Venizelist victory
207-458: Serbian campaign (1914) Serbian campaign (1915) Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian occupation Aegean Albania Greece ( National Schism ) Macedonian front The National Schism ( Greek : Εθνικός Διχασμός , romanized : Ethnikós Dichasmós ), also sometimes called The Great Division , was a series of disagreements between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos regarding
414-472: A Fascist -leaning authoritarian regime—was already toying with proto-Fascist ideas. This disagreement became evident as early as 6 August, when Streit clashed with Venizelos and submitted his resignation. Venizelos refused to accept it so as to avoid a political crisis, while the King also urged Streit to retract it, for fear that his replacement would allow Venizelos to push the government even further towards
621-679: A punitive measure but in reality with the aim of reestablishing its authority in the Balkans. On 23 July 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia , presenting a list of stringent demands. On 25 July Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf , the Chief of the General Staff , gave the mobilisation order for the Austro-Hungarian units required for Case B , the war plan formulated against Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbian response to
828-407: A "loan" of 40 million gold Reichsmark that went into his Swiss bank account. The Greek-Canadian journalist Philippe Gigantès argued that it was royal corruption with the "vast sums [of money] from Germany" that the king took was the most powerful reason for Constantine favoring neutrality, instead of the more altruistic reasons given by his admirers. According to Skouloudis and monarchist writers,
1035-570: A Bulgarian attack on Serbia, Greece could not count on Romanian assistance against Bulgaria or the Ottomans, and was, in the view of Venizelos, effectively left diplomatically isolated in the region. Furthermore, the Greek political leadership was divided in its views on the likely outcome of the war, and hence on the most appropriate Greek policy regarding the combatant coalitions. Prime Minister Venizelos believed that even if Germany and her allies in
1242-576: A Bulgarian attack. Furthermore, if Greece sent her army to fight the Austrians along the Danube, this would only incite a Bulgarian attack against both countries, which possessed insufficient forces to oppose it. On the other hand, Venizelos and King Constantine were in agreement when they rejected a German demand on 27 July to join the Central Powers. Already on 7 August, Venizelos sounded out
1449-505: A Greek counter-mobilization on 23 September. While 24 classes of men were called to arms, the mobilization proceeded with numerous difficulties and delays, as infrastructure or even military registers were lacking in the areas recently acquired during the Balkan Wars. Five army corps and 15 infantry divisions were eventually mobilized, but there were insufficient officers to man all the units, reservists tarried in presenting themselves to
1656-576: A Venizelos a message via Zaharoff proposing that British and French troops land in Thessaloniki to march north to aid Serbia, which would hopefully also deter Bulgaria from joining the Central Powers. The failure of the Anglo-French attempt to take Constantinople, which ended with the stalemate of the Battle of Gallipoli was used by the king as a justification for his belief that Germany would win
1863-512: A basically autocratic personality and strongly disliked Venizelos as a person. Moreover, the king was a militaristic Germanophile who admired Prussian militarism and believed that the Reich would not be defeated in the present war. The king had little respect for parliamentary government and preferred to deal with soldiers rather than politicians. Constantine, whose political style was fundamentally authoritarian, had been looking for an occasion to undo
2070-794: A broadly similar proposal, developed by Metaxas, to the Allies; while the British military attache and Sarrail initially accepted it, the French government decided to reject it, regarding it as a trap: the evacuation of the Nigrita– Drama area would expose the Allied flank to Bulgarian attacks, while conversely, the presence of the Greek army in Katerini would cover the Germans' right flank. Furthermore, by
2277-573: A constitutional monarchy the King is a passive instrument of the state in managing public affairs. All political authority is vested in the people and the members of parliament and government elected by the people". The tension between the two parties grew gradually over the course of the following year (1916) with both sides taking a more radical and divisive approach to the situation. When French and British forces landed in Thessaloniki (as invited by Venizelos earlier), against Constantine's wishes,
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#17327647170562484-413: A desperate attempt to persuade Constantine to help Serbia, Grey sent him a letter reading: "If Greece prepared to give support as an ally to Serbia, now that she has been attacked by Bulgaria, His Majesty's Government will be prepared to give Cyprus to Greece. Should Greece join the Allies for all purposes, she would naturally have a share with them in advantages secured at end of war, but the offer of Cyprus
2691-741: A diversionary crossing, suffering around 6,000 casualties while inflicting only 2,000. With most of his forces in Bosnia , Potiorek decided that the best way to stop the Serbian offensive was to launch another invasion into Serbia to force the Serbs to recall their troops to defend their much smaller homeland. "The Serbians, seasoned, war-hardened men, inspired by the fiercest patriotism, the result of generations of torment and struggle, awaited undaunted whatever fate might bestow." Winston Churchill , The Great War . A renewed Austro-Hungarian attack from
2898-566: A division) conducted an abortive offensive into Bosnia. In addition, both sides conducted local attacks, most of which were defeated. In one such attack, the Serbian Army used mine warfare for the first time: the Combined Division dug tunnels beneath the Austro-Hungarian trenches (that were only 20–30 meters away from the Serbian ones on this sector), planted mines and set them off just before an infantry charge. Having weakened
3105-433: A government on 30 August, with the firm intention of bringing Greece into the war on the side of the Allies. In the meantime, on 3 August, the British formally requested, on behalf of the Allies, the cession of Kavala to Bulgaria; this was rejected on 12 August, before Venizelos took office. On 6 September, Bulgaria signed a treaty of alliance with Germany, and a few days later mobilized against Serbia . Venizelos ordered
3312-476: A government. In December 1915 Constantine forced Venizelos to resign for a second time, after an anti-German speech of the later in the parliament, and dissolved the Liberal-dominated parliament, calling a new election . In his speech, Venizelos warned that a German victory would be disaster for Greece. Venizelos warned that in the event of a German victory, then the Ottomans would wage genocide against
3519-419: A heated quarrel with the French ambassador ensued. The breach between the Greek and Allied governments was further deepened when the French rejected a request for a 150 million Franc loan on 23 April, only for Athens to agree to a similar loan from Germany instead. In the event, the Serbian army was moved by ship to Macedonia, where it was grouped into three field armies. The addition of the 130,000 Serbs gave
3726-489: A large German loan to Bulgaria, and the conclusion of a Bulgarian-Ottoman agreement for the shipment of war material through Bulgaria, became known. On 15 February, the Allies reiterated their request and even offered to send Anglo-French troops to Thessaloniki . However, the Greek government again refused, its final decision again hinging on the stance of Romania, which again decided to remain neutral. However, in February,
3933-422: A large German-Austrian army under Field Marshal August von Mackensen was poised to invade Serbia at the same time as Bulgaria, the king announced that Greece would not be aiding Serbia. Venizelos told Constantine that: "We should not allow Bulgaria to crush Serbia and expand overmuch so as to crush us tomorrow. At this point therefore you cannot depart from this policy: unless of course you are determined to set aside
4140-531: A large-scale Allied operation in Macedonia against Bulgaria, but available forces were few; the British especially were loath to evacuate Gallipoli, while the French commander-in-chief, Joseph Joffre , was reluctant to divert forces from the Western Front . In the end, it was agreed to send 150,000 troops to the " Salonika front ", approximately half each French—the " Armée d'Orient " under Sarrail, with
4347-803: A limited offensive across the Sava River into the Austro-Hungarian region of Syrmia with its Serbian First Army . The main operational goal was to delay the transport of the Austro-Hungarian Second Army to the Russian front. The objective was shown to be futile as forces of the Second Army were already being transported. Meanwhile, the Timok Division I of the Serbian Second Army suffered a heavy defeat in
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#17327647170564554-551: A message from Lloyd George that Britain would not allow Russia to dispose of Anatolia as she wished (the British had promised Constantinople with the straits to the Russians who rejected the Greek participation in the operation), argued that now was the time to enter the war. With the exceptions of Theotokis and Metaxas, all of the members of the Crown Council supported Venizelos at the second meeting of 20 February 1915, but
4761-472: A naval arms race and mass expulsions of ethnic Greeks from Anatolia (Asia Minor). In the north, Bulgaria , defeated in the Second Balkan War , harbored plans for revenge against Greece and Serbia . Greece and Serbia were bound by a treaty of alliance , signed on 1 June 1913, which promised reciprocal military assistance in case of an attack by a third party, referring to Bulgaria. However, in
4968-516: A potential threat to the throne: demobilized officers and soldiers were organized in the " Reservist Associations ". The long-planned Allied offensive in what was now the Macedonian front had been delayed for 20 August, but on 17 August, the German and Bulgarian forces attacked the Serbian positions north of Florina , which they captured on the same night. The Central Powers' advance continued in
5175-399: A pro-Allied course. Thus, when on 25 July the Serbian government requested Greece's aid under the terms of their alliance, Venizelos replied on 2 August that Greece would remain a friendly neutral. The Greek prime minister argued that an important clause in the alliance agreement was rendered impossible: Serbia had undertaken to provide 150,000 troops in the area of Gevgelija to guard against
5382-578: A prospect of particular concern to the British, who feared an adverse impact on the millions of Muslim colonial subjects of the British Empire should the Ottoman Caliph declare war on Britain. As a result, only Britain replied to Venizelos' offer of alliance, to the effect that as long as the Ottomans remained neutral, Greece should do the same, whereas if Turkey entered the war, Greece would be welcome as an ally. These initiatives deepened
