In 1913, the first Balkan War was over. The map of the Balkans had been redrawn. The Ottoman Empire was all but evicted from Europe. And all this had happened with Austria, supposedly a great power, watching from right next door, but powerless to influence any of these events.

Austria-Hungary had instead gotten into internal bickering about the failings of the military

and the scandalous treason of Alfred Radell.

And while Austrians fought among themselves, Russian diplomacy, not Austrian, was carrying the day in the Balkans.

And things got even worse when just a few weeks after the treaty ending the first Balkan war was

signed, the second Balkan War erupted.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Music Welcome to the history of the 20th century. Episode 71, Like a Sinking Ship.

Two weeks ago, you'll recall, we watched the first Balkan War unfold in episode 69. As the name implies, there's going to be a

second Balkan War, and it's coming sooner rather than later. In fact, in just a few weeks and in this episode.

But first, a moment of review. The first Balkan War ended with the signing of the Treaty of London on May 30, 1913. London was the

site of months of negotiations that led to this agreement. I talked about the Radal spy scandal

last week, which came to light at about the same time, and it of course attracted a lot of

press and public attention in Austria.

By the end of the war, the only Ottoman territories left in Europe were, in the east, Constantinople

and environs, and a little sliver of land on the European side of the darn denels. In the west,

Ottoman forces had withdrawn into Albania. The great powers at the

London Conference wanted Albania to remain in the Ottoman Empire technically, while having local

autonomy, the same arrangement that Serbia and Montenegro and Bulgaria had had at various times in the

past. As of the signing of the treaty in May, the exact borders

of Albania had not yet been decided. The great powers reserved to themselves the right to work

out the final borders of Albania, which would take the rest of the year. The thing is, there's

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