The end of World War I marked the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). The Treaty of Sèvres, signed in the summer of 1920, set the terms of peace between the Entente Powers and the defeated Ottoman Empire. Greece, claimed, inter alia, the territories of Thrace, the islands Imbros, Tenedos, Lemnos, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Samothrace, but also the wider region of Smyrna (Izmir).
The Allies decided to send Greek troops to the region of Smyrna in an effort to establish their political and economic influence in the region of Ionia. Eleftherios Venizelos, having secured the support of the Powers, commanded the landing of the Greek army in Asia Minor, in order to restore peace and protect the Christian population, but with the ultimate goal and inner desire to materialise the Great Idea, i.e. to acquire the coastal territories of Western Asia Minor. Mustafa Kemal with his Young Turks challenged the Treaty, while the Greek army advanced on the territory of the neighbouring country. However, Greece, since November 1920 and the enthronement of Constantine as the King of Greece, was exposed. It had lost the support and political cover of France and Great Britain, which were considering a possible revision of the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres, which in hindsight had proved fragile.
The Greco-Turkish War in Asia Minor would last from 2 May 1919 to 5 September 1922. Within a short period of time, the Greek army created a buffer zone around the city. Immediately after the arrival of the Greeks in Asia Minor, their lack of colonial expertise became evident. At the same time, the Turkish national movement grew stronger, and this led the new Greek administration to decide to solve the problem with a new operation further in the Anatolian Plateau. The Greek troops were exhausted after World War I and they collapsed under the pressure of the rival forces. Their retreat to the coast was disorderly, unorganised, while both this and the following Turkish counterattack led to extensive war crimes against the civilian population of the area. This development culminated in the occupation and burning of Smyrna by the Turkish forces, which led to the disappearance and the persecution of the native Christian population of the city.
Among the thousand Greek soldiers who participated in the Greco-Turkish War were dozens of Corfiots who fought bravely, and among them, the brave Colonel of the Independent Division, Demetrios-Themistocles Theotokis (1872-1923).
Demetrios Theotokis came from a noble Corfiot family, the son of the politician and History scholar Markos-Aloisios Theotokis and brother to the novelist Konstantinos Theotokis and the History scholar Spyridon Theotokis.
In 1890, he joined the Hellenic Military Academy and then pursued a career in the Greek Army. In the period 1912-1913, he participated in the Balkan Wars, where he excelled. In September 1921, having risen to the rank of Colonel, he took command of the ‘Independent Division’, an elite military force that had been secretly formed to occupy Constantinople (Istanbul).
The ‘Independent Division’ was formed by virtue of the number 235/29-06-1921 order of the Ministry of Military Affairs, with first Divisional General, Major General Georgios Leonardopoulos and Commander of the Infantry Division, Colonel Demetrios Theotokis. On 23 September 1921, Theotokis took over the commandment of the Division because Major General Leonardopoulos was affected by typhoid fever, and he had to be hospitalised. The ‘Independent Division’ is considered one of the most competent and dynamic fighting forces that participated in the military operations in Asia Minor.
Since the beginning of October 1921, the Independent Division was in advance force operations in the ‘Eskişehir (Dorylaeum) – Ak in’ sector, executing reconnaissance and interception missions throughout the passive defense period. During the periods of recession of the Turkish aggression, it performed numerous archaeological excavations bringing ancient Greek artefacts into light.
In August 1922, when the front collapsed, the Division was cut off from the rest of the Greek army and was isolated in the heart of Anatolia. So, Demetrios Theotokis, his staff and their men, were forced to travel hundreds of kilometres on foot through the enemy territory in 17 days, in order to reach the coasts of Asia Minor. By order of Colonel Theotokis, the ‘Independent Division’ began its course from Phrygia to the West, having defied the orders of the Commandment of the second Military Corps and the Asia Minor Army, which arrived inside a metal tube, determined that the suggested move towards the North or the South would lead to the absolute destruction of the corps.
His experience from the Balkan Wars and World War I in combination with the knowledge he had gained in the French War College and his training in Reims with the 132nd Infantry Regiment of the French Army, had developed his military instinct, which led him to take the brave decision to move the ‘Independent Division’ to the West, eventually covering 630 kilometres of hostile territory, collecting approximately 8,000 refugees and fragmented units of the Greek Army, on the course to the coastal Dikili. Fortunately, there, on 30 and 31 August 1922, they boarded ships for Mytilene. Theotokis’ leadership, as well as the decisions his staff took during this difficult course, contributed to the successful evacuation of the territory of Asia Minor. It is worth noting that of the 7,840 men that participated in the ranks of the ‘Independent Division’, during its long course to Dikili - which was honourably named ‘The march of the new ten thousand’ - less than 60 injured were reported.
The Greek State, several decades later, as a token of recognition of his offer, named after him the National Guard Battalion of the Corfu-Military Camp ‘General Demetrios Theotokis’, with the number Φ.911.24/3/387818/Σ.2301 20.03.2017 Order of the Army General Staff.
Apart from Demetrios Theotokis’ prominent personality, dozens of other Corfiots fought in Asia Minor. Many of them had already excelled in World War I.
Γιάννης Σ. Πιέρης, Κέρκυρα 14/04/2022, Αρχείο Αναγνωστικής Εταιρίας Κερκύρας.
In the battles of the Asia Minor operation, the Corfiot soldiers fought bravely. In fact, several were seriously wounded, as for example, the reservist army assistant surgeon and later prominent radiologist Filoktemon Paramythiotis.
Corfu also paid a heavy blood toll in Asia Minor. The available data of the Greek Army History Division show that during the operation, 184 young Corfiots either died fighting or were seriously wounded and died later in a military hospital.
Among the dead was the Captain of the Infantry Gerasimos Vryonis, who, although he was from Lefkada, lived with his family in Corfu. In fact, his daughter Marika Vryoni, was one of the victims of the Italian bombardment of Corfu in 1923, at the age of 6.
The return of the Corfiot soldiers to the island of Corfu was a very emotionally charged moment for everyone. Most had been fighting for years away from their families. Their relatives could hardly recognise them.
When the country called them to do their duty, the Ionian Islands always responded, since the War of Independence. More recently, Corfu offered dozens of its worthy sons to the battlefields. The glorious 10th Infantry Regiment, the main military force that remained in Corfu for years, excelled in very important battles of the country, especially in the Balkan Wars. According to sources, the legendary flag of the Regiment the so-called ‘Sarantaporos’ was destroyed by its officers after the occupation of Corfu by the Italian forces in 1941.
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