Spring of 1912 in the Balkans began restlessly.
In Belgrade this could be felt even in everyday city life. Arguments in the markets became louder than usual, newspapers sold faster, and in cafés people discussed news from the Ottoman Empire. At first the conversations concerned Italy's war in Libya, but now another word was being heard more and more often.
Albania.
Skoropadskyi noticed this almost immediately. Every morning fresh newspapers were brought to the Russian mission. Serbian, Austrian, French. Sometimes even Turkish.
One day a diplomat from the mission placed a new newspaper on the table.
—"News from Kosovo."
Skoropadskyi raised his eyes.
—"More unrest?"
—"No. An uprising."
He unfolded the newspaper.
ALBANIAN UNITS CAPTURE CITIES
OTTOMAN GARRISONS RETREAT
Skoropadskyi read silently for a moment.
—"Where exactly?"
The diplomat walked to the map.
—"First northern Albania. Then Kosovo. Now disturbances are reaching Skopje."
He ran his finger across the map.
—"Peć. Prizren. Gjakova."
Skoropadskyi said calmly:
—"This is no longer a rebellion."
—"Yes."
A short pause followed.
—"This is war."
High in the mountains of Kosovo the spring was cold.
An Ottoman column was moving along a narrow road between the cliffs. Scouts walked ahead, followed by infantry. Horses pulled small artillery wagons.
The commander of the column rode at the front.
He was irritated.
—"They say it is only a few bands."
An officer beside him shrugged.
—"Then why are the garrisons retreating?"
He did not have time to answer.
The mountain slopes suddenly came alive.
Shots rang out.
Albanian riflemen opened fire from above.
Bullets struck the column.
The soldiers tried to form up.
—"Take cover!"
But there was almost no cover.
Only rocks and a narrow road.
The Albanians knew this terrain better.
They fired from behind rocks, from bushes, from small stone shelters.
Within minutes the column began to retreat.
The commander understood the main thing.
This was not a random ambush.
This was an organized attack.
When the column finally escaped the gorge, it had lost almost a third of its men.
The Albanians did not pursue.
They had already achieved their goal.
The road remained in their hands.
A few days later the rebels approached one of the towns.
The garrison was small.
The Ottoman governor paced nervously around the room.
—"How many are there?"
An officer answered:
—"Several hundred."
—"That is impossible. We have more soldiers."
The officer remained silent.
He understood that the problem was not numbers.
The soldiers were demoralized.
Communication with other garrisons had been cut.
And armed men were already gathering around the town.
By evening shooting began on the outskirts.
Albanian detachments moved quickly.
They took one street after another.
The garrison tried to hold its positions, but after a few hours it became clear that the defense would not hold.
The governor made a decision.
—"We retreat."
During the night the Ottoman soldiers abandoned the town.
In the morning the gates opened.
Albanian fighters entered.
Residents watched from their windows.
One of the leaders of the uprising stopped in the town square.
He looked at the gathered people.
—"This land no longer belongs to Istanbul."
In Istanbul the news caused alarm.
Ottoman officers gathered at headquarters.
Maps of the Balkans lay on the table.
One general said:
—"We are losing control."
Another replied:
—"The army is engaged in Libya."
A third added:
—"The Italians hold the coast."
The general ran his hand across the map tiredly.
—"We cannot fight in Africa and suppress a rebellion in the Balkans at the same time."
A young officer said:
—"We must transfer troops."
—"From where?"
No answer followed.
Everyone understood the problem.
The empire was too large.
And too weakened.
***
In Belgrade the news of the uprising was discussed almost every day.
In the officers' club a map lay on the table.
Serbian officers studied it carefully.
—"The Albanians have taken Prizren."
—"And Peć."
—"The Ottomans are retreating."
Skoropadskyi listened calmly.
One of the officers turned toward him.
—"What do you think, Colonel… will the Ottoman Empire hold the Balkans?"
Skoropadskyi remained silent for a moment.
—"Empires rarely collapse at once."
He pointed at the map.
—"But when provinces begin to live their own lives, it is a bad sign."
The officers exchanged glances.
One of them said:
—"If a large war begins, the Ottomans will not be able to hold Macedonia."
Another added:
—"Or Thrace."
Skoropadskyi said quietly:
—"The question is not whether they can hold those lands."
—"The question is how long it will take."
Late in the evening Skoropadskyi walked out onto the embankment.
The Danube was dark and calm.
On the opposite bank began the lands of Austria-Hungary.
He looked at the water and thought.
The Albanian uprising.
The war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire.
Instability across the Balkans.
And soon there would be the Balkan Wars. If history did not change, they would bring the Ottoman Empire to the edge of collapse.
And they would lead to a war the world had never seen before.