5589-504: A request to Britain, France, and Russia on their stance towards Greece, should the latter aid Serbia against Bulgaria and Turkey. This was followed on 18 August by a formal offer of alliance. Venizelos' diplomatic initiative ran contrary to the Allies' intentions at the time, which were focused on enticing Bulgaria to join their cause, even offering her territorial concessions at the expense of Serbia, Romania, and Greece. For his part, Venizelos sought to counter such Allied designs by threatening
5796-551: A result of Venizelos's call for a boycott, only a quarter of Greek men voted in the election. The decision not to aid Serbia despite the alliance disillusioned certain Army officers led by General Panagiotis Danglis who felt that it is dishonorable to break treaties, and it was dangerous to allow Serbia to be occupied as now the Bulgarians could throw all their forces against Greece. A Liberal politician, George Kafandaris, charged in
6003-467: A result, on 12 March 1916, the Allied forces exited the Salonica camp and approached the Greek frontier, where they came into contact with Central Powers forces. On 14 March, Falkenhayn informed the Greek government that German-Bulgarian troops would advance up to Neo Petritsi . The Ministry of Military affairs immediately issued orders for all covering forces to be withdrawn so as to avoid contact with
6210-523: A retreat into the surrounding hills, and the front settled into a month and a half of trench warfare. This was highly unfavourable to the Serbs, who had little in the way of an industrial base and were deficient in heavy artillery, ammunition stocks, shell production and footwear since the vast majority of infantry wore the traditional (though state-issued) opanaks when the Austro-Hungarians had waterproof leather boots. Most of their war material
6417-413: A royalist paramilitary organization , and a subsequent five-month naval blockade upon the (southern part of the) Greek kingdom, King Constantine abdicated on 11 June 1917 (his eldest son George bypassed, for also being anti-Entente), and was succeeded by his second son Alexander as king. Venizelos returned to Athens on 29 May 1917, and Greece, re-unified but under French armistice , officially joined
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6624-644: A second time within that year (1915). Eight months later, in May and June 1916, the palace counterweighted the grip of the Entente in Salonika with the unconditional surrender of a strong military fort along with half of the eastern part of Macedonia to the German-Bulgarian forces. The disagreements of the two men had now escalated towards a covert civil war . In August 1916, followers of Venizelos set up
6831-424: A speech that the royalists were promoting anachronistic "divine right of kings" theory that had no place in a democracy. Kafandaris stated: "Such theories lead us to think that ideas once believed to have disappeared in the deep darkness of past human history are resurfacing again to influence contemporary life...Our system of government was modeled after that of Great Britain and is known as constitutional monarchy. In
7038-625: A study it had prepared on possible military options against Turkey. This found that the only truly decisive manoeuvre, a landing of the entire Hellenic Army in Asia Minor, was impossible due to the hostility of Bulgaria. Instead, Metaxas proposed the sudden occupation of the Gallipoli Peninsula without a prior declaration of war , along with the clearing of the Dardanelles and the occupation of Constantinople so as to force
7245-458: A vote on October 4 in the parliament for a call to conscription , honoring the alliance treaty between Greece and Serbia. The next day he was implicated in the invasion of Allied forces in Thessaloniki which would establish the Macedonian front to help Serbia, but the King refused to sign the conscription, accusing him of treason for the invasion in Salonika and forcing him to resign for
7452-634: A war against the Ottoman Empire under the grounds that Greece did not have the logistical capability to support an army in Anatolia nor the economic resources to win such a war. Only the fear of a British naval blockade led Metaxas to advocate neutrality, and otherwise he was for Greece entering the war on the side of the Central Powers. Additionally, the King was bribed by the Auswaertiges Amt into remaining neutral, secretly taking in 1915
7659-508: A warning of 24 hours to the Greek government; Greece would lodge a formal complaint at the violation of its neutrality, but then accept the fait accompli . As a result, the French 156th Division and the British 10th Division were ordered to embark from Gallipoli for Thessaloniki. However, the Allies failed to inform Athens, leading to a tense stand-off. When the Allied warships arrived in
7866-616: A year later, after combining the armies of Germany , Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria , the Central Powers returned for a massive offensive during the Serbian Campaign of 1915 . On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo , the provincial capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina , formally annexed by Austria-Hungary . The perpetuator, Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip ,
8073-482: Is made by H.M. Government independently on condition that Greece gives immediate and full support with her army to Serbia". Both the King and his prime minister Alexandros Zaimis turned the offer down. After his inability to sway Constantine to act against Bulgaria, Venizelos took a new route by allowing British and French troops to land in Thessaloniki, Macedonia in aid of Serbia, following their failed operation at Gallipoli , and after asking them if they could offer
8280-592: Is to crown this warfare will make up for the extremely bloody sacrifices which this generation of Serbs is making". This led to announcing Serbia's intention to annex extensive amounts of Austria-Hungary's Balkan provinces. Greece in World War I#Greece on the side of the Allies, June 1917 – November 1918 Serbian campaign (1914) Serbian campaign (1915) Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian occupation Aegean Albania Greece ( National Schism ) Macedonian front At
8487-518: The 5th and 6th Armies, attacked Serbia from the west and north. The Serbian army under the command of General Radomir Putnik using their knowledge of the rugged terrain and the strategic advantage of the rivers, defeated the 5th Army at the Battle of Cer , repelling all the Austro-Hungarian forces out of Serbia, marking the first Allied victory of the First World War. After the failure of
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8694-572: The Allied attack on Gallipoli began, with naval bombardments of the Ottoman forts there. Venizelos decided to offer an army corps and the entire Greek fleet to assist the Allies, making an official offer on 1 March, despite the King's reservations. This caused Metaxas to resign on the next day, while meetings of the Crown Council (the King, Venizelos, and the living former prime ministers) on 3 and 5 March proved indecisive. King Constantine decided to keep
8901-470: The Aydin Vilayet —anything more concrete was impossible since at the same time the Allies were negotiating with Italy on her own demands in the same area—while making no mention of Greece's territorial integrity vis-a-vis Bulgaria, as Venizelos had already proven himself willing to countenance the cession of Kavala to Bulgaria. The Liberal Party won the 12 June elections , and Venizelos again formed
9108-592: The Central Powers prevailed in Central Europe , Britain, with her naval might, would prevail at least in the Near East where Greece's interests lay. Venizelos also considered that Greece's two main rivals, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, were likely to join the Central Powers since their interests aligned with those of Germany. The conflict with the Ottomans over the islands of the eastern Aegean, or
9315-527: The Central Powers took control of eastern Macedonia in May 1916, the public took similar outrage at the King's inability to defend Greek territory. Count Wilhelm von Mirbach, the German minister in Athens requested of the king the surrender of Fort Roupel , and the king duly ordered the garrison of the fort to surrender to a German-Bulgarian force. Without opposition, on 25 May 1916, 8,000 Greek soldiers at Fort Roupel surrendered and transferred to Germany , while
9522-482: The Ottoman Empire , had joined in on Germany's side. Hence, neutrality was the course favored by most pro-German Greeks, including the senior, German-educated, leadership of the General Staff, who had great influence over the King. For the first two months of the war, the Ottoman Empire maintained a pro-German neutrality, and the British, French and Russian governments waged a campaign of appeasement to try keep
9729-834: The Provisional Government of "National Defence" which included northern Greece, the Aegean Islands and Crete , and sided with Entente . This act, which effectively split Greece into north and south entities, had the aim to reclaim the trust of Entente along with the lost regions of Macedonia, and to regain control on northern Greece, gradually lost after the growing Army of the Orient had landed, one year earlier. After intense diplomatic negotiations, an armed confrontation in Athens between Allied and royalist forces with dozens of casualties, some due to lynching by
9936-485: The Rupel Fortress detected approaching German-Bulgarian columns. Its commander, Major Ioannis Mavroudis , after notifying his superiors (6th Division and Thessaloniki Fortress Command), informed the approaching Germans of his orders to resist. The 6th Division commander, Major General Andreas Bairas , mobilized his forces and issued orders to resist any attack, while sending word to Athens, IV Corps, and notifying
10143-475: The Thermaic Gulf on the morning of 30 September, the local Greek commander, the head of III Corps, Lt. General Konstantinos Moschopoulos , unaware of the diplomatic manoeuvres, refused them entry pending instructions from Athens. Venizelos was outraged that the Allies had not informed him as agreed, and refused to allow their disembarkation. After a tense day, the Allies agreed to halt their approach until
10350-579: The "revolution" of 1909 for some time. His favorite adviser on both political and military affairs was the Germanophile General Ioannis Metaxas . Knowing of the strong anti-Slavic racism held by the Emperor Wilhelm II, Metaxas argued that Germany was the natural defender of "Hellenism against Slavism", and Germany would not permit Bulgaria to gain territory from a German-friendly Greece. Metaxas argued against
10557-483: The 150,000 soldiers at the front. Venizelos took advantage of this by forcing through a parliamentary motion (with a 37-vote margin) to declare war on Bulgaria. The invitation to the Allies by Venizelos enraged the King. The dispute between the Greek Prime Minister and the King reached its height shortly after and the King invoked the Greek constitutional right that gave the monarch the right to dismiss
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#173276471705610764-399: The 156th, 57th , and 122nd divisions—and British—the " British Salonika Force " under Bryan Mahon , with 10th Division, XII Corps and XVI Corps . On 22 October, the Bulgarians captured Skopje , thus cutting off the Serbs from the Allied forces assembling in Thessaloniki. In an attempt to link up with the retreating Serbs, Sarrail launched an attack against Skopje on 3–13 November, but
