The Balkan Wars Through The Eyes Of The New York Times

Abstract

The Balkan Wars are considered one of the biggest defeats in the Turkish war history. The first phase of the war continued intermittently from September 1912, to October 1913 would cause almost the collapse of the Ottoman state. The defeats of the Ottoman army on all fronts, the loss of important cities in the Balkans one after another and the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish army demonstrated the difficult situation that the country has fallen into. The Ottoman government that had to sign armistice and peace in the face of losing Istanbul was able to get back some of the lost territory in the second phase of the war growing out of the problems of the triumphant Balkan states. This arduous period seen as a rehearsal for the First World War was followed closely by the whole World. The developments were communicated to the world public through the newspapers. Being relatively out of the European political delusion, the American public shown interest in these developments. How did the Americans perceive these developments in the Balkans? How did they communicate the wars between the Balkan allies and the Ottoman army to their own public? Within the frame of such questions, the main aim of this study is to discuss in details the Balkan Wars from the perspective of the New York Times, one of the most important newspapers of America.

Keywords

• Balkan Wars, Western Public Opinion, New York Times, Turkish Army, Balkan Nations

NEW YORK TIMES GAZETESİ’NİN GÖZÜYLE BALKAN SAVAŞLARI

Öz

Balkan Savaşları Türk harp tarihindeki en büyük mağlubiyetlerinden biri olarak telakki edilir. Ekim 1912’den Eylül 1913’e kadar aralıklı olarak devam eden savaşın birinci aşaması özellikle Osmanlı devletinin neredeyse tarih sahnesinden silinmesine sebep olacaktı. Osmanlı ordusunun savaşın başlamasıyla birlikte hemen her cephede mağlubiyetler alması, önemli Balkan şehirlerini bir biri ardına kaybetmesi ve geri çekilmesi ülkenin içine düştüğü zor durumu da gözler önüne seriyordu. İstanbul’un kaybedilme tehlikesi karşısında ateşkes ve barış yapmak zorunda kalan Osmanlı hükümeti bir süre sonra muzaffer Balkan devletlerinin kendi aralarındaki problemlerden kaynaklanan savaşın ikinci aşamasında kaybettiği topraklardan bir kısmını geri almayı başarmıştı. Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nın provası olarak görülen bu çetin süreç bütün dünya tarafından yakından takip edilmişti. Gelişmeler dünya kamuoyuna gazeteler vasıtasıyla aktarılıyordu. Nispeten Avrupa’nın politik oyunlarının dışında kalan Amerikan kamuoyu da bu gelişmelere ilgi göstermişti. Amerikalılar Balkanlardaki bu gelişmeleri nasıl karşılamışlardı? Balkan müttefikleri ve Osmanlı orduları arasındaki savaşları kendi kamuoylarına nasıl aktarmışlardı? Bu çalışmanın amacı bu tür sorular çerçevesinde Amerika’nın en önemli gazetelerinden biri olan New York Times’ın bakış açısıyla Balkan Savaşları’nın ayrıntılı olarak ele alınmasıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Balkan Savaşları, Batı Kamuoyu, New York Times, Türk Ordusu, Balkan Milletleri

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