Chapter 549 The Alliance Breaks
The Ottoman Empire has many islands. In addition to the Twelve Islands in the southern Aegean Sea, there are also Thassos, Samothrace, Lemnos and other islands in the northern Aegean Sea. Before the Balkan War, it was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
After blocking the Dardanelles Strait, the reinforcement fleet conveniently captured the Ottoman Empire’s islands in the northern Aegean Sea one by one.
After the armistice of the Ottoman Empire, the reinforcement fleet went south and successively captured the Twelve Islands, mainly Rhodes Island.
The Twelve Islands are not 12 islands, but composed of 12 larger islands and more than 150 small islands.
George's actions triggered strong opposition from the Ottoman Empire. Britain and France also hoped that George would restrain his troops and stop the war against the Ottoman Empire.
George ignored him, and the reinforcement fleet not only did not stop moving, but the troops that crossed the Bosporus also retreated and advanced, occupying Bursa, the old capital of the Ottoman Empire, on November 4, forcing Muhammad V to Escaped again.
At a critical moment, a coup broke out in the Ottoman Empire, and the Al-Shabaab uprising demanded the overthrow of the rule of Muhammad V.
Amid internal and external troubles, Muhammad V completely surrendered and signed the Treaty of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg on November 9, excluding his territory in Europe and all his islands in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. It was ceded to the Balkan Alliance and the Russian Empire, and promised to establish a demilitarized zone within a hundred kilometers on the Asian side of the Black Sea outlet.
When the news came out, the entire Russian Empire was completely boiling.
After 235 years from 1676 to 1911, the Russian Empire finally defeated its old enemy the Ottoman Empire through 11 Russian-Turkish wars and gained the coveted Black Sea outlet.
With this historical level of achievement, Nicholas officially surpassed the ancestors of the Romanov family and became the greatest tsar of Russia.
George also experienced this battle and firmly established the honor of "Royal Military God".
The content of the "St. Petersburg Treaty" spread, and all parts of the Russian Empire celebrated wildly. All alcoholic products in the stores were sold out. In any corner of St. Petersburg, as long as someone shouts "Ula", there will be a sudden death. It sparked wild celebrations from everyone.
George was not in the mood to celebrate, the cake had been knocked down, and the next distribution was more important.
In fact, as early as October 15, representatives from various countries in the Balkan Alliance had gathered in St. Petersburg to discuss post-war distribution.
In the Balkan War, the Kingdom of Bulgaria sent the most troops and suffered the largest casualties, so the Kingdom of Bulgaria requested a vast area including Thessaloniki. If this request is realized, then the dream of "Greater Bulgaria" About to be achieved.
The contribution of the Kingdom of Serbia is second only to the Kingdom of Bulgaria, so the Kingdom of Serbia requires the outlet of the Adriatic Sea and part of North Macedonia as compensation.
Although the contribution of the Kingdom of Greece was not much, its demands were not many. In addition to southern Macedonia, the Kingdom of Greece also requested Western Thrace and a series of islands captured by the reinforcement fleet.
Even the Kingdom of Romania, which did not participate in the war from beginning to end, also asked the Kingdom of Bulgaria to cede Dobroga to Romania.
The Grand Duchy of Montenegro, which fired the first shot in the Balkan War, and Albania, which has been fighting for independence for hundreds of years, also have their own interests and demands.
If the requirements of various countries were to be met, it would not be enough for the Ottoman Empire to cede two more Thraces.
As the leader of the Balkan Alliance, the Russian Empire first delineated its own sphere of influence.
Needless to say, Constantinople must belong to the Russian Empire.
In order to ensure the safety of Constantinople, Adrianople, along with Constantinople, became a spoil of war for the Russian Empire.
Constantinople alone is not enough to ensure that the Black Sea outlet is under the complete control of the Russian Empire, so the Sea of Marmara and the Garibaldi Peninsula also belong to the Russian Empire.
The islands captured by the reinforcement fleet in the Aegean Sea naturally belong to the Russian Empire.
This request was opposed by both the Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The Kingdom of Bulgaria agrees to the Russian Empire's control of the Black Sea outlet, but hopes that the Russian Empire can cede Adrianople to the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The Kingdom of Greece also hopes that the Russian Empire will hand over many islands in the Aegean Sea to the Kingdom of Greece for management.
No matter how noisy the Balkan Alliance is, George can't take away what he gets.
After the signing of the Treaty of St. Petersburg, the Russian troops that had invaded the Asia Minor Peninsula were withdrawing in batches as planned, and all were to be withdrawn before July 1912.
Muhammad V was very angry. After the Russian army invaded the Asia Minor Peninsula, it only took 10 days to reach Bursa from the Bosporus. It was indeed a very fast military operation.
Why did it take 7 months to evacuate?
George could only say that the Cossacks had harvested so much in the Ottoman Empire that it was as high as the sky. Such harvests had to be slowly transported back to the Russian Empire.
