Greece to roman road

After Colonel Dydson's report was sent to Berlin, the German envoy's attitude towards the London talks finally changed.

Instead of siding entirely with the Ottoman Empire, it began to mediate between the two countries.

Obviously, despite the benefits from Greece, the Germans were still unwilling to completely offend the Ottomans and give up the strategic and commercial benefits that this huge empire might bring.

The Germans put forward their mediation plan. Albania would be transferred to Greece without any problem, while Salonika, an important commercial port on the Aegean Sea and a transportation hub on the Balkan Peninsula, would still be returned to the Ottoman Empire.

The Greek army could obtain the Macedonian territory on the coast of the Thermaic Gulf, with a river flowing into the Thermaic Gulf as the new border between the two sides.

As for Crete, the British gave suggestions and various countries formed an international management committee to jointly participate in the management of Crete.

The British Mediterranean Fleet is the strongest maritime force in the Mediterranean. Although this is a British suggestion, no one dares to object.

As for Epirus, it was left to Greece.

This plan can be regarded as a step back for both parties.

When the news returned to Athens, the people, parliament, and even the army were dissatisfied with the abandonment of the important city of Salonika.

Although the majority of the city's residents were Jewish, Greeks became a minority.

As for Albania, a region where most of the residents are MSL, the Greek people don't value it at all.

During the Eastern Roman Empire, Thessaloniki was much more important than Athens.

When Greece became independent, Athens was already a small city with only tens of thousands of people, and it had long since lost its glory to the Greek city of Athens.

The army's complaints are easy to understand. For Salonika, the army paid heavy casualties. During the siege of Salonika, the first division defending here suffered more than 5,000 casualties.

During the defense of the city, most of the residents in the city came to the aid of the army. Now that the city that Greece plans to sign an agreement to cede is returned to Greek hands, the Greeks and Jews in the city who have cooperated with Greece will face Ottoman revenge.

Although this preliminary proposal was full of problems, Trikoupis still believed that Greece could not delay any longer and advocated signing the treaty.

Since the outbreak of the war, Greece has been mobilizing for two or three months. If the delay continues, it will have a serious impact on the Greek economy.

At present, the Greek Army has more than 100,000 troops, distributed over a vast area including Albania, Macedonia and Crete. If the agreement is not signed for a day, the daily consumption of the army will be an astronomical figure.

The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Hamid II, agreed to this plan after considering it.

No matter what, the Germans still helped the Ottoman Empire regain the important city of Salonika.

Epirus and Albania, under Ottoman rule, were both poor mountainous areas with rugged mountain roads and backward economies. Although the area was not small, in terms of importance, it was still not as important as Thessaloniki. compared to.

Among them, Epirus is still a sparsely populated place even in the 21st century, let alone this era.

Albania is only on the Adriatic coast, with some coastal plains, but most of it is still a barren land with rolling hills and limited value.

Finally, under the witness of various countries, Prime Minister Trikoupis, on behalf of the Greek government, and the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire formally signed an agreement in London.

The treaty stipulates:

The Ottoman Empire handed over Albania, Epirus, and Macedonia along the Thermaic Gulf to Greece, with a total area of ​​about 40,000 square kilometers and a population of about 500,000.

The two islands of Crete will be governed by the International Governing Council, and Greece can have three places among a total of nine Cretan commissioners.

The three parties did not ask for compensation from each other. However, the Ottoman Empire paid a ransom of 10 million drachmas for nearly 80,000 Ottoman prisoners (including 50,000 captured in border battles and 50,000 in Epirus).

The Ottoman Empire agreed to treat Greek goods equally and not adopt trade discriminatory policies.

After reading the specific terms of the treaty, Constantine breathed a sigh of relief, and the war was finally over.

The treaty can be said to have given the Ottoman Empire enough face. There are no insulting words such as "cede", "defeat" or "reparations" in the whole article. Even the 80,000 Ottoman prisoners were only asked for 10 million drachmas.

It can be seen that the major powers in Europe are still unwilling to see the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and cause turmoil in Europe.

In contrast, Greece has also benefited greatly.

Although the territory of 40,000 square kilometers may not seem large at first glance.

However, after acquiring these territories, Greece's land area almost doubled to about 90,000 square kilometers, and its population reached 2.5 million.

There are a total of about 300,000 msl in Greece's original and newly acquired territories.

Moreover, the economic contraction in Greece will also be improved and put on the right track after Osman promised to relax trade restrictions.

Prime Minister Trikoupis returned to Athens with the text of the treaty on March 12, 1896, and submitted it to the Greek Parliament and the King for review before it officially came into effect.

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Athens Ministry of Defense Building

The top brass of the Greek army are collecting and sorting out the various data of the army during the war.

"During the war, in terms of ammunition, the 20 million French bullets and 1.5 million artillery shells stored in the northern army before the war consumed 15 million French bullets and 1.1 million artillery shells respectively," Armament Minister Giannis concluded.

"In terms of mobilizing soldiers, there are 100,000 Greek soldiers and 40,000 soldiers in the Congo. Among them, there are about 30,000 casualties among Greek soldiers and 10,000 Congolese soldiers."

"How much did this war cost?" Constantine asked curiously.

Adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, Giannis said: "About 900 million drachmas."

"This does not include subsequent pensions for soldiers killed and injured."

Hearing this figure, everyone present could not help but be stunned. This war lasted less than three months, but it cost the Greek government almost more than a year's fiscal revenue.

"The General Staff is directing the Greek army to withdraw from Thessaloniki to Greece."

"The levies in the army may be dismissed," King George arranged.

"According to the plan, after the Greek army returns to normal, its number will reach 60,000. Compared with before, it will expand by one standing division."

"Two of the divisions will be deployed to Albanian territory."

On March 5, at the Port of Piraeus, Constantine and Brut personally bid farewell to the Congolese army. This time the Congolese army played a major role.

Had it not been for the sudden strengthening of the Greek army and the emergence of 40,000 Congolese troops, which disrupted the frontline deployment of the Ottoman Army and allowed the Greek army to find an opportunity, the outcome of this war would still be full of variables.

During the battle, the bravery of the Congolese soldiers was also recognized by the Greek army officers.

Although this was under the command of Greek officers.