Why do you say that Thessaloniki is celebrating? Isn't it called Dimitra, after all?;
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On October 20, 1912, the Ottomans fled in a hurry from the city of Giannitsa and rushed to take refuge in Thessaloniki
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Giannitsa has been liberated, marking yet another major military victory for the Greeks in the First Balkan War
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It is now clear that the Greeks are defeating the Ottomans everywhere, just as the Serbs and the Bulgarians are
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Even the consuls of the major powers in Thessaloniki have caught on
and so,
On October 22, they began seeking a peaceful surrender of the city, because if a battle had broken out
In that case, it wasn't at all unlikely that even people who had nothing to do with it would pay for it
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Meanwhile,
The Turks, retreating toward Thessaloniki, had blown up the bridges over the Axios River to halt the advance of the Greek army
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Thus, Hasan Takhin Pasha was able to assume command of all Ottoman forces within Thessaloniki,
Commander, until then, of the 8th Army of the Imperial Ottoman Army of Macedonia
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Hasan Taksin Pasha, although he was under pressure from the city’s foreign envoys to surrender Thessaloniki without a fight, stalled for time in the hope that reinforcements would arrive
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But on one side came the Greeks and on the other the Bulgarians
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The Greeks were much closer and would certainly have been the first to enter the city
But
General Constantine was such an idiot that he didn't want to head toward Thessaloniki but toward Monastir,
that way
Telegrams began arriving from Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos
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Eleftherios Venizelos,
Prime Minister and Minister of Military Affairs:
🔴 I look forward to receiving further instructions regarding the direction the Thessalian army will take as it advances.
Please just keep in mind that important political reasons require us to arrive in Thessaloniki as soon as possible.
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Constantine the Successor,
commander-in-chief:
🔴 The army will not march on Thessaloniki.
It is my duty to turn against Monastir, unless you forbid me to do so.
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Venizelos:
🔴 I forbid you to do that!
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Venizelos:
🔴 I hold you personally responsible for the slowness with which you are conducting these operations, which risk allowing the Bulgarians to reach Thessaloniki first.
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(From the Minutes of the Parliament, August 13–16, 1917)
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The Bulgarians were just a stone's throw from Thessaloniki, and that jerk Konstantinos wouldn't go in and take it…
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Then,
there,
The Balkans were deemed to be the center of attention, because even if you ask a complete stranger,
A city like Thessaloniki is much more important because of its strategic location than the incredible Monastir (now Bitola in North Macedonia)
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that way
On Friday, October 26, 1912, at 5 a.m., the then Chief of Staff, Victor Dousmanis,
welcomes Artillery Brigadier General Sefik Pasha in the village of Topsin (now known as Gefira), 20 km outside Thessaloniki
and
the director of political affairs, Karabiberis,
and
He demands that they surrender the city unconditionally.
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Negotiations began regarding the weapons that the Ottoman soldiers would be allowed to keep, but the Greeks would not accept anything
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The Ottomans asked for a two-hour deadline and left
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After two hours, and since they had not responded, Greek elite units began to take the high ground around the city and encircle it.
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Until then, the commander-in-chief had been relaxed, but after a while, reports began to reach him that Bulgarians and Serbs were heading toward Thessaloniki
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Our pants caught fire
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He ordered the commanders of the surrounding hills to tighten the noose
and so
for the Turks to realize that they have no hope
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At the same time, the commander-in-chief orders Dousmanis and Metaxas to enter Thessaloniki and go in person to find Hassan Taxin Pasha.
and to formally order him to surrender
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The Greek officers arrive at headquarters
and
Shortly before midnight, they had agreed to the unconditional surrender of the city of Thessaloniki to the Greeks
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It's something that seems perfectly normal to us today, but back then it was strange.
Why?;
But that's because Thessaloniki was a typical cosmopolitan city of the Ottoman Empire, home to all sorts of people.
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The Greek community ranks third in terms of population.
with the Jews first, the Turks second, and the Greeks followed by the Slavs.
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There were no persecutions, no acts of violence, nothing at all, so Thessaloniki retained its character and remained a cosmopolitan city through which
Trade continued throughout the Balkans
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Thessaloniki clearly became Greek only after the settlement of the refugees from Asia Minor in 1922,
but also
following the massacre and looting of the Jews by Max Merten during the Occupation
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P.S. Constantine sent the army into the city to prepare for his entry, which took place two days later, on October 28.
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P.S. 2. The image is from a painting by the artist Polykleitos Regos, which is located at the Thessaloniki Guard Officers’ Club.
