia was a

danger since some in Serbia also wanted

closer ties with their fellow Serbs and

other South Slavs in the dual monarchy

and Serbia had close relations with

Russia. Russia was glad to have new

allies in the Balkans and wanted access

to the Turkish straits but worried that

someone else might get their hands on

Constantinople if the Ottomans collapsed

completely. The Ottoman Empire was in a

state of crisis externally and

internally. Its defeats had cost it much

of its European lands and brought

violent instability at home. 1908 though

would be a decisive year. The Young Turk

Revolution in July brought a fresh

constitution and a desire to modernize

the empire and army, create a stronger

Ottoman identity and preserve Ottoman

territories, in particular Macedonia.

But in October, AustriaHungary shook the

Balkans and Europe by annexing Bosnia

after 30 years of occupation and

withdrawing from Novi Pazar. Russia was

outraged and Bulgaria used the

opportunity to sever all formal ties to

the Ottomans. The result was more

international tension and more chaos in

Constantinople. Conservative forces

tried to overthrow the new Ottoman

constitution in 1909 which led to a

counter coup, yet another constitution

and a new Sultan Mehmed V. The next year

even formal control of Cree was lost and

Albanians revolted in favor of more

autonomy with Montenegron support. The

Balkan states also had their share of

problems with Serbia and Greece

suffering coups of their own and all

nations having difficulty exerting

political control over their influential

and nationalistic military leadership.

While the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire

were in turmoil, in 1911, Italy decided

the time was right to expand its empire.

Traditionally, Britain, France, and more

recently, Germany had supported the

Ottoman Empire to prevent a total

collapse. But now, they allowed Italy to

attack and occupy Ottoman Libya and the

Dodic Islands. The Italo Turkish War of

1911 12 ended with defeat for the

Ottomans who tried to limit their losses

at the negotiating table. But the Balkan

states had been watching closely and

planned to take advantage of Ottoman

troubles with Russian encouragement. The

Serbian and Bulgarian governments began

alliance talks in fall 1911, just after

the Italo Turkish War began. And in

March 1912, they agreed on a defensive

alliance, which changed to an offensive

alliance in May. Soon after, Montenegro

and Greece joined with separate

agreements, and the Balkan League was

born. The League resolved to make war on

the Ottoman Empire to gain what they

felt were lands that belonged to their

peoples. But they had conflicting

claims. They all said dated back to

medieval times. Serbia, Bulgaria, and

Greece wanted Macedonia, while Bulgaria

and Greece both wanted Thrace.

Montenegro and Serbia wanted the Sanjac

of Novi Pazar, the area around the port

of Scutari on the Adriatic and Kosovo.

The Albanians hoped for autonomy, which

would also include Scutari and Kosovo.

In most of these regions, the mix of

nationalities and religions did not

align with political plans. Turks,

Albanians, Bulgarians, Serbs,

Montenegrans, Greeks, Jews, and other

groups all lived in communities that

overlapped over the centuries. The

League wanted to take territory from the

Ottomans, but made few formal agreements

on how it would be divided. Serbia and

Bulgaria agreed on how to divide part of

Macedonia, but part was considered a

disputed zone that could be assigned

after the war with Russian arbitration.

So, the Balkan League determined to make

war on the Ottomans without a clear

postwar plan to divide the spoils. But

first, they would have to defeat the

Ottoman army, just as the Italians had

done. The first Balkan War began on

October 8th, 1912 when Montenegro

attacked the Ottomans ahead of schedule

to get the jump on rival Serbia. The

rest of the Balkan League members

quickly gave the Ottomans a pro- former

ultimatum. Hardpressed Ottoman Grand

Vizier Ahmed Mutar Pasha wanted to save

the peace and even demobilized part of

the Ottoman Third Army in Thrace. But

the influential young Turk party called

the Committee for Union and Progress

wanted to fight. The empire was again at

the brink of civil war, but declared war

on the Balkan League on October 16th.

Most European observers expected that

the Ottomans would win. The Empire's

population of 24 million was more than

twice the league's combined 10 million,

and on paper, the Ottomans could field

600,000 men. The regular troops also had

gained experience fighting the Italians

and rebels in Albania and Macedonia. But

the Ottomans also faced problems. Many

of their best officers like Mustafa

Kimal and Enverbe were stuck in Libya

and the reserve troops were badly

trained and equipped with a mishmash of

weaponry. The Ottoman Navy was weak and

the army only had 315,000 men in Europe.

The Balkan League could count on 825,000

soldiers, 350,000 Bulgarians, 230,000

Serbs, 200,000 Greeks, and 45,000

Montenegrons.

Most of the soldiers were peasant

conscripts equipped with a variety of

European weapons including French and

German artillery and a few observation

aircraft. The Greek Navy with 16

destroyers and an armored cruiser

ensured control of the Aian Sea. When

the great powers issued a statement on

October 10th saying that they wanted to

keep the territorial status quo if it

came to war, what they really meant was

they would not allow the Ottomans to

expand if they won. All over the

Balkans, families saw their young men

off to the front, including Bulgarian

Netu Kablashkov's 21-year-old son,

Anton. By noon, Anton's chest was

overflowing with flowers from

well-wishers, and we sent him off to the

train station. On the way, we ran into a

crippled Greek. This meeting was a bad

omen. I feared that my son would also be

crippled. I wanted us to go back, but I

didn't want to discourage him, so we

continued on towards the station.

In eastern Thrace, three Bulgarian

armies faced the Ottoman first army. The

Ottomans thought the Bulgarians would

move on Macedonia. So that's where they

had most of their troops. But the

Bulgarians instead send the bulk of

their units towards the fortress towns

of Adne and Kilis, also known as

Adrianople and Loenrad on the road to

Constantinople. Bulgarian troops

surrounded the Ottoman garrison Nadier

and Bulgarian deputy commander-in-chief

Mikail Savu said that he was ready to

sacrifice 100,000 men to storm it. The

Bulgarians did not storm the fortress,

but young Anton was killed just outside

its walls. East of Adne Ottoman First

Army Commander Abdullah Pasha thought he

outnumbered the enemy. So he sent his

troops forward in a hasty advance on

October 21st. At the battle of Kirk

Kilis, the outnumbered Ottomans fought

for 3 days before the Bulgarians broke

their lines. The Bulgarians could

probably have completely smashed the

Ottoman army if they had pursued them,

but instead they rested while the

Ottomans rushed in reinforcements and

restored discipline. Ottoman senior

officer Mutar Pasha reflected on the

disaster.

