Occupation of Izmir
Encyclopedia
The Occupation of Smyrna
(Izmir) occurred from 15 May 1919 to 8 September 1922 by Greek
forces under the High Commissioner Aristidis Stergiadis
in the Smyrna district, aligned with the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
. There were no military hostilities between Greece
and the Ottoman Empire
during World War I. The Greek occupation became very controversial, since the main intention of the Allies of World War I
was to balance the Italian expansion in Anatolia
. The Italian and Anglo-French Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne
(26 April 1917) was partially repudiated by the Greek occupation, as Smyrna was part of the territory previously promised to Italy. The occupation was one of the catalysts for the establishment of the Turkish national movement and the alignment between Italy and Grand National Assembly of Turkey
.
Following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I, the victorious allies had gathered in Paris Peace Conference, 1919 to decide on the partition of the remaining territories of the Empire. Before the opening of the Conference, the British
had already occupied Constantinople
, the French
had marched into Cilicia
, and the Italians landed in Antalya
on the southern coast as well as being promised parts on the western coasts including İzmir.
The Italians
were unaware that Britain promised Greece large tracts of Asia Minor for its support during the war. The Italian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919
, angry about the possibility of a Greek occupation of Western Anatolia, left the conference and did not return to Paris until 5 May. The absence of the Italian delegation from the Conference ended up facilitating Lloyd George's efforts to persuade France
and the United States
to favor Greece in order to prevent Italian operations in Western Anatolia.
The Armistice of Moudros
in the article 7 stated that the Allies "to occupy any strategic points in the event of any situation arising which threatens the security of Allies."
The chief proponent of the Greek occupation on the side of allies was the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
, despite strong opposition from his own foreign office. The British foreign office argued Greece had already proved incapable of keeping order in Salonika
, and could not be trusted to administer large tracts of Asia Minor. Lloyd George had thus concocted a report according to which Turkish guerrillas had threatened the Greek community of Smyrna. This report gained the sympathy of President Woodrow Wilson
, whilst Georges Clemenceau
approved the landing with the hope of limiting further Italian gains.
shortly after the initial landings. Venizelos had plans to annex Smyrna that he succeeded in realizing his objective in Treaty of Sèvres
August 10, 1920., He had immediately agreed to send Greek troops to Smyrna after Italian troops had landed in Antalya
.
and and some friends decided to resist the Greek army. Tahsin fired the first shot of the Turkish War of Independence
. He attempted to assassinate Greek commander. Instead he killed a Greek vexillary and continued to fire shots at the Greek army. The Greek army reacted and captured Hasan Tahsin and his friends, and executed them. Today, there is a first shot of the Turkish War of Independence
monument in Izmir.
There were several Westerner eye-witnesses to the events that took place in Izmir. In such a report, Commanding Officer of the USS Arizona
wrote:
Donald Whitall, British
resident of İzmir stated that:
, whose mission was to determine the situation of Armenian Christians in the Ottoman Empire:
The Greek landings had served to trigger the Turkish War of Independence
, marked by the landing of Mustafa Kemal
(later Atatürk) in Samsun
on May 19, 1919, four days after the occupation. Kemal formed a nationalist movement with a separate government in Ankara, and no longer recognised the administration in Istanbul, which on August 10, 1920, had signed the Treaty of Sèvres
, thus formally ceding the territories to Greece which she presently occupied.
alone.
By 9 September the Turkish army had entered Smyrna, with the Greek authorities having left two days before. Large scale disorder followed, with the Christian
population suffering under attacks from soldiers and Turkish inhabitants. The Greek archbishop Chrysostomos
had been lynched by a mob which included Turkish soldiers, and on September 13, a fire from the Armenian quarter of the city had engulfed the Christian waterfront of the city, leaving the city devastated. The responsibility for the fire is a controversial issue, some sources blame Turks, and some sources blame Greeks or Armenians. Some 10,000 to 100,000 Greeks and Armenians were killed in the fire and accompanying massacres.
