Transfer of Thrace to Greece By the Allied Powers (1920)
After World War I, the balances between the Entente States aimed at reshaping the Balkan geography in line with their political, military, economic, social and cultural concerns led to an increase in the influence of Greece in occupied Thrace. The Allied Powers, which signed the armistice of Salonica with Bulgaria and the Mudros Armistice with Turkey, primarily prepared the military infrastructure and made it easier for Greece to feel its influence in Western and Eastern Thrace. In the process of the Treaty of Sèvres, the Allied Powers gave approval for the military occupation of Thrace by Greece. Meanwhile The Allied Powers, which subsequently imposed the treaty of Neuilly on Bulgaria and the Treaty of Sèvres on Turkey, handed over Thrace to Greece officially, with certain conditions and obligations under the Treaty concerning Thrace signed at Sèvres. In this study, which aims to analyze the factors and variables affecting the transfer of Thrace to Greece by the Allied Powers which is of great importance to the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Straits, Black Sea and Anatolia with the Balkans. together with the British archival documents and the treaties texts, will be used. British archival documents offer a different perspective on the approaches of the Allied Powers to Thrace and their approach to the Greek operation during the Sèvres process. It is expected that the treaty texts signed with the Treaty of Sèvres and which are not mentioned much in the literature, areexpected to make a significant contribution to this study by revealing the conditions and obligations of Thrace that were transferred to Greece.
Trakya’nın İtilaf Devletleri Tarafından Yunanistan’a Devri (1920)
I. Dünya Savaşı’nın ardından siyasi, askerî, iktisadi, sosyal ve kültürel kaygıları doğrultusunda Balkan coğrafyasını yeniden şekillendirmeyi hedefleyen İtilaf Devletleri arasındaki dengeler işgal altına alınan Trakya’da Yunanistan’ın etkisini artırmasına yol açtı. Bulgaristan ile Selanik, Osmanlı Devleti ile Mondros Mütarekesi’ni imzalayan İtilaf Devletleri, öncelikle askerî alt yapı hazırlayarak Yunanistan’ın Batı ve Doğu Trakya’da varlığını hissettirmesini kolaylaştırdılar. Sevr sürecinde ise İtilaf Devletleri, bir koz olarak kullanmak maksadıyla Trakya’nın Yunanistan tarafından fiilen işgal altına alınmasına onay verdiler. Bu arada Bulgaristan ile Nöyyi Antlaşması’nı imzalayan İtilaf Devletleri 10 Ağustos 1920 tarihinde Sevr Antlaşması’nı Türkiye’ye zorla kabul ettirdiler. Aynı tarihte imzalanan İtilaf Devletleri ile Yunanistan Arasında Trakya’ya İlişkin Antlaşma (Trakya Sevr’i) ve başlıca İtilaf Devletleri (İngiltere, Fransa, İtalya, Japonya) ile Yunanistan Arasındaki Antlaşma (Yunan Sevr’i)’ndeki bir takım koşul ve yükümlülüklerle Trakya resmen Yunanistan’a devredildi. Balkanlarla beraber Doğu Akdeniz, Türk Boğazları, Karadeniz ve Anadolu açısından son derece büyük öneme sahip Trakya’nın İtilaf Devletleri tarafından Yunanistan’a devrinde etkili olan faktör ve değişkenleri tahlil edebilmeyi hedefleyen bu çalışmada, İngiliz arşiv belgeleri ile beraber Trakya’nın Yunanistan’a devrini sağlayan antlaşma metinleri ana kaynak olarak kullanılacaktır. İngiliz arşiv belgeleri, İtilaf Devletlerinin Trakya’ya yönelik politikalarını ve Sevr sürecinde gerçekleşen Yunan harekâtına yaklaşımlarını farklı bir perspektiften değerlendirme imkânı sunmaktadır. Sevr Antlaşması ile birlikte imzalanan ve literatürde çok fazla değinilmeyen antlaşma metinlerinin ise Trakya’nın, hangi koşullar ve yükümlülükler karşılığında Yunanistan’a devredildiğini ortaya koyarak bu çalışmaya özgün değer kazandırması beklenmektedir.
