What about Greece during the First World War?
On this channel I've covered Greece during WW2 quite a bit, but what about the Greeks in WW1?
Not only involving Greeks but soldiers from other nations as well.
as I'm here at the Zeitenlik War Cemetery and here you find
graves of soldiers soldiers from Britain, Italy, Serbia, Russia
and France.
In this video you're gonna learn about the Macedonian Front; Greece during WW1.
The story of the path of Greece to WW1 can be an episode of its own.
And also the history before WW1. I'm gonna explain it here briefly. What you need to know is that
when WW1 broke out it seemed like the Third Balkan War was there.
But it soon spiraled out of control: Triple Entente versus the Triple Alliance.
And this became the First World War.
Some people call the 1990 Yugoslav Wars as the Third Balkan War.
But what you need to know for now is that during the First and Second Balkan War
the Greeks had emerged victorious.
They hoped to achieve another victory. However, Greece was deeply divided when it came down to joining WW1 or stay neutral. Why was that?
During the First Balkan War Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro teamed up against the
Ottoman Empire and proclaimed victory.
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with
its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, fought against Serbia, Romania, Greece,
Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire.
Bulgaria lost.
And Greece had two victories in a row and had increased in territory.
When WW1 broke out some Greeks believed in a third victory.
And this led to the National Schism.
Because Greek king Constantine was against Greece joining the Entente.
His brother-in-law was the German Kaiser.
He preferred Greece to be neutral as he believed there was nothing to gain, only to lose.
Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos believed that by joining the Entente the Greek Grand
Idea of uniting all Greeks in one country become a reality.
It resulted in Venizelos establishing another government in Salonika (Thessaloniki) named
the Provisional Government of National Defence (which declared war on the Central Powers
in November 1916).
This was in reaction to the Bulgarian invasion of Greece (of Eastern Macedonia) were the
government in Athens refused to act on.
Even Fort Rupel was ceded to the Central Powers.
The Entente was quick to recognize this Venizelos government as the legitimate Greek government.
Venizelos approved Entente forces embarked in Greek ports to aid the Serbs in October
1915.
Remnants of the Serbian Army arrived in Greece after their country had been taken over by the Central Powers.
Officially Greece was still neutral, but this neutrality was
violated from the moment Entente forces set foot in Greek soil.
Not everywhere they were welcomed.
In Athens French marines were repelled by royalist Greek forces.
The French then imposed a blockade on royalist Greece.
When the French threatened King Constantine to bomb Athens he left the country leaving
his second son Alexander on the throne.
In June 1917 Venizelos returned to Athens to reunite Greece as one state.
On June 28, 1917 (according to most Greek sources) Greece declared war on the Central
Powers.
“The accession of Greece to the Allied side, through a coup stage-managed by Venizelos
but engineered by the Allies in June 1917, equally brought the Allies no advantage at
all and, by its installation of a violently nationalist and anti-Turkish government in
Athens, led to Greek mobilisation in the cause of the ‘Great Idea’ – the recovery of
the Greek empire in the east – which would complicate the Allied effort to resettle the
peace of Europe for years after the war had ended.”
Altough Greek troops saw their first action on the Macedonian Front a month before.
Now there were a six-national allied armed forces on the Salonika front: France, Britain,
Serbia, Russia, Italy and Greece.
The so-called 'Army of the Orient' was also known as the 'Gardeners of Salonika' as they
created a defensive arc around the city.
The Army was stationed on the Serbo-Greek border and by the time Greece entered WW1
officially already gained a foothold in Serbia.
The 'Orient Army' men were plagued by mosquitos and by 1917 many had malaria.
Another disaster occured in August that year: a fire broke out which destroyed large parts
of Salonika.
That year the Entente achieved minimal gains on the Macedonian Front (a.k.a.
the Salonica Front).
The front was active since October 1915.
By the time the Greeks declared war on the Central Powers their army had risen to to 60,000
men.
Do notice that most Greeks fighting in this army were from the north, known as the New
Lands.
And were much more loyal to the new government than those living in the south, known as Old Greece.
Whole units of Old Greece had mutinied.
This shows that however the National Schism was perhaps over on paper in reality this was not the case.
During the last months of 1917 and the early months of 1918 the Allies prepared a new offence
on the Macedonian Front.
In May 1918 three Greek divisions took part in the Battle of Skra and proclaimed victory
of the Bulgarians.
The decisive battle was fought in September that year when the Entente launched the Vardar
Offensive.
It started with a 580-gun artillery barrage, the most powerful seen in the Balkans.
Yet, the machineguns of the Bulgarians and Germans weren't all put of out action.
The French therefore resorted to flamethrowers to take them down.
This was the Battle of Dobro Pole.
By the 18th the Allies had advanced over 15 km.
That day British and Greek forces attacked on Lake Doiran.
After two days of heavy fighting the Allied forced were stopped here.
However, two regiments of the Bulgarians mutinied and resulted in a full Bulgarian retreat.
Towards the end of that month Bulgaria sued for peace.
The Entente marched into Serbia (first present-day Northern Macedonia, later Serbia proper) but
also Albania and Montenegro were liberated in the following months.
There is much more to tell about this front.
Because this video is about Greece during WW1 I'll conclude with
the Armistice of Salonica. This was signed which between Bulgaria and the
Entente on 29 September 1918.
Although Greece suffered cassualties its number was not as huge compared to the other nations that fought in WW1.
Think of the French. The Greeks "only" suffered 5,000 KIA and over 20,000 WIA).
But for Greece the war didn't end in 1918.
After WW1 was over Greece was allocated parts of Western Anatolia
Previously the Ottoman Empire.
This would lead to the Greco-Turkish War, also known as the Asia Minor Campaign.
It ended in a catastrophe.
I hope to cover that in the future. I'd say subscribe! Like this video. Share it with your friends.