The ethnic composition of the city of İzmir was contested: according to Ottoman sources Greeks and other Orthodox Christians formed a minority in the city, on the other hand according to Greek sources Greeks formed the majority. It has been recorded, before World War I, that the Greeks alone numbered 130,000 out of a total population of 250,000, while the Ottoman ruling class referred to the city as Infidel Smyrna (Gavur Izmir) due to its strong Greek presence.
Ionian University
, was founded by the Phanariot
Greek Mathematician Constantin Carathéodory
. Several programs were instituted to better the lives of inhabitants of the city.
, dissatisfied about the possibility of the Greek occupation of Western Anatolia, left the conference and did not return to Paris until May 5. The absence of the Italian delegation from the Conference facilitated Lloyd George
's efforts to persuade France and the United States in Greece’s favor to prevent Italian operations in Western Anatolia.
Occupation of Smyrna was one of the main reasons behind the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
.
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
(Izmir) occurred from 15 May 1919 to 8 September 1922 by Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
forces under the High Commissioner Aristidis Stergiadis
Aristidis Stergiadis
Aristidis Stergiadis was the Hellenic high-commissioner, or governor-general, of Smyrna from 1919 to 1922. He was selected for the post by Prime Minister Venizelos, who was a fellow Cretan. He is considered one of the darkest figures in modern Greek history...
in the Smyrna district, aligned with the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
The Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples formerly ruled by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new nations.The partitioning was planned from the early days of the war,...
. There were no military hostilities between Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
during World War I. The Greek occupation became very controversial, since the main intention of the Allies of World War I
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
was to balance the Italian expansion in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The Italian and Anglo-French Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne
Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne
The Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne was an agreement between France, Italy and the United Kingdom, signed at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne on April 26, 1917, and endorsed August 18 – September 26, 1917. It was drafted by the Italian foreign ministry as a tentative agreement to settle its Middle...
(26 April 1917) was partially repudiated by the Greek occupation, as Smyrna was part of the territory previously promised to Italy. The occupation was one of the catalysts for the establishment of the Turkish national movement and the alignment between Italy and Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
.
Background
Following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I, the victorious allies had gathered in Paris Peace Conference, 1919 to decide on the partition of the remaining territories of the Empire. Before the opening of the Conference, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
had already occupied Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had marched into Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, and the Italians landed in Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
on the southern coast as well as being promised parts on the western coasts including İzmir.
The Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
were unaware that Britain promised Greece large tracts of Asia Minor for its support during the war. The Italian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
, angry about the possibility of a Greek occupation of Western Anatolia, left the conference and did not return to Paris until 5 May. The absence of the Italian delegation from the Conference ended up facilitating Lloyd George's efforts to persuade France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to favor Greece in order to prevent Italian operations in Western Anatolia.
The Armistice of Moudros
Armistice of Mudros
The Armistice of Moudros , concluded on 30 October 1918, ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I...
in the article 7 stated that the Allies "to occupy any strategic points in the event of any situation arising which threatens the security of Allies."
The chief proponent of the Greek occupation on the side of allies was the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, despite strong opposition from his own foreign office. The British foreign office argued Greece had already proved incapable of keeping order in Salonika
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, and could not be trusted to administer large tracts of Asia Minor. Lloyd George had thus concocted a report according to which Turkish guerrillas had threatened the Greek community of Smyrna. This report gained the sympathy of President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, whilst Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
approved the landing with the hope of limiting further Italian gains.
History
A military administration was formed by the Greek premier Eleftherios VenizelosEleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
shortly after the initial landings. Venizelos had plans to annex Smyrna that he succeeded in realizing his objective in Treaty of Sèvres
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
August 10, 1920., He had immediately agreed to send Greek troops to Smyrna after Italian troops had landed in Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
.
