June to August 1920
The Greek summer offensive
In late June 1920 the Greek army advances out of the İzmir zone with British approval. It takes Balıkesir and, on 8 July, Bursa. At the same time British troops occupy Mudanya on the Sea of Marmara. Further south Greek columns move up the Gediz and Büyük Menderes valleys towards Alaşehir and Uşak, which falls at the end of August.
The landing at Bandırma, July 1920Wikimedia Commons, NA, Public domain (Greek Landing in Bandirma 1.jpg)
The British battleship HMS Royal Sovereign shelling Mudanya, 6 July 1920Wikimedia Commons, Unknown author, Public domain (HMS Royal Sovereign bombing Mudanya July 1920.jpg)
King Alexander of Greece and General Leonidas Paraskevopoulos at Bandırma, August 1920Wikimedia Commons, Agence Rol, Public domain (King Alexander of Greece and General Paraskevopoulos in Bandirma (cropped).jpg)
In July Greek forces also occupy Eastern Thrace and enter Edirne on 25 July. The nationalist irregulars in their path give way, and Ankara begins to replace them with a regular army.
Mustafa Kemal in Ankara, July 1920Wikimedia Commons, Unknown author, Public domain (Mustafa Kemal Ankara’da, Temmuz 1920.png)
Sources
- Michael Llewellyn-Smith, Ionian Vision: Greece in Asia Minor 1919 to 1922 (1973).
- Andrew Mango, Atatürk (1999).
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