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Eleftherios Venizelos
Person page: Eleftherios Venizelos →
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(37)
1915
January
24
British offer to Greece
On 24 January 1915 London promised Greece gains in Asia Minor in return for helping Serbia. Venizelos at once proposed to the King ceding Kavala to Bulgaria.
29
Greece refuses to help Serbia
According to the British chronology, on 29 January 1915 Greece refused to intervene for Serbia. Without Romania, the king and the staff saw war as too risky.
February
15
Entente urges Greece to help Serbia
On 15 February 1915 the British and French ministers urged Greece to help Serbia, promising divisions at Salonika. Venizelos refused at once.
23
British occupy Lemnos
On 23 February 1915 British marines arrived on the Greek island of Lemnos. Mudros Bay became the main base of the Allied fleet and troops at the Dardanelles.
March
05
Venizelos offers the Entente the fleet and troops
On 5 March 1915 Venizelos offered the Entente the Greek fleet and one division for the Dardanelles operation, although the King had not yet agreed.
06
Venizelos resigns
On 6 March 1915 King Constantine I rejected the plan for Greek participation in the Dardanelles operation. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos resigned.
09
Dimitrios Gounaris becomes prime minister of Greece
On 9 March 1915 King Constantine I appointed Dimitrios Gounaris prime minister of Greece. He was an opponent of Venizelos and a supporter of neutrality.
August
22
Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece again
On 22 August 1915, over two months after winning the election, Eleftherios Venizelos was sworn in before King Constantine I and again headed the government.
September
21
Venizelos asks for 150,000 Entente troops
On 21 September 1915 Venizelos asked France and Britain for 150,000 troops. They were to replace the Serbs, who could not field them against Bulgaria.
23
Greece announces mobilisation
On 23 September 1915 King Constantine I signed the decree mobilising the Greek army. Venizelos was preparing for war; the King wanted armed neutrality.
25
Serbia promises Dojran and Gevgelija to Greece
Under 25 September 1915 the British chronology records that Serbia promised Greece the Dojran and Gevgelija area. Pašić hoped to win Greek help this way.
27
Constantine agrees to the Salonika expedition
On 27 September 1915 Venizelos told the British that the King had agreed to Entente troops at Salonika. Officially, Constantine I was to know nothing.
28
Greece rejects the offer of Entente troops
On 28 September 1915 Athens thanked London for its offer of troops, deeming them unnecessary for now. A day later the Greeks asked for this reply to be ignored.
October
02
Venizelos asks for an Allied landing at Salonika
On 2 October 1915 Venizelos asked France and Britain to send troops to Salonika at once. A day earlier he had ordered the ships bound there to turn back.
05
Venizelos resigns again
On 5 October 1915 King Constantine I refused to back Venizelos's policy, although Parliament had given him a vote of confidence. The premier resigned again.
06
Alexandros Zaimis becomes prime minister of Greece
On 6 October 1915, a day after Venizelos resigned, Alexandros Zaimis was forming a new government in Athens. Its members opposed war on Serbia's side.
November
05
Zaimis government resigns
Early on 4 November 1915 the Greek parliament voted against the Zaimis government. The prime minister resigned, and the King chose new elections over Venizelos.
06
Stefanos Skouloudis becomes prime minister of Greece
After the fall of the Zaimis government King Constantine gave power to the 76-year-old banker Stefanos Skouloudis. A few days later he dissolved parliament.
1916
June
21
Resignation of the Skouloudis government
On 21 June 1916, the day the Entente demanded a change of government in Greece, Prime Minister Stefanos Skouloudis resigned after less than eight months.
27
Demobilisation of the Greek army
On 27 June 1916 the Zaimis government demobilised the Greek army, as the Entente demanded. Released reservists began forming anti-Venizelist leagues.
August
30
Venizelist coup in Salonika
On 30 August 1916 Venizelos's supporters set up a Committee of National Defence in Salonika and renounced obedience to Athens. Sarrail did not stop them.
September
16
Kalogeropoulos becomes Prime Minister of Greece
On 16 September 1916 Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos, an opponent of Venizelos, formed a Greek government. The Entente saw a party cabinet as a breach of the June note.
25
Venizelos leaves Athens
On the night of 24–25 September 1916 Eleftherios Venizelos and Admiral Kountouriotis secretly sailed from Athens to Crete to lead the National Defence movement.
26
Venizelos forms a provisional government on Crete
On 26 September 1916 Venizelos and Admiral Kountouriotis landed on Crete and formed a provisional government at Chania, opposed to the government in Athens.
October
03
Resignation of the Kalogeropoulos government
On 3 October 1916 Kalogeropoulos's ministers resigned; next day the king accepted the resignation of the whole cabinet, which the Entente refused to recognise.
09
Venizelos arrives in Salonika
On 9 October 1916 Eleftherios Venizelos arrived in Salonika and, with Admiral Kountouriotis and General Danglis, headed the government of National Defence.
10
Lambros becomes prime minister of Greece
On 10 October 1916 the historian Spyridon Lambros took office in Athens. His cabinet of officials and professors at once faced a French admiral's ultimatum.
November
23
Key event
Provisional government declares war on Germany and Bulgaria
On 23 November 1916 Venizelos's National Defence government in Salonika declared war on Germany and Bulgaria. Greece now had two governments, one at war.
December
02
Massacre of Venizelists in Athens
On 2 December 1916, after the Entente landing force left, royalists in Athens attacked supporters of Venizelos. People were killed; a round-up began next day.
17
Arrest warrant for Venizelos
On 17 December 1916 Athens issued a warrant for the arrest of Venizelos for high treason. To royalists the Salonika government leader was just "the Traitor".
19
Britain recognises the Venizelos government
On 19 December 1916 Lloyd George announced in the Commons that Britain would receive representatives of Venizelos's government. France followed London's lead.
25
Anathema against Venizelos
On 25 December 1916 Archbishop Theoklitos of Athens cursed Venizelos on the Field of Ares. The crowd stoned a cairn meant as a monument to the "traitor".
1917
May
02
Zaimis prime minister of Greece once more
In early May 1917 King Constantine dismissed the Lambros cabinet and for the third time in the war turned to Alexandros Zaimis, a friend of the Entente.
June
12
Key event
Abdication of King Constantine
On 12 June 1917 King Constantine I, forced by the Entente, left Athens, leaving the throne to his younger son Alexander. He did not formally abdicate.
26
Venizelos becomes prime minister of Greece
On 24 June 1917 Zaimis refused to revive the chamber of 1915 and resigned. On 26 June Venizelos formed a government of the whole of Greece, now reunited.
27
Key event
Greece enters the war
On 27 June 1917 Venizelos took power in Athens. His government broke off relations with the Central Powers, and all of Greece went to war on the Entente side.
1918
May
30
Victory at Skra di Legen
At dawn on 30 May 1918 the Greeks stormed the Bulgarian salient of Skra di Legen in Macedonia, took about 2,000 prisoners and beat off every counter-attack.