In 1895, the region of Austrian Macedonia was caught in a wave, with demonstrations demanding autonomy in Ptolemy, Thessaloniki, Serre and other places, with as many as 50,000 local people participating.

If you look closely, you will see that the people who are protesting are mostly of Greek origin. Obviously, it's clear who is behind this scene.

Sure enough, a week after the demonstrations, Greece sent a note to the Ottomans, asking them to respect the will of the people of Austrian Macedonia and grant them autonomy.

Faced with the impudent demands of Greece, the Ottomans refused on the spot. Knowing that words could not achieve its goals, Greece declared war on the Ottoman Empire on August 1, 1895.

Tiny Greece dared to face the Ottoman Empire, who gave them the courage?

Greeks all over the world raised more than 1.6 million pounds for the war in the Kingdom of Greece, especially in the United States, where Greek Americans accounted for 40% of the donations.

Britain and France also sold a sum of arms to it behind the scenes, especially with the two 10,000-ton warships Trafalgar and the Nile, which gave Greece an absolute advantage at sea.

Well, it is fair to say that in addition to the Greeks themselves, and the Anglo-French behind them, Italy and Bulgaria also gave part of their courage.

That's right, Italy and Bulgaria.

Due to the poor performance of the Ottoman army in the previous battles between the two countries with the Ottomans, there is a feeling in Greece that I can do it.

Of course, in addition to this feeling, there are some practical facts that make the Greeks think they have a chance of winning.

The reason is that the current Ottoman garrison in Macedonia is very embarrassing, because there is only a narrow coastal strip in their hands, so that the Ottomans do not dare to place too many troops in Austrian Macedonia, for fear that Bulgaria will cut off the connection between Austrian Macedonia and the mainland with a single charge, as in the last war. So at the moment there is only one Macedonian army group, more than 50,000 people.

That's right, the Ottomans believed that the number one threat in the Balkans at the moment was Bulgaria, which they had beaten last time. Therefore, in order to deal with the threat from Bulgaria, the Ottomans stationed their most elite Thracian First Army in Adrianople, with the size of six divisions and the establishment of 100,000 people, making it the most effective fist force in the hands of the Ottomans. Moreover, this group army is also a unit that is given priority to the training of the German advisory group, and it is very guaranteed in terms of combat effectiveness.

Moreover, the defense policy formulated by the Ottomans was also aimed at Bulgaria, which was already facing Adrianople, the last fortress city of Istanbul.

And Greece was based on the deployment of the Ottoman army, so it thought it had a chance of winning.

After the start of the war, concentrate forces to quickly defeat the Ottoman Macedonian army, so that the Greek army can rely on the narrow coastal road to block the reinforcements of the Ottoman army, and thus effectively occupy the entire area of Austrian Macedonia. Except that Bulgaria allowed the Ottoman troops to cross the border, but with Bulgaria's relationship with the Ottomans, this is not even a matter of thought. Even if Bulgaria really allowed it, the Ottomans would not have dared it.

The Greeks, who were preparing for war, thought they were eighty percent of them, so they could not wait to declare war on the Ottomans.

And Greece's ambitions naturally attracted the attention of all countries, and Italy, as one of the interests of the Balkans, certainly did not miss this war.

No, Carlo gathered with Prime Minister Antonio, Field Marshal Cadorna, Minister of War, and General Simeone, Chief of the General Staff, to talk about the war between the Ottomans and the Greeks.

"Your Majesty, colleagues, after the declaration of war between Greece and the Ottomans, its troops on the border have crossed the border and invaded the territory of Austrian Macedonia. At present, the Greek army is divided into two parts, of which the First Army, commanded by Crown Prince Constantine, departed from Thessaly and has reached Katerini in Austrian Macedonia. Its target is the core city of Seloniki, the core city of Austrian Macedonia, which is its main force, with 76,000 men and 263 artillery pieces.

The other 19,000-strong Greek army set out from Epirus and aimed directly at Ptolemy, believing that after taking the place, he would join his Crown Prince's First Army. And at sea, the warships of the Greek Navy have already gone to sea, led by two 10,000-ton warships Eflov and Lemnos, which have blocked the Dardanelles.

In addition, the Second Army is currently being mobilized in Greece, but due to weapons and personnel, it will take at least 20 days to complete the formation. ”

The speaker was the Chief of the General Staff, General Simeone, who was on the map with his baton, explaining the dynamics of the Greek army to Carlo and his colleagues.

"And what about the Ottoman side? Do they have anything to deal with? ”

At this time, Antonio, as the prime minister, couldn't help but ask.