The causes of our defeat are to be found

in our bad military organization and in

the lack of discipline of our

reserveists. But the principal cause was

the rain which had continued for a week

completely destroying the morale of our

army and for 3 days rendering impassible

the roads and fields to our trains and

artillery. On the 29th, the Bulgarians

attacked the fresh Ottoman defensive

positions at Lulier Burgas. At first,

the Ottomans were able to hold the line,

but when their logistics couldn't

furnish the guns with enough shells, the

Bulgarians again defeat them thanks to

determined infantry attacks and superior

artillery. Each side suffered 20,000

killed and wounded in the largest battle

in Europe between 1871 and 1914. On

November 2nd, reeling Ottoman forces

retreated to the Chatalia line just 30

km from the imperial capital of

Constantinople. The Ottoman government

requested an armistice, but Bulgarian

Sar Ferdinand refused and did not inform

his allies. On November 17th, the

Bulgarians tried to break through the

Chatal Jaline and fulfilled Sar

Ferdinand's dream of reaching the old

Byzantine capital. But fierce Ottoman

resistance, stretched logistics, and a

Kolera outbreak stopped them. Still,

with Bulgarian advances on land and the

Greek navy off the coast, Ottoman forces

in the rest of the Balkans had been cut

off. Some of the towns and villages

captured by Bulgarian troops in Thrace

were populated by Bulgarians, many of

whom considered themselves liberated.

Elena Bija later recalled when Bulgarian

irregulars, among them poet Pu Yavarov,

entered her town. When the people

entered the church, they took off their

fezes and held them in their hands. And

Yavarov sat on the priest's chair and

began speaking. He said we were free and

that we needn't fear Turkish prisons

anymore. Then he asked, "What will you

do with those fezes?" And they all

tossed them to the ground and trampled

them. It was like they were taking out

all their anger at the Turks on those

fezes. Meanwhile, in Macedonia, Serbian

forces came up against Ottoman

resistance quicker than General Radir

Putnik expected at Kumanovo. The Serbs

outnumbered the Ottoman Vardar army

100,000 to 58,000. But the Ottomans

under Zaki Pasha launched the first

attacks on October 23rd. In the driving

rain and mud, the Serbs counterattacked

at great cost, which observers compared

to the Japanese attacks in the

Russo-Japanese war. But the firepower of

modern artillery and machine guns meant

soldiers dig trenches and foxholes to

keep out of harm's way. Serbian medical

was in the midst of the fighting. I look

out of the trench and see a wounded man

on the parapit. I shout to him, but he

doesn't hear me. He's hit again and

faints. Some men carry him in, and blood

is gushing from his neck. I wrap one

bandage, then another. We get him onto a

stretcher, but the man dies.

In the end, the Serbian artillery

carried the day, and the Serbs won the

battle of Kumanovo. The victory earned

Putnik the title of Vueoda, left the

Serbs in possession of the part of

Macedonia disputed with the Bulgarians

and routed the Ottomans who fled to the

south. Another result was chaos amongst

the local Muslim population and many

dead and wounded on both sides. Radovich

was at the train station a day after the

battle. In the morning, we went down to

the train station in Kumanovo. captured

Turks, the Turkish people, women,

children, everything was crowded there.

The trains were not running. One freight

train was full of wounded and another

full of dead Turks. Blood dripped from

the wagon onto the rails. The Serbs

pursued and pushed the Ottomans back at

the battles of Plep and Monier. While

the Ottomans withdrew to southern

Albania, the Serbs also move forces west

towards Scutari and the Adriatic coast

where they join Montenegron forces

besieging the town. In the north, the

Serbs also capture the Sanjac of Novi

Pazar and the town of Pizen which the

Montenegrons had wanted. Serbian troops

also enter Kosovo, but face resistance

from local Albanians. In the south, the

Greek army of Thesali made straight for

Salonica. Greece was also interested in

Macedonia, but they prioritized the

drive for Salonica to reach it before

the Bulgarians could. Greek troops

pushed the Ottomans aside at

Salantapuros Pass and with more

difficulty at Yanitar. The way to

Salonica was open and the Greek army

surrounded the city. On November 7th, a

Bulgarian division rushed south and the

commander sent a message ahead asking

the Ottomans to surrender to him instead

of to the Greeks. But it was too late.

The Ottoman commander replied that he

only had one Salonica and he had

surrendered it to the Greeks on November

8th. This was a critical league victory

as Ottoman forces were now completely

cut off from any hope of reinforcement.

It was also a personal tragedy for

Ottoman officer Mustafa Kimal as it was

his hometown and fueled his anger at

Constantinople.

Then one day I heard my homeland

Salonica, my mother, my sister, my

relatives and acquaintances were handed

over to the enemy by the very Ottoman

leadership who expelled me for unveiling

the truth about them. Kimal also said

that he would have fired every Ottoman

officer above the rank of major. After

taking Salonica, Greek and Bulgarian

troops began an uneasy joint presence in

the city. In the west, Greek troops also

made progress and besieged the Ottoman

fortress at Yanina.

As the Balkan League armies advanced,

the Christian and Muslim civilian

populations suffered from atrocities

committed by all sides. This was made

worse by the presence of irregular

forces of locals who supported their

countrymen's armies, but also blurred

the line between soldiers and

non-combatants for enemy troops. Some

Christians turned on Muslim officials

who had repressed them in the past or on

Muslim and sometimes Christian land

owners before seizing their lands. A

British journalist with the Bulgarian

army reported

the track of the Bulgarian army in

Thrace is marked by 80 mi of ruined

villages.

Greek commander Crown Prince Constantine

ordered Muslim villages destroyed since

he claimed that Muslims were shooting at

his troops. and Greek soldier Stratis

Mirais later included his experience in

his writing. All male prisoners in the

village were to be executed. I was

opposite an old Turk. His grandfatherly

face was bruised. He whispered prayers

and his silky beard moved in the wind. I

pulled the trigger and he fell into the

mud like he was struck by lightning.

