Greek landing at Smyrna 1919
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
About the battle
The Greek landing at Smyrna (Greek: Ελληνική απόβαση στη Σμύρνη; Turkish: Yunanların İzmir'e çıkışı) was a military operation by Greek forces starting on May 15, 1919 which involved landing troops in the city of Smyrna and surrounding areas.
The landing was sanctioned by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who argued that: "[a] massacre is taking place over there and there is nobody to protect the Greek population". The Allied powers oversaw the planning of the operation and assisted by directing their forces to take over some key locations and moving warships to the Smyrna harbor. During the landing, a shot was fired on the Greek 1/38 Evzone Regiment and significant violence ensued between both communities, however it was unsystematic and the Greek command tried to thwart it. The event became important for creating the three-year-long Greek Occupation of Smyrna and was a major spark for the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Greek landing at Smyrna (revision 1379954385), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Smyrna 1402 · 1 km
- Battle of Magnesia 190 BC · 34 km
- Battle of Myonessus 190 BC · 41 km
- Battle of Focchies 1649 · 43 km
- Battle of Corupedium 281 BC · 44 km
- Battle of Notium 406 BC · 54 km
Other battles of the Greco-Turkish War
- Battle of Bergama 1919
Browse more: battles in Turkey · Asia · Interwar battles