"Overshadowed today by the vast scale of World War I, it was the two Balkan Wars of 1912-13 that laid the tinder for that world-changing explosion. This details concisely the background, course and outcomes of these sequential campaigns, and describes the armies involved -- in 1912, those of the Ottoman Empire against the Balkan League (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro), joined in 1913 by Romania. It illustrates a fascinating period of transition from 19th to 20th century dress and equipment, with many rare photographs, and colour plates showing a varied range of uniforms and exotic regional costumes"--P. [4] of cover.