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Army of Asia Minor
The Army of Asia Minor (Greek: Στρατιά Μικράς Ασίας) was a field army of the Hellenic Army which was stationed in Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922.
Following the Greek landing at Smyrna by the 1st Infantry Division on 2 May 1919 (O.S.), Greek forces under the command of the division's CO, Colonel Nikolaos Zafeiriou, began extending their control over the city's hinterland. In the face of mounting opposition by Turkish irregular forces, the division was reinforced by further units (5th and 6th Archipelago Regiments, 8th Cretan Regiment, 3rd Cavalry Regiment and additional gendarmerie and security forces). Command of these forces, the Army of Occupation (Στρατός Κατοχής), was assumed on 2 June by Lt. General Konstantinos Nider, CO of the I Army Corps, which had just returned from its participation in the Allied intervention in Ukraine.
Continuing operations led to the further increase of the Greek forces in the region, which by the end of June comprised the 1st, 2nd, 13th, Archipelago and Smyrna divisions. Between 29 June and 29 July, command of the sweep operations against the Turkish forces was assumed by the Commander-in-chief of the Greek Army, Lt. General Leonidas Paraskevopoulos. The line reached during this period, called "Milne Line" after the Allied C-in-C, George Milne, would form the boundary of the Greek-controlled "Smyrna Zone" until June 1920. In mid-December 1919, the Army of Occupation was renamed as the Army of Asia Minor (Στρατιά Μικράς Ασίας) and placed under the command of Lt. General Konstantinos Miliotis-Komninos. It comprised the I Army Corps (K. Nider), with the 1st and 2nd Divisions, the Smyrna Army Corps (D. Ioannou) with the 13th and Archipelago Divisions, and the Smyrna Division as a reserve. Its total strength at the end of 1919 was 2,400 officers and 57,038 other ranks.
With continuing Turkish attacks on and across the "Milne Line", the Greek forces were re-inforced in February by the newly constituted Kydoniai Division. The Greek Army General Headquarters was also transferred from Thessaloniki to Smyrna, and on 15 February, Paraskevopoulos once again assumed direct control of operations, with the Army of Asia Minor effectively disbanded as a distinct command entity. Paraskevopoulos led the Greek Army in its summer offensive of June–August 1920, which advanced as far as Bursa in the north and Alaşehir and Uşak in the south.
Despite these successes, and the conclusion of the—greatly favourable to Greece—Treaty of Sèvres, in the November 1920 elections Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos lost power to the royalist United Opposition, followed soon after by the return of King Constantine I to the throne. These developments had immediate and severe repercussions for Greece's position: Constantine was detested by the Allies for his pro-German stance during World War I, and France and Italy began abandoning Greece for the Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal. The new regime also instituted widespread purges of Venizelist elements in the administration and the military. In Asia Minor, Paraskevopoulos was dismissed and replaced by Lt. General Anastasios Papoulas, at the head of the re-constituted Army of Asia Minor; by March 1921, the purges had removed the three Corps commanders, seven of nine divisional commanders, and a large portion of regimental commanders. Some 500 Venizelist officers resigned or were dismissed, and although the majority of mid- and lower-level commands was not affected, the purges deprived the army of some of its most experienced and dynamic officers and replaced them with a leadership that in the main had not seen action since the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913.
In November 1920, the Army of Asia Minor comprised: I Army Corps, with the 1st, 2nd and 13th Divisions; II Army Corps, with the 3rd Infantry Division and Crete Divisions; the Smyrna Army Corps, with the Smyrna, Archipelago, Magnesia, and Kydoniai Divisions; and a cavalry brigade. The total strength was 3972 officers and 103,545 other ranks, with 297 artillery pieces, of which 36 heavy. The purges extended to the naming of units as well, so that names with "Venizelist" associations were dropped in favour of regular numbering: thus the Smyrna Army Corps became the III Corps, the Archipelago, Smyrna, Magnesia Divisions were renamed into the 7th, 10th, 11th Divisions respectively, and the Crete and Kydoniai Divisions were amalgamated into the 5th Division.