10971-425: The 6th Division, except for its 16th Regiment (which remained at Serres), managed to reach Kavala on 4 September. Only after 27 August, through German intervention, was the resupply of the isolated Greek garrisons allowed, which led to the relaxing of the Allied blockade as well. On 27 August, Romania entered the war on the Allied side. The event laid bare the deepening " National Schism " engulfing Greek society. On
11178-524: The 7th Division commander, Colonel Ioannis Hatzopoulos , while the fortifications of the Kavala Fortress area had not been completed. On 15 August, Athens ordered the Kavala Fortress command to dismantle its artillery and machine guns, while on 18 August, orders were given to all divisional commands to avoid clashes and withdraw their units to the divisional bases, and that the cities, including Serres and Drama, were to be abandoned, if necessary, and
11385-497: The Allied Powers should Bulgaria attack Serbia or should the Allies make proposals that would satisfy Greek claims. King Constantine I on the other hand, backed by Foreign Minister Georgios Streit and the General Staff, were convinced of Germany's eventual triumph and furthermore sympathized with the German militarist political system. As Greece was highly vulnerable to the Allied navies and thus unable to openly side with
11592-472: The Allied demands by Athens did not prevent Sarrail from trying further provocations: in late June, he demanded to be given command of the Greek Gendarmerie in his zone of operations; when this was refused, the French general demanded the immediate departure of all Greek forces from Thessaloniki before backing down. In mid-July, a French-controlled newspaper published articles insulting the King and
11799-495: The Allied diplomats could arrange matters with Venizelos in Athens. Finally, during the night of 1–2 October, Venizelos gave the green light for the disembarkation, which began on the same morning. The Allies issued a communique justifying their landing as a necessary measure to secure their lines of communication with Serbia, to which the Greek government replied with a protest but no further actions. Following this event, Venizelos presented to Parliament his case for participation in
12006-530: The Allied forces that had advanced up to the village of Strymoniko (about 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the south) for possible assistance. Despite repeated warnings that they would resist any attempt to seize Rupel and that Athens had been notified, three German-Bulgarian columns moved to capture Mount Kerkini , Mount Angistro , and the bridge over the Strymon at Koula, until Mavroudis ordered his guns to open fire upon them. They then halted and withdrew back over
12213-399: The Allied governments with resignation, an eventuality which opened up the prospect of a pro-German government in Athens. Russia, which pressed for more concessions to Bulgaria, considered her geopolitical interests best served if Greece remained neutral. In addition, a Greek entry into the war on the Allied side might also precipitate the entry of the Ottomans on the side of the Central Powers,
12420-480: The Allied governments, who began clamouring for the evacuation of the Greek army from Macedonia, and the occupation of Milos and Piraeus by the Allied navies. Meanwhile, Greek merchant shipping was detained in Allied harbours and an unofficial embargo placed on Greece. On 19 November, the Greek government informed the Allies that their forces would not be disarmed, and that Greek forces in Macedonia were there to defend against Bulgarian attack rather than interfere with
12627-474: The Allies by submitting a proposal for a Balkan bloc against Austria–Hungary, with wide-ranging territorial concessions and swaps among the Balkan states. The plan led nowhere, primarily due to Russian involvement in the affairs of Bulgaria and Serbia, but it did signal that Venizelos was ready to abandon the territorial status quo as long as Greek interests were safeguarded. On 14 August 1914, Venizelos submitted
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#173276471705612834-462: The Allies of entering the war in exchange for financial support and a guarantee regarding the country's territorial integrity. It received no answer, and as a result, the government decided not to offer resistance to the Bulgarian advance in eastern Macedonia, where the Greek position was precarious: following demobilization, IV Corps was left with c. 600 officers and 8,500 men, headed by
13041-471: The Allies over 300,000 men in Macedonia, raising the prospect of an Allied offensive that might draw Romania into the war on the Allied side. This was delayed as the demands placed by the ongoing Battle of Verdun on the Western Front did not allow the transfer of more troops to Macedonia, but conversely, the Allies sought to tie down German and Austrian forces that had begun to withdraw in Macedonia. As
13248-434: The Allies. Nevertheless, on 21 November the Allies occupied Milos, and two days later demanded formal and categorical assurances that their forces would enjoy freedom of movement and action in and around Thessaloniki; Skouloudis accepted, but two days later, the demands were upped, by demanding the removal of the Greek army from Thessaloniki, the placing of all roads and railroads in the direction of Serbia under Allied disposal,
13455-593: The Anatolian Greeks to Greece with a population exchange. As the Great War began, the Greek authorities had to choose between neutrality and aligning themselves with the Allied forces . Outright participation in the war on the side of the Central Powers was not an option, both because of Greece's vulnerability to the Royal Navy and because, from early on (October 1914), Greece's traditional enemy,
13662-489: The Anglo-French to assume that role. The Allies gave a favourable reply on 24 September, but they did not have the 150,000 men required; as a result, the King, the Army Staff Service, and large part of the opposition preferred to remain neutral until the Allies could guarantee effective support. Venizelos, however, asked the French ambassador to send Allied troops to Thessaloniki as quickly as possible, but to give
13869-430: The Army Staff Service's evaluation of the situation. The opinion of the latter was that without a simultaneous entry of Romania into the war on the side of the Allies, Greece's position was too risky. Following the firm refusal of Romania to be drawn into the conflict at this time, the proposal was scuttled. On 24 January 1915, the British offered Greece "significant territorial concessions in Asia Minor" if it would enter
14076-482: The Austrian bombardment. Despite the incomplete concentration of the 5th and 6th Armies, the Austro-Hungarian forces launched their first offensive into Serbia on 12 August. The 2nd Army was due to be transported to Galicia to face the Russians on 18 August, which was also Emperor Franz Josef’s 84th birthday. Therefore the high command was determined to knock Serbia out as soon as possible. 5th Army started crossing
14283-545: The Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. Serbia's ally, Montenegro, contributed an extra 40,000 men. During the night of 28–29 July 1914, three Austro-Hungarian river monitors of the Austrian Danube Flotilla attempted to secure the bridges over the River Sava between Semlin ( Zemun ) and Belgrade. After facing fierce resistance from Serbian irregulars, the landing was aborted, and the monitors were redirected to
14490-403: The Balkan wars and his health would never be the same. In the 1915 election, the royalist parties did best in "Old Greece" while the liberals did best in "New Greece". The newly returned prime minister forced the king to promise him that Greece would honor its alliance with Serbia if Bulgaria attacked, a promise the king had no intention of keeping. Venizelos stated that his win was the proof that
14697-542: The British on 16 October was not enough to alter the new government's stance. Indeed, on 7 October the Austro-German forces under August von Mackensen began their decisive offensive against Serbia, followed by a Bulgarian attack on 14 October, without prior declaration of war. The Bulgarian attack cut off the Serbian retreat south to Greece, forcing the Serbian army to retreat via Albania . The French commander-designate in Thessaloniki, Maurice Sarrail , favoured
14904-1073: The Bulgarians and the Turks. As the original guarantor powers of Greece, Britain, France, and Russia further claimed a right to intervene as the Greek government had violated both the alliance with Serbia and the Greek constitution by organizing what the Allies (and the Venizelists) regarded as illegal elections. The mistrust between Sarrail and the Greek government was evident on 23 February when he visited King Constantine and Skouloudis to explain his unilateral actions in Macedonia. By that time, 133,000 Serbian soldiers had been evacuated to Corfu. Over 3,000 died of dysentery and typhus during their stay there, but they were also re-equipped with French arms and formed into six divisions. The Allies planned to move them to Macedonia, and consequently, on 5 April, they demanded that they be moved by ship to Patras and thence overland by rail, via Athens and Larissa , to Thessaloniki. Skouloudis vehemently rejected this request, and
15111-421: The Bulgarians did not participate or at least stayed out of the cities, and the command of the operations was in German hands; that Bulgaria issued no territorial demands; that the Central Powers forces would withdraw once their objectives were met; and that the Greek authorities remain in place. On 6 January, Germany declared its willingness to respect Greek sovereignty, provided that the Greek army withdrew from
15318-471: The Bulgarians occupied the eastern half of Greek Macedonia including the port of Kavala. In 1915, pro-royalist supporters such as Metaxas had assailed Venizelos for his willingness to cede Kavala and the eastern half of Greek Macedonia to Bulgaria, and now the situation was reversed with the Venizelists attacking the king for surrendering the same lands to the Bulgarians. The surrender of Fort Roupel marked
15525-419: The Central Powers, Constantine and his supporters argued for firm and "permanent" neutrality. The thinking of Streit, the King's main political advisor on the subject, was influenced by his fear of pan-Slavism (in the first instance Bulgaria, but ultimately represented by Russia) against which Germany supposedly fought, as well as by his belief that the traditional European balance of power would not be upset by
15732-511: The Constitution, and assuming full responsibility by a Royal degree". Constantine replied: "You know, I recognize that I am bound to obey the popular verdict when it is a question of the internal affairs of the country; but when it is a question of foreign affairs, great international questions, I think that so long as I believe a thing is right or not right, I must insist upon its being done or not done, because I am responsible before God". In
15939-459: The Drina River from northern Bosnia and was the first to engage in action, supported by elements of 2nd Army from Syrmia . On 15 August, 6th Army, positioned in southern Bosnia, attacked across the Serbian and Montenegrin border with its 16th Corps. This move surprised Marshal Putnik , who expected an attack from the north and initially believed it to be a feint. Once it became clear that it
