Nea Byzantia wrote:WIPCountry Name: Empire of the Hellenes| Greece
Head of State/Government: Emperor Alexandros I (ruled King of the Hellenes: 1917 AD - 1921 AD; ruled as Emperor of the Hellenes: 1921 AD - Present); Prime Minister Alexandros Papagos (ruled: 1941 AD - Present)
Type of Government: Constitutional Monarchy/Military Dictatorship
Capital: Constantinople
Map/location (an actual map or description is fine here) Greece, European Turkey, Cyprus
Population: 7 million people
Faction: NATO
History: In 1917, after the end of the National Schism, Greece joined WWI on the side of the Allied Powers. They successfully pushed into European Turkey, right up to the outskirts of Istanbul, by the time the war ended, in November 1918. In Summer of 1919, Venizelos ordered an expedition into Asia Minor to liberate the Greek population there, still chafing under Turkish oppression. By 1920, the expedition was a success, and the Ottoman Sultan was forced to sign the Treaty of Sevres; recognizing Greece's gains. In 1921, the British gave Constantinople, which they had occupied since 1918, into Greek hands, after Venizelos signed the Adrianople Accord, which promised international access to the Bosporus Straits. With Constantinople in Greek hands, King Alexander I was crowned Emperor of the Hellenes. The Turks of Istanbul (Constantinople) were driven from the City; and were deported from Greek territory altogether, by Venizelos' orders.
The situation was not stable, however, and did not last very long. In 1923, the Ottoman Sultan was overthrown in a military coup and replaced by a cadre of nationalist military officers, keen on driving the Greeks from Anatolia. They caught the Greeks by surprise, and within a few months, captured Smyrna, and drove the Greeks right into the sea. Emperor Alexandros, who very much resented Venizelos, for having exiled his father, Constantine, during the National Schism, invited back the Royalist Officers who had gone into exile; chief of which, Ioannis Metaxas. He then dismissed Venizelos as Prime Minister, and appointed in his place, Metaxas. As the Turks were advancing on Constantinople, Metaxas took charge of the defence of the City. At the same time, as he was preparing the defence, Metaxas was also purging the Venizelists, and replacing them with his own Royalist cronies. In early 1925, the Turks reached Constantinople, and attempted to seize it, but were repulsed. Metaxas offered the Turks terms, but they refused to hear of it. The war dragged on, with the Turks being unable to take the City, and the Greeks unable to drive them further back into Anatolia, the war ground to a standstill.
The Greco-Turkish War dragged on in a stalemate until the Stock Market Crash of 1929, when both Greece and Turkey being struck by economic difficulties, agreed to a ceasefire. The War had left Greece semi-successful but in a bad economic situation. Eager to take advantage of the chaotic political and economic situation, Venizelos, who had taken asylum in France following his ousting from office by Emperor Alexandros, back in 1923, plotted his return to power. In 1931, he landed on his home island of Crete, where he was much beloved, and missed by the local people, and there, he sought to repeat the formula of his success in 1917; and proclaimed himself Prime Minister in Irakleion. With the help of former Venizelist officers who had gone into exile with him, the local support of the Cretans, and with the tacit blessing of France; Venizelos was able to take over Crete and even win some of the neighbouring islands to him. The "Venizelist Fever" as it was called, also spread to islands under the "protection" of Foreign Powers, such as the Italian controlled Dodecanese, and the British controlled Cyprus. Both of these regions shook off British and Italian occupation, respectively, and joined themselves to Venizelos' "Hellenic Republic".
These developments raised the ire of the Great Powers of Britain and Italy; and this was seized upon by the politically astute Metaxas; who requested British and Italian aid to put down the Venizelist Revolt. In early 1932, the Venizelists attempted to seize the port of Kalamata, on the south of the Pelopponese; but they were repulsed by the battle-hardened military garrison there, and pushed back into the sea. In March, another Venizelist uprising occurred in the major northern Greek port of Thessaloniki. The military garrison there was unable to put down the revolt there, and the city was lost. Metaxas gathered an army and marched to Thessaloniki himself to put down the uprising. Also present to help the Imperial Government were forces sent by King Alexander I (ruled: 1918 - 1934) of Yugoslavia. By August, after a siege lasting several months; Thessaloniki was taken by the Imperialists. This reversal was followed by the arrival of an Italian Expeditionary Force as well as the British Royal Navy in the region. In conjunction with the Imperial Greek Navy and Army, the combined forces landed on Venizelos' stronghold of Crete; and trapped the would-be Prime Minister in his makeshift capital of Irakleion. The city fell to the British, Italian, and Greek Imperial forces in September, but during the chaos, Venizelos managed to escape to Cyprus. Throughout the remainder of 1932, and dragging on into 1933-1934, the coalition forces hopped from island to island, subduing the Venizelist garrisons and restoring Imperial rule over these areas. In 1934, Venizelos fled Cyprus for the safety of the French Mandate of Lebanon. He remained in comfortable exile in Beirut, in a swanky villa provided by the French Government; breathing his threats until his death in 1936.
After the subsiding of the "Venizelist Fever" (1931-1934), things calmed down for a very short time; but this was merely surface-level.
Anybody want to help me write the history, insofar, as involving their countries in the conflict outlined below.
As y'all can see, I'm still working on my History. Let me know what you think so far, and if any of you find it objectionable. Its still WIP.
