Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)

The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a part of the Turkish War of Independence.

The causes and aims of the war have been debated and interpreted differently in the historiography. One major stated justification for the Greek military campaign was the protection of Greek populations amid continuing violence against Ottoman Greeks. By contrast, the Turkish National Movement presented the conflict as a defensive struggle to preserve Turkish homelands against foreign occupation.

The armed conflict started when the Greek forces landed in Smyrna (now İzmir), on 15 May 1919. In the Greek Summer Offensive of 1920, they advanced inland and took control of the western and northwestern part of Anatolia, including the cities of Manisa, Balıkesir, Aydın, Bursa and Uşak, among others. In 1921, after another Greek victory in the Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir, the Greek forces almost reached Ankara, but their advance was finally checked by Turkish forces at the Battle of the Sakarya. The Greek front eventually collapsed with the Turkish counter-attack in August 1922, and the war effectively ended with the recapture of Smyrna by Turkish forces and the great fire of Smyrna.

As a result, the Greek government accepted the demands of the Turkish National Movement and returned to its pre-war borders, thus leaving Eastern Thrace and Western Anatolia to Turkey. The Allies abandoned the Treaty of Sèvres to negotiate a new treaty at Lausanne with the Turkish National Movement. The Treaty of Lausanne recognized the independence of the Republic of Turkey and its sovereignty over Anatolia, Istanbul, and Eastern Thrace. The Greek and Turkish governments agreed to engage in a population exchange.