16146-668: The European War. You have been the victim finally of your own quite human and not unnatural weakness. Accustomed to admire everything German, bewildered by the unrivalled German organization of military and other affairs of every sort, you not only expected a German victory, but you came to desire it, hoping that it would enable you to concentrate in your own hands all the authority of the government, and substantially to set aside our free Constitution." Serbian campaign (1914) Serbian campaign (1915) Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian occupation The Serbian campaign of 1914
16353-479: The French government ordered him to stop his advance. A Serbian attack on the 20th was fought off by the Bulgarians, and any hope of the Serbs linking up with Sarrail's forces evaporated. As a result, though under constant pursuit, the remnants of the Serbian army retreated into Albania, aiming to reach the shores of the Adriatic, while Sarrail ordered his own forces to withdraw south towards Thessaloniki, re-crossing
16560-513: The Germans and their allies would cross the border and do it for them, and on 10 December, the German Foreign Ministry reacted to the new agreement between Greece and the Allies regarding their armies in Macedonia by demanding the same rights of free movement in Greek territory. To these demands, the Greek government answered on 22 December that it would not actively oppose a Central Powers invasion of its territory, provided that
16767-506: The German–Bulgarian forces. If the latter targeted Greek forts, the latter had to be evacuated and their armament destroyed. However, on 10 May, this order was rescinded as the government feared lest the Bulgarians take advantage of it unilaterally, and the Greek forces were ordered to oppose with arms any incursion of more than 500m into Greek soil. On the same day, two events of major importance occurred. First, French battalions seized
16974-526: The Greek army could be encircled, while Venizelos was anxious that the army should turn east and capture the strategically important city and harbor of Thessaloniki . The anxiety of Venizelos was doubled by the fact that the Bulgarians had also set their eyes on Thessaloniki, the most important in Macedonia , and were sending their own troops towards it. Eventually Venizelos prevailed, and the Greeks captured
17181-584: The Greek forces in Thessaly to the west. Second, the Germans notified Athens that they wanted to occupy the Rupel Pass , east of Lake Kerkini, in response to the Allies' crossing the Strymon River. The Greek government protested that this was not the case, but on 22 May 1916, the Bulgarian and German governments formally notified Athens of their intention to occupy Rupel. On 26 May, the garrison of
17388-537: The Greek forces in the area assembled in eastern Macedonia ( IV Army Corps east of the Strymon River, V Corps in the Nigrita area, and some support units of the I and II Corps around Mount Vermion ). These forces faced the First and Second Bulgarian Armies. On the Central Powers' side, on 29 November 1915, Falkenhayn had publicly threatened that if Greece could not neutralize the Allied and Serbian forces on its soil,
17595-517: The Greek fort of Dova Tepe, located between lakes Doiran and Kerkini . The garrison provided no resistance, in accordance with its instructions. In the wake of this, the Greek forces evacuated the area from the Vardar to Dova Tepe. As a result, the Greek forces found themselves in two widely separate concentrations: V Corps (8th, 9th, 15th Divisions) and IV Corps (5th, 6th, 7th Divisions) in eastern Macedonia, and III Corps (10th, 11th, 12th Divisions) and
17802-399: The Greek frontier on 13 December 1915. As the Bulgarians followed closely behind the Allies and attacked them during their retreat, there was concern that they would simply continue on past the border. Lt. General Moschopoulos' requests for instructions to Athens went unanswered, but on his own initiative he deployed the 3/40 Evzone Regiment to cover the border with at least a token force. In
18009-631: The Greek interests if Bulgaria secured Thrace, because Greece would gain a "stable spine". Enver Pasha, the Ottoman Minister of War and a member of the triumvirate that ruled the Ottoman Empire decided in January 1914 to "cleanse" the Ionia area of Anatolia of its Greek inhabitants, and in May 1914 unleashed the dreaded "Special Organization" of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) against
18216-585: The Greek lands of eastern Macedonia to be given to Bulgaria (so to join also the Allies) hoping for the post-war concessions in Asia Minor. In a memo to the king on 17 January 1915, Venizelos recommended ceding Kavala to Bulgaria as the British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey had recommended, stating that this was a most painful sacrifice, but was necessary to protect the Greeks of Anatolia because if Greece did not enter
18423-412: The Greek officer corps. Its editor was beaten up by Greek officers, who were then arrested by Moschopoulos, but Sarrail, who claimed that this was an insult to the French flag, sent an armed detachment to seize them and try them in a French court-martial. The Greek government eventually secured their return and regular trial by Greek authorities. At the same time, the royalists also began organizing against
18630-457: The Greek people agreed with his pro-Entente policy. By the fall of 1915, a propaganda war was being conducted in the Greek newspapers between Zaharoff, who used his vast wealth to start buying up newspapers to campaign for Venizelos vs. Baron von Schneck, the press attache at the German legation who purchased newspapers to campaign for the king. At the time, Schneck was described by one British journalist as "a great and mysterious power for evil who
18837-534: The Greek people supported the King's view that the Allies had violated the country's sovereignty. By the end of January 1916, there were 125, 000 French and 100, 000 British troops in Thessaloniki, having established so the Macedonian front . Constantine made diplomatic attempts to drive them out, but in December 1915, in a meeting in Paris, the Allies had decided to keep the front at all costs. However, later on, when
19044-405: The Greeks of Anatolia while allowing the Bulgarians to annex Serbian Macedonia would inevitably be followed up by demands for Greek Macedonia. After his speech, Venizelos was summoned to the royal palace, where the king told him that he was in disagreement with every point of his speech, and predicted that Germany would win the war. The king also made the claim that he was accountable only to God, not
19251-615: The Ionian Greeks. The "cleansing" operation caused the deaths of least 300,000 Ionian Greeks and as intended caused thousands more terrified refugees to flee across the Aegean Sea to Greece. In July 1914, the "cleansing operation" was stopped following very strong protests from the Russian, French and British ambassadors to the Sublime Porte with the French ambassador Maurice Bompard speaking especially strongly in defense of
19458-503: The Ionian Greeks. The increasing intolerance of the CUP regime towards minorities in Anatolia with a new emphasis upon Turkish nationalism in place of Ottomanism, as reflected in the slogan "Turkey for the Turks!" brought the subject of the Anatolian Greeks to the fore in Greece, with two options being available, namely to bring Greece to the Anatolian Greeks by annexing parts of Anatolia or bring
19665-489: The Karabournou Fortress to control the entry to the Thermaic Gulf . Both steps were taken without the agreement of the Greek authorities or even consultation with General Mahon, but enraged Greek public opinion, which began to turn against the Allies. The whole series of events in the winter of 1915/1916 was indicative of the hopeless legal and political imbroglio that the Greek government found itself. This
19872-556: The King decided Greece to not participate in the operation, and was replaced with Dimitrios Gounaris . The new PM made statements to the Press about the proposals of Venizelos regarding Kavala increasing the social confusion and displeasure. The conflict between the Venizelos and the king in large part represented a conflict between a vision of Greece was expanding under a reformist government allied to Britain vs. another vision of Greece
20079-460: The King, Army generals (including the General Staff and Ioannis Metaxas ) forced Venizelos to draw back. Metaxas said during the council: "Nobody has the right to give Greek land." On 19 February, British and French warships entered the Dardanelles with the aim of taking Constantinople ( Gallipoli campaign ). Venizelos argued that the end of the Ottoman Empire was imminent, and after receiving
20286-579: The Liberal Party polarized Greek society between those who benefited from the patronage and who did not. Furthermore, those who felt excluded naturally looked towards the traditional dispenser of patronage, the royal family, to counterbalance the Liberals. With the outbreak of the Balkan Wars , Constantine was immediately appointed again as commander-in-chief , and the successes of the army in
20493-425: The Ottoman Empire, Zaharoff was the principal financier behind Venizelos's Liberal Party. Lloyd George was a Welshman while Venizelos was a Cretan, making both men into outsiders in their respective nations, providing a bond between the two men. By 1914, Lloyd George emerged as the most powerful voice for Greece within the British cabinet. Lloyd George's advocacy of Britain ceding Cyprus to Greece in exchange for leasing
20700-465: The Ottoman decision to enter the war, the Allies were more open to making promises to Greece about fulfilling the Megali Idea . However, the Allies still wanted to keep Bulgaria neutral, and through King Ferdinand of Bulgaria was an Austrian, he was also known as "Foxy Ferdinand" due to his opportunistic and cunning qualities, leading to hopes that he might be bribed into remaining neutral. Venizelos
20907-560: The Ottomans neutral. On 18 August 1914, Venizelos told the British minister in Athens Sir Francis Elliot that he wanted Greece to enter the war on the Allied side, but was curtly refused, saying the Allies preferred to keep the Ottoman Empire neutral. On 29 October 1914, the Ottomans attacked Russia in the Black Sea Raid and on 4 November 1914, Britain, France and Russia all declared war on the Ottomans. After
21114-708: The Ottomans to negotiate. However, on the previous day, the Ottoman government had suggested joint talks, and the tension eased enough for Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and the Ottoman Grand Vizier , Said Halim Pasha , to meet in Brussels in July. The anticipated conflict would emerge from a different quarter however, when on 28 June, the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia and initiate
21321-409: The Ottomans unless Turkey attacked first. On 7 September, Venizelos submitted his resignation, along with a memorandum outlining his geopolitical considerations; bowing to his Prime Minister's popularity and parliamentary support, the King rejected the resignation. On 2 December, Serbia repeated its request for Greek assistance, which was supported by the Allied governments. Venizelos asked Metaxas for
21528-427: The Ottomans were defeated, then "Hellenism in Asia Minor would still fall under alien domination". Metaxas's opposition to a campaign in Anatolia poisoned his relationship with Venizelos, starting one of the most famous feuds in Greek history as the two men came to completely detest one another, to the point that if one was for something, the other was almost automatically against it. An important factor turned out to be
