The 11 September 1922 Revolution () was an uprising by the

Greek army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

and navy against the government in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, which installed a "Revolutionary Committee" in its place. The uprising took place on 24 September 1922, although the date was "11 September" on the Julian calendar still in use at the time in Greece.

History

The Greek Army had just been defeated in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and had been evacuated from

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

to the Greek islands in the eastern Aegean. Discontent among the middle-ranking officers and men for the campaign's conduct by the royal government boiled over into armed revolt led by pro-

Venizelist Venizelism () was one of the major political movements in Greece beginning from the 1910s. The movement first formed under Eleftherios Venizelos in the 1910s and saw a resurgence of support in the 1960s when Georgios Papandreou united a coaliti ...

and anti-royalist officers. The mutiny spread quickly and seized power in Athens, forcing King

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

to abdicate and leave the country, with a military government ruling the country until early 1924, shortly before the

Greek monarchy Monarchy of Greece () or Greek monarchy () is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign (''Basileus'') reigns as the head of state of Greece. Monarchy in Greece lasted from 1832 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1973. Hi ...

was abolished and the

Second Hellenic Republic The Second Hellenic Republic is a modern Historiography, historiographical term used to refer to the Greece, Greek state during a period of republican governance between 1924 and 1935. To its contemporaries it was known officially as the Hellenic ...

established. The defeat of the Greek forces in Anatolia had alarmed the people and caused them to ask for the punishment of those responsible for the defeat. The government of Petros Protopapadakis resigned and on 28 August, the new government headed by Nikolaos Triantafyllakos. On 11 September a revolution was declared, with the formation of a Revolutionary Committee headed by Colonel

Nikolaos Plastiras Nikolaos Plastiras (; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he became famous as "The Black Rider" d ...

as representative of the army in

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

, Colonel Stylianos Gonatas as representative of the army in

Lesvos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean. It is separated from A ...

and Commander Dimitrios Fokas as representative of the navy. The next day, the troops boarded their ships and headed to

. Before they arrived there, a military aeroplane delivered a manifesto that was asking the resignation of King Constantine I, the dissolution of the Parliament, the formation a new politically independent government that would have the support of the alliances of the Entente and the immediate reinforcement of the battlefront in

Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

. On 13 September, the ships with the Greek army arrived in

Lavrio Lavrio, Lavrion or Laurium (; (later ); from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki ...

and the next day, King Constantine resigned and went into exile in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. His son, George II, was declared king. On 15 September, the troops of revolution entered the city of Athens and blocked the efforts

Theodoros Pangalos Theodoros Pangalos (, romanized: ''Theódoros Pángalos''; 11 January 1878 – 26 February 1952) was a Greek general, politician and dictator. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading r ...

was making to take advantage of the situation and take control of the government. Soon a new government was formed, with Sotirios Krokidas as chairman.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1922 09 11 Revolution 1922 in Greece Conflicts in 1922 September 1922 in Europe 20th-century rebellions

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

Republicanism in Greece 1920s coups d'état and coup attempts History of Greece (1909–1924) 1920s in Greek politics Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)

History

See also

Notes

References