ABSTRACT
As the first all-European conflict of the twentieth century, the Balkan Wars introduced an age of modern warfare encompassing mass armies, machines, and entire civilian populations. These wars eliminated the Ottoman Empire from Europe, except for the eastern corner of Thrace, scrambled the borders of the Balkan Peninsula, and established a frail but independent Albanian state. The conflict initiated in the Balkan Peninsula in 1912 would continue in Europe, with relatively brief interruptions, until 1945. Even after that, many of the problems associated with the Balkan Wars re-emerged during and after the second collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991. These include the status of Macedonia and Kosovo and the establishment of a maximalist Serbian national state.