21735-693: The Radicals on the left vs. the Liberal Imperialists on the right, Lloyd George had far more power than a normal Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lloyd George had first met Venizelos in December 1912, and the budding friendship between the two men was encouraged by Domini Crosfield , the Greek wife of the Liberal MP Arthur Crosfield and the extremely wealthy arms dealer Basil Zaharoff . A Greek native of Anatolia who hated
21942-488: The Serbian army before a Greek mobilization could be completed, and Bulgaria was likely to flank any Greek forces fighting against the Austrians, while a Romanian intervention would not be decisive. Metaxas judged that even if Bulgaria joined the Allies, it still would not suffice to shift the balance in Central Europe in the Allies' favour. He therefore recommended the presence of four Allied army corps in Macedonia as
22149-589: The Serbian army, the Austro-Hungarian Army launched another massive attack on 5 November. The Serbs withdrew step by step, offering strong resistance at the Kolubara River, but to no avail, due to the lack of artillery ammunition. It was at that time that General Živojin Mišić was made commander of the battered First Army, replacing the wounded Petar Bojović. He insisted on a deep withdrawal to let
22356-595: The Serbian capital, on 2 December 1914. Following a successful counter-offensive at the Battle of Kolubara , the Serbian Army managed to expel the Central Powers forces again from its territory before the end of December, consequently ending the campaign. Potiorek was relieved of his command after the three invasions had achieved none of their objectives. The Campaign cost the Habsburg forces 28,000 dead and 122,000 wounded. Serbian losses were also heavy with 22,000 dead, 91,000 wounded, and 19,000 captured or missing. Less than
22563-611: The Serbs and the Greek forces would be cut off by the Bulgarians. Metaxas proposed instead a joint offensive against Bulgaria, with the Greeks attacking along the Nestos and Strymon valleys, the Allies from the Vardar valley, and the Serbs joining in. Milovanović informed Metaxas that the pressure on the Serbian Army left them unable to spare forces for any such operation. On 10 October, the Zaimis government officially informed Serbia that it could not come to her aid. Even an offer of Cyprus by
22770-489: The Thessaloniki harbour. The Greek government's protests, which extended to neutral countries, including the United States, were regarded by the Allies as a hostile gesture. The French played the leading role in these events, led by Sarrail and ambassador Jean Guillemin , who pressed for no less than the overthrow of King Constantine, while the British opposed such extreme measures. On 8 June, in an effort to reduce
22977-914: The Third, the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army established a bridgehead with a renewed attack. At that time, Marshal Putnik withdrew the First Army from Syrmia (against strong opposition), using it to deliver a fierce counterattack against the Sixth Army that initially went well but finally bogged down in a bloody four-day fight for a peak of the Jagodnja mountain called Mačkov Kamen, in which both sides suffered horrendous losses in successive frontal attacks and counterattacks. Two Serbian divisions lost around 11,000 men, while Austro-Hungarian losses were probably comparable. Marshal Putnik ordered
23184-524: The Turkish Straits. Traditionally, the advocates of Megali Idea had seen Constantinople as the future capital of a new Roman empire. Italy was allied to Germany and Austria, but neutral; in an attempt to persuade the Italians to enter the war on their side, the Allies promised the Italians parts of Anatolia where the population was Greek, which was another reason for Venizelos to advocate entering
23391-525: The aim of annexing Greek Macedonia. Venizelos also warned that the Ottoman Empire which had joined the war on Germany's side earlier that month "would destroy Hellenism in Asia Minor" if Germany won. Venzelos was alluding to the savage campaign of persecution launched by the Turkish nationalist Committee of Union and Progress against the Ottoman Greek minority in May 1914. He further warned that even if
23598-457: The atrocities of irregular komitadjis . Hatzopoulos' requests to be allowed to mobilize reserves and receive reinforcements from the fleet were denied. By 22 August, eastern Macedonia was effectively under Bulgarian occupation. On 23 August, the Allies announced a blockade of Kavala harbour. Over the same day and that following, the Bulgarians encircled the city and occupied the ring of fortresses around it. The 5th Division remained at Drama, but
23805-415: The available troops to retreat to Kavala. As the Bulgarian advance continued, sporadic clashes erupted in places, while elsewhere Greek units, such as the 18th Regiment and the 5th Division, were encircled and disarmed. One by one, Hatzopoulos lost contact with IV Corps' units and forts, while such units as could be headed for Kavala, accompanied by the civilian population, which fled the Bulgarian advance and
24012-518: The border area, with its bulk retiring west behind the Lake Prespa – Katerini line, leaving only V Corps in the Kavala area, and that any Allied attempts to land at either Kavala or Katerini were to be resisted. In this way, Macedonia would be left uncontested for the Allies and Central Powers to fight, while the remainder of Greece remained neutral. In late January, the Greek government submitted
24219-441: The border. However, at 15:05, orders arrived from Athens mandating the withdrawal of Greek covering forces without resistance. At Rupel, Mavroudis still refused to surrender the fort without explicit instructions, until Athens authorized his withdrawal. The fort was surrendered and the garrison withdrew on 27 May, allowing the German-Bulgarian forces unimpeded access to the Strymon valley and eastern Macedonia. The surrender of Rupel
24426-465: The brink of war. Venizelos asked Constantine for mobilization of the Army. Constantine agreed for defensive posture against Bulgaria, but insisted on the condition that Greece would not attack first. Constantine now announced that he wished to disregard the alliance with Serbia, stating that it not apply if other powers (non-Balkan) also attacked Serbia. Plus, according to the treaty of alliance, Serbia had to provide 150,000 soldiers against Bulgaria. Since
24633-504: The character and role of the king in the state. The dismissal of Venizelos by the King resulted in a deep personal rift between the two men, and in subsequent events their followers divided into two radically opposed political camps; this affected the wider Greek society. After Bulgaria had entered the war against Serbia (already in a siege under Germany 's and Austria-Hungary 's combined attack), in September 1915, Venizelos achieved
24840-462: The city and detained them on an Allied warship. Allied encroachments on Greek sovereignty continued to gather pace: on 10 January 1916, the Allied ambassadors announced that the Serbian troops would be ferried from Albania to the Greek island of Corfu , which was seized by French troops on the next day. In order to impede a possible Bulgarian advance, on 12 January, Sarrail ordered several railway bridges blown up, and on 28 January, French troops seized
25047-474: The city only a few hours before the arrival of the Bulgarians. This episode was not publicised at the time, and in the aftermath of the Wars, the two men, King and Prime Minister, both wildly popular, were seen as making up a formidable partnership at the helm of the Greek state. However, the antivenizelist opposition in the parliament gradually began rallying around the King. After the Second Balkan War and during
25254-533: The coming of the French military mission to Greece (1911–1914) , was not welcomed by the Crown Prince and his German trained cycle. Venizelos's reforms had broken the influence of the House of Glücksburg over the civil service and created a patronage machine loyal to himself. In a society where traditional clan and family loyalties often determined political loyalties, the creation of a patronage machine loyal to
25461-399: The conflict would not remain localized but expand to a general European war, any previous considerations by the Balkan countries were upended. This was notably the case for Greece and Romania: both had a stake in maintaining the favourable status quo in the Balkans, but their interests diverged. Thus, once Romania declared its neutrality and refused to undertake any commitments in the event of
25668-536: The country neutral, whereupon Venizelos submitted his resignation on 6 March 1915. This time it was accepted, and he was replaced by Dimitrios Gounaris , who formed his government on 10 March. On 12 March, the new government suggested to the Allies its willingness to join them, under certain conditions. The Allies, however, expected a victory of Venizelos in the forthcoming elections and were in no hurry to commit themselves. Thus on 12 April, they replied to Gounaris' proposal, offering territorial compensation in vague terms
25875-475: The defeat, and who were influenced by republicanism . A " Military League " was formed, and on 15 August 1909, they issued a pronunciamiento at the Goudi barracks in Athens. The movement, which demanded reforms in government and military affairs, was widely supported by the public; King George was forced to give in to the military's demands. He appointed Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis as Prime Minister and accepted
26082-583: The demobilisation of the military. They instituted also a partial naval blockade to the Greek Kingdom. Italian forces also took the approval of the Triple Entente, entered Argyrokastro and took over most of Northern Epirus (which was under Greek administration since 1914), while the French captured Korçë. On 19 August 1916, Constantine informed his royal chronicler Constantine Zavitzianos that he intended to keep control of military matters and
26289-457: The development of true representation had been slow since the creation of the state. Up until the 1870s and the King's acceptance of the principle that the leader of the majority party in Parliament should be given the mandate to form a government, the formation of political groupings around a leader who could govern if this pleased the King meant that the supposedly parliamentary government
26496-526: The differences between the "New Greece" which gained after the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 , consisting of Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, Crete, and the North Aegean islands, and the "Old Greece" which consisted of the pre-1912 territories. In general, people in "New Greece" were pro-Venizelist while people in "Old Greece" were much more pro-royalist. The main cause of the conflict was the dispute between Venizelos and King Constantine over power in Greece, in which
26703-556: The dismissal of the Princes from the military. However, it soon became apparent that the leadership of the League was not able to govern the country, and they looked for an experienced political leader, who would also preferably be anti-monarchist and not tainted by the "old-partyism" of the old system. The officers found such a man in the person of Eleftherios Venizelos , a prominent Cretan politician, whose clashes with Prince George ,
