@Mertiy7
I was raised listening to my grandma telling me stories of how her grandfather was tortured and executed, and how her grandma raped and half of her kids killed in her village near Drama/Greece. My great great grandma had to walk to Constantinople, losing one more child, only one surviving, my great grandma. My entire life I hated Greeks and Greece for it, until I listened to what their ancestors had gone through in the hands of mine. The past is full of horrible atrocities done by our ancestors who weren't necessarily bad people, but they all thought they were righteous in their actions. I just hope we are better than our ancestors. Greetings from a Turk
@СветлинЦолов
As a bulgarian orthodox,this is the best video of the Balkan wars i have ever seen. For every Balkan reader-Peace brothers! 🇧🇬🇷🇸🇦🇱🇬🇷🇹🇷
@KunChou
This take on the Balkan Wars is much more humanist than any depiction of them in Balkan history books. I'm Bulgarian and our history books at school glorified the First Balkan War as the pinnacle of Bulgarian courage and military prowess. That part was pretty much true, but they conveniently omitted the part where Bulgarian troops destroyed villages and committed atrocities against Muslims and Greeks. From what I've seen, history books in my neighbouring countries follow the same pattern, glorifying their militaries and turning a blind eye to their atrocities. And this is the first time I've heard of Romanian troops suffering such high casualties from cholera while not really facing any serious military resistance from Bulgaria. Thanks for the nuanced look at these wars and for recognising that for all the glory and pride, they were also a source of tremendous tragedy!
@hilding2063
Can't believe this wasn't covered in school at all, it's so essential to explain WW1.
@matthewwhitton5720
Marvelous ! Not the horrendous extent of both military and, particularly, civilian agony throughout this conflict, but, the fact that this stellar channel has turned its expectedly nuanced and detailed attention to this seminal war. Many thanks ( from an enthusiast for Balkan history ).
@burimtafilica4933
I'm from Shkoder (Scutari), Albania. My great grandfather died in the trenches by a sharpshooter's shot. A Montenegrin shell had fallen on the rooftop of the house, causing it to collapse. It left my then baby grandfather with a huge scar running through his forehead. I saw that scar as a child before he died. I'm 34 and I've seen a scar from that war. Strange thing. That war isn't as far in the past as it looks today.
@johnmullen7775
Again, accurate, unbiased, and un-sanitized narrative of an important episode of history. Great work from the Great War team.
@Arhiroukounas
a byproduct of the Balkan Wars was the concept of population exchanges(basically an idea of Greek diplomats).It started with Greece and Bulagaria exchanging populations from Macedonia and Eastern Rumelia(southern Bulagaria) but that was dwarfed by the Greek-Turkish population exchange in 1923-1924(more than two million people involved)
@Oliverg8sr
I am so pleased to have found this channel. I only found out about the Balkan wars long after my History A level which went long on the causes of the First World War but never mentioned these important events.
@alexandrosgialamidis430
Fun fact: that Greek heavy cruiser you mentioned, is still in service in Greece as a museum
@hunter-9957
Amazing well made documentaries! Really enjoy watching them, thank you!
@dadanene1197
It can not be coincidence that you pronounce most of the names as the native speakers do! Big admiration for this.
@demonblood8841
This is briefly covered in a Netflix documentary which i recently watched(The long road to war) but you have given alot more detail. Great stuff as always
@maximillianschonhausen
Thanks Jesse, love your work. Quite the challenge to retell the Balkan wars in 30 minutes. Incredibly confusing and chaotic episode of Balkan history. Not that Balkan history tends to be uncomplicated in otherr epochs either of course.
@samkitty5894
My great grandfather fought in the Balkan war, in WW I, Spanish civil war, and in WW II. He's my hero and role model. The stories he could tell... the horrors he survived...
@PMG_89
Excellent work, guys. Literally, the only nitpick is that the final borders didn't show Strumitsa (a tiny region that looks like a tiny tumor next to the Greek border) as Bulgarian. That was one of the compromises Russia arranged.
@mammuchan8923
Superb work Jesse and team. Having a look through your sources, it must have been a very complex video to write. Also fantastic photos that I haven’t seen before. A fascinating though heartbreaking episode. Terrible to think that as bad as the suffering was that was experienced in these wars, it would turn out to be a mere prelude before the fast approaching apocalypse. This episode gave great insight into some of the attitudes, rivalries, and thirst for revenge that were still so fresh by 1914. You did an excellent job of carrying the feeling of dread through the episode. Time for a rewatch of the channel from the beginning ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
@jonathandentler7158
Extremely well done, yet again. The way this channel balances a popular and accessible approach to complex and contested histories with real nuance is truly commendable.
@connorstevenson1173
Happy to see this channel continues. The balkan wars are a critical part of world history
@TheGreatWar