Kingdom of Greece (Central Victory)

1914-1924: World War I, crises, and first abolition of Monarchy


In March 1913, an anarchist,, assassinated King George in Thessaloniki, and his son came to the throne as Constantine I. Constantine was the first Greek king born in Greece and the first to be Greek Orthodox. His very name had been chosen in the spirit of romantic Greek nationalism (the ), evoking the Byzantine emperors of that name. In addition, as the Commander-in-chief of the Greek Army during the, his popularity was enormous, rivalled only by that of Venizelos, his Prime Minister.

When broke out in 1914, despite Greece's treaty of alliance with Serbia, both leaders preferred to maintain a neutral stance. But when, in early 1915, the asked for Greek help in the, offering  in exchange, their diverging views became apparent: Constantine had been educated in , was married to , sister of , and was convinced of the ' victory. Venizelos on the other hand was an ardent, and believed in an Allied victory.



Since Greece, a maritime country, could not oppose the mighty British navy, and citing the need for a respite after two wars, King Constantine favored continued neutrality, while Venizelos actively sought Greek entry in the war on the Allied side. Venizelos resigned, but won the next, and again formed the government. When entered the war as a German ally in October 1915, Venizelos invited  forces into Greece (the ), for which he was again dismissed by Constantine.

In August 1916, after several incidents where both combatants encroached upon the still theoretically neutral Greek territory, Venizelist officers rose up in Allied-controlled Thessaloniki, and Venizelos established a there. Constantine was now ruling only in what was Greece before the Balkan Wars ("Old Greece"), and his government was subject to repeated humiliations from the Allies. In November 1916 the French occupied, bombarded Athens and forced the Greek fleet to surrender. The royalist troops fired at them, leading to a battle between French and Greek royalist troops. There were also riots against supporters of Venizelos in Athens (the ).



Following the in, however, the Tsar's support for his cousin was removed, and Constantine was forced to leave the country, without actually abdicating in June 1917. His second son became King, while the remaining royal family and the most prominent royalists followed into exile. Venizelos now led a superficially united Greece into the war on the Allied side, but underneath the surface, the division of Greek society into and anti-Venizelists, the so-called, became more entrenched.

With the end of the war in November 1918, the Greek position was bleak, and Greece now expected the Central Powers to take vengeance on the Balkan country. In no small measure through the diplomatic efforts of Venizelos, Greece secured its continued independence in the in November 1919 but lost  to. The Greeks also ceded control of the, , and  to the. But at the same time, a had arisen in, led by  (later Kemal Atatürk), who set up a rival government in  and was engaged in fighting a.

At this point, the fulfillment of the  seemed destroyed. So deep was the rift in Greek society, that on his return to Greece, an assassination attempt was made on Venizelos by two royalist former officers. Even more surprisingly, Venizelos' lost the  called in November 1920, and in a  shortly after, the Greek people voted for the return of King Constantine from exile, following the sudden death of Alexander. The United Opposition, which had campaigned on the slogan of an end wars for Greece, instead sent forces to retake the lost islands and Anatolia. But the royalist restoration had dire consequences: many veteran Venizelist officers were dismissed or left the army, while Italy and France found the return of the hated Constantine a useful pretext for switching their support to Kemal. Finally, in August 1922, the Turkish army shattered the Greek front.

The Greek army evacuated all of its territories in Turkey and the. A compulsory population exchange was agreed between the two countries, with over 1.5 million Christians and almost half a million Muslims being uprooted. This catastrophe marked the end of the Megali Idea, and left Greece financially exhausted, demoralized, and having to house and feed a proportionately huge number of.

The catastrophe deepened the political crisis, with the returning army rising up under Venizelist officers and forcing King Constantine to abdicate again, in September 1922, in favour of his firstborn son,. The "Revolutionary Committee", headed by Colonels (soon to become Prime Minister) and  engaged in a witch-hunt against the royalists, culminating in the "". In October 1923, were called for December, which would form a National Assembly with powers to draft a new constitution. Following a, the monarchist parties abstained, leading to a landslide for the Liberals and their allies. King George II was asked to leave the country, and on 25 March 1924, proclaimed the, ratified by  a month later.