Serbia at war with Turkey
On 2 November 1914 Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire. It did so on the same day on which Russia declared war on Turkey, Russia being Serbia’s chief protector. The government in Niš, as in August when it declared war on Germany, stood beside its allies against another state that had joined Austria-Hungary.
Serbs and Turks were divided by fresh memories of war. In the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 Serbia, together with Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro, had taken almost all the empire’s possessions in Europe, occupying among other things Kosovo and a large part of Macedonia. Serbia signed its peace treaty with Turkey in Constantinople only on 14 March 1914, just a few months before the outbreak of the world war. Peace between the two states thus lasted less than eight months.
The declaration had no military significance. After the Balkan Wars the Ottoman Empire had kept in Europe only a scrap of Thrace around Constantinople, and Bulgaria and Greece separated it from Serbia. The two armies never clashed in this war. Serbia in any case had no strength for new fronts. Since August it had been repelling successive Austro-Hungarian offensives, and its exhausted army, short of ammunition, was just then withdrawing from the Drina into the interior of the country.
In Constantinople the war meant the end of the Serbian diplomatic mission. On 11 November the Turkish police entered the Serbian legation, as they did the British and French embassies, searching for hidden radio stations. The ambassador of the neutral United States, Henry Morgenthau, protested, and on 15 November had the legation building sealed.
A state of war with Turkey also arose in the case of Montenegro, although here the matter is less clear. Some studies state that Montenegro declared war on Turkey on 3 November 1914, while in other lists of the period this declaration does not appear. According to the historian of the Balkan Wars Richard Hall, Montenegro never signed a peace treaty with Turkey after the Balkan Wars. Either way, in the fatwa on holy war proclaimed in Constantinople on 14 November, Serbia and Montenegro were named as enemies of Islam alongside Russia, Great Britain and France.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 2 November 1914 · Middle EastIndia guarantees the inviolability of the holy places of IslamOn 2 November 1914 the Viceroy of India said Britain would not attack the holy places of Arabia and Mesopotamia or Jeddah if the Turks let pilgrims through.
- 2 November 1914 · Middle EastIndian Expeditionary Force "F" sails for EgyptAt the beginning of November 1914 three new Indian brigades sailed from India for Egypt. They were to defend the Suez Canal against the Turks.
- 2 November 1914 · Asia and the PacificSinking of the cruiser Kaiserin ElisabethOn 2 November 1914 the crew of the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth scuttled her in the harbour of Tsingtao. The sailors fought on ashore.
- 2 November 1914 · Eastern FrontEnd of the Battle of ChyrówOn 2 November 1914 the Battle of Chyrów ended. During the night the Austro-Hungarian armies began to withdraw, and Brusilov set off in pursuit.
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- 6 August 1914 · Balkan FrontSerbia declares war on GermanyOn 6 August 1914 Serbia declared war on Germany, ally of Austria-Hungary. The two states had no common border, but the declaration was a political statement.
- 2 February 1915 · Balkan FrontEntente opposes intervention in AlbaniaAccording to a British chronology, on 2 February 1915 the Entente advised Greece, Serbia and Montenegro not to enter Albania, mindful of Italy's interests.
- 28 July 1914 · Balkan FrontAustria-Hungary declares war on SerbiaOn 28 July 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia by telegram. That same night Belgrade was shelled and the First World War began.