Third Balkan War

The **Third Balkan War** was a conflict in the Balkans that took place in 1926 between Bulgaria, Albania, and later Austria on one side, and Serbia and Greece on the other.

### Prelude

In the 8 years following the defeat of the Balkan League, Revenchasim had arrisen in those countries, especially Serbia. Peter I abdicate following the Treaty of Sofia, and his son, Aleksandar II would attempt to fix the troubled nations. Aleksandar would secretly attempt to rearm Serbia, though not to the degree of what it had once been. Many in the government, including his cousin, Prince Paul, opposed this. Serbia first attempted to make a secret alliance towards redomination withe Romania. Romania, however, had become very spiteful towards Serbia, and had declined. Serbia then contacted George II of Greece in another attempt of an alliance. Greece, who had less war indemnities put on them, obliged. For the next few years, Greece and Serbia would secretly rearm. This process was hard due to the restrictions and debts put on them. By fall of 1926, they had a combined army of almost equal to Bulgaria, and they had been planting resistance in territories owned by Bulgaria.

### Trigger and Opening Battles.

By 1926, Bulgaria had begun and mostly succeeded in the process of colonization of Dobrudja, and looked south and west to their new territories. They began selling Serb and Greek lands to Foreign and Homeland Bulgarians. This infuriated the population, who rioted in many cities. Bulgaria, remembering the horror of the Provisional Government era, quickly repressed the protests. This gave Serbia and Greece a perfect motive, and on September 28, Greek troops began marching into Thrace. The next day, Serbia began marching into Macedonia. Bulgaria, infuriated by this, began sending troops to halt the advances. Firefights began, and Greece and Serbia officially declared war.

### Main War

Serbia and Greece, to surprise of the world, actually progressed very well. Serbia was able to besiege Vidin. Greece progressed into Thrace, while Bulgaria captured Thessaloniki. Bulgaria began sending requests to Albania to join the war. Prince Villim was unsure, and consulted his government. After 2 weeks of war, on October 11, Albania joined the war and began pushing into Eripus, while they struggled to push into Kosovo due to it's small border. Greece, not realizing Albania would enter, scrambled to reorganize their troops to Eripus, and began to hold the Albanians. During the war, Austria debated joining the war due to the breaking of treaty. Meanwhile, Bulgaria began to keep getting pushed back, and the Albanians were at a stalemate. On November 1, Austria marched over the border of Serbia, taking the city of Sabac and surrounding the capital of Belgrade and began firing upon it. This was Austria's entering of the war. Albania now took advantage of this and began entering the areas of Austrian Montenegro that were Albanian majority, including the city of Plav, to enter Kosovo. These areas were not garrisoned at the moment, having gone to fight in Serbia. This gave Albania a bigger way to enter Kosovo. With the help of Austria, Albania and Bulgaria began pushing the Greeks back. George II was deposed and the Second Hellenic Republic was declared. The new government opted for peace, ending the southern front on November 10. 4 days later, Serbia, realizing the war was a mistake, surrendered. The Austrians entered Belgrade, and delagates from the 5 nations met to discuss the 3rd Treaty of Belgrade. On November 25, the final treaty was drafted.

### Terms of the Third Treaty of Belgrade.

1. *Serbia will restrict their military to 20,000 men and not use any artillery of air force.*
2. *Serbia and Greece will pay for war costs.*
3. *Albania will annex Kosovo and Eripus*
4. *Thessaloniki will become an international zone under Bulgarian Mandate. A municipal council will be organized at a later date.*
5. *Austria will annex the city of Sabac.*
6. *Bulgaria will annex Zajecar.*
7. *Serbia will be divided into spheres of influence between Albania, Austria, and Bulgaria.*

### Aftermath

The Third Balkan War further made the Balkans dominated by the Central Powers. It led to the Assassination of Alexsandar II and the usurping of the throne from his sucesser Peter II to his Cousin Paul, who became Paul I, who used autocratic means to keep power. It also showed the weakness of Bulgaria due to it's pushbacks by a nation that had been defeated in a major war less than a decade ago. The establishment of the Thessaloniki International Mandate would be a matter of controversy. Albania would not withdraw from the areas they had occupied in Austrian Montenegro, which would spark the Plav Crisis.