After the executions, we set the village

on fire. Suddenly, a frenzied crowd

rushed over. Children and women freed

from the mosque where we had imprisoned

them. They run to the corpses screaming

to look for their loved ones. This

memory lives and circulates inside me

like an anguished virus.

Constantinople was filled with hundreds

of thousands of Muslim refugees with the

old city turned into a camp including

the famous blue mosque and the Haga

Sophia mosque turned into a kalera

hospital. The British consulate at

Salonica was blunt.

The result of the massacre of Muslims at

the beginning of the war, of the looting

of their goods in the ensuing months, of

the settling of Christians in their

villages, of their persecution by

Christian neighbors, of their torture

and beating by Greek troops, has been

the creation of a state of terror

amongst the Islamic population. Their

one desire is to escape from Macedonia

and to be again in a free land.

The powers sent warships to

Constantinople to protect the city's

Christian population from what they

feared might be revenge killings by

Muslims.

In just a few weeks, the Balkan League

had put together a string of decisive

victories. Nearly all of Ottoman Europe

was now under their control, except for

the fortresses of Adne, Yanina, and

Scutari. As a result of the Ottoman

collapse, an Albanian group supported by

Austria and Italy declared independence

on November 28th, 1912. On December 3rd,

the Ottomans signed an armistice with

Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia. But

Greek military operations continued. So,

the Balkan League was victorious on all

fronts. But despite the armistice, the

war was not over, and the great powers

were on the cusp of getting involved

themselves.

Even though the Ottoman armies were

beaten in the field and the fleet was

bottled up by the stronger Greek navy,

militarily the empire might have had a

chance to recover, it still held

important fortresses. It was holding on

the Chatalia line, had more reserves in

Asia, and the Balkan League was divided

over the possible spoils. But the

Ottomans had no allies. This time the

great powers would not support the

empire as they had in the past. And even

Germany declared that the war was quote

a free fight with no favor. The powers

now said that they would go back on

their declaration about the territorial

status quo and accept border changes in

favor of the League. Even

Austrohungarian foreign minister Leopold

Vertold said that Vienna would not

oppose Serbian expansion except for an

Adriatic port. Russia was now worried

that the Bulgarians might actually get

to Constantinople before them, and so

they urged restraint. The events in the

Balkans had also pushed Europe to the

brink of war. On November 21st,

AustriaHungary acted to, in its view,

prevent Serbia from permanently

occupying the Adriatic coast. Vienna

mobilized six army corps, three facing

the Balkans and three facing Russia.

Kaiser secretly assured the Austrians

that if Russia mobilized, Germany would

support Austria just as he would do

again in July 1914. In response to the

Austrian moves, the Sar held a meeting

with his war council and the army drew

up plans for a partial mobilization. But

the council decided not to mobilize,

partly out of fear of provoking Germany

and partly because some ministers didn't

want to risk war over Serbian access to

the sea. The German government did not

know how close the Russians had come to

mobilizing when they held their own

infamous war council meeting on December

8th. Chief of the general staff Mulke

felt that Germany should declare war now

before Russia got any stronger. But in

the end, the council decided against it.

Following the war scare and December

armistice, two parallel conferences took

place in London on December 16th and

17th, 1912. At the first conference,

Ottoman delegate Rashid Pasha said that

his government would give up Macedonia

and Salonica, but not Edierne, eastern

Thrace or the four islands at the mouth

of the Dardinels that Greece was

demanding. The Ottomans also insisted on

an independent Albania rather than it

being split between the Serbs,

Montenegrons, and Greeks. The Bulgarians

made a new demand for Adne to compensate

for the lands that they might lose to

the Serbs. But this was a particular

sticking point because the fortress city

was important for the safety of

Constantinople. Rashid Pasha put it

simply to the Bulgarian representative.

Edne is a window into our haram. The

Greeks and Bulgarians argued over who

would get Salonica while the Serbs and

Bulgarians argued over Macedonia.

Meanwhile, at the separate great powers

conference, the main topic was the

borders of Albania of critical

importance for AustriaHungary to limit

Serbian power. But events in

Constantinople overtook diplomacy. On

January 23rd, 1913, a young Turk

government took power again after yet

another coup and the murder of war

minister Nazim Pasha. Supported by

influential Turkish officers like

Enverbe, many of whom came from the

Balkan lands that were now lost, they

decided to continue the war to prevent

the loss of Thrace. New Ottoman foreign

minister Nuradunan Ephendi was defiant.

If Adne continues to resist, we shall

fight to relieve her. If Adne falls, we

shall fight to retake her. Ottoman

troops, including Mustafa Kimal, landed

on Gallipoli on February 7th. And at

first, they pushed the Bulgarians back

around Bullayer, but the Bulgarians

rallied and the Ottoman attack failed

with a loss of 6,000 dead to just 114

Bulgarians. Elsewhere, the Greeks took

Yanina on March 6th. And the Bulgarians

and Serbians finally captured Adne on

March 26th. French journalist Gustav

Siri described the state of the people

in the starving city.

It was like a scene out of a fantastic

tale to see these human rags with

protruding teeth devouring a sword of

bread, black lava in which the barely

ground seeds fell out in yellow spots.

Those who did not get their share of the

fought over morsels watched the others

savor them with envious tears in their

eyes.

Atqutari, Serbian troops arrived to help

the Montenegrrons who ignored warnings

from the great powers and assaulted the

city. A combined fleet of the powers

blockaded Montenegro, causing the Serbs

to leave. But the Montenegrons managed

to take the city April 24th only to

agree to give it up to a future

independent Albania just days later. The

Ottomans had no choice but to accept a

peace deal and the belligerent signed

the Treaty of London on May 30th, 1913,

which reduced Ottoman Europe to a small

strip of land outside of Constantinople

and created the Principality of Albania.

The first Balkan War came to an end in

May 1913, and the Ottoman Empire in

Europe seemed to be a thing of the past.

But the borders between the victorious

Balkan League members are another matter

altogether.

