The Battle Triumphant

The Battle of Kumanovo, on 23 October 1912, marked the end of the Ottoman Empire in Europe – even if the Ottomans didn’t quite fully accept the loss until May 1913.  

It was a victory that shocked the Great Powers of Europe; that the small and seemingly backward nations of the Balkans- long viewed as the martial playground to act out tensions between Russia, Western Europe, and the Ottomans- was able to drive out the colonizing Turks without begging the help of various Great Powers was not foreseen.  

Nor was it to be countenanced for long.

But the fallout from the Balkan Wars was still to come, and on 23 October, victory belonged to the Balkan League; and nothing Europe had to say in the matter was of any importance to the victors.

More on the Balkan Wars:

The Battle of Kumanovo
Typically Twisted: The Politics of the Balkan Wars