26910-501: The event, the Central Powers halted before the Greek border, for the time being. Although the Austrian commander Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf pressed to complete the victory in Serbia by clearing Albania and evicting the Allies from Thessaloniki, and forcing Greece and Romania to enter the war on the side of the Central Powers, the German high command, under Erich von Falkenhayn , was eager to end operations so as to focus on his plan to win
27117-508: The field, especially in the Second Balkan War against the Bulgarians , helped many forget his record in 1897. Constantine, now king, was being hailed as "laurel-crowned" and "Bulgar-slayer". It was however during this war that the first tension between Constantine and Venizelos surfaced, in a dispute over the army's course following the victory at Sarantaporo . Constantine wanted to march due north, towards Monastir , fearing otherwise that
27324-404: The financial burden on the state and appease Sarrail's suspicions about a stab in the back, Athens decided to begin the demobilization of the Greek army: 12 older classes were demobilized entirely, while a two-month furlough was given to those hailing from southern Greece. This was not enough, and on 21 June, the Allied ambassadors demanded the complete demobilization of the army, the resignation of
27531-611: The first invasion, Austria-Hungary regrouped and launched a second invasion in September 1914, at the Battle of the Drina the Serbs pushed the 5th Army back into Bosnia while forcing on 25 September the remains of the Balkanstreitkräfte to retreat to avoid encirclement. On 24 October, the Valjevo Offensive saw Potiorek launching a third invasion, this time reaching deep into northern Serbia, capturing Belgrade ,
27738-465: The foreign policy of Greece in the period of 1910–1922 of which the tipping point was whether Greece should enter World War I . Venizelos was in support of the Allies and wanted Greece to join the war on their side, while the pro- German King wanted Greece to remain neutral, which would further favor the plans of the Central Powers . The disagreement had wider implications, since it would also affect
27945-530: The foreign policy, which were royal prerogatives as far as he was concerned, and that it did not matter how many people supported Venizelos. In a speech in Athens on 27 August 1916, Venizelos for the first time publicly attacked the king, saying: "King of the Hellenes! You have been a victim of men who, in order to undo the work of the Revolution (of which tomorrow is the seventh anniversary) and to restore
28152-617: The friendship between David Lloyd George and Venizelos. Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the British equivalent to a finance minister), was the leader of the "Radical" (left-wing) of the British Liberal Party and was world famous as the most charismatic man in British politics. Owing to the precarious nature of the British Liberal government under Prime Minister H. H. Asquith , badly divided between
28359-417: The government, and new elections. Informed in advance of these demands, Skouloudis had already resigned and King Constantine entrusted the veteran politician Alexandros Zaimis with forming a government and satisfying the Allied demands. Elections were proclaimed for 8 October, the army was demobilized, and even a few police officers whose dismissal had been requested were replaced. The complete acceptance of
28566-535: The heads of the Greek Gendarmerie 's Macedonia command and the city's police, were expelled. Lt. General Moschopoulos took over their positions, as the senior official representative of the Greek government in the city. Furthermore, on 6 June, a formal, albeit partial, blockade against Greece was imposed by the Allies. Greek ships were liable to be stopped and searched, while those in Allied harbours were detained in port. The French also took over control of
28773-478: The holy struggle for the defense of their homesteads and their freedom, the government of the Kingdom (of Serbia) considers that, in these fateful times, its main and only task is to ensure the successful completion of this great warfare which, at the moment when it started, also became a struggle for the liberation and unification of all our unliberated Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian brothers. The great success which
28980-435: The island's regent , seemed to confirm his anti-monarchist and republican credentials. With Venizelos' arrival, the League was sidelined, and the energetic and relatively young politician soon dominated Greek political life. His government carried out a large number of overdue reforms, including the creation of a revised constitution . However, he also established a close relationship with the King, resisted calls to transform
29187-406: The king remained opposed. Metaxas, the actual leader then of the General Staff, and advisor of Venizelos, didn't agree with the Greek Prime Minister in the participation in the operation, believing it would fail because the Germans had already fortified the straits and Greece would be vulnerable to a Bulgarian attack, and decided to resign. Venizelos resigned also shortly afterwards (on March, 6), when
29394-601: The king's perspective, the loss of Macedonia, which was a stronghold of Venizelism, would be more than counter-balanced by the weakening of the Venizelist movement. According to the royal chronicler Zavitzianos, Constantine since 1915 (and especially after the failed operation in Gallipoli), had concluded that the victory of the Central powers was militarily certain, and he in no way wanted to bring Greece against Germany. He
29601-476: The liberation of Šabac , the largest town in Mačva , marked the ultimate failure of the first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia. This success marked the first Allied victory of the war over the Central Powers . Casualties numbered 600 officers and 23,000 men for the Austro-Hungarians (4,500 of whom were captured) and 259 officers and 16,045 men for the Serbian Army. Under pressure from its allies, Serbia conducted
29808-474: The likelihood of a Bulgarian entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers loomed larger, the Serbs requested Greek assistance in virtue of the terms of the treaty of alliance. Again, however, the issue of Serbian assistance against Bulgaria around Gevgelija was raised: even after mobilization, Greece could muster only 160,000 men against 300,000 Bulgarians. As the Serbs were too hard-pressed to divert any troops to assist Greece, on 22 September Venizelos asked
30015-472: The loan of 40 million Reichsmark from Germany was to the Greek government without any term of neutrality, with better interest than the Allied offers. The Prime Minister, Venizelos, was strongly in favor of joining the Entente, as he believed that Greece would gain new lands and fulfill the Megali Idea . On 17 November 1914, Venizelos in a speech before Parliament stated that Greece would remain neutral in
30222-472: The middle-class, liberal parliamentary democracy that had emerged after 1909, whereas the King and his supporters represented the traditional elites. Constantine was profoundly impressed by German militarism, Streit was a major proponent of royalist and conservative ideas, while the highly influential Chief of the General Staff Metaxas—who would later as dictator of Greece in 1936–1941 preside over
30429-402: The minimum necessary force for any substantial aid to the Greeks and Serbs. Furthermore, he noted that a Greek entry into the war would once again expose the Greeks of Asia Minor to Turkish reprisals. Venizelos rejected this report and recommended entry into the war in a memorandum to the King, provided that Bulgaria and Romania also joined the Allies. The situation changed almost immediately when
30636-402: The naval base at Arostoli endeared him to Venizelos. Furthermore, Lloyd George's support for the Megali Idea persuaded Venizelos that if Greece entered the war, then it would have the support of the mighty British Empire. Venizelos was alarmed when he learned that the British and French had agreed that after the war, Russia would have Constantinople (modern Istanbul) together with the land around
30843-474: The negotiations of the Treaty of Bucharest , Venizelos was heavily criticised for being too compliant against Bulgaria. Bulgaria finally took the lands of Western Thrace, even though it had been captured by the Greek army during the war. As for the port city of Kavala , the intervention of Kaiser Wilhelm II in favour of Greece was crucial for keeping it. Venizelos in the parliament supported that it wasn't against
31050-610: The new prime minister took over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs himself. On 11 November, Parliament was dissolved again and elections set for 19 December. The new government was pressured by Germany and Austria not to allow the Allies to withdraw into Greek territory, to which Skouloudis replied that Greece would implement the terms of the Hague Conventions , according to which the Allied forces would have to be disarmed once crossing into Greek soil. This created uproar among
31257-407: The next day, Greece requested the assistance of Serbia should matters come to a head, but on 16 June, the Serbian government replied that due to the country's exhaustion after the Balkan Wars, and the hostile stance of Albania and Bulgaria, Serbia could not commit to Greece's aid and recommended that war be avoided. On 19 June 1914, the Army Staff Service, under Lt. Colonel Ioannis Metaxas , presented
31464-409: The old regime of corruption, have not hesitated to traffic the people's reverence for the Crown and their devotion to your person... You have been the victim of your military advisers, with the narrowness of the military understanding, and with the desire to establish an absolutism which should make them substantially masters of the situation, have persuaded you that Germany would emerge victorious from
31671-404: The other hand, the Greek government promised not to interfere with any Allied measures to fortify their positions, and would remain neutral if Allied activity caused a third power to invade Greek territory. The Allies withdrew from Milos, while the Greek V Army Corps was moved east towards Nigrita , leaving the area between Thessaloniki and the northern Greek border devoid of troops. This space
31878-408: The outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Kingdom of Greece remained neutral. Nonetheless, in October 1914, Greek forces once more occupied Northern Epirus , from where they had retreated after the end of the Balkan Wars . The disagreement between King Constantine , who favoured neutrality, and the pro-Allied Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos led to the National Schism , the division of
32085-479: The outbreak of the First World War a month later. Faced with the prospect of an initially localized Austro-Serbian war, the Greek leadership was unanimous that the country would remain neutral despite the mutual assistance terms of the alliance with Serbia. Greece was prepared to enter the conflict only in the event of a Bulgarian intervention, in which case the entire balance of power in the Balkans would be jeopardized. Furthermore, as it quickly became evident that
32292-443: The parts of Serbia he coveted, decided to enter the war. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia, which posed an immediate threat to the newly gained province of Macedonia , including the strategically important port of Thessaloniki . On 22 September, Bulgaria mobilized and began to mass troops on the border with Serbia. Since under the Serbian-Greek alliance committed each other to the defense of the other if attacked, Greece appeared to be on