Muhammad V was the Ottoman Sultan, on the same level as the Czar, so he still had to be treated with a certain amount of respect.
So George took the initiative to contact Muhammad V and asked Muhammad V if he needed help from the Russian Empire.
Muhammad V is going crazy. You drove me from Constantinople to Bursa, and then from Bursa to Antalya. You almost drove me to death, and now you What do you mean by asking me if I need help?
I just want to hang myself, so you can help me kick the stool.
George really didn’t mean that.
Muhammad V was a terrible monarch for the Ottoman Empire. But for the Russian Empire, Muhammad V was the best friend.
So how could George bear to see the rule of Muhammad V being overthrown? Due to both emotions and reasons, George was willing to help Muhammad V.
The Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire have been fighting for more than two hundred years. The Ottomans know best how capable the Cossacks are. Without the intervention of Britain and France, the Russian-Turkish War would have ended in the eighth war.
Now that the Russian Empire has gained access to the Black Sea, and its hatred of the Ottoman Empire has come to an end, George gave Muhammad V a hard blow, but he must give him another sweet date.
Mehmed V hesitated. If he accepted help from the Russian Empire, he would completely lose the support of the Ottomans.
But if he does not accept it, his rule will be overthrown by rebels led by Al-Shabaab.
The al-Shabaab rebellion is supported by Germany behind the scenes.
Since the outbreak of the Balkan War, Britain has been mediating. Germany supported the Russian Empire on the surface and provided assistance to the Ottoman Empire secretly. It also hoped to use the Balkan War to consume the Russian Empire's national power.
I guess William II also didn’t expect that the Ottoman Empire would be defeated so quickly.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, another protagonist in Europe, transferred most of its troops to the Russian-Austrian border after the Russian Empire entered the war, and carried out some mobilization.
The Russian Empire was tit for tat. Nicholas Jr. led the elite Guards to confront the Austro-Hungarian army on the Russian-Austrian border. This is why the Guards had no chance to perform in this war.
Seeing that the Ottoman Empire could not withstand the frenzied attack of the Balkan Alliance, Germany turned to support al-Shabaab in launching a coup. Unexpectedly, this not only failed to overthrow the rule of Muhammad V, but instead prompted Muhammad The fifth generation surrendered as quickly as possible.
George's help also came at a price. If he wanted to hire Cossacks to quell the rebellion, Muhammad V would need to pay George 100 million rubles.
Sadly, the Balkan War had completely drained the Ottoman Empire's treasury, and Muhammad V had no money to hire Cossacks at all.
George provided a package of services. It didn't matter if he had no money. Using customs revenue as collateral, the Siberian Bank could provide loans to the Ottoman Empire.
Not only loans needed for counterinsurgency, but also for the reconstruction of the Ottoman Empire after the war, the Bank of Siberia can also provide loans.
After repeated considerations, Muhammad V gritted his teeth and accepted George's suggestion.
This is even better. The Cossacks captured on the battlefield can be slowly transported back to the Russian Empire, and the withdrawal timetable will definitely be postponed.
While George helped Muhammad V suppress the rebellion, he moved the Ottomans living on the Aegean Islands back to the Ottoman Empire in batches.
Unlike Britain, the Russian Empire had only a few people of its own and was desperately trying to expand colonies around the world, so it had to use local people to establish puppet governments.
The Russian Empire has no shortage of people. The islands in the Aegean Sea are unparalleled holiday destinations for Russians. Living here is simply paradise.
With so many loyal Cossacks under George, they dispersed their families and their families to these islands. It won’t be long before these islands will completely become part of the Russian Empire.
By the time all this was done, it was already April 1912.
The Treaty of St. Petersburg was signed in November, and by April half a year had passed, and the quarrel in the Balkan Alliance was not over yet.
Throughout the winter, representatives of the Balkan Alliance countries turned St. Petersburg into a vegetable market and argued endlessly over the matter of dividing the spoils. During this period, Gray and Sazonov each proposed a plan, but failed to gain everyone's consent.
George thinks that continuing to make such a noise is not an option.
Let’s just have a fight and whoever wins will have the final say.
This is just talk. If a fight really breaks out, the Balkan Alliance will be disbanded.
On May 2, just when George decided to return to St. Petersburg and personally preside over the distribution of benefits, King George I of the Kingdom of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki.
Since the negotiations in St. Petersburg have not yet concluded, Thessaloniki is still under the joint administration of the Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
George didn’t know why George I went to Thessaloniki at this sensitive time. It might just be a whim, or he might want to declare his sovereignty.
Just go, people died in Thessaloniki before the security work was done. What should I do now?
This actually cannot be blamed on George I. After all, George I did not have as much experience in assassinations as the Russian royal family.
The consequences of the assassination of George I were very serious. Although the murderer had not been caught yet, the Kingdom of Greece immediately blamed the Kingdom of Bulgaria for the assassination of George I.
On May 3, the Kingdom of Greece declared war on the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The thing George least wanted to see happened.
(End of this chapter)