The Balkan Wars consisted of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan Peninsula in 1912 and 1913. Four Balkan states defeated the Ottoman Empire in the first war. In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against all four original combatants of the first war along with facing a surprise attack from Romania from the north; the conflicts ended catastrophically for the Ottoman Empire, which lost the bulk of its territory in Europe. Austria-Hungary, although not a combatant, became weaker as a much enlarged Serbia pushed for union of the South Slavic peoples; the war set the stage for the Balkan crisis of 1914 and thus served as a "prelude to the First World War". By the early 20th century, Greece and Serbia had achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large elements of their ethnic populations remained under Ottoman rule. In 1912 these countries formed the Balkan League; the First Balkan War had three main causes: The Ottoman Empire was unable to reform itself, govern satisfactorily, or deal with the rising ethnic nationalism of its diverse peoples.

The Great Powers quarreled amongst themselves and failed to ensure that the Ottomans would carry out the needed reforms. This led the Balkan states to impose their own solution. Most the Balkan League had been formed, its members were confident that it could defeat the Turks; the Ottoman Empire lost all its European territories to the west of the River Maritsa as a result of the two Balkan Wars, which thus delineated present-day Turkey's western border. A large influx of Turks started to flee into the Ottoman heartland from the lost lands. By 1914, the remaining core region of the Ottoman Empire had experienced a population increase of around 2.5 million because of the flood of immigration from the Balkans. Citizens of Turkey regard the Balkan Wars as a major disaster in the nation's history; the unexpected fall and sudden relinquishing of Turkish-dominated European territories created a psycho-traumatic event amongst many Turks that triggered the ultimate collapse of the empire itself within five years.

Nazım Pasha, Chief of Staff of the Ottoman Army, was held responsible for the failure and was assassinated on 23 January 1913 during the 1913 Ottoman coup d'état. The First Balkan War began when the League member states attacked the Ottoman Empire on 8 October 1912 and ended eight months with the signing of the Treaty of London on 30 May 1913; the Second Balkan War began on 16 June 1913. Both Serbia and Greece, utilizing the argument that the war had been prolonged, repudiated important particulars of the pre-war treaty and retained occupation of all the conquered districts in their possession, which were to be divided according to specific predefined boundaries. Seeing the treaty as trampled, Bulgaria was dissatisfied over the division of the spoils in Macedonia and commenced military action against them; the more numerous combined Serbian and Greek armies repelled the Bulgarian offensive and counter-attacked into Bulgaria from the west and the south. Romania, having taken no part in the conflict, had intact armies to strike with and invaded Bulgaria from the north in violation of a peace treaty between the two states.

The Ottoman Empire attacked Bulgaria and advanced in Thrace regaining Adrianople. In the resulting Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria lost most of the territories it had gained in the First Balkan War in addition to being forced to cede the ex-Ottoman south-third of Dobroudja province to Romania; the background to the wars lies in the incomplete emergence of nation-states on the European territory of the Ottoman Empire during the second half of the 19th century. Serbia had gained substantial territory during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, while Greece acquired Thessaly in 1881 and Bulgaria incorporated the distinct province of Eastern Rumelia. All three countries, as well as Montenegro, sought additional territories within the large Ottoman-ruled region known as Rumelia, comprising Eastern Rumelia, Albania and Thrace. Throughout the 19th century, the Great Powers shared different aims over the "Eastern Question" and the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. Russia wanted access to the "warm waters" of the Mediterranean from the Black Sea.

Britain wished to deny Russia access to the "warm waters" and supported the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, although it supported a limited expansion of Greece as a backup plan in case integrity of the Empire was no longer possible. France wished to strengthen its position in the region in the Levant. Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary wished for a continuation of the existence of the Ottoman Empire, since both were troubled multinational entities and thus the collapse of the one might weaken the other; the Habsburgs saw a strong Ottoman presence in the area as a counterweight to the Serbian nationalistic call to their own Serb subjects in Bosnia and other parts of the empire. Italy's primary aim at the time seems to have been the denial of access to the Adriatic Sea to another major sea power; the German Empire, in turn, under the "Drang nach Osten" policy, aspired to turn the Ottoman Empire into its own de facto colony, thus supported its integrity. In the late 19th and early 20th century and Greece contended for Ottoman Macedonia and Thrace.

Ethnic Greeks sought the forced "Hellenization" of ethnic Bulgars, who sought "Bulgarization" of Greeks (Rise of n

Svengarlic is a short animated film distributed by Columbia Pictures, one of the many cartoons featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat. The film is a parody of the 1931 film Svengali. A crazed labrador, a musician, plays some music on his piano; when his piano collapses due to being overplayed, the labrador gobbles some garlic pieces, delivers a breath onto the instrument. The piano returns to its normal shape, the canine musician is able to play again; when he is finished playing, he spots someone outside singing with a voice. Out in the street, it appears, she comes to a hotel, looking to get a room. The hotel guests find her likable. One of the guests is Krazy. Inside his room, Krazy could not help looking at his sweetheart, he asks the spaniel to stand on a platform where he tries to paint a portrait of her. Their meeting, gets interrupted when the labrador comes unexpectedly; the labrador, skilled in hypnosis, uses his spell to lure the spaniel out of the building, much to Krazy's surprise.

The labrador lures the spaniel into a theater and onto a stage. Under the labrador's conducting, the spaniel sings in the style of a soprano. Although the conductor receives a bit of harassment from Krazy, the act continues; when the spaniel has trouble making the high notes, the labrador uses his garlic breath once more to improve her performance. But before he could hear the final notes, the labrador is sprayed ether on by Krazy. Krazy sneaks behind the curtains, jerks the spaniel at the back, causing her to let out a high note which the spectators find impressive. Krazy and the spaniel celebrate the act with a kiss. Svengarlic at the Big Cartoon Database Svengarlic on IMDb

Hopley Yeaton was the first officer commissioned under the Constitution of the United States by George Washington into the Revenue Marine, one of the forerunners of the modern day United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard was created when the United States Congress merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the US Lifesaving Service in 1915. Yeaton was a veteran of the Continental Navy and the commanding officer of the Revenue Marine cutter Scammel. Yeaton brought along his slave, during the Scammel's patrols as was this practice was permitted by the Treasury Department at this time. Yeaton fired three of his crew after their first few months of service; the men had been in "open rebellion" over issues of pay and daily food rations—particularly after they learned that their fellow sailors on board the Massachusetts received more and varied foods each day than they did. Captain Hopley Yeaton Memorial Coast Guard Academy – New London, Connecticut The tomb of the first commissioned officer of the Revenue Marine, Hopley Yeaton, now lies on the Academy's grounds.

He was buried in Lubec, but in 1975 his burial site was threatened by modernization. The Corps of Cadets sailed the barque Eagle to Lubec where his remains were exhumed and laid to rest at the Academy. Hopley Yeaton Walk of History Plaque Coast Guard Station Grand Haven – Grand Haven, Michigan On August 2, 2008, in a bid to help affirm Grand Haven as "Coast Guard City USA," the Walk of History was revealed to the public; the first point of history was the Hopley Yeaton Plaque, ceremonially unveiled by Vice Adm. Clifford Pearson and Andrew Yeaton, a direct descendant of Hopley Yeaton. Florence Kern. Hopley Yeaton's U. S. Revenue Cutter Scammel, 1791-1798. "The most effectual check to the mischiefs. " Alised Enterprises, 1975, PO Box 1514, Great Falls, Va, 22066. Hopley Yeaton Genealogy Coast Guard Monuments & Memorials Captain Hopley Yeaton Memorial History of the Scammel Festival honors heritage in Walk of History