32499-440: The people, leading Venizelos to say that Greece was not an absolute monarchy. Venizelos left Athens and moved back to his native Crete . The Liberals boycotted the new elections, which undermined the new Royalist government's position, as it was seen as a government directly appointed by the King, disregarding popular opinion. Venizelos complained that the Crown had intervened directly to interfere with election campaign, and as
32706-448: The permission to fortify the environs of Thessaloniki and Chalcidice, and unrestricted movement of the Allied fleets in Greek waters. Following negotiations on 9–10 December at Thessaloniki between Sarrail and Mahon on the one side and Moschopoulos and Lt. Colonel Konstantinos Pallis on the other, a compromise was achieved: the Greek 11th Division would remain in Thessaloniki, and the Karabournou Fortress would remain in Greek hands; on
32913-401: The pogroms against the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire in particular, were fresh in his mind. Moreover, as the Ottomans were clearly drifting towards the German camp, the opportunity of joint action with the Allied Powers against them should not be missed. While for the moment Venizelos was prepared to remain neutral as the best course of action, his ultimate aim was to enter the war on the side of
33120-438: The point of no return in relations between Venizelos and Constantine as the former was now convinced that the king was a traitor. The decision to surrender Fort Roupel was announced by the government as a counterbalance to the Allied presence in Thessaloniki, but there were other factors at play as well. By 1916, Constantine was willing to consider giving up parts of Macedonia to Bulgaria as the best way of weakening Venizelism. From
33327-427: The presence also of the Muslim and Jewish communities), and elsewhere, against these proposals. Venizelos advised King Constantine to convene the Crown Council , which he did. It met twice, on February 18 and on February 20 . In these meetings, Venizelos presented his case for joining the Entente, a course of action which was opposed by opposition leader Theotokis, but Rallis supported. However, staunch opposition by
33534-483: The propaganda war reached its peak. By this point, Constantine had secretly promised both the German and Bulgarian ministers that Greece would not go to war against them. Germany had also promised to Constantine secretly that if Greece remained neutral, she would have Northern Epirus and Dodecanese after the war, such as the protection of the Greek population in Turkey. In fall of 1915, Ferdinand after receiving promises from German and Austrian diplomats that he could have
33741-484: The radio station and the neighborhood of Topčidersko Brdo . At 5 am, Habsburg artillery in Bežanija and Semlin also began shelling the city and Kalemegdan using Krupp Howitzer and Skoda 305 mm mortars . The shelling continued, causing damage to various buildings. The constant shelling on Serbia's border towns and cities continued with varying degrees of intensity over the next 36 days. By October 1914, 60 government buildings and 640 civilian houses were hit by
33948-435: The railway bridge connecting Serbia to the Habsburg Empire . Before the barge could reach it a detachment of Serbian Chetniks blew up the bridge. Around 2 am, two river monitors joined SMS Temes near Belgrade, starting firing 12-cm fused shells and shrapnel fire onto the Serbian side. The Serbs lacked heavy artillery to respond effectively. The monitors then moved closer to the Belgrade Fortress and fired upon
34155-405: The recruiting stations, and there was a general lack of means of transport to bring them to their units. In the end, only the III , IV , and V Corps were assembled in Macedonia, while the divisions of I and II Corps largely remained behind in "Old Greece". Likewise, III Corps' 11th Infantry Division remained in Thessaloniki, rather than proceeding to the staging areas along the border. As
34362-409: The revisionary assembly into a constitutional one, and even reinstated the Princes in their positions in the army, with Crown Prince Constantine as its Inspector-General. The reestablishment of the Princes in the Army, such as of royalist officers like Metaxas (whom Venizelos appointed as his adjutant) and Dousmanis , caused protests by officers of the Military League (like Zorbas and Zymvrakakis), while
34569-446: The rift between Venizelos and the camp around the King. Venizelos anticipated a Bulgarian attack on Serbia either as a member of the Central Powers or independently; since that would be contrary to Greek interests, Greece's entry into the war on the Allies' side was only a matter of time. For the King and his advisors, however, any action hostile to Germany was to be avoided, and that included opposing any Bulgarian attack on Serbia, if that
34776-403: The same day, a large Venizelist rally was held at Athens, with Venizelos as the main speaker. In his speech, Venizelos accused King Constantine of pro-German sentiments, and publicly announced that he was forced to oppose him. Two days later on 29 August, the anti-Venizelist and pro-neutral camp held its own rally, where the former prime ministers Gounaris, Rallis, Dragoumis, as well as the head of
34983-404: The spring and summer of 1914, Greece found itself in a confrontation with the Ottoman Empire over the status of the eastern Aegean islands, coupled with a naval race between the two countries and persecutions of the Greeks in Asia Minor. On 11 June, the Greek government issued an official protest to the Porte , threatening a breach of relations and even war if the persecutions were not stopped. On
35190-409: The state between two rival governments. Finally, Greece united and joined the Allies in the summer of 1917. Greece had emerged victorious from the 1912–1913 Balkan Wars with her territory almost doubled, but found herself in a difficult international situation. The status of the Greek-occupied eastern Aegean islands was left undetermined and the Ottoman Empire continued to claim them, leading to
35397-492: The terms of Metaxas' proposal, the Allies would lose access to the ports of Katerini and Volos . While Athens tried to maintain a balance between the warring coalitions and defend what remained of the country's neutrality, the Allies imposed a limited embargo on coal and wheat imports and seized Lesbos on 28 December for use as a base of operations. On the same day, three German airplanes bombed British positions in Thessaloniki, after which Sarrail arrested all foreign consuls in
35604-416: The troops rest and to shorten the front. Marshal Putnik finally relented, but the consequence was the abandonment of the capital city of Belgrade. After suffering heavy losses, the Austro-Hungarian Army entered the city on 2 December. This action led Potiorek to move the whole Fifth Army into the Belgrade area and use it to crush the Serbian right flank. This, however, left the Sixth alone for a few days to face
35811-471: The ultimatum, which came on 25 July, was conciliatory in some aspects but did not fully comply with all of Austria-Hungary's demands. Serbia accepted most of the conditions but expressed reservations about certain points that it believed impinged on its sovereignty and independence. Austria-Hungary rejected Serbia's response, considering it insufficient. As the diplomatic efforts faltered, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914, formally initiating
36018-441: The war on the side of the Allies. Although Greece emerged victorious and secured new territory by the Treaty of Sèvres , the bitter effects of this division were the main features of Greek political life until the 1940s, and contributed to Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War , the collapse of the Second Hellenic Republic , the 1925 Coup d'etat by Pangalos and the dictatorial Metaxas Regime . The National Schism reflected
36225-419: The war "Hellenism in Asia Minor would be lost forever". Venizelos also planned a compulsory population exchange with Bulgaria with the Greeks living in Kavala to be expelled and resettled in Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey). Venizelos' proposals were made known by the Press and caused a shock to the public, such as among ex-soldiers that had recently fought in the Balkan wars. Demonstrations took place in Kavala (with
36432-403: The war by bleeding the French army dry at the Battle of Verdun . In the meantime, Greece descended further into political crisis: on the night of 3–4 November, the Zaimis government was voted down in Parliament, in a session in which the Minister of Military Affairs and a Venizelist MP came to blows. King Constantine named Stefanos Skouloudis as the new Prime Minister, with the same cabinet;
36639-400: The war in support of Serbia, and in exchange for satisfying some of the Bulgarian territorial demands in Macedonia ( Kavala , Drama , and Chrysoupolis ) in exchange for Bulgarian entry into the war on the Allies' side. Venizelos argued in favour of the proposal, but again the opinion of Metaxas was negative, for much the same reasons: according to Metaxas, the Austrians were likely to defeat
36846-434: The war to secure Greek-speaking territories of Asia Minor before the Allies took them all for themselves. In January 1915, in an attempt to convince the Greeks to side with them, Britain offered Greece post-war concessions in Asia Minor (currently part of Turkey). Venizelos felt this was very much in Greece's interests and attempted to force a bill through the Greek parliament to join the Allies. Venizelos had agreed that
37053-580: The war with the bombardment of Belgrade . The Habsburg invasion plan had the objective of achieving a total defeat of Serbia. Russia , Serbia's ally, began mobilising its forces in response to Austria-Hungary's aggression, leading to Germany declaring war on Russia. General Oskar Potiorek , the Balkanstreitkräfte commander leading the invasion of Serbia, began with a force of 460,000 soldiers spread across 19 divisions. In opposition, Field Marshal Radomir Putnik commanded 400,000 Serbian troops, among whom were 185,000 seasoned veterans who had participated in
37260-473: The war, but would also stand by its alliance with Serbia. He also warned that Bulgaria under the leadership of the Austrian-born King Ferdinand would inevitably at some point along the line attack Serbia together with the Austrian Empire to annex Serbian Macedonia. Venizelos predicted that Ferdinand, who just attacked Serbia and Greece in May 1913 in order to take all of Macedonia for Bulgaria, would after taking Serbian Macedonia then turn south to invade Greece with
37467-490: The war, despite Berlin's urging them to refrain from actions that might drive Greece into the Allied camp. At the same time, Britain suggested staff talks on a possible joint attack on Turkey in the Dardanelles . The suggestion was quickly dropped, because the Allies continued insisting on concessions to Bulgaria, but precipitated a major crisis between Venizelos and the King, like the latter, against Venizelos' recommendations, refused to agree to participate in an Allied attack on
37674-516: The war, leaving little room for territorial gains by Greece in the event of her participation in the conflict. In particular, and in contrast to Venizelos, Streit believed that even if they won, the Allies would respect the territorial integrity of both Austria–Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. In addition, the King and his military advisors regarded the German army as invincible, while their differences with Venizelos exposed far deeper ideological divergences in Greek society as well: Venizelos represented
