Great War

The Great War, also known as the World War, was a major great power conflict fought between the Entente and the Central Powers from 1913 to 1919.

Albanian Crisis
Following the Balkan War, the Tsardom of Bulgaria had achieved many of its irredentist goals of a Greater Bulgaria, which had been laid out in the 1878 Treaty of San Stefano. Bulgaria had taken control of almost all of the region of Macedonia, with its neighbors and former allies, Serbia and Greece, left with very little. Serbia and Greece would both lay claim to Albania. In the immediate aftermath of the Balkan War, Albania was occupied three ways between Serbia, Greece, and a variety of independent warlords.

On February 5 1913, the Albanian nationalist guerrilla Riza Bey Gjakova chaired a makeshift national assembly, which would elect Bajram Curri as its speaker. The National Assembly quickly declared independence and demanded the withdrawal of Serbia and Greece from the country. The declaration of independence included a notable amendment from Azem Galica which declared the Serbian territory of Kosovo under the Albanian government. The well-known Albanian nationalist Ismail Qemali was elected the head of the Provisional Government, with a rival government, the Republic of Central Albania, also being formed under Essad Pasha Toptani. Albania would become a standoff between Serbian, Greek, Montenegrin, and various Albanian governments and armed forces, with widespread violence occurring between various ethnic militias.

Intervention by the Central Powers
Serbia and Greece were both allies of the Russia and the Habsburg Empire, and had already received the nations' backing in their claims to Albania. Throughout March and April of 1913, the Albanian provisional government would appeal for diplomatic support from the other powers in Europe: Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy. Britain and Germany both sympathized for the Albanian nationalists, but Italy was the most receptive to Albania's continuous lobbying. Writers Giovanni Gentile and Gabriele d'Annunzio rose to prominence for their support of irredentism and declaring Albania under Italian protection. Opposition to intervention was led by former Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti, but Prime Minister Sidney Sonnino would eventually voice his support for intervention.

Italy formally recognized Albania on May 7, though they Kosovo was not recognized as within its territory. Serbia, Greece, and Russia publicly denounced the decision. Military forces built up on the Albanian border, and Sonnino stationed 9,000 troops in Albania on May 17. Germany, an Italian ally, would recognize Albania shortly afterwards on May 19. Germany would convince the Ottoman Empire, recently defeated by Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia in the Balkan War, to recognize the independence of Albania on May 30.

As a result of Central Powers influence, the pro-German Hasan Prishtina and former Ottoman nobility would grow to dominate the provisional government. Toptani would dissolve the Republic of Central Albania in June, joining a new Governing Council consisting of himself, Ismail Qemali, and three former Ottoman officials: Turhan Pasha Përmeti, Aziz Vrioni, and Mihal Turtulli. On June 11, the Governing Council presented to the Assembly a report supporting the election of a monarch for Albania, with the German Prince Wilhelm zu Weid being the recommended candidate. With the support of the Italians, Prince Wilhelm would be proclaimed the Prince of Albania on June 15, with Essad Pasha Toptani serving as Prime Minister. The proclamation would trigger an uprising by Haxhi Qamili, which would be put down by Albanian commander Isa Boletini. Toptani was the main leader of Albanian government, with Ismail Qemali sidelined and accused of being a Greek collaborationist. Foreign policy in the Principality of Albania would be controlled mainly by German and Italian diplomats.

Escalation
Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro had already been in a state of war with the Albanian provisional government. The region of Northern Epirus, in the south of Albania, had declared independence in May as the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus, and was considered a puppet state of Greece.

On June 28 1913, Russia issued an ultimatum for Germany and Italy to withdraw from Albania. The ultimatum would be refused, and Germany and Italy would order a partial mobilization of their militaries. Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II would have correspond privately, with Russia eventually stating they would fully back Serbia. The Russian decision was influenced by the Black Hundreds, a monarchist and ultranationalist movement. French President Raymond Poincare would publicly support the Russian ultimatum, and on July 4 the French Parliament issued a declaration denouncing Prince Wilhelm's government in Albania and reaffirming French claims to Alsace-Lorraine, which had been annexed by Germany after the Franco-Prussian War. The Parliament was controlled by the Boulangists, a nationalist party, which would further stoke pro-war sentiments in France. While Poincare was not a Boulangist, he shared their revanchist interests in Alsace-Lorraine.

Mobilization
Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro would begin their mobilization on June 12 in preparation to invade Albania, triggering Italy to declare full mobilization, with Foreign Minister Antonio Salandra declaring the government's intention to protect Albanian independence. The German Foreign Minister, Gottlieb von Jagow, would issue a similar statement on June 14. Within hours of the German statement, President Poincare had ordered a general mobilization, and Germany would do the same before the end of the day.

The Hapsburg Empire, under Emperor Franz-Ferdinand, attempted to lead negotiations. The Hapsburgs had alliances with Russia and Serbia, along with a strong and long-lasting alliance with France, but Franz-Ferdinand had personal sympathies with Germany and Italy. The Emperor, and the ministers of the Kingdoms that constituted the Hapsburg Empire, signed a joint request for a Congress of Nations to resolve the growing tensions, though the plan didn't progress further. On July 17, France would officially call the alliance into effect, and Emperor Franz-Ferdinand would reluctantly mobilize on July 20.

The War Begins
The first fighting of the Great War would take place in Northern Epirus between Greek and Albanian soldiers on July 22, 1913. Prince Wilhelm had to be woken up in order to inform Italy and Germany of the outbreak of war. The Italian government would declare war on Serbia and Greece later that day, with the Russian government declaring war on Italy the day after that. In Saint Petersburg, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov shared a tearful exchange with German Ambassador Friedrich von Pourtalès following the German declaration of war upon Russia. France declared war on Italy and Germany on the same day as well.

Immediate reactions in Europe to the outbreak of war were enthusiastic and heavily patriotic, with massive celebrations occurring in Berlin, Vienna, and Rome. A similar celebratory crowd would take hold of Paris, despite looming threats of a general strike which had influenced Poincare to consider fleeing the city. In Saint Petersburg and Moscow, however, there was no clear reaction to the declaration of war, with the key Russian cities quieter than they normally would be.

Course of the War
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Opposition to the War
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Aftermath
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