Even before the first Balkan War had

come to an end, further conflict was

brewing. Not only did the Balkan League

members dispute where the new borders

would be, but Romania had also begun to

make demands for southern de Brua, which

was part of Bulgaria. In May 1913, the

powers awarded the town of Celistra to

Romania, which angered both sides and

made some Bulgarians doubt Russia as a

reliable ally. Bulgarians were also

frustrated because in their view, they'd

won the strategically important Thrace

battles, but the Serbs were left in

possession of most of Macedonia and

didn't want to honor the pre-war

agreement. Bulgaria and Greece were also

still in conflict over Salonica. Russia

tried to mediate between Serbia and

Bulgaria, but the two rivals could not

agree, and the Russians were still

nervous about Bulgarian troops so close

to Constantinople. The Bulgarian army

was in a fragile state, as many soldiers

were exhausted from the war, and some

were willing to split Macedonia with

their allies if it meant peace. General

Savo told the government to either send

the men home or go to war. Now, without

strong Russian backing, Sophia feared it

might lose Macedonia for good. So, that

tsar ordered an attack against Serbia

and Greece on June 29th, although it's

not clear how much the government knows

about this before the shooting starts.

The second Balkan war had begun. The

Bulgarian prime minister tried to stop

the fighting in Macedonia, but it was

too late. The Greeks and Serbs could

claim that Bulgaria was the aggressor

and agreed to divide Macedonia between

themselves. Montenegro also joined to

stay in Serbia's good graces. On the

Bulgarian side, the sudden attack had

confused communication and hampered

operations. Their attack was

uncoordinated and the Serbs eventually

stopped it and defeated the Bulgarians

at Balnitsa. By July 8th, the Greeks

defeated a smaller Bulgarian army around

Kilkis and Doan around the same time and

eliminated isolated Bulgarian units at

Salonica. Bulgarian Mikail Majaru's son

was killed in the fighting. I lost my

very last hope. From that moment forth,

I became a man haunted by grief. All

around me seemed to go dark. All the

misery and all the sorrow of Bulgaria

appeared to me to be twice as great.

Each and every object in my home served

as a reminder to me of my lost

happiness.

On July 11th, Greek and Serb forces met

and the front stabilized. Retreating

Bulgarians attacked Greek, Turkish, and

Serbian civilians. And advancing Greek

and Serbian troops committed atrocities

against Bulgarian civilians again after

claims of attacks against their own

troops. Turkish civilian Ibosha felt

empathy for Bulgarian refugees. A

Bulgarian peasant was leading a scrawny

donkey on the wooden saddle of which sat

a child, her bare legs dangling on one

side. The misery, the look of a dread

and utter agony in the small blinking

eyes of the pockmarked face with the

yellow straggly beard were the very

embodiment of human fear and despair.

No, not human. It was the animal dread

of cattle at the slaughterhouse, the

wild glassy stare of terror in a

cornered animal. It was a look which

once perceived made one cringe with

shame and humiliation. The shame of its

having been in a human eye.

Meanwhile, Romania saw its chance and

entered the war on July 10th to take all

of southern de Brua. A quarter of a

million Romanian troops of the army of

the Danube entered Bulgaria and moved

towards Sophia. The Bulgarians decided

not to offer organized resistance.

Advancing Romanian troops, however, rode

straight into a cholera epidemic due to

unsanitary conditions. Chaplain

Dumitrues complained bitterly about the

army's lack of medical care. In the

hospital, there are no beds, so the men

lie on the floor in their uniforms.

They've barely the strength to moan or

ask for water. Some are delirious with

spasmotic movements of their arms and

hands. Some vomit onto the floor while

others relieve themselves where they

lay. The lack of furniture, dishes,

linens, medical devices, medicine, and

antiseptic rendered the presence of army

doctors useless. I've seen a lot of

messes, but this one topped them all.

About 2,700 Romanian soldiers die of

chalera in summer 1913.

Now, the Ottomans saw their opportunity

to recover parts of Thrace, so they

crossed the Chatalia line on July 12th.

The few Bulgarian troops left in the

area could offer only token resistance,

and the Ottomans recaptured the fortress

of Adib without firing a shot on July

23rd.

Many Bulgarian civilians fled, creating

a new wave of refugees, and another

outbreak of Kalera killed 4,000 Ottoman

troops. As Romanian troops got closer to

Sophia and Russia refused to intervene

to help Bulgaria, the pro-Russian

Bulgarian government resigned. It was

replaced by a pro-German government

under Vaselados Slavu. But fighting

continued. Bulgarian forces recovered to

win a defensive battle against the Serbs

and Montenegrons at Calimmansi and a

successful counterattack against the

Greeks at Cresna Gorge. The Greeks asked

for an armistice and Sophia ordered a

stop to operations since even a

Bulgarian victory could not reverse the

tide of the war. The peace treaties

signed in August and September 1913

ended the second Balkan War and redrew

the map of the Balkans yet again. This

time to Bulgaria's disadvantage. Romania

got southern de Bruja. AustriaHungary

and Russia refused to support Serbian

maximalist demands in Macedonia so they

could retain some influence with

Bulgaria. Serbia did get most of

Macedonia but Bulgaria kept apart and

Greece kept Salonica. The Ottomans

regained eastern Thrace despite their

defeat in the first war. The Balkan wars

left a lasting impact on the region and

Europe as a whole. The fighting and the

Kolera were deadly. 125,000 Ottoman

soldiers died along with 65,000

Bulgarians, 36,000 Serbs, 9,500 Greeks,

and 3,000 Montenegrits. After more than

600 years, the Ottoman presence in the

Balkans was nearly gone. Albania was

independent, but its neighbors claimed

its territory, and many Balkan

Christians saw the change as the end of

foreign domination and oppression. For

more than 300,000 Balkan Muslims,

however, the changes meant expulsion

from their homes and an uncertain future

in Anatolia. And for some young Turks,

it meant radicalization against

Christians still within the empire. and

Ver Pasha who hailed from the Balkans

and would later play a key role in the

Armenian genocide and the killing of

Ottoman Greeks in the First World War

shared his anger. How could anyone

forget the plains, the meadows watered

with the blood of our forefathers?

Abandoned those places where Turkish

raiders had stalled their steeds for a

full 400 years with our mosques, our

tombs, our dervish lodges, our bridges,

and our castles to leave them to our

slaves to be driven out of the Balkans

to Anatolia. This is beyond a man's

endurance. I am prepared to sacrifice

gladly the remaining years of my life to

take revenge on the Bulgarians, the

Greeks and the Montenegrrons.