In World War I, Bulgaria was defeated by the Allied Powers and had to sign the Armistice of Thessaloniki and thereby lost its authority over Western Thrace. Similarly the authority of the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Thrace was weakened by the Armistice of Mudros. Following the Armistice of Thessaloniki and Armistice of Mudros, the French occupied Western and Eastern Thrace representing the Allied Powers. French did not prevent the expansion of the Greeks in these regions where Turks were a majority. In the meantime, the French had to loosen their control in Thrace due to their goals towards the Straits region, Cilicia and Syria. The Greeks, who were aware of this opportunity, increased their activities in the region with their population movements, political, military, economic and intensive propaganda activities. Due to the current conditions and the pressures of the Allied Powers, the Turks (who could not get the necessary support from Istanbul) and the Bulgarians (who had a low population) could not establish enough organization in the region, and this situation created a picture in favor of Greece in the region. However, the competition between Allied Powers, the Treaty of Neuilly and Treaty of Sèvres gave the ground for Greece's historical aspirations towards Thrace. In this process, the Allied Powers aimed to isolate Bulgaria from the Aegean Sea and Turkey from Europe by establishing a special status in Western and Eastern Thrace. Therefore, to ensure that the Turks accepted the Treaty of Sèvres, the Allied Powers asked Greece to initiate a military operation against Western and Eastern Thrace together with Western Anatolia. The Bulgarian and Ottoman governments, which were under greater pressure due to the oppression of the Allied Powers and Greek operations, could not react to the invasion of Thrace beyond political attempts and had to accept this situation. Despite the passive attitude of the Ottoman Government, the Turkish forces in Thrace tried to resist the Greek operation. However, these forces did not have sufficient military equipment and they did not succeed. As a result Western and Eastern Thrace were fully controlled by Greece. On August 10, 1920, the Allied Powers decided to transfer Eastern and Western Thrace to Greece with the treaties they signed with the Ottoman Empire and Greece. The Treaty of Sèvres between the Entente States and the Ottoman Empire foresaw the transfer of Eastern Thrace to Greece. The Treaty Concerning Thrace signed at Sèvres and The Treaty Between the Principal Allied and Greece on the other hand, allowed the transfer of Western Thrace to Greece with some obligations and conditions. Thus, from the Çatalca-Istranca line, the Turkish administration in Europe would come to an end, with the exception of Istanbul and Gelibolu (Gallipoli) which was occupied by the Allied Powers. Although the Allied Powers did not allow the Greeks to have an influence on the Straits Region, the Greek occupations in Western Anatolia along with Eastern and Western Thrace were the forerunners of radical changes in the near east. The provisions of the treaties on Eastern and Western Thrace also included allowing Turks and other ethnic communities in Thrace to enjoy minority rights in Greece and to establish a new organization in the province of Edirne. However, the Entente States had some rights and privileges in these treaties, especially in Western Thrace. These rights and privileges, including the preservation of freedom of transit within Western Thrace and the fair trade of other nations, were also guaranteed to establish a commercial area in the port of Alexandroupolis and the Aegean outlet, economically promised to Bulgaria with the Treaty of Neuilly. Furthermore, the port of Alexandroupoli, which is one of the most important ports of Western Thrace, was accepted as an international port by the treaties signed by Greece in Sèvres. The debates or the problems that could arise from these issues would be solved by the League of Nations, known to be under the auspices of the Britain. Therefore, if the treaties on Thrace signed in Sèvres came into force, the effect of Britain on this region would become permanent. As a result, Greece, defeated in Anatolia, was forced to surrender Eastern Thrace to Turkey. However, Greece continued her occupation of Western Thrace due to the policies of the Allied Powers. Although the treaties on Thrace signed in Sèvres were updated and adapted to the Treaty of Lausanne on 24 July 1923, Greece did not recognize the rights that she had granted to minorities in Lausanne.
