ABSTRACT
The First World War in Greece was but the middle of a wartime decade. The years 1912–22 saw not only death and destruction but also fateful transformations in Greece’s borders, politics, and population. Greece roughly doubled its territory, acquiring western Thrace, scores of Aegean islands, and substantial parts of the regions of Epirus and Macedonia. Long years of political upheaval began in August 1909 when an officer-led Military League, taking its cue from the Ottoman military’s role in the Young Turk revolution of a year earlier, aimed to upend perceived conservatism and clientelism in the political establishment through sweeping reforms. Rival ambitions for Ottoman territories were temporarily masked as Greece, along with its Bulgarian, Serbian, and Montenegrin allies, scored rapid and spectacular victories after their joint invasion of October 1912. During the course of the two Balkan Wars between October 1912 and August 1913, Greece expanded both its territory and its population by over 60 percent.
