Greco-Turkish Wars

(1897, 1921–22) Two military conflicts between the Greeks and the Turks.

The first, or Thirty Days' War, took place after an 1896 rebellion on Turkish-ruled Crete between Christian residents and their Muslim rulers. Greek troops occupied the island in 1897. The European powers imposed a blockade to prevent assistance to the island. Unable to reach Crete, the Greeks sent a force to attack the Turks in Thessaly, but it was overwhelmed by the superior Turkish army. Though a peace treaty forced the Greeks to withdraw, Turkish troops also left Crete, which had been made an international protectorate and was later (1913) ceded to Greece. The second war occurred after World War I, when the Greeks attempted to claim territories assigned to them by the Treaty of Sèvres (1920). In 1921 the Greek army launched an offensive in Anatolia against nationalist Turks who would not recognize the treaty. The Greek forces were driven out by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) returned the disputed territories to Turkey.

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▪ Balkan history

      (1897 and 1921–22), two military conflicts between the Greeks and the Turks.

      The first war, also called the Thirty Days' War, took place against a background of growing Greek concern over conditions in Crete, which was under Turkish domination (Ottoman Empire) and where relations between the Christians and their Muslim rulers had been deteriorating steadily. The outbreak in 1896 of rebellion on Crete, fomented in part by the secret Greek nationalistic society called Ethniki Etairia, appeared to present Greece with an opportunity to annex the island. By the beginning of 1897, large consignments of arms had been sent to Crete from Greece. On January 21 the Greek fleet was mobilized, and in early February Greek troops landed on the island, and union with Greece was proclaimed. The following month, however, the European powers imposed a blockade upon Greece to prevent assistance being sent from the mainland to the island. They took this step to prevent the disturbance from spreading to the Balkans. Thwarted in their attempt to assist their compatriots in Crete, the Greeks sent a force, commanded by Prince Constantine, to attack the Turks in Thessaly (April). By the end of April, however, the Greeks, who were inadequately prepared for war, had been overwhelmed by the Turkish army, which had recently been reorganized under German supervision. The Greeks then yielded to pressure from the European powers, withdrew their troops from Crete, and accepted an armistice on the mainland (May 20, 1897). A peace treaty, concluded on December 4, compelled Greece to pay the Turks an indemnity, to accept an international financial commission that would control Greek finances, and to yield some territory in Thessaly to Turkey. Subsequently, the Turkish troops also left Crete, which had been made an international protectorate, and an autonomous government under Prince George, the second son of the Greek king, was formed there (1898). Crete was finally ceded to Greece by the Treaty of London (1913), which ended the First Balkan War.

      The second war occurred after World War I, when the Greeks attempted to extend their territory beyond eastern Thrace (in Europe) and the district of Smyrna (İzmir; in Anatolia). These territories had been assigned to them by the Treaty of Sèvres, Aug. 10, 1920, which was imposed upon the weak Ottoman government. In January 1921 the Greek army, despite its lack of equipment and its unprotected supply lines, launched an offensive in Anatolia against the nationalist Turks, who had defied the Ottoman government and would not recognize its treaty. Although repulsed in April, the Greeks renewed their attack in July and advanced beyond the Afyonkarahisar-Eskişehir railway line toward Ankara. The Turks, however, commanded by the nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal (Kemal Atatürk), defeated them at the Sakarya River (Aug. 24–Sept. 16, 1921). A year later the Turks assumed control of Smyrna (September 1922) and drove the Greeks out of Anatolia. In Greece the war was followed by a successful military coup against the monarchy.

      The Treaty of Lausanne (Lausanne, Treaty of), concluded on July 24, 1923, obliged Greece to return eastern Thrace and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos to Turkey, as well as to give up its claim to Smyrna. The two belligerents also agreed to exchange their Greek and Turkish minority populations.

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