French occupation of Thessaly

Part of National Schism of WWI

Venizelos returning to Greece following the end of the Campaign, July 1917
| Date| June 11, 1917-June 26, 1917

|

Location|

Thessaly, Greece

Belligerents
Provisional Government of National Defence
France|  Kingdom of Greece
Commanders and leaders
Maurice Sarrail|  Constantine I
Athanasios Frangou
Units involved
two infantry regiments with three infantry battalions each; four cavalry regiments; two artillery divisions and two aircraft squadrons|  1/38 National Guard Command
Strength
20,000|  800
Casualties and losses
59 killed|  7 killed, 15 wounded

The French occupation of Thessaly took place in June 1917, during the First World War, as part of the Allied intervention in the Greek National Schism. The chief military clash of the occupation became known as the Battle of the Flag (Greek: μάχη της σημαίας).

## Events

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The French army occupied consecutively on June 11 – Elasson; June 12–14 – Larissa; on 13/15 June – Velestino, Volos and Trikala; on June 15/17 – Kalambaka, and on June 26 – Lamia.[1]

The chief military confrontation of the operation occurred when the French attempted to disarm the 1/38 Evzone Regiment in Larissa, under the command of Lt. Colonel Athanasios Frangos. The regiment refused to obey the command to surrender its weapons and retreated west towards the mountains. The French launched Moroccan sipahis in pursuit of the unit, encircling it and forcing it to surrender after clashes (named "Battle of the Flag", as the Greeks carried the regimental standard with them) that claimed the lives of 59 Greek officers and soldiers, as well as seven killed and 15 wounded on the French side.[2][3]

At the same time, the Allies issued an ultimatum to Constantine, threatening to bombard Athens. As a result King Constantine I of Greece abdicated.

At least 200 royalist Greek MPs, municipal leaders, lawyers, and doctors were interned into a prison camp in Thessaloniki. The Thessaloniki concentration camp was surrounded by double rows of wire mesh, and the guard was made up of Cambodian and Senegalese soldiers.[2]

## See also

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* Provisional Government of National Defence
* National Schism

## Footnotes

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1. ^ Ellinikes Grammes 2016.
2. ^ a b Istorika Themata 2013.
3. ^ Dimokratiki.gr 2018.

## References

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* "12 Ιουνίου 1917(*): Η "μάχη της σημαίας" και η βίαιη κατάληψη της Θεσσαλίας από τον Γαλλικό στρατό" (in Greek). Θέματα Ελληνικής Ιστορίας. 12 July 2013.
* "Η μάχη της σημαίας και το "ακατανόητο τρόπαιο"". Ελληνικές Γραμμές. 7 June 2016.
* Damianos Athanasiou (10 July 2014). "Εγινε χθες η παρασημοφόρηση της ένδοξης σημαίας της 1/38 Διοίκησης Ταγμάτων Εθνοφυλακής Ευζώνων (φωτορεπορτάζ)". Dimokratiki.gr. Retrieved 16 January 2018.

## Further reading

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* Abbott, G. F. (2008). Greece and the Allies 1914–1922. London: Methuen & co. ltd. ISBN 978-0-554-39462-6.
* Dutton, D. (1998). The Politics of Diplomacy: Britain and France in the Balkans in the First World War. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-86064-079-7.
* Επίτομη ιστορία της συμμετοχής του Ελληνικού Στρατού στον Πρώτο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο 1914 - 1918 [Concise History of the Hellenic Army's Participation in the First World War 1914–1918] (in Greek). Athens: Hellenic Army History Directorate. 1993.
* Leontaritis, Georgios; Oikonomou, Nikolaos; Despotopoulos, Alexandros. "Ἡ Ἑλλάς καὶ ὁ Α′ Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος" [Greece and World War I]. Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους. Vol. 15\. pp. 15–73.

## External links

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* Photos from the French Military Archive
* Photos from the French Military Archive
* Photos from the French Military Archive

* v
* t
* e

Greece during World War I

Background|

* Balkan Wars
* Treaty of London (1913)
* Treaty of Bucharest (1913)
* Northern Epirote Declaration of Independence
* Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus
* Protocol of Corfu
* Massacre of Phocaea
* Greco-Turkish crisis of 1914

Events|

* 1914: Serbian campaign
* 1915: Gallipoli campaign
* May 1915 Greek legislative election
* Establishment of the Macedonian front
* December 1915 Greek legislative election
* Serbian Army in Corfu
* 1916: Roupel surrender
* Bulgarian invasion of eastern Macedonia
* Surrender and internment of IV Corps
* Italian and French occupation of Northern Epirus
* National Defence coup d'état

National
Schism|

| National
Defence|

* People: Eleftherios Venizelos
* Panagiotis Danglis
* Pavlos Kountouriotis
* Emmanouil Zymvrakakis
* Nikolaos Christodoulou
* Themistoklis Sofoulis
* Nikolaos Plastiras
* Theodoros Pangalos
* Leonidas Paraskevopoulos
* Nikolaos Politis
* Neokosmos Grigoriadis
* Georgios Papandreou
* Support: Cretan Gendarmerie
* National Defence Army Corps
* Serres Division
* Archipelago Division
* Crete Division
* Allied Army of the Orient
* Armée d'Orient (1915–1919)
* British Salonika Army
* Maurice Sarrail
* Louis Franchet d'Espèrey
* Democratic Battalions
* Basil Zaharoff
* Ideas: Pro-Entente
* Megali Idea
* Venizelism

|

Royal
governments|

* People: Constantine I of Greece
* Ioannis Metaxas
* Dimitrios Gounaris
* Viktor Dousmanis
* Sofoklis Dousmanis
* Stefanos Skouloudis
* Stefanos Dragoumis
* Ion Dragoumis
* Konstantinos Nider
* Georgios Theotokis
* Dimitrios Rallis
* Georgios Streit
* Spyridon Lambros
* Nikolaos Stratos
* Dimitrios Kalapothakis
* Georgios Pesmazoglou
* Spyridon Mercouris
* Support: Hellenic Army General Staff
* Epistratoi
* Church of Greece
* Ideas: Neutrality
* Monarchism
* Antivenizelism
* Germanophilia

Events|

* 1916: Noemvriana
* Battle of Katerini
* 1917: French occupation of Thessaly
* Accession of Alexander of Greece
* Great Thessaloniki Fire
* Samarina Republic
* 1918: Battle of Skra-di-Legen
* Vardar offensive
* Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro (1918)
* Armistice of Salonica
* Armistice of Mudros
* Occupation of Constantinople

Aftermath|

* 1919: Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)
* Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War (Southern Russia intervention)
* Greek landing at Smyrna and Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
* Venizelos–Tittoni agreement
* 1920: League of Nations establishment
* Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
* Treaty of Sèvres
* 1920 Greek legislative election
* 1920 Greek referendum
* 1921: Conference of London of 1921–1922
* 1922: Great fire of Smyrna
* 11 September 1922 Revolution
* Armistice of Mudanya
* Trial of the Six
* Greek retreat from Eastern Thrace
* 1923: Treaty of Lausanne
* Population exchange between Greece and Turkey

Remembrance|

* Zeitenlik
* Mikra British Cemetery
* Doiran Memorial
* Paionia Memorial
* Serbian Museum of Corfu
* Vido
* Allied cemetery of Moudros
* Greek cemetery of Pirot
* Medal of Military Merit (Greece)
* Inter-Allied Victory Medal (Greece)

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