The events of 191213 helped to create

the conditions for the catastrophe of

1914 as well. Bulgarian resentment at

the lack of support from Russia caused

it to drift closer to AustriaHungary and

Germany. and tensions between

AustriaHungary and a much larger Serbia

also increased. With Serbia as Russia's

only remaining Balkan ally, Russia would

be under more pressure to support Serbia

in any future conflict. And in October

1913, Austria issued an ultimatum to

Serbia with German support to force

Belgrade to remove its troops from

northern Albania. A similar ultimatum in

1914 would transform the Third Balkan

War into the Great War. Throughout the

Balkan Wars, AustriaHungary felt itself

in the grip of an Albanian crisis. The

flare-ups between Serbia and Austria

lasted from late 1912 until late 1913

and stemmed from Vienna's fear that a

victorious Serbia might get access to

the Adriatic Sea. Vienna therefore

supported the Albanian movement against

Ottoman rule, which declared

independence in November 1912. At the

same time though, Serb and Montenegron

troops had moved into what was now

Albanian claimed territory during the

first Balkan War when it was still

controlled by the Ottomans. When Serb

troops captured the town of Pizaren,

they accused Austrohungarian consul

Oscar Prohaskca of unfriendly activity,

setting off the Prohaskca affair. Vienna

then demanded justice. So Belgrade

apologized and their army performed a

ceremony to honor Prohaskca and restore

Austrohungarian prestige. In January

1913, with tensions over Serbia and

Albania high, Russia and AustriaHungary

moved up reinforcements along their

border and St. Petersburg threatened to

mobilize. This cost both countries huge

amounts of money, leading to some talk

that war now might be better than

expensive military posturing.

AustriaHungary also spent money

increasing explosive production, buying

horses for the army, and preparing the

telegraph network for wartime needs.

Grand Dukes Nicholas and Peter, both of

whom had Montenegron wives, led a

strengthening war party in Russia. In

March, the two sides stood down, but the

Belgian ambassador to Russia, noted the

influence of the Russian hawks.

All the pacifism of the emperor cannot

silence those at court who claimed the

impossibility of recoiling ever again

before Austria.

Meanwhile, Serbian Prime Minister

Nicolola Pashich promised the country

would not seek access to the sea, but

Vienna remained suspicious. In April,

they forced the Serbs to withdraw most

of their troops, besieging the port of

Scutari alongside the Montenegrrons.

AustroHungarian chief of staff France

Conrad from Hutzendorf continued to make

his case for preventive war against

Serbia.

I keep returning to the idea that we

must risk a big war or a war against

Serbia.

In October 1913, Vienna issued an

ultimatum to Belgrade to withdraw all

forces from Albania or face the

possibility of war. The Serbs withdrew

most of their troops and the crisis

passed. But the long Albanian crisis of

1912 1913 continued the pattern of

brinksmanship between Austria, Hungary,

Russia and Serbia and it normalized

diplomacy by threat of war.

The string of crises that lasted more

than a decade along with increasing

political and social tensions caused a

growing anxiety among many Europeans.

And the danger that they might lead to

war was heightened by increasing

militarization. As the great powers

expanded their empires and worried about

rivals, they also built up their

military capability and political

alliances. Germany's expansion and naval

buildup provoked reactions from the

other powers. The UK responded by

building even more warships, including

the new Dreadnot class. Meanwhile,

Austria, Hungary, and Russia clashed

over influence in the Balkans, where new

independent states had largely replaced

the weakened Ottoman Empire with Russian

help. By 1914, a system of alliances

bound most of the great powers to each

other, for better or for worse. France

and Russia had been allies since 1894

and the triple alliance connected

Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Italy.

Britain had maintained a policy of

splendid isolation for most of the 19th

century. But its fear of German naval

expansion brought it closer to the

FrancoRussian block to create the triple

on. The danger of such alliances was

that a conflict involving one or two

powers was more likely to drag all of

them into a European war.

Germany felt surrounded by potential

enemies. So it tried to test on taunt

resolve during two diplomatic crises in

Morocco in 1905 and 1911. The British

and French held firm but there was no

war which angered German chief of staff

Helm Fan Mul.

If we again slip away from this Moroccan

affair with our tail between our legs,

and if we cannot bring ourselves to put

forward a determined claim, which we are

prepared to force through with the

sword, I shall despair of the future of

the German Empire. I shall then resign,

but before handing in my resignation, I

shall move to abolish the army and to

place ourselves under Japanese

protectorate. We shall then be in a

position to make money without

interference and develop into nine.

[Music]

Germany's worries about its situation in

Europe caused its government to shift

priority from the navy, which had

angered Britain, back to the army, which

caused France and Russia to expand their

armies. To many in Berlin, it seemed

that time was on the Anton's side, and

Germany's chances would be better if war

came sooner rather than later.

Historians still debate whether

Germany's assertiveness or Franco

British refusal to share international

power played a greater role in

increasing tensions. While great power

alliances hardened across Europe, more

trouble was brewing in the Balkans. The

Austrohungarian annexation of Bosnia

from the Ottomans in 1908 upset Russia

and angered Serbian nationalists who

wanted closer ties with South Slav

populations in AustriaHungary. Russia

then supported the independent Slav

states in the Balkan Wars of 1912 and

1913 in which Serbia gained more

territory. Tensions between

AustriaHungary and Russia rose sharply

over the Serb issue and got even worse

when Austrian counterintelligence

officer Alfred was exposed as a Russian

spy in 1913.

Long-term causes of the war, like

imperial competition or military

alliances, didn't mean that war was

inevitable. For a full-on war to break

out, a crisis had to come that would

force governments to decide for war. On

June 28th, 1914, South Slav nationalist

Gabriel Princip assassinated Austrian

Archduke France Ferdinand and his wife

Sophie in Savo. Those shots triggered

the July crisis.

