Page:Russian Realities and Problems - ed. James Duff (1917).djvu/35

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P. N. Milyoukov
21

the allies herself. Serbia and Greece answered by concluding a treaty of alliance on May 29, 1913, against Bulgaria, in order to defend their booty. As the treaty of March 13, 1912, provided, in case of conflict between the allies, for arbitration by the Tsar, Russia made an attempt to convoke the quarrelling allies before her tribunal in Petrograd. But at the same time Russian diplomacy made Bulgaria understand that she must yield and make some further concessions to Serbia. This sufficed to make Bulgaria resort to the foolish proceeding of trying a solution by force. On June 29 a sudden attack was made by the Bulgarians on the Serbians and on the Greek army, and then a veritable avalanche of misfortune descended upon Bulgaria. Russia let go Roumania, whose soldiers advanced to Sofia. England did not stop the Turks, who recaptured Adrianople and passed on to Bulgarian territory. At the same time the Greeks reached the frontier of the kingdom at Djumaya; while the Serbians were besieging Vidin. After two weeks of unequal struggle, Bulgaria appealed to Europe. Two weeks later she asked Roumania to mediate. On July 30 negotiations were opened at Bucharest, and on August 10 a hasty peace was concluded which simply mutilated Bulgaria and distributed Balkan territory among the victors as if no ethnography existed. Thus the work of the Balkan union was utterly spoilt, and it was the Austro-Germans who really won the victory at Bucharest.

At the beginning of 1914 I wrote in the Report of the Carnegie Commission sent to inquire into the causes and conduct of the Balkan wars: "The treaty of Bucharest has sown a new seed of discord in its violation