In response to the Prime Minister's inquiry, Admiral Simeone spoke immediately. "As for the response of the Ottoman army, according to the information we have received, its Macedonian army group has retreated to Seloniki."

"Gone?"

Admiral Simeone's words surprised the group.

"Yes, that's all the Ottoman intelligence at the moment, of course, it can't rule out its secret operations, but with Ottoman secrecy, I don't think it's very likely."

Well, knowing what they were thinking, Simeone just spoke more. Obviously, this kind of questioning the military's battlefield intelligence gathering capabilities is simply not advisable.

"The Ottomans were so slow to move in the face of the Greek offensive that they were worried about Bulgaria?"

Suddenly, this sentence made everyone's eyes light up.

"It is indeed possible that if the Ottomans could not be sure of what Bulgaria really thought, the forces it placed in Adrianople would not dare to be used at all, and not only could not be used, but also needed to be strengthened. If so, it makes sense. ”

The Chief of the General Staff, Simeone, looked at the map and muttered to himself.

"Then why did Bulgaria help Greece, did they make some secret agreement? No, with the relationship between our country and Bulgaria, even if there is a secret agreement, there should be some hint. ”

Foreign Minister Bakona asked his own questions.

Do not doubt the influence of Italy in Bulgaria, which is currently a priority in Bulgarian diplomacy. Because Italy is the most needed and important ally of Bulgaria at the moment, Bulgaria generally does not hide from Italy. And Greece does not have good relations with Bulgaria, and it is difficult to believe that the two will be close, because they have an irreconcilable contradiction, and that is Seloniki. This largest port in Macedonia will not be willing to see it fall into the hands of the other.

"Maybe Bulgaria doesn't have any connection with Greece, but simply wants to keep the two sides fighting?"

The prime minister's point of view has made everyone's eyes shine.

It's really possible, both sides of the war are their own enemies, so why not let them continue to fight. If this can make sense, it is cost-effective to give the much weaker Greece an advantage in the early stage, and then let the two sides continue to fight and expand the losses.

The prime minister is indeed the prime minister, and the ensuing battle situation is really as expected. Bulgaria's abnormal movements on the border did not make the Ottomans dare not relax, so the Thracian First Army in Adrianople did not dare to move at all, and could only send reinforcements from Istanbul.

Istanbul sent reinforcements from three divisions and rushed all the way to Seloniki.

And on the side of the Greek army, the fierce siege of Seloniki was raging.

The Greek army, which had superior forces and firepower, constantly launched attacks on the Ottoman defenders.

However, the Greek army was unsuccessful in the face of the resistance of the defenders.

The excellent command of the Turkish commander Karamustafa led the Greek army to a loss of 18,000 men in a twelve-day siege battle, and still failed to capture the city.

Being dragged in Seloniki for a long time put the Greek army in danger. Sure enough, after the arrival of reinforcements from the three divisions, the commander of the Greek army, Crown Prince Konstantin, could only announce the withdrawal of Seloniki and retreat to the border. Originally, according to the words of the crown prince, considering that the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted by the long-term attack, they slowly retreated to rely on the fortifications to defend.

But this order turned out to be a major mistake.

The commander of the Turkish army, Karamustafa, took advantage of the chaotic retreat of the Greek army and gave it a go. The retreating Greek army was held back by the menacing Ottoman army and fell into chaos in panic. The Ottoman army, which was overwhelmed by the whole army, was even more demoralized, and a great victory took place outside the city of Seloniki.

The Greek army withdrew to the territory of only 57,000 men, and all the weapons were lost, and more importantly, most of the artillery they were carrying.

Such a tragic situation has destroyed all Greek ambitions. The morale of the retreating army was completely lost, and it was not easy to put it in order.

Moreover, the victorious Ottoman army was even closer to the border, and the Greek army, which had lost heavy firepower, could only try to resist by taking advantage of the terrain.

However, resistance was futile, and after the loss of heavy firepower, the Greek army suffered one defeat after another. In the vicinity of the cities of Fasalu, Veillustinon, Pigatia, Alta and Prefza, Greece had to ask for an armistice.

Not to mention the loss of Greek troops in this battle, years of hard work have also been in vain, which is a tragic word.

After the mediation of various countries, Greece paid 2 million pounds in reparations to the Ottomans, and ceded several key points to Thessaly, and the war ended.

In this war, the poor performance of the Greeks made the countries look at the Ottomans. It also made the Balkan countries, which were all about to quarrel, a lot calmer again, and I don't know if this is a good thing.

But whether it's a good thing or not, it doesn't matter to the Italian Navy, because they have more important things to do.