Following the killings, AustriaHungary

blamed Serbia. Most historians agree

today there was some semiofficial

Serbian involvement in the crime,

although whether Serbian Prime Minister

Nicolapic and the rest of his government

knew about the plot is hotly debated. In

any case, in 1914, there was no proof of

Serbian government involvement. The

assassination itself did not bring about

war directly. AustriaHungary was

disappointed that other European

governments did not condemn the killings

more forcefully. A view shared by the

German ambassador to Russia, Friedri

Vonportales.

Not only in the press, but also in

society, one meets almost only with

unfriendly judgments on the murdered

arch duke.

But the Serbian response was the one

that mattered most to AustriaHungary.

Officially, Pashich issued condolences,

but also claimed that the assassinations

were an internal Austrohungarian issue.

The Serbian investigation lasted only a

week and found no evidence of government

involvement. Serb nationalists and

newspapers were less diplomatic. Some

openly blamed the Austrohungarians

themselves for the killings, while

others praised the assassins. When the

Austrohungarians complained, Pashes said

that he had neither the tools nor the

inclination to censor the free Serbian

press. Back in Vienna, the Imperial

Council met to discuss their options.

Chief of Staff France Conrad Fon

Hudzenorf had argued forcefully for war

for years, and he wasn't alone. The

foreign ministry was flooded with

letters from Austrohungarian notables

calling for an armed response. Bontok

wrote on June 30th.

Last year, I took the liberty of writing

to say that we would have to learn how

to tolerate Serbian impertinances

without resorting to war. Now, the

matter has acquired an entirely

different aspect.

Conrad put it more bluntly.

War, war, war.

The Austrian government decided on a

military response to punish Serbia and

resolve the issue of greater Serb

nationalism seen to be destabilizing the

empire. The war was meant to be local

and quick. But attacking Serbia meant

risking conflict with Russia and for

Austria that was unthinkable without

Germany's support. After the

assassinations, the German ambassador to

Vienna had urged restraint. But on July

6th, Kaiser Vilhelm made Germany's

position clear by giving Austria the

so-called blank check. Austrian

ambassador Count Lasslo Serjini Marik

reported the German promise to Vienna.

The Kaiser authorized me to inform our

gracious majesty that we might rely upon

Germany's full support. If we had really

recognized the necessity of warlike

action against Serbia, Kaiser would

regret if we did not make use of the

present moment, which is all in our

favor.

Wilhelm went on to say that he felt that

Russia was not ready for war and if

Austria did attack Serbia, it should do

so as quickly as possible. So by early

July, four outcomes seemed possible. a

peaceful negotiated settlement, an

Austroerbian war in the Balkans, a

continental war involving Austria,

Russia, Germany, and probably France, or

a world war if Britain and its empire

joined France and Russia.

Only Austria, Hungary, and Russia had

direct interests in the Balkans, but the

system of European alliances would

likely draw other states in as well.

However, neither the Triple Alliance nor

the Tripolon taunt called for automatic

participation in a war. Instead, each

state had to decide how far they were

willing to go. The Tripleon taunt powers

generally preferred a negotiated

settlement to the crisis. If war did

break out, Britain and France favored

limiting the war to the Balkans.

Although Russia was more willing to

accept a great power war over Serbia,

Russia wanted to keep its reputation as

protector of the Balkan Slavs and

potentially expand its influence in the

area around the Turkish straits that

were so important to Russian trade and

power projection. If it came to a great

power war, France would support its ally

in Russia and hope that Britain would

join as well. In Britain, a major war

was unpopular with the public, business

circles, and some members of cabinet.

Some politicians like foreign secretary

Edward Gray reasoned that if a major war

broke out, the outcome would be better

for Britain if it joined Russia and

France. If Germany and Austria defeated

France and Russia, British interests and

security would badly suffer. But there

was still significant opposition in the

UK. As far as the Anton powers were

concerned, a major war still seemed

unlikely. Understanding Austrogerman

intentions is trickier and historians

still debate them. Their leaders saw

little benefit in a negotiated

settlement. It wouldn't resolve the

issue of Serbian nationalism or improve

Austria's position in the Balkans. The

best outcome would probably come from a

localized Austro Serbian war. At the

same time, launching such a war meant

accepting the risk of a continental war

against France and Russia and possibly

Britain. Germany had made plans for war

against France and Russia and felt that

the longer it waited, the more powerful

Russia would become, and the greater the

risk of defeat. Germany and Austria both

decided to risk a European war against

France and Russia to resolve the Serbian

issue in Austria's favor. If a general

war came, victory would allow Germany to

dominate the continent. The wild card,

of course, was Britain. If the UK fought

against them, an AustroGerman victory

was much less likely and would amount to

a worstc case scenario. So, in the face

of rival alliances and conflicting goals

and expectations, the great powers of

Europe faced the July crisis of 1914.

After Germany's blank check to Austria

on July 6th, AustriaHungary planned to

move quickly against Serbia. But that

was easier said than done. On July 7th,

the Austrohungarians planned their next

step. Although many were eager for war,

the government was not quite united.

Hungarian Prime Minister Eastvan Tisa

was at first hesitant. The Kingdom of

Hungary already included many Serbs, and

war with Serbia would only increase

those tensions. Tissa insisted that

AustriaHungary deliver an ultimatum to

Serbia to give one last opportunity for

peace or to justify eventual military

action. Crafting the ultimatum took time

and Tissa only approved the final text

on July 19th. The ultimatum text was not

the only delay. Many Austrohungarian

troops were on leave for the harvest and

mobilization would take 2 weeks.

Internationally, the French president

and prime minister arrived in St.

Petersburg on July 20th for a scheduled

meeting with the Russians. So if the

Austrians gave the ultimatum to Serbia

before the French went home, Moscow and

Paris might quickly develop a joint

response. It's debated how much the

French and Russians may have already

known about the coming Austrian

ultimatum, but they did use the meeting

to portray an image of ironclad unity.

As President Remo Panker told the

Russians, his primary concern was

Britain.

We shall have weighty matters to

discuss. I am sure we shall agree on all

points. But there is one question which

is very much on my mind. Our

understanding with England. We must get

her to come into our alliance.

The Austrohungarians waited until the

French leaders were at sea on July 23rd

to send the ultimatum to the Serbs. Of

the 10 demands, most concerned the

arrest of Serbian officials and the

suppression of anti-Habsburg propaganda.

