Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 644 Alliance of Small Countries
While France and Russia formed an alliance, other smaller nations were also negotiating. Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro discussed forming an alliance in Athens. Bulgarians were also involved.

The Bulgarians began to divide after Nasser al-Din became Sultan, especially after the establishment of the Bosnian Autonomous Region. They split into an autonomous faction and an independence faction; those who came to Athens this time were from the independence faction.

Their goals were the same: to fight the Ottomans and reclaim lost territory. But upon contact, a problem arose: the Russians had promised Macedonia to two countries and one organization. How this would be divided in the future was uncertain.

The question was first sharply raised by the Serbian representative, Milos Petrović, a radical nationalist who dreamed of restoring the glory of the medieval Serbian Empire, with Macedonia at its core.

"Gentlemen," Petrovich tapped the map, pointing to Macedonia's location, his voice laced with suppressed anger, "I have received clear assurances from St. Petersburg that Serbia has historical rights to Macedonia! This is the reward we deserve for participating in this sacred war!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Colonel Stefanos Korglou, the Greek representative, retorted with a sneer: "Mr. Petrovich, I'm afraid you've misunderstood your Russian friend. Macedonia, especially its southern and coastal regions, including Thessaloniki, has been an inseparable part of Greece since ancient times! It is home to tens of thousands of Greek compatriots and is dotted with historical sites from ancient Greece and Byzantium. Russia's commitment is clearly based on national and historical facts!"

Christo Botev, the leader of the Bulgarian independence movement, stood up. He was a poet and revolutionary, but now he was also filled with the anger of being deceived. "Gentlemen! You are dividing up a piece of land that is not yet in our hands, yet you seem to have forgotten that the heartland of Macedonia is inhabited by the largest number of Bulgarians! According to the promises of St. Petersburg, a vast Bulgarian state will be established, and Macedonia will be its natural core! Russian diplomats told us this themselves!"

The room erupted in chaos. The Russians were like the false mother in the famous story of King Solomon's judgment, who, to save her child's life, was willing to split the child in two. Now, every country claimed to be the true mother and wanted the whole child.

"Enough!" Colonel Koglou of Greece slammed his fist on the table. "We've all been tricked! The Russians have manipulated us! They gave everyone a blank check just to make us risk our lives for them!"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads. The argument gradually subsided, replaced by a sense of shame at being fooled and a deep anxiety.

"So what do we do now?" Serbia's Petrovic asked grimly. "Are we going to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely destroy Ottoman rule in the Balkans just because of a dispute over the spoils?"

“Of course not.” Colonel Kolgru took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “The war must continue, and Naserdin must be defeated. But we cannot rely entirely on Russia’s promises. We must decide the landscape of this place ourselves.”

A brief silence fell over the room, broken only by heavy breathing. The Russians' duplicity infuriated them, but Colonel Korgor was right; the opportunity to defeat the Ottomans could not be abandoned.

"We decide for ourselves?" the Montenegrin representative spoke, his voice carrying the straightforwardness characteristic of mountain people. "How do we decide? By continuing to argue here, or like the tribes in the mountains, whoever seizes it gets it?"

A resolute glint flashed in Botev's eyes: "Perhaps, His Excellency Marco has hit the nail on the head. If we can't settle it at the negotiating table, then let's settle it on the battlefield! Whoever makes the greater sacrifices, whoever conquers more territory, will have a greater say in the future division!"

This proposal, tinged with bloodshed, surprisingly resonated with the current atmosphere of despair and anxiety. It bypassed the unsolvable historical and ethnic debates, crudely transforming a political issue into a military competition. Petrovich was the first to respond: "I agree! Let the courage and blood of our soldiers prove who is worthy of Macedonia! I propose that we sign an alliance treaty based on military action, not a detailed list!"

Colonel Korglou weighed the pros and cons. The Greek navy was strong, but its army was relatively weak, putting it at a disadvantage against the Serbs and Bulgarians in the inland struggle for control of the Macedonian heartland. However, he also had his own leverage; Greece's objectives were very clear: to seize Thessaloniki, a crucial Aegean port, and the southern coast of Thrace. These objectives were relatively limited and specific, and could be achieved through naval blockade and key amphibious landings.

“Yes,” Korghlu nodded slowly, “but we can’t have completely disorderly competition, that would benefit the Ottomans. We need a basic framework.”

After another round of intense but purposeful arguments, the outline of the "Athens Alliance Agreement," full of Balkan shrewdness and compromise, gradually took shape.

The treaty did not predetermine the exact ownership of Macedonia and Thrace, but stipulated that the final division would be based on the "line of actual control" and "military contribution" after the war.

Serbia pledged to deploy its main forces to launch an offensive from the north against Ottoman-controlled northern Macedonia and Kosovo. Its primary operational direction was implicitly assumed to be Skopje and the area to its north.

Bulgarian insurgents and volunteers will cooperate with the Serbian operation and launch an offensive in the Rhodope Mountains on the eastern front to tie down Turkish forces. Their main areas of interest are implicitly considered to be eastern Macedonia and northern Thrace.

Greece was responsible for blockading the Ottoman Aegean coast by sea and for using its main land forces to attack Thessaly and Epirus, with the ultimate goal of capturing Thessaloniki. The treaty tacitly granted Greece priority claims to Thessaloniki and the surrounding coastal areas, which was a prerequisite for Greece's agreement to the vague demarcation of the Macedonian interior.

Montenegro used its mountain warfare advantage to launch attacks along Albania's northern border, tying down Ottoman forces.

All parties pledged to provide each other with necessary intelligence support during the war and refrain from attacking allied forces. It was agreed that in areas occupied by one side, other allied forces must withdraw within a specified period at the other side's request to avoid direct conflict.

Regarding Russia, all parties pledged to continue accepting Russian weapons, funding, and advisory assistance, using Russia to enhance their own strength and accumulate capital for the post-war struggle.

When the delegates finally signed the documents, no one felt joy, only a heavy sense of impending doom. They all knew that even if the Ottomans were defeated, the flames of war in the Balkans were far from extinguished, and they would soon transform from allies into direct rivals. But until then, the fight against the Ottomans was the priority.

(End of this chapter)