Greece & the Allies in WW1?

Hey guys.

I've been watching a lot of Indie's "The Great War" series, and he's just covered Greek reactions to the allies basing men in (and moving troops through) parts of Greece. It seems almost universally negative, with even the King of Greece writing scathingly about the British and French in American newspapers, and calling the King of England a hypocrite for making war in the defence of Belgian neutrality, whilst routinely violating Greek neutrality.

What alt-his scenarios could spring from this? Probably not an independent declaration of war - Greece probably wouldn't last long against foreign troops already inside its borders. Simultaneously, I don't know if they could immediately side with the Central Powers - I can't see Greeks being particularly happy about Turks moving through its territory, with the Greco-Turkish war of 1897 being a recent memory.

Then again, perhaps if Germany and Austria-Hungary put a lot of pressure on Turkey, perhaps some kind of land-deal could be figured out for the lost parts of Thessaly?

Or perhaps Greece might simply allow Austro-German forces the same degree of free movement that Allied troops were demanding, in return for promises that the Central Powers will respect its independence?

What do you think?
 
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Greece's situation was a bit more complicated than that. The King of Greece was pro-German, but the Prime Minister (Venizelos) was pro-Entente. The King had only limited support, while Venizelos was democratically elected, and his pro-Entente policies had the support of the parliament.

The CP could try to offer Greece better terms, but not nearly good enough...in OTL they even forced Greece to cede territory to Bulgaria while it was still semi-neutral.

So while the Entente's arrogant behavior hurt their popularity, it was never in danger of falling too low. The pro-German faction in Greece was at a disadvantage from the start; they knew it was pretty much impossible to join the CP and only fought for neutrality. And even that neutrality was possible but very unlikely.
 

LordKalvert

Banned
The King of Greece is the brother-in-law of the kaiser having married Princess Sophie of Prussia. While their were strains in their relationship because of Sophie's adopting the Orthodox faith, she kept in contact with her brother throughout the war

The Greeks may not like the Turks and they don't like the Bulgarians much either but this is the Balkans and making a deal with your worst enemy is a common practice

Nothing would keep Greece from allying with the Germans if the Greeks think they'll come out ahead
 
The King of Greece is the brother-in-law of the kaiser having married Princess Sophie of Prussia. While their were strains in their relationship because of Sophie's adopting the Orthodox faith, she kept in contact with her brother throughout the war

The Greeks may not like the Turks and they don't like the Bulgarians much either but this is the Balkans and making a deal with your worst enemy is a common practice

Nothing would keep Greece from allying with the Germans if the Greeks think they'll come out ahead

There was something, though. Even if the king wanted to side with Germany, he couldn't deny what his favourite member of his General Staff, Ioannis Metaxas concluded in his plans: Greece was TOO vulnerable to the Entente's naval power. That's why he never, NEVER, even in the darkest hours of his relationship with Entente, proposed Greece to ally with Germany, persisting in neutrallity instead.
 
Well in my ATL I am writing the Greek Schism happens earlier thus allowing Greece to prepare its forces for the Entente and declares war the day after Bulgaria enters. They are then subsequently able to push through to Gallipoli with the help of Anglo-French forces.

For a Central Powers Greece you would need King Constantine to have a more pro-German government. Ottoman involvement would also cause many to hesitate it joining the CP.
 
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