Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)

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{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 |partof=Turkish War of Independence |image=Image:Megaloidea.jpg |caption=Megali Idea between 1912-1922 |date=1919–1922 |place=West Anatolia |casus=Sharing of Ottoman Empire |territory=Population exchange |result=Armistice of Mudanya |combatant1=Greece |combatant2=Turkish Revolutionaries |commander1= |commander2=Ali Fethi Okyar, Ismet Inonu, Mustafa Kemal |strength1= |strength2= |casualties1= |casualties2= |notes= }} Template:Campaignbox Greco-Turkish War The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, also called the War in Asia Minor, and in Turkey considered a part of the Turkish War of Independence, was a war between Greece and Turkey fought in the wake of World War I.

This political context of this conflict is linked to secret agreements on sharing of Ottoman Empire at the end of WWI. Military history begins with the Armistice of Mudros. The war arose because the western Allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire if Greece entered the war on the Allied side. These included eastern Thrace, the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, and parts of western Anatolia around the city of Smyrna (İzmir)

In return to the contribution of the Greek army in the war effort, the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, which ended the First World War in Asia Minor and in parallel determined the future of the Ottoman Empire, assigned eastern Thrace and the millet of Smyrna to Greece.

Around that time Mustafa Kemal, the leader of a group of Turkish revolutionaries, was forming in Anatolia, the Turkish National Movement. The revolutionaries repudiated the Treaty of Sèvres and prepared for defense of what they believed was their national land given up by the weak Ottoman government to the enemy.

In May 1919, Greek troops landed on Smyrna (İzmir) and occupied the city and the surroundings under cover of French, British and American ships. The Greeks of Smyrna, who were the majority of the city's population, and other Christians greeted the Greek troops as liberators. The Turkish population though saw this as an invading force, as they resented the Greeks and presumably preferred to be under Turkish rule.

The resistance started immediately, mainly by small groups of irregular Turkish troops in the suburbs and the Greeks had many losses. In the summer of 1920, the Greek army, launched successful attacks and extended its zone of occupation over all Western and North Western Asia Minor. Greeks already occupied Eastern Thrace.

In October 1920, with the encouragement of Lloyd George who intended to increase the pressure on the Turkish and Ottoman governments to sign the Treaty of Sevrès, the Greek army advanced further east into Anatolia with the intention of defeating the Kemalist forces before they were ready to attack the Greek perimeter near the coast. They faced little resistance as the Turks were retreating orderly. This advancement begun under the Liberal government of Eleftherios Venizelos, but soon after the offensive began Venizelos fell from power and was replaced by Dimitrios Gounaris, who appointed inexperienced monarchist officers to senior commands. King Constantine took personal command of the army at Smyrna (İzmir).

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The Greek advance was haulted for the first time at the first battle of Inonu on January 11, 1921, and the Allied states proposed to amend the Treaty of Sevrès at a conference in London where both the Revolutionary and Ottoman governments were represented. Template:Details

Although some agreements were reached with Italy, France and Britain, the decisions were not agreed by Greece, who believing she still had the strategic antvantage and could negotiate from a stronger point. The Greeks initiated another attack on March 27 (Battle of İnönü II), to be resisted fiercely and finally defeated by the Kemalist troops on March 30. The British favoured a Greek territorial expansion but refused to offer any military strength in order to avoid alerting the French. The Turkish forces however received significant assistance from the Soviet Union. Template:Details

In June 1921 a strengthened with reenforcements Greek army advanced afresh to the River Sakarya (Sangarios in Greek), less than 100 km (62 miles) west of Ankara. Meanwhile, the new Turkish government at Ankara appointed Mustafa Kemal as the commander in chief. The advance of the greek Army faced fierce resistance which excausted both sides. Secretly, both leaders intended to start an organised retreat, but the Greeks were the first to withdraw to their previous lines. Seeing that, Kemal counter-attacked, and forced the retreat of the Greek Army after 21 days of the Battle of the Sakarya (or Sangarios in Greek) (August 23 – September 13, 1921). Template:Details

That was the furthest in Anatolia the Greeks had advanced, and within few weeks they retreated orderly back to almost where they had been in 1919, intending at least to protect the Smyrna area.

The Greek defeat can be largely attributed to a lack of whole-hearted Allied support, as King Constantine in contrast to former prime minister Venizelos was reviled by the British for his pro-German policies during WWI. On the contrary the Kemalist Turks enjoyed significant Soviet support. The main reason though was the actually poor design and strategy behind this unprepared in-depth advance. The Greek Army had plenty of men, courage and enthusiasm, but little more. Very soon the Greek Army passed the limits of it's logistic structure and had no way of retaining such a large territory under constant attacks by regular and irregular Turkish troops fighting in their homeland.

Greece appealed to the Allies for help, but early in 1922 Britain, France and Italy decided that the Treaty of Sèvres could not be enforced and should be revised. Parallel to their decision, with successive treaties, Italian and French troops evacuated their positions leaving the Greeks exposed.

In March 1922 the Allies proposed an armistice, but Kemal feeling that now he has the strategic advantage, declined any settlement while the Greeks remained in Anatolia. In August, after preparations on both sides, the Turks launched a new offensive on August 26, defeating the Greeks at the Battle of Dumlupınar near Afyon (August 30, 1922, celebrated as the Victory Day and a national holiday in Turkey). Template:Details

Shortly after their victory, the Turks advanced to Smyrna (İzmir), which they captured after the withdrawal of the Greek troops. During the confusion and anarchy that followed, a great proportion of the city was set ablaze, and the properties of the Greeks were pillaged. A massacre of a significant part of the Christian population by the Turkish Army occurred during the days remembered by the Greeks as "the Catastrophe of Smyrna". The majority though of the Greeks managed to seek refuge on Greek and Allied ships at the harbor of Izmir and other coastal towns.

Image:Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria on Treaty of Lausanne.png The Armistice of Mudanya was concluded on October 11, 1922, with the Allies keeping east Thrace and the Bosporus under occupation, but the Greeks evacuating these areas. The agreement came into force starting October 15, one day after the Greek side agreed to sign it. The Armistice of Mudanya was followed by the Treaty of Lausanne, under which a significant provision was the exchange of populations. Template:Details Template:Details Template:Details Template:Details

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Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)

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