Two wars 1912-13 and 1913
(preceding World War I) which resulted in the
expulsion by the Balkan states of Ottoman
Turkey from Europe, except for a small area
around Istanbul. The First Balkan War, 1912,
of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro
against Turkey, forced the Turks to ask for
an armistice, but the London-held peace
negotiations broke down when the Turks, while
agreeing to surrender all Turkey-in-Europe W
of the city of Edirne (formerly Adrianople),
refused to give up the city itself. In Feb
1913 hostilities were resumed. Edirne fell on
26 Mar and on 30 May, by the Treaty of
London, Turkey retained in Europe only a
small piece of E Thrace and the Gallipoli
peninsula. The Second Balkan War, June-July
1913, took place when Bulgaria attacked
Greece and Serbia, which were joined by
Romania. Bulgaria was defeated, and Turkey
secured from that country the cession of
Edirne.