To carry this out, the Ultimatan

demanded that Serbia quote accept the

collaboration in Serbia of organs of the

imperial and royal government of

AustriaHungary.

This was tantamount to surrendering

Serbian sovereignty and the Austrians

had deliberately drafted the ultimatum

so the Serbs would have no choice but to

reject it and war could then be

declared. Belgrade replied within the

48-hour deadline and accepted all the

points except for those contrary to the

Serbian constitution like allowing

Austrohungarian officials to prosecute

Serbian citizens. The ultimatum

triggered a wave of feverish diplomatic

activity. The Anton powers now fully

realized the seriousness of the crisis

which had mostly been driven behind

closed doors in Vienna and Berlin until

now. London, Paris, and St. Petersburg

condemned the ultimatum although Britain

suggested mediation talks including

Britain, France, Germany and Italy but

Berlin refused. Russo Austrian relations

were by now red hot. Russian foreign

minister Serge Sisonov actually shouted

at the Austrahungarian ambassador in a

meeting.

I know what it is. You want to make war

on Serbia. The German newspapers have

been egging you on. You are setting fire

to Europe. It's a great responsibility

you are taking on. You will see what

effect this has in London and Paris and

maybe elsewhere too.

The Tsar ordered partial mobilization of

four military districts on July 24th,

followed by the period preparatory to

war on the 26th. The Russian army began

to call up reserveists, gather supplies,

and promote officers. At the same time,

the TAR wanted to make sure that these

measures did not appear to be directed

at Germany. So, AustriaHungary had a

blank check from Germany and had made

sure that its ultimatum to Serbia was

unacceptable. On July 28th, 1914,

AustriaHungary declared war on Serbia.

The war was still a regional one, but

that would all change in the cascade of

events in the coming days.

In reality, partial Russian mobilization

was an illusion. The general staff had

no plans to partially mobilize, and Sar

Nicholas's generals told him that

partial mobilization would disrupt a

potential full mobilization and still

likely alarm the Germans. Military and

political leaders of all powers were

confronted with the same problem. If one

army mobilized, its neighbor would feel

pressured to do the same or run the risk

of an early defeat thanks to modern

railways bringing enemy troops to the

border within days. This dilemma gave

the generals increased influence over

the crisis. On July 30th, after

overcoming the lastminute nerves, the

SAR announced full mobilization. All

eyes now turn to Germany. From July 29th

to August 1st, Sar Nicholas and Kaiser

Vilhelm exchanged a series of urgent

telegrams, affectionately signing Nikki

or Willie. The two cousins spoke of

their affection for each other, but also

issued demands. On July 30th, Willie

wrote to Nikki,

"I now receive authentic news of serious

preparations for war on my eastern

frontier. Responsibility for the safety

of my empire forces preventive measures

of defense upon me. My friendship for

you and your empire, transmitted to me

by my grandfather on his deathbed, has

always been sacred to me, and I have

honestly often backed up Russia. The

peace of Europe may still be maintained

by you if Russia will agree to stop the

military measures which must threaten

Germany and AustriaHungary.

London now tried to mediate again,

including a proposal for Austrohungarian

forces to stop at Belgrade. On the 29th,

German Chancellor Teobaltt Man asked

Britain to stay neutral if Germany

promised not to touch French

possessions. Foreign Secretary Edward

Gray now desperately sought

clarification from his own cabinet,

twothirds of which had previously

opposed the war. Cabinet member John

Burns summed up the decision.

situation seriously reviewed from all

points of view. It was decided not to

decide.

Britain still would not say if it would

join the Anton in case of a general war.

Hve was now unsure of British intentions

and tried to rein in the

Austrohungarians,

including suggesting the halt in

Belgrade plan. Meanwhile, the German

chief of staff, Helmouth Fonmulke, was

encouraging Conrad to attack. This led

to Conrad explaining who actually rules

in Berlin, Betman or Mult.

But the Austrohungarians claimed it was

now too late to change course and a

temporary occupation of Belgrade would

not achieve their aims. Mult also began

to push for Germany to mobilize since

the German war plan depended on speed to

avoid a two-front war. The Schlieffen

plan called for German armies to first

defeat France while Russia was still

mobilizing, then shift the German troops

to the east. If Russia was allowed to

mobilize first, Germany would be at a

disadvantage. The Germans had started

preparing on July 28th. But on the 31st,

Kaiser Vham announced pre-mobilization

the GIFAs or state of threatening danger

of war.

The decision led to another flurry of

telegrams. Germany demanded that Russia

cease mobilization while simultaneously

asking AustriaHungary to prepare for

operations against Russia. The Germans

also asked for French and British

neutrality in a seemingly imminent

Russo-German war. In Britain, a third

royal cousin, King George, now called on

the Tsar to end mobilization. Prime

Minister Herbert Aswith recalled the

moment he presented a draft telegram to

the king.

The poor king was hauled from his bed

and one of my strangest experiences was

sitting with him. I read the message and

the proposed answer. All he did was

suggest that it should be made more

personal and direct by the insertion of

the words my dear Nikki and the addition

at the end of the signature Georgie.

And so as July 1914 came to an end,

there was a frenzy of diplomatic

messages between European capitals. For

many military leaders though, it was too

late for any more talk, and they began

to pressure the politicians to act. On

July 31st, French General Joseph Jhre

asked his government to reverse its more

passive policy and mobilize. President

Poare described the meeting which lasted

into the wee hours of August 1st.

Zha appeared with the placid face of a

calm, resolute man whose only fear is

lest France, outstripped by German

mobilization, the most rapid of them

all, might speedily find herself in an

irreparable state of inferiority.

France finally mobilized at 400 p.m. on

August 1st. In Berlin, Mo was having the

same conversation with Chancellor Hve,

and 30 minutes later, Germany announced

their mobilization. By 7:00 p.m., Moscow

told Berlin that Russia would not stop

its mobilization. And so, Germany

declared war on Russia. On August 2nd,

German troops were on the move, not

east, but west into neutral Luxembourg.

This was in accordance with the

Schlieffen plan which the Germans said

was a strategic necessity. The British

position was still not clear. London

sent ambiguous messages to Berlin

suggesting that Britain might remain

neutral if Germany did not attack

France. Kaer Vilhim now asked Mul to

abandon the Schlieffen plan and stop his

armies from marching across the French

border. Fun replied that stopping the

massive and complex mobilization was

impossible and suicidal. The Kaiser was

angry and his answer showed that he did

not fully understand his own military

machine.

