Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913

(Redirected from Greek-Serbian Alliance of 1913) Military alliance between the kingdoms of Greece and Serbia from 1913 to 1924

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Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913
Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Mutual Protection
The Kingdom of Greece (green) and the Kingdom of Serbia (orange) shown within Europe in 1914.
Signed	1 June 1913
Location	Thessaloniki, Kingdom of Greece (now Greece)
Parties	Greece Serbia

The Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913 was signed at Thessaloniki on 1 June 1913, in the aftermath of the First Balkan War, when both countries wanted to preserve their gains in Macedonia from Bulgarian expansionism. The treaty formed the cornerstone of Greek–Serbian relations for a decade, remaining in force through World War I until 1924.

Background

During the First Balkan War, both Greek and Serbian armies concluded their operations in Macedonia by late 1912, while the Bulgarian army was directed mainly towards Thrace. As a result, the former succeeded in taking control of most of Macedonia, including its largest city, Thessaloniki, which was occupied by the Greek army in early November. Bulgaria nevertheless demanded most of Macedonia for herself, relying on the crucial role its army had played in facing the bulk of the Ottoman army in the First Balkan War, as well as on the pre-war agreements with Serbia regarding their mutual territorial claims in northern Macedonia. Both Greece, which had not signed any agreement on territorial partition, and Serbia, which in the London Conference of 1912–13 was forced by the Great Powers to cede its conquests in Albania in favour of the newly created Albanian Principality, opposed Bulgarian claims and insisted on an uti possidetis division of territory.

Negotiations and signing of the alliance

On 9 March 1913, the Greek Foreign Minister Lambros Koromilas instructed the Greek ambassador to Belgrade to sound out the Serbian government with a view to a bilateral alliance treaty. Preliminary discussions quickly bore fruit, and on 5 May Koromilas and the Serbian ambassador to Athens signed the first protocol, where both sides pledged mutual support against Bulgaria should the latter refuse to acknowledge the territorial status quo. The protocol also included a 50-year commercial agreement which allowed the use of Thessaloniki by Serbian companies. This protocol was then followed by a military convention signed on 13 May at Thessaloniki. The Serbian government however refused to ratify the latter, insisting that Greece take on itself the previous Bulgarian pledge to provide 200,000 troops in the case of an Austrian attack. The Greek government was reluctant to agree to this, but following the clashes between Greek and Bulgarian troops among the mutual demarcation line at Nigrita and Mount Pangaion, as well as the view of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos that an Austro-Serbian war would soon draw the other Great Powers into the fray, it agreed.

The final Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Mutual Protection was signed at Thessaloniki on 1 June 1913, by the Greek ambassador to Belgrade, Ioannis Alexandropoulos, and the Serbian ambassador to Athens, Mateja Bošković. Article 1 gave a mutual guarantee of the signatories' territorial possessions, concluded a defensive alliance and precluded each government from unilaterally concluding a peace treaty. Article 2 pledged the two states to a common front in the negotiating table against Bulgaria. Article 3 delineated the Greek–Serbian border (presently the border of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia) based on the demarcation line between the respective armies. Articles 4 and 5 stated each country's territorial claims on Bulgarian-controlled territory (the line Gevgelija–Vardar River–Bregalnica–Osogovska Planina for the Serbs and Belasica–Eleftheres Gulf for the Greeks), committed them to seek international mediation, and to meet Bulgarian armed aggression towards either signatory with all available forces. The attendant military convention obliged each country to come to the other's aid with all available forces should either be attacked by a third power, or, if one of the signatories declared war first, to maintain a favourable neutrality and conduct a partial mobilization (40,000 men for Greece and 50,000 for Serbia). The signature of the Greek–Serbian alliance marked the demise of the Balkan League. On 30 June, Bulgarian troops attacked the Greek and Serbian lines, beginning the Second Balkan War.

Impact and aftermath

The alliance played an important role in World War I, when Serbia was attacked by Austria. Venizelos mobilized the Greek army, but met with the refusal of the Germanophile King Constantine I to enter the war on the side of the Entente Powers. In an attempt to force the king's hand, in mid-1915 Venizelos allowed a British-French force to land in Thessaloniki in order to aid the Serbs, establishing the Salonica front. The crisis between Prime Minister and King over the issue of the country's participation in the war led to the National Schism, which plagued Greek political life until the 1930s. The Treaty of Alliance was finally unilaterally cancelled by the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1924, as a reaction to the controversial Greek-Bulgarian Politis–Kalfov Protocol on minorities.

References

Bataković 2004, p. 59.

