Balkans theatre

For the World War II campaign, see Balkans campaign (World War II).
Balkans theatre
Part of the European theatre of World War I

Serbian troops during the opening of the war c. 1914
DateJuly 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918
Location
Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria
Result
  • Allied Powers victory
Belligerents

Central Powers:
 Bulgaria (from 1915)

 Austria-Hungary
 Germany (from 1915)
 Ottoman Empire (1916–1917)		 Allied Powers:
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908–1946) 1,200,000[1]
  • Austria-Hungary Unknown
  • German Empire Unknown
  • Ottoman Empire Unknown
  • Kingdom of Serbia 707,343[1]
  • Kingdom of Montenegro 50,000[1]
  • French Third Republic 350,000+[2]
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 404,207[3]
  • Kingdom of Italy 144,000
  • Kingdom of Greece 230,000[1]
  • Russian Empire 17,884
  • Total: 1,885,550+
Casualties and losses
  • Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908–1946) 267,000[4]
    87,500 killed
    152,930 wounded
    27,029 missing/captured
  • Austria-Hungary 300,000+[5][6]
  • German Empire Unknown
  • Ottoman Empire "a few thousand"[7]


 Serbian campaign:
Macedonian front:

The Balkans theatre or Balkan campaign was a theatre of World War I fought between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allies (Serbia, Montenegro, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, and later, Greece).

The offensive began in 1914 with three failed Austro-Hungarian offensives into Serbia. A new attempt a year later by the combined forces of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Bulgaria led to the conquest and occupation of Serbia and Montenegro.[17] The Serbian military did not surrender, retreating through the mountains of Albania and evacuated to Corfu before reforming in Salonika a few months later. On the Macedonian front, the Royal Serbian Army joined the Franco-British Allied Army of the Orient and fought a protracted trench war against Bulgarian and German forces. The Allied army presence in Greece resulted in the National Schism on whether Greece should join the Allies or remain neutral, which would benefit the Central Powers. Greece eventually joined the Allied Powers in 1917. In September 1918, the Vardar Offensive had broken through the Bulgarian lines, forcing them to surrender. Serbia, Albania and Montenegro's liberation soon followed.

  1. ^ a b c d Tucker, Spencer C.; Wood, Laura Matysek; Murphy, Justin D. (1996). Spencer Tucker. The European powers in the First World War: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis, 1996, pg. 173. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780815303992. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Reporters - Reporters: How the Salonica front led to victory in WWI". France 24. Nov 9, 2018. Retrieved Jan 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Great Britain. War Office (27 February 2023). "Statistics of the military effort of the British Empire during the Great War, 1914–1920, p. 739". London H.M. Stationery Off. Retrieved 27 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Military Casualties-World War-Estimated," Statistics Branch, GS, War Department, February 25, 1924; cited in World War I: People, Politics, and Power, published by Britannica Educational Publishing (2010) Page 219.
  5. ^ Lyon 2015, p. 235.
  6. ^ Spencer Tucker, "Encyclopedia of World War I"(2005) pg 1077, ISBN 1851094202
  7. ^ "Turkey in the First World War - Macedonia". Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2015-05-19. turkeyswar, Campaigns, Macedonia front.
  8. ^ Urlanis, Boris (1971). Wars and Population. Moscow Pages 66, 79, 83, 85, 160, 171, and 268.
  9. ^ Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920, The War Office, P.353.
  10. ^ Until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Max Schiavon. Le Front d'Orient. Des Dardanelles à la victoire finale. Tallandier. 2014. p. 114, 368.
  11. ^ "Reporters: How the Salonica Front led to victory in WWI". www.france24.com. 9 November 2018.
  12. ^ As mentioned in the sources above about Serbian military casualties in World War I, they numbered approximately 481,000 in total, including 278,000 dead from all causes (including POWs), 133,000 wounded, and 70,000 living POWs. Of these 481,000, some 434,000 suffered in the earlier Serbian offensive. Most of the rest were taken on the Macedonian front following the evacuation of the Serbian Army.
  13. ^ T. J. Mitchell and G.M. Smith. "Medical Services: Casualties and Medical Statistics of the Great War." From the "Official History of the Great War." Pages 190-191. Breakdown: 2,797 were killed, 1,299 died of wounds, 3,744 died of disease, 2,778 were missing/captured, 16,888 were wounded (minus DOW), 116,190 evacuated sick (34,726 to the UK, 81,428 elsewhere) of whom an unknown proportion returned to duty later. A total of 481,262 were hospitalized for sickness overall.
  14. ^ Ministero della Difesa: L’Esercito italiano nella Grande Guerra (1915-1918), vol. VII: Le operazioni fuori del territorio nazionale: Albania, Macedonia, Medio Oriente, t. 3° bis: documenti, Rome 1981, Parte Prima, doc. 77, p. 173 and Parte Seconda, doc. 78, p. 351; Mortara, La salute pubblica in Italia 1925, p. 37.
  15. ^ Losses are given as follows for 1916 to 1918. Macedonia: 8,324, including 2,971 dead or missing and 5,353 injured. Albania: 2,214, including 298 dead, 1,069 wounded, and 847 missing.
  16. ^ Military Casualties-World War-Estimated," Statistics Branch, GS, War Department, February 25, 1924; cited in World War I: People, Politics, and Power, published by Britannica Educational Publishing (2010) Page 219. Total casualties for Greece were 27,000 (killed and died 5,000; wounded 21,000; prisoners and missing 1,000)
  17. ^ "Kitchener in east worries the Kaiser". Google Books. The Morning Leader. November 18, 1915. Retrieved March 19, 2024. There, as a result of his peremptory orders, the Austro-Germans and Bulgarians, reinforced by the Turks have begun a great effort to crush the Serbians and destroy the Franco-British forces before the latter's numbers are augmented by the troops landing daily at Saloniki