Greece Vs Ottoman 1897 - Crete

Monday 19 May 2014

18 April, 1897, Greece and the Ottoman Empire went to war over the island of Crete, starting the Greco-Turkish War.

Following the Greek Revolution in 1821, Greece was recreated as an independent kingdom. But it was very poor and had a tiny population.

Despite this, the Greeks had high ambitions, which seemed tantalisingly within reach due to continued Turkish decline.

Following the crisis of 1878 and the invasion of Thrace by the Russians, the Congress of Berlin was summoned to resolve the disputes.

Bulgaria was created as a vassal of the Turks, Serbia was awarded the valley of the Morava, and Greece was awarded Thessaly, somewhat late, in 1881.

Previously the Greek frontier had been delineated by the Phourka Pass and the coastal road around the Othrys mountain. The acquisition of Thessaly pushed the frontier northwards, to the Vale of Tempe and Mount Olympus.

But the ridge of Analypsis and the passes through it remained in Turkish hands. Melouna, Reveni, Kalambaki, the Skoumpa Defile, and Tempe itself were all controlled by the Turks, who could thus pour into Thessaly at their leisure. Farther north the passes of Katara, leading to Epirus, and Sarantaporo, leading to Macedonia, were also in Turkish hands, leaving the Greeks at a distinct disadvantage.

The Greeks nonetheless fancied themselves capable of challenging the Turks. As revolt exploded again on the island of Crete in 1895, Greece's irredentist pretensions resulted in the despatch of Greek forces to the island to protect, it was claimed, the Greek Orthodox living there in early 1897.

Naturally this resulted in war with the Ottoman Empire in the spring of 1897.

Though the Greeks were superior sailors and dominant at sea, which allowed them to quickly gain control of most of Crete, they were absolutely outmatched on land.

As a result the Greek plan was to stand on the defensive along the land frontier, capturing then holding the border passes. To assist with this task they also hoped to foment rebellion amongst the Greeks inhabiting Epirus and Macedonia. Meanwhile they would use their superior sea power to capture and annex Crete.

Ottoman forces, by contrast, had been reformed by German officers, had modern equipment, improved organisation, and had acquitted themselves well against Russia in 1877-1878. Though they had few sailors and were therefore outmatched at sea, their armies had been much improved on land.

They were able to rapidly mobilise and march to face the Greeks in the passes. The original plan of the Turks was to pin the Greeks from the Melouna Pass along the Analypsis ridge to Mount Olympus and the Vale of Tempe. This achieved, Turkish forces were to strike eastwards from the Reveni Pass to capture Tyrnavos and fall into the Greek rear.

This was anticipated by the Greeks, who fought desperately for the Reveni Pass, and brought forces up from the Skoumpa Defile. The Greeks won the pass and pushed as far as Domassi threatening to push into the Turkish rear.

But the Turks realised that the Greeks had fatally weakened their centre in order to achieve this. As a result the Turks smashed into the Greek centre with overwhelming force to seize the Melouna Pass and push south.

The Greeks in Reveni Pass feared being cut off and rapidly retreated. The retreat turned into a route as the panicked and ill-disciplined Greeks recoiled behind the River Peneus. Crown Prince Constantine, the Greek commander, attempted to hold the fortress of Larissa, the capital of Thessaly. But his troops were in such a bad state, and he unable to regain control of them, that he was compelled to withdraw even further south, to the line of Pharsalus, at the foot of a northern spur of the Othrys, where Julius Caesar famously defeated Pompey nearly two-thousand years before.

The Turks were quick to pursue, scarcely believing that Larissa was abandoned so easily, and again defeated the badly formed Greeks at Pharsalus.

The main battle of the war was decided to the southwest, as the Greeks retreated upon Domokos, the last stronghold before the Phourka Pass leading over the Othrys to Lamia in Phthiotis, and thence by way of Thermopylae over Mount Parnassus to the plains of Boeotia where stands the city of Thebes, and thence over the Kithairon to the Thriasian Plain in Attica.

Since Domokos controlled the northern entrance to the Phourka Pass, the Greeks intended to stand there to prevent the Turks from breaking into their core lands to the south.

But unfortunately for them they were again defeated.

As they recoiled over the Phourka Pass, they naturally sought to reform to hold the ancient and legendary Pass of Thermopylae. The Turks were none too sure of their ability to force this, especially given their weakness at sea. The Greeks still held the city of Volos to the north, upon the Turkish rear, which they were able to reinforce by sea. Given the fall of Crete, the formidable defences of Themopylae, and the existence of the Greeks threatening their communications at Volos, the Turks were content to agree to peace, which was mediated by the Great Powers.

The Greeks were allowed to regain Thessaly, but were required to withdraw from Crete. In 1898 the autonomous Cretan State was created, denying the island to Greece while still forcing the Turks to grant some privileges to the Greek inhabitants on the island.

Greece's war with Turkey in 1897 was important for a number of reasons. It showed the weakness of Greece and the vitality of the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks failed to liberate Crete, or any other territory they entertained designs upon, and suffered a crushing defeat.

On the Turkish side, the rapid and effective defeat of the Greeks caused a great deal of confidence among themselves and disdain for their opponents. The Greeks had relied upon militia for the most part, having neglected their army. Laws were implemented in Greece immediately after the defeat to create a professional standing army, one which would not melt in panic from a setback as had the one which abandoned the superb position of Larissa without a fight.

This was to result in the much more serious Balkan Wars, which witnessed the Greeks obtain revenge, as the Ottoman Army suffered rapid and astonishing defeat at the hands of the small Balkan powers. Greece's defeat in 1897 was thus arguably necessary for her victory in 1912, for she learned from her mistakes while the Turks entered a false sense of security, imagining that the poor performance of the Greeks at Pharsalus and Domokos would be the norm in conflicts between the two nations.

The Greek Army that defeated the Turks at Sarantaporo and captured Salonica was an entirely different organisation to that which lost in 1897.

The painting is of the Turkish attack at Domokos by Fausto Zonaro. Both sides continued to use colourful and distinctive uniforms reflecting traditional Balkan attire.

- Kaiser

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