Charite (1805)

The Great War had begun in the Balkans, the almost inevitable result of decades of intrigue, assassination and fratricidal conflict among a host of relatively minor nationalistic groups. In four years of seesaw combat, several local nations were recruited by the warring alliances; three were completely overrun. When the final great offensives that would end the war began on all fronts, it was only fitting that the Balkans should be the first to crack and the enemy disintegration begun there. This is the story of the crossing of broad rivers, agonizing retreats through snowy mountains and struggles in steamy, malarial backwaters. Powerful naval forces bombarded scrubby sun-baked shores, preceding amphibious assaults of a generation before the more famous D Day. Fledgling air forces shot at each other in the skies over the dusty battlefields. And common to all war stories this is a tale of misery, starvation, plague, destruction, mistreatment and death. Unfortunately, it is a story which has never been adequately told compared to other theatres of the First World War. Here in text and maps is a chronicle of a sorely misunderstood struggle, a conflict which in many ways is still unresolved.