Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)

A war between Greece and the Turkish national movement, fought mainly in Anatolia from 1919 to 1922. Turkish victory ended Greek territorial ambitions in Asia Minor and led to a compulsory population exchange.

Greek landing at Smyrna: The landing of Greek troops at Smyrna on 15 May 1919, beginning Greece’s occupation of the city and its surrounding region. The landing opened the conflict’s western Anatolian front and became a lasting source of Turkish resistance.
Treaty of Sèvres: The 1920 peace treaty that proposed partitioning Ottoman territories and granting Greece extensive gains in eastern Thrace and around Smyrna. Its proposed Greek gains fueled Turkish nationalist opposition and gave Greece a rationale for expanding its occupation.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: The Turkish military and political leader who organized the national movement and became the founder of the Republic of Turkey. He unified Turkish resistance and directed the campaign that defeated the Greek army.
1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey: A compulsory exchange of Greek Orthodox and Muslim populations between Greece and Turkey, formalized by the 1923 Convention of Lausanne. It turned wartime displacement into a state-directed demographic settlement.
Battle of Sakarya: A 1921 battle in which Turkish forces halted the Greek advance east of Ankara. The Greek failure at Sakarya ended the drive toward the Turkish nationalists’ center of power.
Greek irredentism: A political movement seeking to unite Greek-inhabited lands beyond the borders of the Greek state. The Megali Idea helped shape Greek claims in Anatolia and the decision to land at Smyrna.
Eleftherios Venizelos: A Greek statesman who led Greece during much of the First World War and advocated territorial expansion into former Ottoman lands. His diplomacy helped secure Allied support for Greek claims, though he lost power before the final defeat.
Greek refugees: People of Greek Orthodox background who fled or were expelled from Anatolia and eastern Thrace, especially during and after 1922. Their mass arrival reshaped Greek society and made resettlement an urgent postwar task.
Battle of Dumlupınar: The decisive August 1922 battle in which Turkish forces broke the Greek army’s position in western Anatolia. The victory triggered the Greek retreat and made Turkish reconquest rapid.
Megali Idea: A Greek nationalist vision of incorporating territories associated with Greek history and populations, including Constantinople and parts of Anatolia. It supplied the broader national ambition behind Greece’s Anatolian campaign.

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