Sources

Bataković, Dušan T. (2004). "Serbia and Greece in the First World War : an overview". Balkan Studies: Biannual Publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies. 45 (1): 59–80. ISSN 2241-1674.
Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. pp. 98–100. ISBN 0-415-22946-4.
Papadrianos, Adrianos (2004). "Greco-Serbian talks towards the conclusion of a treaty of alliance in May 1913 and the beginning of negotiations for the establishment of a Serbian Free Zone in Thessaloniki". Balkan Studies: Biannual Publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies. 45 (1): 39–44. ISSN 2241-1674.
Svolopoulos, Konstantinos (1977). "Ο Β′ Βαλκανικός Πόλεμος" [The Second Balkan War]. In Christopoulos, Georgios A. & Bastias, Ioannis K. (eds.). Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους, Τόμος ΙΔ΄: Νεώτερος Ελληνισμός από το 1881 έως το 1913 [History of the Greek Nation, Volume XIV: Modern Hellenism from 1881 to 1913] (in Greek). Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon. pp. 335–351. ISBN 978-960-213-110-7.

v t e Balkan Wars
Background	Nationalism in the Ottoman Empire Albanian Bulgarian Greek Serbian Congress of Berlin Annexation of Eastern Rumelia Serbo-Bulgarian War Greco-Turkish War of 1897 Cretan State IMRO & Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising Macedonian Struggle Young Turk Revolution Bosnian Crisis Bulgarian Independence 31 March Incident Goudi coup Italo-Turkish War Albanian revolt of 1912 Balkan League
First Balkan War
Battles	Sarantaporo Kardzhali Pente Pigadia Sorovich Kumanovo Kirk Kilisse Scutari Lule Burgas Yenidje Adrianople Prilep Himara Monastir First Çatalca Kaliakra Merhamli Driskos Elli Korytsa Lemnos Bulair Şarköy Bizani Second Çatalca
Diplomacy and politics	London Conference Albanian Independence 1913 Ottoman coup d'état Treaty of London
Second Balkan War
Battles	Kilkis–Lachanas Doiran Bregalnica Knjaževac Kalimanci Kresna Gorge Southern Dobruja Romanian landings in Bulgaria Vidin Pirot
Diplomacy and politics	Greek–Serbian Alliance Provisional Government of Western Thrace Treaty of Bucharest Treaty of Constantinople Treaty of Athens
Other	1913 Romanian Army cholera outbreak
General
Aftermath	Autonomy of Northern Epirus Greco-Turkish crisis of 1914 Sarajevo Assassination and World War I Ottoman–Bulgarian alliance Balkans campaign of WWI Serbian campaign Macedonian front
Atrocities	Carnegie Commission Massacres of Albanians Bulgarians deportation program Massacres of Civilians Initial phase of the Greek genocide Places burned down
Participants	Bulgaria Ferdinand I Ivan Geshov Stoyan Danev Mihail Savov Ivan Fichev Vasil Kutinchev Nikola Ivanov Radko Dimitriev Stiliyan Kovachev Georgi Todorov Greece George I Constantine I Eleftherios Venizelos Panagiotis Danglis Pavlos Kountouriotis Konstantinos Sapountzakis Viktor Dousmanis Montenegro Nicholas I Crown Prince Danilo Janko Vukotić Ottoman Empire Mehmed V Nazim Pasha Zeki Pasha Esad Pasha Kölemen Abdullah Pasha Ali Rıza Pasha Hasan Tahsin Pasha Enver Bey Ahmed Izzet Pasha Romania Carol I Crown Prince Ferdinand Alexandru Averescu Serbia Peter I Crown Prince Alexander Radomir Putnik Petar Bojović Stepa Stepanović Božidar Janković Other Balkan states: Albania (Ismail Kemal)
Category

v t e Eleftherios Venizelos
Family	Kyriakos Venizelos Sofoklis Venizelos Helena Schilizzi Nikitas Venizelos Konstantinos Mitsotakis
Politics	Venizelism (Liberal Party) Democratic education Radicalism Modernization Greek Constitution of 1911 Balkan League Civic nationalism Megali Idea Secularism Anti-communism (Idionymon)
Events	Cretan State Theriso revolt Goudi coup French military mission to Greece (1911–1914) British naval mission to Greece (1911–1912) Balkan Wars London Conference of 1912–13 Gallipoli campaign Macedonian front National Defence coup d'état Provisional Government of National Defence National Schism Noemvriana French occupation of Thessaly Greece in WWI Occupation of Constantinople Allied intervention in Ukraine Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) League of Nations establishment Greek landing at Smyrna Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) 11 September 1922 Revolution Greek retreat from Eastern Thrace Conference of Lausanne Population exchange between Greece and Turkey 1928 Greek legislative election 1935 Greek coup d'état attempt
Support	Cretan Gendarmerie Military League Triple Entente National Defence Army Corps Nikolaos Plastiras Theodoros Pangalos Pavlos Kountouriotis Panagiotis Danglis Emmanouil Zymvrakakis Leonidas Paraskevopoulos Georgios Papandreou
Treaties	Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913 Treaty of London (1913) Treaty of Bucharest (1913) Treaty of Athens Armistice of Salonica Armistice of Mudros Venizelos–Tittoni agreement Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine Treaty of Sèvres Armistice of Mudanya Treaty of Lausanne Greco-Turkish Friendship Agreement
Establishments	Hellenic Air Force Hellenic Air Force Academy Hellenic Coast Guard Hellenic State Railways
Remembrance	Eleftherios Venizelos Museum of Chalepa Eleftherios Venizelos Foundation Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (film) Statue of Eleftherios Venizelos

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