In late December (O.S.), Papoulas ordered the I and III Corps to engage in a limited offensive against their opposite Turkish forces, in order to probe their defences. The resulting First Battle of İnönü was hard-fought and highlighted the growing staying power of the Kemalist forces. The Greek leadership now faced the dilemma of the untenable position its army held in Anatolia: the Greek forces were deployed on a vast concave front, but the army was concentrated on the two extreme ends of the front, with a 160 km gap between the I Corps in the south and the III Corps around Bursa in the north. Despite voices—including Venizelos, who warned of Greece's increasing diplomatic isolation—that advocated a withdrawal to a more defensible line, the Greek Government resolved to resume the offensive. Further reserve classes were mobilized and calls for volunteers went out, hoping to raise an additional 60,000 men. However, before these reinforcements could be made available, on 10 March 1921, the Army of Asia Minor launched a general offensive. The Second Battle of İnönü ended in failure for the Greeks, who retreated to their original positions.
Following their retreat, the Greek High Command redoubled their efforts in preparation for the summer campaign: three divisions were transferred from the interior of Greece, raising the strength of the Army of Asia Minor to 11 infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade, totaling over 200,000 men with 300 artillery pieces and 700 machine guns. In preparation for the offensive, the Army was divided in two operational forces, northern and southern. The northern force comprised III Corps (G. Polymenakos) with the 7th and 10th Divisions and the northern group of divisions (N. Trikoupis), with the 3rd and most of the 11th Divisions. The southern force comprised the I Corps (A. Kontoulis) with the 1st and 2nd Divisions, II Corps (A. Vlachopoulos) with the 5th and 13th Divisions, and the southern group of divisions with the 4th and 12th Divisions, as well as an independent battle group formed from the bulk of the 9th Division. However, the need to protect the over-extended lines of supply and communication from attacks by Turkish irregulars, especially light cavalry which the Turks possessed in abundance, reduced the effective front-line strength of the Army to just 60,000 men.
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Army of Asia Minor
The Army of Asia Minor (Greek: Στρατιά Μικράς Ασίας) was a field army of the Hellenic Army which was stationed in Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922.
Following the Greek landing at Smyrna by the 1st Infantry Division on 2 May 1919 (O.S.), Greek forces under the command of the division's CO, Colonel Nikolaos Zafeiriou, began extending their control over the city's hinterland. In the face of mounting opposition by Turkish irregular forces, the division was reinforced by further units (5th and 6th Archipelago Regiments, 8th Cretan Regiment, 3rd Cavalry Regiment and additional gendarmerie and security forces). Command of these forces, the Army of Occupation (Στρατός Κατοχής), was assumed on 2 June by Lt. General Konstantinos Nider, CO of the I Army Corps, which had just returned from its participation in the Allied intervention in Ukraine.
Continuing operations led to the further increase of the Greek forces in the region, which by the end of June comprised the 1st, 2nd, 13th, Archipelago and Smyrna divisions. Between 29 June and 29 July, command of the sweep operations against the Turkish forces was assumed by the Commander-in-chief of the Greek Army, Lt. General Leonidas Paraskevopoulos. The line reached during this period, called "Milne Line" after the Allied C-in-C, George Milne, would form the boundary of the Greek-controlled "Smyrna Zone" until June 1920. In mid-December 1919, the Army of Occupation was renamed as the Army of Asia Minor (Στρατιά Μικράς Ασίας) and placed under the command of Lt. General Konstantinos Miliotis-Komninos. It comprised the I Army Corps (K. Nider), with the 1st and 2nd Divisions, the Smyrna Army Corps (D. Ioannou) with the 13th and Archipelago Divisions, and the Smyrna Division as a reserve. Its total strength at the end of 1919 was 2,400 officers and 57,038 other ranks.