Greek Landing at Smyrna (1919)
On May 15, 1919, twenty thousand Greek soldiers landed in Smyrna and took control of the city and its surroundings under cover of the Greek, French, American (U. S.), and British navies, and were greeted by the Greek inhabitants as liberators. A Turkish journalist Hasan TahsinHasan Tahsin
Hasan Tahsin Receb was an Ottoman Turk.A member of the Ottoman special Organization, he unsuccessfully tried to assassinate the Buxton Brothers: Noel Noel-Buxton, 1st Baron Noel-Buxton and Charles Roden Buxton in Romania during World War I.He was the first to open fire on the Greek soldiers that...
and and some friends decided to resist the Greek army. Tahsin fired the first shot of the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. He attempted to assassinate Greek commander. Instead he killed a Greek vexillary and continued to fire shots at the Greek army. The Greek army reacted and captured Hasan Tahsin and his friends, and executed them. Today, there is a first shot of the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
monument in Izmir.
First Day of the Occupation
The landings proved to be chaotic and one of the examples of atrocities, which would continue during the rest of the conflict, occurred in that very day. Von Mikusch notes: “The Christian crowd rages and yells… Many fall under the bayonet thrusts. The men are forced to tear the fezes from their heads and trample them underfoot – the worst outrage for a Muslim – all who refuse are cut down with the sword. The veils are torn from the women's faces. The mob begins to plunder the house of the Muslim”.There were several Westerner eye-witnesses to the events that took place in Izmir. In such a report, Commanding Officer of the USS Arizona
USS Arizona (BB-39)
USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside...
wrote:
Old men, unarmed, and other unoffending civilian Turks were knocked down by the Greeks, killed by stabbing with knives or bayonets, and then afterwards, having their valuables and clothes stripped off their bodies, were thrown into the sea...Specific instances are cited by these same eyewitnesses where Turkish soldiers and officers were bayoneted from behind by their Greek guards, while the rabble rifled their pockets and then threw their bodies into the sea. Many of the worst instances of inhuman treatment of the Turks were while they were under arrest and on open sea front at noonday.
Donald Whitall, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
resident of İzmir stated that:
From the custom-house up to the Kramer Palace Hotel I was the unwilling witness of the massacre of some thirty unarmed men, who were being marched with hands up. This butchery was committed by Greek soldiers entirely...Close to the landing place of the Cordelio boats I saw a lot more shot down.
The Treatment of Turks during the occupation
The first couple months of the occupation was described to American senate by James HarbordJames Harbord
James Guthrie Harbord was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army and President and Chairman of the Board of RCA....
, whose mission was to determine the situation of Armenian Christians in the Ottoman Empire:
Turkish reaction to landings
As Greek troops advanced to the barracks, where the Ottoman commander Ali Nadir Pasha has been ordered to offer no resistance, a Turk in the crowd fired a shot, killing the Greek standard-bearer. Greek troops panicked and started firing both at the barracks and the government building. Between 300 to 400 Turks were killed or wounded, against 100 Greeks, two of whom were soldiers, on the first day.The Greek landings had served to trigger the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
, marked by the landing of Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
(later Atatürk) in Samsun
Samsun
Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...
on May 19, 1919, four days after the occupation. Kemal formed a nationalist movement with a separate government in Ankara, and no longer recognised the administration in Istanbul, which on August 10, 1920, had signed the Treaty of Sèvres
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
, thus formally ceding the territories to Greece which she presently occupied.
Other reactions to landings
Italy was angry at having lost what was promised and became sympathetic to the nationalist forces. Soon thereafter, France had declared an armistice with Mustafa Kemal. Britain, attempting to defeat Kemal's army, gave permission for Venizelos to invade further into Anatolia and root out the nationalists.Turkish capture (September 1922)
The Greek operation deep in Anatolia proved a disaster and by 1922 the Greek army had been routed with Kemal's forces pursuing them to İzmir. The British representative in Smyrna warned, "The Greeks have realised that they have got to go but they are decided to leave a desert behind them, no matter whose interests may suffer thereby. Everything which they have time and means to move will be carried off to Greece; the Turks will be plundered and burnt out of house and home". The Turkish pursuit left little room to fulfill this prophecy, but a scorched earth policy had left wide tracts of the surrounding land in ruins, leaving the population of İzmir close to starvation. It is estimated some 3,000 lives had been lost in the burning of AlaşehirAlasehir
Alaşehir, in Antiquity and the Middle Ages known as Philadelphia , i.e. " brotherly love" is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay , at the foot of the Bozdağ...
alone.
