GREECE - BETWEEN THE BALKAN WARS AND WORLD WAR I (1912-1918)

GREECE - BETWEEN THE BALKAN WARS AND WORLD WAR I (1912-1918)

First and Second Balkan War (1912-1913)

The Ottoman Empire was in a deep economic and political crisis in the early 20th century which became even more evident during the Ottoman-Italian war of 1911 where, once again, the weakness of the “Sick man of the Bosporus” was expressed. The Young Turks quickly forgot the slogan “Long live freedom” and began to implement a pan-Islamic policy. The Balkan countries, supported by Russia and by their own diplomatic activities, created the Balkan Alliance (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro) after that they began to demand that the Ottoman Empire implement the reforms specified by the 1878 Berlin Congress (Article 23). The Ottoman Empire, however, refused which led to the long-awaited military clash. The Balkan Alliance’s aim was to expel the Ottoman Empire from the Balkan Peninsula and to occupy and divide the Ottoman held territories.

The first Balkan War began in October 1912 with three main fronts: the Thracian, the Southern and the Albanian. The four Balkan allies mobilized around 645,000 troops (Bulgaria mobilized 370,000, Serbia 175,190, Greece 90,120 and Montenegro 30,000 troops) while the Ottoman Empire mobilized 420,000 troops in the Balkans. The Macedonian people and the people from Odrin also took part with 14,000 regular fighters and 91 rebel units numbering 2,174 rebels.

After the First Balkan War broke out the Greek army advanced towards central Macedonia and Epirus and, because of poor Ottoman resistance, managed to occupy Kozheni Region, Solun Region, including the city Solun, Kostur Region and Lerin Region. At the same time, the Greek army liberated the islands Crete, Chios, Lemnos, Samos, Mitilini and Thassos.

The first Balkan war was strongly anti-Ottoman and anti-Islamic. The Greek army exhibited genocidal tendencies towards the Ottomans and other Muslim populations. Almost all Ottoman villages were burned to the ground and the population was either terrorized or outright killed. Many Ottomans sought protection in Solun or permanently fled to Turkey.

The Greek army clamped down hard on the Macedonian population during the First Balkan War and imposed harsh political, economic and psychological pressure on it. In Kostur Region, for example, the Greek authorities advised the Macedonian Exarchate population to declare itself Greek, accept the Greek language and the Greek Patriarchate because otherwise “life will not be easy…”

After its great military successes in Odrin, Kumanovo and Bitola, the Bulgarian army forced the Ottoman Empire to capitulate. Peace negotiations between the warring parties were held in London (May 13-30, 1912). With the Treaty of London signed the Ottoman Empire surrendered all its territories west of the Midia-Enos line (Thrace and Macedonia), as well as Crete. Then, after great persistence and insistence on the part of Austria-Hungary, Albania was recognized as an independent state.

While the London Peace Treaty was being negotiated serious misunderstandings began to develop between the Allies on how to divide the Ottoman territories they had just occupied. After Albania was declared independent, Serbia lost that territory and demanded that it be awarded more of Macedonia’s territory. Greece also had large territorial pretensions towards the non-Greek territories in Macedonia and Thrace (Eastern and Western) and wanted more. Bulgaria vigorously insisted that it be awarded the city Solun.

In the meantime Greek King Georgios I was killed in Solun by an unbalanced person during a visit.

While negotiations in London were still ongoing, Greece and Serbia, on May 19, 1913, concluded a secret military and political treaty against Bulgaria. The Bulgarian kingdom, convinced of its superior military power over Serbia and Greece, decided to solve the problem militarily and punish its disloyal allies. On June 16, 1913, the Bulgarian army attacked Serbian and Greek army positions and initiated the Second Balkan War, which turned out to be more cruel and bloodier than the First. The new conflict drew in Romania and Turkey, both of which had territorial claims on Bulgarian territories

(Romania had claims on Southern Dobrudzha and Turkey on Eastern Thrace including Odrin).

