Greco-Turkish War 1919-1922: Encyclopedia II - Greco-Turkish War 1919-1922 - Active Stage

Greco-Turkish War 1919-1922 - Active Stage

In May 1919, Greek troops had already occupied İzmir and the surroundings under cover of French, British and American ships. The resistance started immidiately and Greeks had many losses. Circassians and many so-called Turks who had recently emigrated from Crete had not assimilated, and many of them took up arms in support of the Greek occupation of İzmir. The Turkish population, as well as many Cretan Muslims and Circassians, generally preferred to be under Turkish rule, although they were in the minority.

In the summer of 1920, the Greek army, launched attacks and extended its zone of occupation over all Western and Nort Western Asia Minor. The Greece 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 east into Anatolia with the intention of defeating the Kemalist forces before they were ready to attack the Greek perimeter at İzmir. This advancement was 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 İzmir.

After a Greek defeat on January 11, 1921, Allied states proposed to amend the Treaty of Sevrès at a conference in London where both Turkish and Ottoman governments were represented.

Although some agreements were reached with Italy, France and Britain, the decisions were defied by the Greeks who initiated another attack on March 27 (Battle of İnönü II), to be resisted and finally defeated by the Kemalist troops on March 30.

The unpredictable Turkish victory caused Secretary of War Winston Churchill to withdraw British support to the Greeks. The Greek defeat can be largely attributed to a lack of British support as King Constantine was reviled by the British for his pro-German policies during WWI, as well as massive Soviet support to the Turks.

In June 1921 the strengthened Greek army advanced to the River Sakarya, less than 100 km (62 miles) west of Ankara. Meanwhile, the Turkish government at Ankara appointed Mustafa Kemal as the commander in chief.

In August, Kemal counter-attacked, routing the Greeks and cutting off their supply lines at the Battle of the Sakarya (August 23 – September 13, 1921).

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. In March 1922 the Allies proposed a ceasefire, but Kemal answered there could be no 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).

Shortly after their victory, the Turks captured Izmir (September 9).

• Third Battle of Inonu aka Battle of Afyon aka Battle of Afyon-Karahisar
• Fall of İzmir
• Chanak Affair

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Active Stage", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki