But Germany being on the side of Austria earned the animosity of the Triple Entente, es pecially Russia, which urged the Balkan states to form a confederation. Such a confederation should expel the Turks from Europe and, on the other side, be a bulwark against the German drive eastward. The alliance between the Bal kan states, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Monte negro, was consummated (1912). Turkey, en tangled with Italy in Africa, was not able to meet the demands of the Balkan Allies whose forces marched victoriously on to Constanti nople. Austria and Germany, calling a halt, in sisted on the London Conference (1913), a con ference which gave quasi-autonomy to Albania and put a German vassal selected by the powers upon the Albanian throne. Serbia viewing herself bereft of Albania and the Adriatic coast, while all of Thrace remained in the hands of the Bulgarians, swallowed her resentment for the moment and continued to place confidence in her Greek alliance to the extent of making a new treaty in May 1913. But Bulgaria, secretly prompted by Austria, suddenly attacked Serbia, which was backed by Russia and the active par ticipation of Rumania. The Peace of Bucharest (10 Aug. 1913), concluding the second Balkan war, tried to solve the intimate jealousies and antagonisms by giving Serbia a part of Mace donia, allowing Salonika to Greece, and satisfy ing Rumania with added territory in Dobrudja. As a matter of fact the Balkan nationalities are never allowed to work out their own destinies; some superior power is always waiting to take a hand. The event which precipitated the Great War of 1914 was the Sarajevo assassina tion and Austria immediately used it as a casus belli against Serbia. The partial refusal of the Austrian ultimatum by Serbia caused war on 28July, although it has not been proved that Franz Ferdinand's death served Serbian or general Southern Slav ambition at that time.
The entrance into Balkan lands, occurring in August 1914, and the second invasion of northern Serbia in November 1914, marked the defeat of Austrian arms, with Belgrade taken and retaken. Only in November 1915 did Austria and Germany, reinforced by Bul garia's entry into the war, succeed in bringing about the general retreat of the Serbians through Albania. The arrival of the French and the British in the peninsula which had already begun in August was unable to fore stall the fate of their retreating allies, the Serbs and Montenegrins. It was, in fact, the
attitude of Greece which paralyzed any for ward military moves of the Allies. Vemzelos, the Greek Premier, realizing the necessity of allied advance, invited the protection of Greece by the Entente Allied Powers, but the king insisted that the Great Powers were violating Greek neutrality by their presence in that ter ritory. The Greek treaty with Serbia for mutual protection was now fancifully read by Greece to mean "'protection against Balkan powers* instead of being construed in its gen eral sense, protection against any power. Nevertheless, a partial recuperation in Serbia saw the beginning of Balkan military activity again in 1916-17. Once more Greece proved obdurate. Resignation of the king appeared the only course to be countenanced, and on 12 June 1917, this event was forced by the Entente Allies.
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