Greco-Turkish War

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Greco-Turkish War

1897

Also known as: Thirty Days’ War

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July 16, 2026

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The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also known as the Thirty Days' War, was a conflict primarily driven by Greek concerns over the conditions in Crete, which was under Turkish rule. Following a rebellion on the island in 1896, Greece attempted to annex Crete. However, European powers imposed a blockade on Greece to prevent the conflict from spreading.

In April 1897, Greek troops attacked Turkish forces in Thessaly but were overwhelmed due to inadequate preparation. Greece subsequently accepted an armistice and a peace treaty that compelled them to pay an indemnity, accept international financial control, and cede territory to Turkey. Crete eventually became an autonomous protectorate in 1898 and was later ceded to Greece in 1913.1

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Greco-Turkish wars
The first war, also called the Thirty Days’ War, took place against a background of growing Greek concern over conditions in Crete, which was under Turkish domination and where relations between the Christians and their Muslim rulers had been deteriorating steadily. The outbreak in 1896 of…
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The first war, also called the Thirty Days’ War, took place against a background of growing Greek concern over conditions in Crete, which was under Turkish domination and where relations between the Christians and their Muslim rulers had been deteriorating steadily. The outbreak in 1896 of…
Read More

Greece
Rectification of frontiers
…a humiliating defeat in the Thirty Days’ War with Turkey. Greece was forced to pay compensation and to accept the adjustments made to its frontier. Another humiliation sovereign Greece faced was the installation of an international financial commission to oversee the repayment of its substantial external debts.
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…a humiliating defeat in the Thirty Days’ War with Turkey. Greece was forced to pay compensation and to accept the adjustments made to its frontier. Another humiliation sovereign Greece faced was the installation of an international financial commission to oversee the repayment of its substantial external debts.
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Eleuthérios Venizélos
Early career
During the 1897 Greco-Turkish War, with the support of an army under Colonel Timóleon Vássos, dispatched from Greece, he led an unsuccessful insurrection in Cape Akrotírion, near Chaniá, to secure the union of Crete with Greece. After the intervention of the European great powers, however, Crete’s government became…
Read More
During the 1897 Greco-Turkish War, with the support of an army under Colonel Timóleon Vássos, dispatched from Greece, he led an unsuccessful insurrection in Cape Akrotírion, near Chaniá, to secure the union of Crete with Greece. After the intervention of the European great powers, however, Crete’s government became…
Read More