Armies in the Balkans 1914–18 (Men-at-Arms, 356)

First, a reminder for the previous reviewers- Central Powers were the AGGRESSORS, the Allies the Defenders. Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Turks (and in 1915 Bulgaria, seeking to expand its territory) were the bad guys. It was the Turks who perpetrated the ethnic-cleansing and murder of hundreds of thousands of Christian Armenians and Assyrians from 1915 to 1918 (and beyond). The Kingdom of Serbia,and later in 1917 the United States, were Allies against those Central Powers expansionists. The Allies won the Great War, which freed the nationalities of Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Romanians of Transylvania, and yes also those Serbs who lived in Bosnia. See "Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia" by Richard West for the WW2 events in the Balkans."Armies in the Balkans 1914-18" accurately recounts, free of 1990s revisionism, the History of the Great War in the Balkans. To read of the 1990s Balkans, readers should of course look elsewhere. But to those Westerners who couldn't find Foca or Bihac on a map before 1992, this is a fine and comprehensive primer, one of the best of the Osprey Men-At-Arms offerings. It is a bonanza of military and historical information on the Balkan Armies of the Great War, in one concise book. The abbreviated sections on certain Armies are necessary to focus on the indigenous armed forces. The Ottoman Turks are already covered in their own Osprey book. The 1915 Albanian Retreat was a Serbian "Dunkirk", not a debacle. It saved their armies to victoriously fight their way north out of Greece in 1917-1918, after being re-equipped by the Serbian ally, France. They also fought alongside those Russian Expeditionary Forces that were in that theater before 1917. By the way, there were morale problems with conscripts of the Imperial Russian Expeditionary units in France. But, nevertheless, a sizeable and combat-proven cadre, the Russian Legion ("La Legion Russe") fought successfully on the Western Front, from December 1917 to 11 November 1918 (read "With Snow On Their Boots").

The nations of the Balkans were the lesser allies of both the "Entente" (Britain, France, Russia, Italy and later the United States) and of the Central Powers (the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria). Serbia began the war as a member of the Entente and later in 1916 Romania joined the Allied Entente in May of 1916. Albania and Montenegro both asserted their independence in revolts against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this way, the civil wars in those two countries became part of the overall world war. This book provides a great deal of information on the armies of these lesser allies of the major powers involved in the First World War.

WHILE EVERYONE STUDIES THE MAJOR POWERS IN THE GREAT WAR, VERY LITTLE COVERS THE SMALLER POWERS INVOLVED ON BOTH SIDES. THIS REAL GEM FILLS A PART OF THE GAP. VERY WELL WRITTEN, IT COVERS THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ATTACKS ON SERBIA, THE OPENING UP OF THE SALONIKA FRONT, AND THE ENTRY AND EXIT OF ROMANIA FROM THE HOSTILITIES. IN ADDITION THERE IS THE USUAL EXPERT COVERAGE ON UNIFORMS, ARMS AND UNIT POSITIONS IN THE VARIOUS THEATERS. WISH THERE WAS A VOLUME 2.

Purchased for my husband and son-in-law. Both believe the Osprey History books are quite accurate. One must read first person, or as close to first person accounts of history to really know the subject. You will not have faulty thinking if you chose to read any of the Osprey History books.

A very fine book!!!