The Second Balkan War was strongly anti-Bulgarian and anti-Exarchate. Greece entered the new war with greater hatred and fanaticism. Circulated among the Greek soldiers were sketches of a Greek soldier eating the face of a Bulgarian soldier. By doing this, the Greek authorities excused the inclinations of Greek soldiers committing heinous crimes and deprived its military of dignity and morality. Everything Macedonian was destroyed by rare cruelty and the Macedonian people affiliated with the exarchate church were seen as animals. “Then ine Anthropi” (they are not people) was often said by Greek soldiers. The Greek army’s crimes against the civilian population were unspeakable. According to the Carnegie Commission many mothers lost children because they sometimes had to leave one behind in order to save another. Captured Bulgarian soldiers were treated just as inhumanly as the Macedonian civilian population affiliated with the exarchate church. More than 7,000 captured soldiers and civilians were imprisoned in the camp on Trikeri Island in Volos Bay. On their way to the island, many prisoners were thrown overboard into the sea to drown. Included among them was Hristo Batandzhiev, one of the founders of IMORO. Due to sickness, hunger and thirst, thousands of Bulgarian soldiers and Macedonian exarchate civilians died on this island.

Between the two Balkan Wars the Greek army burned 160 settlements and destroyed the city Kukush (Kilkis) forcing 16,000 Macedonians affiliated with the exarchate church to look for salvation in Bulgaria. The Greek army did not commit these crimes because of military necessity but because it wanted to realize an existing Greek policy: Remove the Macedonians from Greek occupied Macedonia.

After much heavy and bloody fighting Bulgaria was unable to endure and was forced to accept a truce. All peace negotiations between Bulgaria and the new Balkan Union (Romania, Serbia, Greece, Turkey and Montenegro) were held in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, and a peace treaty was concluded on August 10, 1913. With the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest Greece annexed 34,356 km² or 51% of the Macedonia’s territory. Epirus, including

Ioannina, part of Western Thrace, Crete and the Aegean islands were also given to Greece which significantly increased its territory. If before the Balkan Wars Greece’s territory was 63,211 km² with 2,631,952 inhabitants, according to the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest, its territory grew to 114,511 km² with 4,255,952 inhabitants. The 1913 Treaty of Bucharest further aggravated relations between the Balkan states and created a dangerous Balkan “casus belli”. The 1913 Treaty of Bucharest would also seriously affect conditions between the Balkan states during the First World War (1914-1918).

Ironically the Macedonian population affiliated with the Patriarchate church in the Greek occupied Macedonian territory at the time was only 9.8%.

World War I

After the Sarajevo assassination (June 28, 1914), the Entente (Russia, France and Great Britain) and the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) made extra efforts to attract the Balkan states to their side. Based on their national interests, the Balkan states, however, made their own decisions. Turkey and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, while Serbia and Romania, which had territorial claims on Austria-Hungary (Transylvania and Northern Bukovina), joined the Entente.

At the beginning of the war Greece remained neutral. One side led by king Constantine and his wife Sofia, sister of the German Kaiser, advocated military neutrality, the other side, led by Liberal Party leader Elefteros Venizelos, advocated for Greece to join the Entente Powers. Dissatisfied with the king’s policy of neutrality, Venizelos formed a National Defense Committee and, together with General Pavlos Condoriotis and General Daglis, formed an Interim Government which worked closely with the Entente Powers. Greece at the time was governed by two governments: on one side by Venizelos in Solun and on the other by the Royal Government in Athens.

The Entente Powers exercised strong pressure on Greece to join them and supported Venizelos’s political option. Venizelos agreed and, in 1916, allowed the Entente armies to land in Solun. In the

meantime king Constantine removed Venizelos from power. In 1916, Greece declared war on Bulgaria and in 1917 gave the Entente Powers 40,000 troops.

Then, under strong pressure from both the Entente Powers and Venizelos, king Constantine was forced to abdicate and was replaced by his second son Alexander. After taking power in all of Greece (1917-1920), Venizelos declared war on the Central Powers and took tough measures against his political opponents. He cleaned up the military (removing 3,000 officers) and the state administration of all of the king’s supporters and forced many to exile (D. Gunaris and Ioannis Metaxas).

After the United States joined the war on the side of the Entente (1917), the Central Powers were defeated. With their defeat Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey were forced to conclude a peace treaty in Paris. With the Neuilly Convention concluded with Bulgaria (1919), Greece annexed Western Thrace and with the Sevres Peace Treaty (1920) it annexed Eastern Thrace (without Constantinople), the city Izmir (Smirna) and its surroundings and the islands Imbros and Tenedos. With the annexation of these territories the Greek state grew even larger. If with the signing of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest it grew to 114, 511km² with 4,255,952 inhabitants, after the Neuilly and Sevres peace agreements, its territory expanded to 150,833 km² with, 5,581,474 inhabitants.