‘The history of the Balkan policy of the Allies is a series of intangible mistakes’

Abstract

Despite the plethora of publications on World War I in Germany, the Balkan front remains a largely neglected field of research when it comes to German perceptions and encounters. This chapter gives an insight into German perceptions of the Balkan Front by looking at Ernst von Falkenhausen, the German military attaché in Athens. Falkenhausen, later considered a specialist in German–Greek relations, acted as a military representative until late 1916 in Athens. He was then expelled and transferred as a part of the German Flying corps to the Balkan front, where he stayed until nearly the end of the war. Drawing from his rich literary remains in the Military Archive in Freiburg, this chapter investigates the mindset of Ernst von Falkenhausen and his perceptions during his military service at the Balkan Front.