This addition to the Osprey Men-at-Arms series offers considerable hard-to-find information on the oft-neglected Balkan armies of the First World War. Sections cover the forces of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Rumania, Austria-Hungary as well as the German, Turkish, Russian, British, French and Italian units sent to that front. Dusan Babac, a Serbian military history enthusiast, has culled the archives of the Military Museum in Belgrade and provides many photographs previously unseen in the West. The volume also offers much new and hard-to-find information on the armies that fought in the Balkans. However, there is also considerable overt pro-Serb bias throughout the volume. The author's pro-Serb bias is evident from the first page, where he states that, "Austro-Hungary had provoked Serbia by holding military maneuvers in Bosnia-Herzegovina in summer 1914," which led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. No mention of state-sponsored terrorism by Serbian military intelligence or Serbian territorial interests in Bosnia. Later, the successful Central Powers' invasion of Serbia in October 1915 is downplayed by the Serbs "legendary tactical retreat" through Kosovo into Albania. The point that without Allied refuge and support Serbia would have been knocked out of the war by late 1915 is minimized here. The section on the Austro-Hungarian forces used in the Balkans is not very good. The Order of Battle is skimpy compared to those of other countries, with only divisions listed, no artillery or engineer units provided. Also unlike the other sections, there is no discussion of Austro-Hungarian unit organizations or equipments. The three figures depicted for the Austro-Hungarian army in the color plates are rather odd, non-representative choices. One gets the impression that the author would rather have omitted this section (it did include Croats and Bosnians, after all, not favorite people of most Serbs). The sections on the Serb, Montenegrin, Greek, Bulgarian and Rumanian armies are quite detailed for a volume this size, with succinct discussions of unit organizations and equipment. Most of the order of battles for these armies include infantry units down to regimental level, cavalry, artillery and engineer units. Some of the order of battles are a bit difficult to decipher however, since the author does not seem to have mastered the military use of the slash in unit abbreviations. For example, in the Serbian army OB, a unit listed as "Danube/2" could be read as 2nd Division of the Danubian Corps, but the author may mean 2nd Danubian Division. Typically slashes are only used for "organic" units below division-level, not for divisions themselves, which are rarely "organic" to a corps. The sections on the various German, Turkish and Allied units that operated in the Balkans are less detailed, usually mentioning only division-level units. However the small section on the Russian contingent includes a clear error when it states that the initial Russian force was "later joined by the 1st and 3rd [brigades] and grouped in July 1917 into an 18,000-strong division." Readers should see Jamie Cockfield's excellent account of the Russian Expeditionary Force, which has considerable detail on the morale collapse in the Russian 1st and 3rd Brigades stationed in France, and their refusal to be transferred to the Balkan front. Overall, this volume packs considerable amounts of hard-to-find OB data on some of the minor armies of the First World. Other details on uniforms, rank structure and organization are a bonus. However, the pro-Serb bias of the author reduces the comprehensive value of this volume and renders some of its information as suspect.

This publication is of a high quality, and fills a gap in military history in the West. The armies of the Balkan countries are often overlooked whem World War One is discussed. This small book provides the reader with a basic insight into the organisation and capabilities of the Balkan armies. It is recommended for those who wish to gain greater understanding of the role the Balkan armies played in World War One.

Great book. As someone who is interested in this subject, I found it informative and a useful addition to the collection. Good use of illustrations and photographs throughout

This book is a good introductory synthesis of the subject

Otro gran título de Osprey. En esta ocasión da información básica para conocer el estado militar de los países balcánicos durante la Primera Guerra Mundial (Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Rumanía y Bulgaria), así como de otros implicados por vecindad o alianzas: Grecia y Austria-Hungria.También se detiene brevemente en la participación de otras fuerzas que combatieron en la zona apoyando a los ejércitos locales: Rusia, Prusia, Francia, Italia y Gran Bretaña.Cómo siempre la información es solo para adentrarse en la compleja diversidad de estos países y es suficiente para hacerse una idea.Las laminas de Darko Pavlovic una auténtica preciosidad.

Tout d'abord, la qualité des illustrations; il est clair que l'illustrateur ne s'est pas foulé et qu'il a préféré recycler des photos d'époques que de livrer des planches véritablement originales. Ce procédé se retrouve dans les livres Blandford des années 80 et je pensais que de tels raccourcis ne se prenaient plus....Ensuite la qualité des informations; livrer une étude sur les Balkans entre 1914 et 1918 et ne citer qu'une seule fois le nom du Maréchal Franchet d'Esperey relève de la performance. En revanche, l'armée d'Orient est injustement critiquée et souffrait, pour l'auteur Britannique de ce petit livre, d'un 'moral chancelant' ce qui est assez fort lorsque l'on sait que c'est cette armée qui a percé le front et précipité la chute des Empires Centraux qui fut le début de la fin pour l'Allemagne. Le raid sur Uskub qui fut l'un des plus beaux faits d'armes de cavalerie au cours de la première guerre mondiale n'est pas même mentionné; on lit qu'Uskub tombe mais on ne sait pas pourquoi ni à la suite de quoi.En outre, mais c'est sans surprise, Nigel Thomas accorde une importance démesurée aux forces du Royaume-Uni qui pourtant ne firent pas grand-chose, étaient minoritaires sur ce théâtre et ont tout fait pour le quitter avant la fin des hostilités.Les informations fournies sur les autres nations sont assez limitées mais constituent un point de départ pour l'étude uniformologique de ces armées oubliées.En résumé, un Osprey très moyen.