Your illustrious uncle Fulk the Elder

would not have given me such an answer.

If I order it, it must be possible.

Soon after, the Kaiser learned that

there was no formal British offer to

stay neutral and gave his armies the

green light to follow the plan and

invade Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.

By August 2nd, the mood in Britain had

shifted towards intervention. The

British informed the French that they

would block any German naval movements

in the channel and would uphold Belgian

neutrality. Belgian neutrality was

Britain's final red line, but it was a

line that Germany had already begun to

cross. The same day, Germany delivered

an ultimatum to Belgium that it had

prepared back on July 26th. The Germans

claimed the French planned to enter

Belgium, so Germany had no choice but to

move in preemptively. If Belgium

resisted, the Germans would consider it

an enemy. Brussels replied to Berlin on

August 3rd.

The intentions Germany ascribes to

France are in contradiction with the

formal declarations made to us. The

infringement of Belgium's independence,

with which the German governments

threaten her, would constitute a

flagrant violation of international law.

No strategic interest justifies such a

breach of law. The Belgian government is

firmly resolved to repel every

infringement of its rights by all means

in its power.

That same day, the final dominoes began

to fall. Italy declared that it would

stay neutral and would not join its

triple alliance partners in war. Germany

claimed France was about to attack it,

which wasn't true, and declared war on

France. On August 4th, German troops

marched into Belgium. Belgium appealed

to Britain, France, and Russia to

guarantee her independence, and Britain

declared war on Germany. By August 4th,

the great powers of Europe were at war,

and the First World War had begun. In

the next four years, roughly 20 million

people would be killed or die of disease

and hunger. But even before the killing

stopped, debates were raging about the

war's origins and who was to blame. And

they haven't stopped since.

Shortly after the outbreak of the war,

each of the powers published a so-called

color book, making its case as to how to

understand the July crisis and basically

blaming the other side. After the war,

each side still blamed the other, and

the allies put the responsibility

squarely on the central powers in the

post-war peace treaties. Since then, the

evidence of 1914 has been interpreted in

many different ways, as historians have

tried to answer who was at fault for

starting the war. For years, many

historians concluded that all the powers

shared some of the blame for the war

beginning. Then in the 1960s, German

historian Fritz Fischer made one of the

most influential arguments. He claimed

that the German government and military

elites had grandiose plans and wanted to

achieve them through war. The Fischer

School claims Germany had long planned a

war aimed against Russia and France and

directly led Austrohungarian actions in

order to escalate events. More recently,

other single powers have been fingered

for their role in the crisis. Shawn

McMaken emphasized that Russia's actions

turned a Balkan war into a continental

one and Nile Ferguson blamed Britain for

its mistakes and naive tape. Some other

recent interpretations like Christopher

Clark's sleepwalker theory suggests the

war was largely

and resulted from miscalculations,

misunderstandings, and perceived

insecurities. He argues that Germany

felt Russia and Britain were unlikely to

become involved and tried its best to

localize the conflict in the Balkans.

Another debate centers around whether

the war was inevitable. Here the recent

consensus is that the alliance system

did not force any state to fight as

Italy proved by staying neutral in 1914.

This line of thinking stresses that

there were many times when things might

have taken a different turn, like if

Austria had acted more quickly against

Serbia or if Britain had taken a clear

position right from the start of the

crisis. There's also discussion about

culture and mentality in 1914. Historian

James Joel, for example, suggests that

the cultural, military, and strategic

zeitgeist saw war as a practical and

indeed desirable tool for social change

and defense of national interests. Since

modern war also involved the need for a

quick mobilization via rail timets,

military commanders became as or even

more important than politicians in the

crisis. But their inflexible strategies

could not respond to the political

needs. So perceived military necessity

dictated political action. Russian

politicians wanted partial mobilization

not to scare Germany, but did just that.

And German politicians did not want to

bring Britain into the war, but their

armies marched into Belgium and did just

that. This was the exact opposite of

Clausvitz's concept that war is politics

by other means. And it's an important

aspect of understanding how the crisis

ended in a world war. The war that

started with the July crisis in 1914

lasted more than 4 years. But the war

amongst historians to make sense of it

all still rages more than a century

later.

Since you made it to the end of this

video, you're probably a fan of detailed

history documentaries. We actually

produced three documentary series with a

combined runtime of more than 9 hours.

16 Days in Berlin and Rhineland 45

feature the last battles of World War II

in Europe. And our series Red Atoms

breaks down the Soviet nuclear program

from its origins to the Chernobyl

disaster and beyond. Unfortunately, we

couldn't upload these series to YouTube

where we have to navigate advertising

guidelines and the almighty algorithm.

So, where can you watch 16 Days in

Berlin, Rhineline 45, and Red Adams? On

Nebula, a streaming service we're

building together with other creators.

If you sign up at nebula.tv/theg TV/theg

greatatewar. You can watch all our

documentaries, including everything we

upload to YouTube, ad free, and in 4K

resolution. And all that for just $36

for an entire year. Nebula is available

on smartphones, Apple TV, Roku, and

more. A year of Nebula is also a great

gift, by the way. And with the holidays

fast approaching, you can gift a loved

one a year of smart creator

documentaries from us or other creators

like Epic History TV and their

incredible coverage of the Napoleonic

Wars. Whether you sign up for Nebula for

yourself or gift it to someone else, you

will also support our work directly.

Again, that's nebula.tv/thegatewar

for 40% off and just $36 for an entire

year. Again, that's nebula.tv/theg

TV/theg greatatewar for a great deal

that also supports this channel. We want

to thank Marcos Link, Spencer Jones,

Dimmitri Petrovvic, Plamemen Ganv, Murad

Doan, Vasilis Aanazio, and Bill Gelik

for their help with this documentary. To

learn more about the first months of the

First World War, check out our

documentary about that on our channel.

If you're watching this video on Nebula

or Patreon, thank you so much for the

support. We couldn't do it without you.

I'm Jesse Alexander and this is a

production of Real Time History, the

only history channel that stays out of

any pig war.