By 9 September the Turkish army had entered Smyrna, with the Greek authorities having left two days before. Large scale disorder followed, with the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
population suffering under attacks from soldiers and Turkish inhabitants. The Greek archbishop Chrysostomos
Chrysostomos of Smyrna
Chrysostomos Kalafatis , known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox bishop of Smyrna between 1910 and 1914, and again from 1919 to his death in 1922...
had been lynched by a mob which included Turkish soldiers, and on September 13, a fire from the Armenian quarter of the city had engulfed the Christian waterfront of the city, leaving the city devastated. The responsibility for the fire is a controversial issue, some sources blame Turks, and some sources blame Greeks or Armenians. Some 10,000 to 100,000 Greeks and Armenians were killed in the fire and accompanying massacres.
Demographics
According to the British estimates of 1919 the Greek element in Izmir Sanjack, the city and the surrounding area, was the most numerous counting 375,000, while Muslims were 325,000. American figures share a similar view about the specific area under question. According to some sources, the suggestion that the Greek element constituted a certain majority in the lands claimed by Greece has been contested.The ethnic composition of the city of İzmir was contested: according to Ottoman sources Greeks and other Orthodox Christians formed a minority in the city, on the other hand according to Greek sources Greeks formed the majority. It has been recorded, before World War I, that the Greeks alone numbered 130,000 out of a total population of 250,000, while the Ottoman ruling class referred to the city as Infidel Smyrna (Gavur Izmir) due to its strong Greek presence.
Culture
During the occupation of the city, the Greeks established a number of institutions in the city. For example, the first university in Smyrna, under the nameIonian University
Ionian University of Smyrna
The Ionian University of Smyrna was a university established by the local Greek authorities during the Greek Occupation of Smyrna , today Izmir, Turkey. The initiative for the organization of the institution was undertaken by the mathematician Constantin Carathéodory...
, was founded by the Phanariot
Phanariotes
Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Phanariote Greeks were members of those prominent Greek families residing in Phanar , the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is situated.For all their cosmopolitanism and often Western education, the Phanariots were...
Greek Mathematician Constantin Carathéodory
Constantin Carathéodory
Constantin Carathéodory was a Greek mathematician. He made significant contributions to the theory of functions of a real variable, the calculus of variations, and measure theory...
. Several programs were instituted to better the lives of inhabitants of the city.
Effects
The Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne of 26 April 1917, which settled the middle eastern interest of Italy, was overridden with the Greek occupation as Smyrna was part of the agreements promised to Italy. Before the occupation the Italian delegation to Paris Peace Conference, 1919Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
, dissatisfied about the possibility of the Greek occupation of Western Anatolia, left the conference and did not return to Paris until May 5. The absence of the Italian delegation from the Conference facilitated Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
's efforts to persuade France and the United States in Greece’s favor to prevent Italian operations in Western Anatolia.
Occupation of Smyrna was one of the main reasons behind the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
.
See also
- Aristidis StergiadisAristidis StergiadisAristidis Stergiadis was the Hellenic high-commissioner, or governor-general, of Smyrna from 1919 to 1922. He was selected for the post by Prime Minister Venizelos, who was a fellow Cretan. He is considered one of the darkest figures in modern Greek history...
- Great Fire of SmyrnaGreat Fire of SmyrnaThe Great Fire of Smyrna or the Catastrophe of Smyrna was a fire that destroyed much of the port city of Izmir in September 1922. Eye-witness reports state that the fire began on 13 September 1922 and lasted until it was largely extinguished on September 22...
- Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, known as the Western Front of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey and the Asia Minor Campaign or the Asia Minor Catastrophe in Greece, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May...
- Turkish War of IndependenceTurkish War of IndependenceThe Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
- Chronology of the Turkish War of IndependenceChronology of the Turkish War of IndependenceThis chronology of the Turkish War of Independence is a timeline of events during the Turkish War of Independence . The timeline also includes the background events starting with the end of the First World War. The events are classified according to the campaigns and parties involved...