All Greek to me

[centurion]

Does anyone have a nice short and simple description of the poiltical and military situation in Greece from 1914 up to the start of the Salonika campaign, it all looks very complicated to me.

[Kate Wills]

It is, and you cannot isolate the 1914 situation from the Balkan Wars, or the preceding half century, or...

The introductory pages of The Gardeners of Salonika by Alan Palmer offer a useful assessment.

[Jim_Grundy]

Does anyone have a nice short and simple description of the poiltical and military situation in Greece from 1914 up to the start of the Salonika campaign, it all looks very complicated to me.

From what little I know, I would summarise the situation as follows:

- there was a pro-Allied prime minister, Venezelos, who, domestically, as a good Cretan, was also pro-republican; and

- a pro-German king who was, well, pro-monarchy.

The outbreak of the war helped to bring to the fore the divisions within Greece that had been masked to an extent during the Balkan wars, which both sides supported, seeing as Greece reclaimed long-lost territories. The Great War served to expose those divisions within Greek society anew; certainly, the Allied landings at Salonika served as a catalyst for the whole process.

Venezelos had a vision for the re-establishment of Greek control over Constantinople and Asia Minor, something that the Germans weren't going to support given their alliance with the Turks. But he was also a progamatist and believed that the outcome of the war would be decided by the strongest naval power and that wasn't Germany and its satellites. The sight of the British and French fleets with their guns trained on Salonica must've reinforced him in that view!

[centurion]

The sort of thing I find confusing is that in early 1916 the British have to send a member of the British Naval Commission from Athens to Larissa because, as he also has the rank of Captain in the Greek Navy, he is unlikely to be arrested by the police as other Britons might be - at the same time the Greek Minister of Communications is suspected as couriering money to and from the German and Turkish Legations in Athens whilst in other parts of Greece their legations have been occupied by either the Greeks or the British. Just what was going on?

[Jim_Grundy]

Just what was going on?

Something approaching near civil war, I suppose, with allegiances dividing along internal political lines as much, if not rather more so, than the wider context of the First World War. Greece ended up a military dictatorship in the 1930s and again up to as recently as the 1970s, not forgetting the civil war 1944-49.

[infantry]

An interesting point from myside. The original cadre of Ottoman Special Operations and Intelligence Agency, Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa (literally Special Organization), managed to reach their destination Libya with the help of Greek shippers. Moreover they purchased sizable amount of light weapons (mostly Ottoman Mausers captured during the Balkan Wars) and ammunition. Obviously all these shipments and transactions took place with the knowledge of Greek Government and officials.

Regards

[michaeldr]

More background info available from 'Royal Marine Spies of Worl;d War One Era'

published by the Royal Marine Historical Society

Part Two - Captain Compton Mackenzie RMLI by Capt. J. M. Coleby RM

[centurion]

More background info available from 'Royal Marine Spies of Worl;d War One Era'

published by the Royal Marine Historical Society

Part Two - Captain Compton Mackenzie RMLI by Capt. J. M. Coleby RM

Thanks must see if I can borrow on or both. It was actually a passage taken from Compton Mackenzies own memoires (which I must also try and find) that in part created my puzzlement.

I spent nearly a year of my life running a major IT and infrastructure project in Saudi as a sub contractor to a Greek company and to my all too painful memory (to mis quote Sterne) "they manage these things differently in Greece"

[michaeldr]

quote: Thanks must see if I can borrow on or both

Cent.

My apologies for a less than crystal clear post above

The RM Historical Society's booklet [their Special Publication No.15] mentioned, has within it two parts

It is the second which concerns the activities of Monty Mackenzie - see pages 61>

The author, Capt J M Coleby RM, acknowledges the permission of the Mackenzie family to reproduce photographs from Compton Mackenzie's 'Life and Times', 'Greek Memories' and 'Aegean Memories'.

This is one of those photographs which may be of interest

Regards

Michael

[centurion]

Thanks for the clarification.

[jwsleser]

I would recommend A Concise History of the Participation of the Hellenic Army in the First World War 1914-1918. This book is published by the Hellenic Army General Staff. It is the Greek side of the story and deals with the politics of the period in detail. It was a complex situation, but you will find the Allies come off as the bad guys. Basically the Allies end up overthrowing the king and government to force Greece into the war. As the book is focused on the Greek participation, it is likely the simplest, yet complete, account of the you will find.

It covers the Greek military situation in detail. If you are looking for an account of the 1915 Serbian campaign and the conditions that campaign set for the entry of Allied forces at Thessalonica , the British official covering Macedonia does a good job.

Jeff