1922: Unanswered questions on the Asia Minor Campaign

How important was Greece's isolation from its allies and the failed military operations that led to defeat and disaster?

The disembarkation of Greek forces in Smyrna in May 1919 was accompanied by celebrations by the city's ethnic Greek population. The docks were decked with Greek flags – such a great number in fact that many wondered where they came from. Greece, with its morale renewed and with the consent of its allies, was setting out on a military campaign to protect the Greeks living on the western coastline of Asia Minor, with the ultimate goal being the future control of Smyrna and the surrounding area. The outlook was favorable.

However, three years later the Asia Minor Campaign concluded in the worst possible way, with the collapse of the military front and the destruction of Smyrna. The lives of thousands of people were changed forever in the span of just a few days.

Indicative of this shifting mood against Greece was a meeting between the Great Powers and Greek and Turkish representatives that is oft forgotten. This was an attempt to partially revise the Treaty of Sevres that took place in London in February 1921. As historian Iakovos Michailidis points out, “it was clear that the prevailing mood over the Greeks had soured, even if there were plenty of gestures of allied solidarity on a surface level.”

The talks dragged on for many days until early March, with the British suggesting a compromise with the Turks and territorial concessions in areas with higher proportions of Muslim populations.

The Greek troops continued their offensive push toward Afyonkarahisar and Eskisehir, while in August of the same year they began to cross the Salt Desert.

Where was this campaign, which began with the most promising conditions for the Greek forces, decided? This question is one of the hardest to answer. A war, historians say, is seldom decided by a single factor. However, if we try to focus on the big picture, putting aside other difficulties like Greece's financial situation, the National Schism (the political division between the Venizelists and the anti-Venizelists), political infighting within the Hellenic Army, and the difficulties and hardships faced by the soldiers, then only two fronts are left: diplomacy and arms.

Four historians discuss one of the most critical questions of the Asia Minor Campaign.

Members of the Greek delegation to the Conference of London (February-March 1921) that discussed a potential revision of the Treaty of Sevres. Sitting on the right is Prime Minister Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos and standing (left to right) are Commander Bouboulis, Ptolemaios Sarigiannis and extraordinary envoy Kaftantzoglou.