With continuing Turkish attacks on and across the "Milne Line", the Greek forces were re-inforced in February by the newly constituted Kydoniai Division. The Greek Army General Headquarters was also transferred from Thessaloniki to Smyrna, and on 15 February, Paraskevopoulos once again assumed direct control of operations, with the Army of Asia Minor effectively disbanded as a distinct command entity. Paraskevopoulos led the Greek Army in its summer offensive of June–August 1920, which advanced as far as Bursa in the north and Alaşehir and Uşak in the south.
Despite these successes, and the conclusion of the—greatly favourable to Greece—Treaty of Sèvres, in the November 1920 elections Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos lost power to the royalist United Opposition, followed soon after by the return of King Constantine I to the throne. These developments had immediate and severe repercussions for Greece's position: Constantine was detested by the Allies for his pro-German stance during World War I, and France and Italy began abandoning Greece for the Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal. The new regime also instituted widespread purges of Venizelist elements in the administration and the military. In Asia Minor, Paraskevopoulos was dismissed and replaced by Lt. General Anastasios Papoulas, at the head of the re-constituted Army of Asia Minor; by March 1921, the purges had removed the three Corps commanders, seven of nine divisional commanders, and a large portion of regimental commanders. Some 500 Venizelist officers resigned or were dismissed, and although the majority of mid- and lower-level commands was not affected, the purges deprived the army of some of its most experienced and dynamic officers and replaced them with a leadership that in the main had not seen action since the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913.
In November 1920, the Army of Asia Minor comprised: I Army Corps, with the 1st, 2nd and 13th Divisions; II Army Corps, with the 3rd Infantry Division and Crete Divisions; the Smyrna Army Corps, with the Smyrna, Archipelago, Magnesia, and Kydoniai Divisions; and a cavalry brigade. The total strength was 3972 officers and 103,545 other ranks, with 297 artillery pieces, of which 36 heavy. The purges extended to the naming of units as well, so that names with "Venizelist" associations were dropped in favour of regular numbering: thus the Smyrna Army Corps became the III Corps, the Archipelago, Smyrna, Magnesia Divisions were renamed into the 7th, 10th, 11th Divisions respectively, and the Crete and Kydoniai Divisions were amalgamated into the 5th Division.
In late December (O.S.), Papoulas ordered the I and III Corps to engage in a limited offensive against their opposite Turkish forces, in order to probe their defences. The resulting First Battle of İnönü was hard-fought and highlighted the growing staying power of the Kemalist forces. The Greek leadership now faced the dilemma of the untenable position its army held in Anatolia: the Greek forces were deployed on a vast concave front, but the army was concentrated on the two extreme ends of the front, with a 160 km gap between the I Corps in the south and the III Corps around Bursa in the north. Despite voices—including Venizelos, who warned of Greece's increasing diplomatic isolation—that advocated a withdrawal to a more defensible line, the Greek Government resolved to resume the offensive. Further reserve classes were mobilized and calls for volunteers went out, hoping to raise an additional 60,000 men. However, before these reinforcements could be made available, on 10 March 1921, the Army of Asia Minor launched a general offensive. The Second Battle of İnönü ended in failure for the Greeks, who retreated to their original positions.
Following their retreat, the Greek High Command redoubled their efforts in preparation for the summer campaign: three divisions were transferred from the interior of Greece, raising the strength of the Army of Asia Minor to 11 infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade, totaling over 200,000 men with 300 artillery pieces and 700 machine guns. In preparation for the offensive, the Army was divided in two operational forces, northern and southern. The northern force comprised III Corps (G. Polymenakos) with the 7th and 10th Divisions and the northern group of divisions (N. Trikoupis), with the 3rd and most of the 11th Divisions. The southern force comprised the I Corps (A. Kontoulis) with the 1st and 2nd Divisions, II Corps (A. Vlachopoulos) with the 5th and 13th Divisions, and the southern group of divisions with the 4th and 12th Divisions, as well as an independent battle group formed from the bulk of the 9th Division. However, the need to protect the over-extended lines of supply and communication from attacks by Turkish irregulars, especially light cavalry which the Turks possessed in abundance, reduced the effective front-line strength of the Army to just 60,000 men.
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