Violence et guerre moderne dans les Balkans à l’aube du xxe siècle

Résumé 0

Modern warfare and violence in the Balkans on the eve of the 20th centuryThis article is a contribution to the reappraisal of the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, considered in their historical proximity with recently radicalised colonial wars, the Russo-Japanese War and the Great War.The first part analyses the military events of the short and violent campaigns of winter 1912 and summer 1913, taking into account the prewar preparation of the belligerants on European standarts, as to equipment, armament and doctrine. From the battlefield, an alternative chronology of “war violence” draws a large 1904-1915 period.Then, the medical dimension of the conflict, explored through experience reports of foreign medical personnel serving during the war, allows to penetrate behind the front lines, notably in recently occupied areas submitted to high intensity violences.The last part of the article draws historical hypothesis concerning the colonial/industrial/genocidal war problematic. The conclusion stresses the importance of representational impact of the Balkan Wars on the continental military, facing the aporical question of “moderne warfare” after the manchurian experience and preparing themselves to cope with a frontal conflict in Europe, in which the probable civilian involvement could be the critical point.