the start of greco-turkish hostilities in the 20th cent.

from wikipedia:Turkey



Throughout the 19th and early 20th century the Ottoman empire began to lose a foothold on its territories, first with Algeria and Tunisia, then Greece, Egypt, Libya and the Balkans in the 1912 Balkans war. Faced with territorial losses on all sides Turkey forged an alliance with Germany who supported it with troops and equipment. In World War I Turkey entered the war on the side of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and later Bulgaria) and was subsequently defeated. Between 1915 and 1917 large parts of the Armenian population were deported from the area constituting today's Turkey. Whether the casualties were the result of genocide or the turmoils of World War I is debated today (see Armenian Genocide).

On October 30th 1918, the Mondros Armistice was signed followed by the Treaty of Sèvres on August 10th 1920. These sought to break up the Ottoman empire and force large concessions on Turkey in favour of its rival Greece who had fought against the Germans. Greece, France and Italy were awarded parts of the coast of Minor Asia. The city of Izmir (Smyrna), with its large Greek population, was awarded to Greece. The Greek army took it over on May 15 1919 and triggered the War of Independence. A nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal, rejected the Sèvres and organised an army which repelled Greece from Asia Minor. By September 18th 1922 the country was liberated resulting in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, recognising the new borders of Turkey.