October 8, 1912 · Balkans — Political Theater
October 8, 1912
Montenegro opened hostilities against the Ottoman Empire on October 8, 1912, with the other three Balkan League members — Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece — declaring war ten days later on October 17–18. The coordinated declaration stunned European chancelleries, which had been attempting to broker a settlement between the League and the Porte. Four separate armies totaling roughly 750,000 men mobilized almost simultaneously across a front stretching from Montenegro in the northwest to Thrace in the east.
Commanders