Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922): Difference between revisions

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The Greco-Turkish War is one of two wars fought between Greece and Turkey.

First Greco-Turkish War

The First Greco-Turkish War, also called the Thirty Days' War, was fought in 1897, and began because of Greek concerns over the situation in Crete, at that time still under Ottoman Empire control.

In late 1896 rebellion broke out on Crete, and on January 21 1987 a Greek army dropping on Crete liberated the island from Ottoman control, and united it with independant Greece in Februari. European powers intervened, and proclaimed Crete an international protectorate.

The Greek armies retreated to the mainland, where they attempted to liberate the Greeks of Thessaly. This part of the war involved two distinct campaigns, one in Thessaly and one in Epirus.

In Thessaly, in March of the year the Turks had concentraded six divisions of about 60,000 men under Edhem Pasha, with a seventh division joining a litle later. The Greeks numbered just under 46,000, led by crown prinze Constantine. The Greeks held the sea, outnumbering and outgunning the Turkish navy. On April 6 and April 10 Greek troups crossed the border, trying to start an uprising in Macedonia. On April 16 and 17 fighting started, and on April 18 Edhem Pasha began his strike. The Turks bypassed the Greeks, but the armies met at Mati. The Greeks were outnumbered, and morale failure caused a massive retreat past Larissa, which was evacuated. Near Pharsala the Greeks reestablished order, and a counter-attack was planned. However, Greek morale still failed, and they were only saved because the Ottoman Sultan ordered a cease-fire on May 20.

In Epirus, the Greeks numbered 15,000, standing against 30,000 Turks under Achmet Hifsi Pasha. On April 18 the Turks began bombing Arta, but they could not take the city. Retreating and conquering Philiappiada, the Turks entrenched themselves. Greek forces counter-attacked on April 28 and 29, but were worsted when reinforcements failed. The Greeks finally retreated on May 15 with heavy losses.

Peace was signed on September 20, arranged by European powers. Turkey received a large amount of money as indemnification, and gained more land on the Thessaly border.

External link

Onwar.com on the first Greco-Turkish war

Second Greco-Turkish War

The Second Greco-Turkish War (usually referred to as the Greco-Turkish War) was fought in the early 20th Century. Turks refer to the war as the War of Independence.

The conflict started because in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, which ended the First World War conflict in Asia Minor(i.e.Anatolia) and divided the Ottoman Empire, Greece had been assigned parts of empire where ethnic Greeks formed the majority of the population, most significantly the city of Smyrna (now called Izmir) and parts of Thrace.

Smyrna was specifically mentioned in section IV of the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), but it was there stated that neither Turkey nor Greece were allowed to militarize the area, and that after a period of five years the League of Nations would vote again on the matter of Smyrna. Both Turkey and Greece ignored these provisions: Greece established a millitary base near Smyrna to proceed with the invasion of western Anatolia, quickly crushing the initial resistance of Turkish inhabitants of the area. Starting from 1920 Greek army advanced into Anatolia, reaching 40km - vicinity of Ankara at 200,000 strong.

Meanwhile the Turks under Mustafa Kemal had ignored the Ottoman government and rejected the Treaty of Sevres entirely. They had slowly built an army larger than the 50,000 allowed by the treaty. The Turkish army defeated the under-supplied and over-stretched Greek army in the Battle of Sakarya (23 August - 13 September 1921). After this the Greek army remained on the defensive, but recieved its final defeat near the city of Afyon (a.k.a. Afyonkarahisar) in 30 August 1922. On September 9th, Turkish army reached Smyrna and forced the Greek population to flee, in the process setting parts of the city on fire (see Hellenic Holocaust).

At the end of the war the majority of the ethnic Greek population of Asia Minor had been killed or deported to Greece. The areas were largely settled with Turks which were deported from Greece as part of the cease-fire. The end result of the war was that Greece lost all land across the Aegean Sea except for the Aegean islands, and Turkey got its modern borders. Both states became more ethnically homogenous. The war was formally settled under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne, which established the Turk/Greek border as the Aegean Sea in the west (thus assigning Smyrna to Turkey), and the Arda and Marilza rivers in Thrace.

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 Smyrna was specifically mentioned in section IV of the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), but it was there stated that neither Turkey nor Greece were allowed to militarize the area, and that after a period of five years the [[League of Nations]] would vote again on the matter of Smyrna. Both Turkey and Greece ignored these provisions: Greece established a [[millitary base]] near Smyrna to proceed with the invasion of western [[Anatolia]], quickly crushing the initial resistance of Turkish inhabitants of the area. Starting from 1920 Greek army advanced into [[Anatolia]], reaching 40km - vicinity of [[Ankara]] at 200,000 strong.
-Meanwhile the Turks under [[Mustafa Kemal]] had ignored the Ottoman government and rejected the Treaty of Sevres entirely. They had slowly built an army larger than the 50,000 allowed by the treaty. The Turkish army defeated the under-supplied and over-stretched Greek army in the Battle of Sakarya (23 August - 13 September 1921). After this the Greek army remained on the defensive, but recieved its final defeat near the city of Afyon (a.k.a. Afyonkarahisar) in 30 August 1922. On September 9th, Turkish army reached Smyrna and forced the population to flee, in the process setting parts of the city on fire (see [[Hellenic Holocaust]]).
+Meanwhile the Turks under [[Mustafa Kemal]] had ignored the Ottoman government and rejected the Treaty of Sevres entirely. They had slowly built an army larger than the 50,000 allowed by the treaty. The Turkish army defeated the under-supplied and over-stretched Greek army in the Battle of Sakarya (23 August - 13 September 1921). After this the Greek army remained on the defensive, but recieved its final defeat near the city of Afyon (a.k.a. Afyonkarahisar) in 30 August 1922. On September 9th, Turkish army reached Smyrna and forced the Greek population to flee, in the process setting parts of the city on fire (see [[Hellenic Holocaust]]).
 At the end of the war the majority of the ethnic Greek population of [[Asia Minor]] had been killed or deported to Greece. The areas were largely settled with Turks which were deported from Greece as part of the cease-fire. The end result of the war was that Greece lost all land across the [[Aegean Sea]] except for the [[Aegean islands]], and Turkey got its modern borders. Both states became more ethnically [[Wiktionary:homogenous|homogenous]]. The war was formally settled under the terms of the [[Treaty of Lausanne]], which established the Turk/Greek border as the Aegean Sea in the west (thus assigning Smyrna to Turkey), and the [[River Arda|Arda]] and [[River Marilza|Marilza]] rivers in Thrace.