The Greco-Turkish War was fought between Greece and the Turkish nationalist movement in Anatolia, after the First World War had ended with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Greek troops landed at Smyrna (Izmir) in May 1919 with the backing of the Allies, hoping to gain lands where many Greeks lived. They advanced deep into Anatolia, but were stopped near Ankara by Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal at the Battle of the Sakarya in 1921. A Turkish counter-offensive in the summer of 1922 drove the Greek army back to the coast, and Smyrna was destroyed by fire. The Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 recognised the new Turkish state and ordered a compulsory exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey.
Before and after
- 13 April 1919Jallianwala Bagh massacre
- 4 May 1919May Fourth Movement
- from 6 May 1919 to 8 August 1919Third Anglo-Afghan War
- 7 May 1919Birth of Eva Perón
- from 15 May 1919 to 11 October 1922Greco-Turkish War
- from 19 May 1919 to 24 July 1923Turkish War of Independence
- 23 May 1919Founding of University of California, Los Angeles
- from 5 June 1919 to 23 June 1919Battle of Cēsis
- 28 June 1919Treaty of Versailles
More in Wars, politics & history
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- from 25 October 1917 to 26 October 1917October Revolution
- from 7 November 1917 to 25 October 1922Russian Civil War
- 30 January 1933Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
- from 18 July 1936 to 1 April 1939Spanish Civil War
- 23 August 1939Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.