Mehmed Nihad's work named "1328-1329 Balkan War Thrace Expedition" and its analysis

The transcription and textual analysis of the work whose title is "1328-1329 Balkan War Thrace Expedition" that was written by Mehmed Nihad, constituted the basis of our thesis study. In his work, the author, who was personally present in the Balkan War as the knowledge officer of the General Headquarters evaluated the war waged by the Ottoman Army against Bulgaria on the Thracian front. The process of creating the three-volume work, consisting of a total of 1213 pages, started when the author was assigned to explain the Balkan War in the context of the Ottoman Campaigns course at the Military Academy. By using of his personal notes, archive materials within the General Staff, printed works and articles published in foreign newspapers the author created his work. Mehmed Nihad, who is considered the first War Historian of the Republic, gives information about the mobilization of the Ottoman Army before the Balkan War, the Harekât-ı Harbiye plans, the concentration of Ottoman Army forces in the Thrace region and Montenegro's declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire in the first volume of his work. In the second volume of the work, the War of Kırkkilise, which took place between 18-26 October 1912, was described in detail from the perspectives of the Bulgarian Army and the Ottoman Army. The third volume, which describes to the very day the War of Lüleburgaz, is the most sizable volume written by the author and consists of 595 pages. Inasmuch as being a War Historian, Mehmed Nihad examined the Balkan War in detail in his work and wanted to make military students who will serve as staff in the military and administrative levels of the army in the future adopt and understand the importance of War Art and War History. Within the scope of the study, the work was first transcribed, and then in the guidance of primary sources, memoirs and research works, the wars that took place on the Thracian front of the Balkan War were tried to be revealed by focusing on the data in the work. Key Words: Balkan War, Ottoman Army, Bulgarian Army, War of Kırkkilise, War of Lüleburgaz, Mehmed Nihad, Mobilization.