Shifting European balance of power

To better understand the shift in this balance of power, let's look at four 19th Century regions that were largely responsible for the trouble brewing in Europe:

• Western Europe
• The Ottoman Empire
• The Balkans
• Russia

Region #1: Western Europe

By 1810, Napoleon's French Empire extended over much of Western Europe. But by 1815, Napoleon was defeated and lost his empire at the Congress of Vienna. The result was a change in the balance of power in Western Europe. By 1825, the new German Confederation and Austria had grown at the expense of France.

In 1878, after yet another war - this time the Franco-Prussian War - and the peace signed Congress of Berlin, six major powers emerged as shown in the map: Great Britain, the German Empire, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Italy. At the same time these powers were consolidating their empires, another prominent region - the Ottoman Empire - began to experience a loss of power.

Region #2: The Ottoman Empire

Between 1330 and 1699, the Ottoman Empire grew from a tiny kingdom of Ottoman Turks to one of the largest empires in the world.

• Beginning in 1807, however, the Ottoman Empire entered into a period of steep decline - a decline largely due to the growth of Western European empires an the independence movements within some of its colonized regions.
• Its decline began in the early 1800s with minor losss to Russia - Bessarabia in 1812; Abhazia in 1829, and Achalzich in 1829.
• This decline continued for the next 40 years with the loss of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro which were annexed to the Austo-Hungarian Empire; while Serbia and Romania gained their independence in 1878. Following soon thereafter were Greece, Moldavia, and parts of Romania.
• By the time World War I erupted, the Ottoman Empire had also lost its territory in Northern Africa, Kuwait, Bulgaria, Albania, and Macedonia.

When examining these maps, it should be clear that Austro-Hungary and Russia expanded at the expense of the Ottoman Empire - a fact that leads us to a discussion of the last two regions responsible for the events leading us into World War II - the Balkans and Russia.

Region #3: The Balkans

The Balkans include the area that today incorporates lands that were once largely sovereign but came under Ottoman rule after 1699 - Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzgovinia, Montenegro, and Kosovo.

In these maps, you can see the geopolitical significance of the Balkan region - it serves as a land bridge between Europe and Asia, as well as the water route from the Mediteranean to the Black Sea. Consequently, the Balkans have undergone continual foreign invaasions since the beginning of the recorded history of the region.

Historically, the Balkan region consisted of small ethnic nations - most of which were independent at some time in their history - and all of which have sought sovereignty. Let's get a snapshot of what this was like in Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia. The map below shows that by 950, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Serbia were all independent, sovereign entities.

Croatia - became the first independent Balkan state in 925.

• In 1102, Croatia joined a union with Hungary;
• in 1526, it was subsumed by the Hapsbug Monarchy;
• in 1592, it was partially conquered by the Ottomans;
• in 1699, it was under Austrian control with semi-autonomous powers; and
• in 1868, Croatia was merged into the Hungarian-ruled part of Austria-Hungary.

Bulgaria - was an independent empire from 632-1396

• In 1396, it became part of the Ottoman Empire;
• in 1878, it became a small principality with autonomous powers;
• in 1908, it declared independence; and
• between 1912-1913, Bulgaria was involved in the Balkan Wars and its empire expanded.

Serbia - became an independent state in 927

• In 1389, Serbia became part of the Ottoman Empire
• in 1882, it gained independence as the Kingdom of Serbia;
• in 1912, Serbia was involved in the Balkan Wars when it declared war on the Ottoman Empire followed by Bulgaria and Greece.
• by 1913, the Kingdom of Serbia doubled its territory but lost outlets to the Adriatic Sea and Aegean Sea due to Austrian intervention.

Bosnia - became an independent kingdom in 1377

• Before 1377, Bosnia was part of the kingdoms of Serbia and Croatia and then later fell to the Kingdom of Hungary.
• In 1463, Bosnia became part of the Ottoman Empire;
• in 1483, the southern region of Bosnia which is currently known as Herzegovina, became part of the Ottoman Empire;
• in 1878, it was under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; and
• in 1908, the Austo-Hungarian Empire officially annexed the area known as Bosnia-Herzgovina.

As the map below indicates, this is what the Balkan region looked like on the eve of World War I.

Region #4: The Russian Empire

By the middle of the 19th Century, the Russian Empire under Tsar Alexander II took Outer Manchuria from the Chinese Empire and sold Russian America to the United States in 1867.

• In the late 1870s, Russia and the Ottoman Empire clashed in the Balkans. When various Balkan regions arose in rebellion against Ottoman rule , the Ottoman Turks suppressed them. Russia supported liberating the Balkans from Ottoman rule, especially supporting the independence of Bulgaria and Serbia.
• However, at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Russia was only able to get the Ottomans to make Bulgaria an autonomous principality inside the Ottoman Empire.
• Because Austria-Hungary and Germany failed to back Russia in their quest for further Balkan liberation, Russia harbored ill will against both of these growing empires.

Back to World War I