37881-413: The war, securing 152 votes in favour to 102 against on 5 October. On the next day, however, King Constantine dismissed Venizelos and called upon Alexandros Zaimis to form a government. Zaimis was favourably disposed to the Allies, but the military situation was worse than a few months before: the Serbs were stretched to breaking point against the Austro-Germans, Romania remained staunchly neutral, Bulgaria
38088-458: The war. At a dinner with the wealthy Delta family in April 1915, Venizelos stated that Lloyd George had promised him that Greece could have all the Greek-speaking parts of Anatolia if she entered the war, leading him to say that Greece would enter the war on the Allied side regardless of Constantine's wishes. And if the king continued to block him, then Venizelos stated that he would push him aside just as he pushed his brother Prince George out as he
38295-418: The west, across the Drina river, began on 7 September, this time with both the Fifth Army in Mačva as well as the Sixth further south. Though the initial attack by the Fifth Army was repelled by the Serbian Second Army, with 4,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties, the stronger Sixth Army managed to surprise the Serbian Third Army and gain a foothold. After some units from the Serbian Second Army were sent to bolster
38502-415: The west, where they clashed not only with the Serbians around Kajmakčalan , but also with the Greek 18th Infantry Regiment , as well as in eastern Macedonia, where Bulgarian forces crossed the Nestos river at Chrysoupolis , and approached Kavala. This led the Allies to cross the Strymon as well, but their first attacks were held by the Bulgarians. The Zaimis government, on the other hand, made an offer to
38709-451: The whole Serbian army. At this point, artillery ammunition finally arrived from France and Greece. In addition, some replacements were sent to the units, and Marshal Putnik correctly sensed that the Austro-Hungarian forces were dangerously overstretched and weakened in the previous offensives, so he ordered a full-scale counterattack with the entire Serbian Army on 3 December against the Sixth Army. The Fifth hurried its flanking maneuver, but it
38916-450: The whole network of party jobbery whose power had been endangered by the reforms of 1910–11; and this opposition of personal hostility to Venizelos was cleverly utilized by the German propaganda, which had only to identify the policy of loyalty to Serbia and to the Protecting Powers with the figure of Venizelos in order to make this mixed opposition into a compact body of opinion working in effect if not intention for Germany". Lloyd George sent
39123-432: Was "narrow, suspicious and defensive". For the King, everything that had happened since the 1909 Goudi coup had been a diminution of his power, and he was determined to use the intervention debate as a way of restoring the pre-1909 status quo. The Greek historian John Mavrogorado wrote that Venizelos had "to face a strong opposition, composed of jealous party leaders, great provincial families, party bosses, majors and lawyers,
39330-411: Was a shock to Greek public opinion and a catalyst for the relations between Greece and the Allies: on 3 June, while the Greek authorities were celebrating King Constantine's birthday in Thessaloniki, Sarrail imposed martial law in the city, occupying the customs, telegraph and post offices and the railways, and imposing a strict censorship regime on the press. A number of senior Greek officers, including
39537-522: Was a significant military operation during World War I . It marked the first major confrontation between the Central Powers , primarily Austro-Hungary , and the Allied Powers , led by the Kingdom of Serbia . The campaign started on 28 July 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and bombarded Belgrade . On 12 August, the Austro-Hungarian forces, led by General Oskar Potiorek , launched their first offensive into Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian forces, known as Balkanstreitkräfte and consisting of
39744-455: Was a southern Slav nationalist, member of Young Bosnia , a secret society aiming to free Bosnia from Austrian rule and achieve the unification of the South Slavs. The group was helped by the Black Hand , a Serbian secret nationalist group. The Austro-Hungarian government who saw Serbia's nationalist aspirations as a threat to its own multi-ethnic empire, used the assassination as the perfect pretext to take action against Serbia, ostensibly as
39951-430: Was actually at the monarch's discretion. Many reformists and liberals viewed meddling by the monarchy in politics as deleterious. The negative public attitude towards the monarchy was strengthened by the defeat of the Greek army, headed by Constantine (then the Crown Prince ), in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 . Many of these hopes for reform were also shared by young officers in the Hellenic Army , who felt humiliated by
40158-659: Was already too late – with the Sixth Army broken, the Second and Third Serbian Armies overwhelmed the Fifth. Finally, Potiorek lost his nerve and ordered another retreat across the rivers into Austria-Hungary's territory. The Serbian Army recaptured Belgrade on 15 December. The first phase of the war against Serbia had ended with no change in the border, but casualties were enormous compared to earlier wars, albeit comparable to other campaigns of World War I. The Serbian army suffered 170,000 men killed, wounded, captured or missing. Austro-Hungarian losses were approaching 215,000 men killed, wounded or missing. . Austro-Hungarian General Potiorek
40365-442: Was descended on his father's side from the Glucksburgs of Denmark and on his mother's side from the Romanovs of Russia, spoke perfect English, was a frequent visitor to England and had relatives there. Greece had an ongoing mutual defense pact with Serbia , a member of the Allied forces , who were asking for support after they were invaded by Austria-Hungary (see Serbian Campaign (World War I) ). However, Constantine believed it
40572-437: Was done in alliance with Germany. King Constantine and Streit considered ousting the Prime Minister, but hesitated doing so given Venizelos' considerable parliamentary majority; instead, on 18 August, the same day that Venizelos submitted his proposals to the Allies, Streit resigned. In early September, the ongoing negotiations between Greece and the Ottoman Empire were stopped, as the Ottomans drifted further towards entry into
40779-471: Was governor of Crete. Venizelos's resignation caused political dissension in Greece. A political battle between the conservatives and Venizelos' supporters forced a general election in June 1915 . These elections were won by Venizelos' Liberal Party and he resumed his post as Prime Minister, however Constantine delayed to ratify the appointment of the new government until August for health reasons (he barely escaped death). He had been ill with pleurisy since
40986-410: Was greatly disappointed that the Allies preferred to have Bulgaria neutral rather than having Greece fight on their side. King Constantine's German affiliations were exaggerated in the Entente's propaganda during the war. It is true that Queen Sofia was the sister of the German Kaiser , Wilhelm II , and Constantine himself had been educated in Germany and admired German culture. On the other hand, he
41193-406: Was in the greater interests of Greece to remain neutral. His considerable military experience and knowledge made him especially conscious of the threat to Greece from Bulgaria's powerful military in the event that the Hellenic Army was engaged in a war with Austria-Hungary. Beyond military considerations, there were personal reasons for the split between the king and the prime minister. Constantine had
41400-613: Was leading the Greek nation astray and seducing it from the right path-from Venizelos and from the Entente". The head of Allied propaganda in Greece, a French naval officer, Captain de Roquefeil, was inept, leading Zaharoff to intervene as he argued that as a Greek he knew Greek mentalities far better than any Frenchman could. Antiwar and pro-German propaganda were made by newspapers Embros of Kalapothakis , Script and later Kathimerini and pro-Allied by Ethnos , Eleftheros Typos , Estia and Makedonia among others. Many documents and papers were falsified also during this period and
41607-426: Was left to be defended by three French and five British divisions, which in December 1915–January 1916 entrenched themselves in a broad arc around Thessaloniki, from the Gulf of Orfanos in the east to the Vardar river in the west. The eastern portion of this front was held by the British, and the western third by the French. On 16 January 1916, Sarrail was appointed Allied commander-in-chief in Macedonia. The bulk of
41814-413: Was now firmly in the hands of the anti-Venizelist faction, as Venizelos and his supporters boycotted the elections of 19 December . The already tense political situation in Greece was worsened by the active propaganda carried out by the warring coalitions, with the Central Powers stoking resentment at heavy-handed Allied actions, and the Allies urging Greece to side with them against its traditional rivals,
42021-406: Was on the verge of entering the war on the side of the Central Powers, and the Allies had few reserves to provide any practical aid to Greece. When the Serbian staff colonel Milan Milovanović visited Athens to elicit the new government's intentions, Metaxas informed him that if Greece sent two army corps to Serbia, eastern Macedonia would be left defenceless, so that the line of communication of both
42228-425: Was only asked by the German military authorities to not allow Bulgarian troops enter in Greek territory, but he was ignored. After these events, General Sarrail imposed martial law in Thessaloniki and on 21 June 1916, an Anglo-French ultimatum (considering themselves "protector powers" of the Greek state, since its establishment in 1832) was submitted to Constantine, demanding the dismissal of Zaimis, new elections and
42435-408: Was removed from command and replaced by Archduke Eugen of Austria (C. Falls p. 54). On the Serbian side, a deadly typhus epidemic killed hundreds of thousands of Serb civilians during the winter. After the Battle of Kolubara, the Serbian Parliament adopted the Niš Declaration (7 December 1914) on the war goals of Serbia: "Convinced that the entire Serbian nation is determined to persevere in
42642-416: Was supplied by the Allies, who were also short of such materials. In such a situation, Serbian artillery quickly became almost silent while the Austro-Hungarians steadily increased their fire. Serbian casualties reached 100 soldiers a day from all causes in some divisions. During the first weeks of trench warfare, the Serbian Užice Army (the first strengthened division) and the Montenegrin Sanjak Army (roughly
42849-430: Was the main thrust, Serbian 2nd Army under the command of General Stepa Stepanović was sent to reinforce the smaller Serbian 3rd Army under Pavle Jurišić Šturm , by a forced march during the night of 15–16 August. A fierce confrontation ensued on Mount Cer. a A four-day battle ensued, culminating in the decisive defeat of Austro-Hungarian 5th Army on 20 August. The Austro-Hungarians were forced to retreat. On 24 August,
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