Balkan Battles by Root G. Irving

Author:Root, G. Irving [Root, G. Irving]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Historical Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9781456061975
Publisher: PublishAmerica
Published: 2010-04-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Serbia Is Reborn

Macedonian Front, 1915-1916

By the summer of 1916, it seemed as though none of the major Powers of either warring coalition were much interested in their Front in the Balkans. Germany’s Verdun offensive had pretty much spent itself without achieving its desired effect, and the main focus in the West had shifted to the Somme River sector, where the French and British had initiated a major attack of their own. On the Italian Front, Hötzendorf’s bid to inflict a strategic defeat on his enemy had been stopped short of its mark, and much of the ground gained was subsequently lost to an Italian counteroffensive. In the East, Russia’s Southwest Front had assaulted the Austro-Hungarian line in Galicia and Volhynia, driving it far to the west and capturing hundreds of thousands of prisoners in the process; German troops had been rushed to the rescue of their allies, and both the Western and Italian Fronts had been weakened by the transfer of large numbers of troops bound for the East. Turkey was heavily committed in eastern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Sinai. Of the four Alliance nations, only Bulgaria was not strained to the limit, yet she too seemed about to be, considering that Russian successes were likely to induce Romania to finally enter the conflict on the side of the Entente. It was truly a very unnerving time for those in control of the governments in Berlin, Vienna, Constantinople, and Sofia.

Of all the Entente Powers, France was easily the most interested in maintaining the Balkan Front. The British, as we have seen, would have preferred to abandon Salonika just as they had abandoned Gallipoli. The Italians were content to keep a few troops in Albania, so as to control both sides of the Strait of Otranto, but they were really not interested in fighting the Bulgarians. Russia was of course physically separated from Greece, and pointed to her efforts against Turkey as indirect help for the Balkans. That left only France, among the Great Powers, in a position to influence events in southeast Europe, and despite the preponderance of Westerners within her High Command, she could not afford to ignore the Balkans. There were several reasons for this. For one thing, she did not want to forfeit the eastern Mediterranean to the British, who already controlled Egypt and Cyprus, and who by virtue of their fleet were still easily the strongest naval power in the world. This superiority had recently been reinforced by the huge sea battle off Jutland, after which the redoubtable German Fleet had been obliged to return to its ports to re-assume its mostly defensive role. If the British were to be granted preponderance in the North Sea and Channel areas, France must at least remain a naval factor in the Mediterranean. Then there was the projected partition of the Ottoman Empire, which if undertaken, necessitated a strong French presence. Perhaps the most compelling reason however, was furtherance of French cultural interests in the region. Most of

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