Image: European Space Agency, 2004 The decade of 1912–1922 was a period of impressive territorial expansion but also of profound territorial contraction for Greece. The Balkan Wars (1912-1913), the country's participation in the latter part of World War I (officially joining from June 1917 to 1918) on the side of the Entente, and the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) created the image of Greece as a rising regional power. However, in less than fifteen years, Greece ceded or lost significant territories in the Balkans that it either held militarily or had been internationally recognized.
These losses were not due exclusively to military defeats. In several cases, they were the result of political choices, international pressure*, and diplomatic blackmail, which determined the final geopolitical balance in the Balkans.
* It should be noted that although this article discusses Greece's territorial losses in the Balkans, it does not show Northern Epirus as a Greek territorial loss only because Albania's borders were fully recognized and guaranteed by the then six Great Powers (I.e. Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain and Russia) via the Treaty of London of 1913. Within this decade, Greece would come to control Northern Epirus two more times after having liberated the region. Greece would control Northern Epirus during the period of WWI (1914-1917) and once again after the region was awarded to Greece at the Paris Peace Conference (1919). However, in both of these occasions, Greek administrative control was abolished and the region reverted back to Albania, primarily due to Italian pressure and objections. Less than two decades later, for a short period during WWII (November 1940 - April 1941), Greece would be in control of Northern Epirus for the fourth and final time since the First Balkan War that brought an end to Ottoman control in the Balkans.
1. The Islands of the Great Prespa Lake ceded to Serbia and Albania (1912-1913)
In Great Prespa Lake there are two islets with particular Greek historical and cultural value:
Until the Balkan Wars, the two islands belonged to Greece. The island of Saint Peter was ceded to the King of Serbia Peter I, while Saint Paul was ceded to Albania. These concessions were not based on clear international treaties, but seem to have been made within the framework of personal or political arrangements of the time. Some Greek historical sources state that the island of Saint Peter was given to the King of Serbia by the King of Greece as a gift following the wedding of Princess Helen of Serbia.
Today, because Serbia's southern territory was reorganized in 1922, Golem Grad (Saint Peter) belongs to the newly established North Macedonia, while Maligrad (Saint Paul) continues to be in Albania. In Maligrad in particular, monuments with Greek elements have survived, including the Church of the Virgin Mary (built in 1369), with Greek inscriptions and frescoes still visible in the interior.
2. The island of Sason ceded to Albania (1914)
The case of Sason (Alb: Sazan), in the Gulf of Vlora, is a typical example of a political concession of a territory of strategic importance. Based on the Treaty of London (1864), by which the Ionian Islands were ceded to Greece, Sason belonged to the Greek state as part of the Diapontian Islands.
Under intense pressure from Italy, the government of Eleftherios Venizelos submitted and passed a two-article law in May 1914, which allowed the concession of Sason to Albania. This decision had serious consequences, including:
Years later, Venizelos himself recognized the error and in 1929 requested the return of Sason, but the powers of the day refused his request.
3. Eastern Thrace and the Karaağaç Triangle ceded to Turkey (1922-1923)
Eastern Thrace was liberated by the Greek Army in the summer of 1920, without any serious Turkish resistance. Adrianople, Saranta Ekklisies and Raidestos were administratively incorporated into the Greek state, while the Treaty of Sèvres internationally guaranteed Greek sovereignty.
Nevertheless, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922, the Great Powers - particularly France and Italy - imposed the Armistice of Moudania (October 1922). In the terms of the armistice, Greece was forced to evacuate Eastern Thrace within 15 days without a fight, despite the fact that the Greek Army in that region was extremely capable of defending against the Turks.
This was followed by the 1923 concession of the very strategic Karaağaç Triangle to Turkey as a "war reparation." The Karaağaç Triangle is located on the western bank of the Evros River, while the rest of the Turkish border is on the eastern bank of the river.
4. The 14 villages of western Macedonia ceded to Albania (1924-1925)
After the demarcation of the Greek-Albanian border, an international commission headed by an Italian delegation decided to cede 14 Greek villages from the regional units of Florina and Kastoria in western Macedonia to Albania. These villages, although under Greek administration since 1912, were ceded as part of a so-called “border correction.”
The decision was ratified by the second Protocol of Florence (1925). In this case too, in 1929, a Greek request for the return of these villages was rejected by the Great Powers. According to historian and author Vasilis Georgiou, France's foreign minister, Aristide Briand, was so incensed by the Greek request for the return of the 14 villages that he sarcastically responded to Greece's foreign minister, Andreas Michalopoulos, stating: "Don't worry Mr. Michalopoulos. Of course a solution will be found. Either the villages will be returned to you and the residents to the Albanians, or the villages will be given to the Albanians and the residents to you."
The period 1912-1925 clearly shows that the territorial fate of Greece was not decided only on the battlefields, but mainly at the diplomatic tables of the Great Powers. Despite Greek military successes and international legitimacy at critical moments, the country was led to territorial losses due to:
The study of this period does not aim to be a search or a deep dive into the responsibilities, but at understanding the mechanisms that shape historical reality - and at realizing that diplomacy, when not based on national strategy and stability, can nullify even the greatest sacrifices.
These losses were not due exclusively to military defeats. In several cases, they were the result of political choices, international pressure*, and diplomatic blackmail, which determined the final geopolitical balance in the Balkans.
* It should be noted that although this article discusses Greece's territorial losses in the Balkans, it does not show Northern Epirus as a Greek territorial loss only because Albania's borders were fully recognized and guaranteed by the then six Great Powers (I.e. Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain and Russia) via the Treaty of London of 1913. Within this decade, Greece would come to control Northern Epirus two more times after having liberated the region. Greece would control Northern Epirus during the period of WWI (1914-1917) and once again after the region was awarded to Greece at the Paris Peace Conference (1919). However, in both of these occasions, Greek administrative control was abolished and the region reverted back to Albania, primarily due to Italian pressure and objections. Less than two decades later, for a short period during WWII (November 1940 - April 1941), Greece would be in control of Northern Epirus for the fourth and final time since the First Balkan War that brought an end to Ottoman control in the Balkans.
1. The Islands of the Great Prespa Lake ceded to Serbia and Albania (1912-1913)
In Great Prespa Lake there are two islets with particular Greek historical and cultural value:
- the island of Saint Peter (Golem Grad)
- the island of Saint Paul (Maligrad)
Until the Balkan Wars, the two islands belonged to Greece. The island of Saint Peter was ceded to the King of Serbia Peter I, while Saint Paul was ceded to Albania. These concessions were not based on clear international treaties, but seem to have been made within the framework of personal or political arrangements of the time. Some Greek historical sources state that the island of Saint Peter was given to the King of Serbia by the King of Greece as a gift following the wedding of Princess Helen of Serbia.
Today, because Serbia's southern territory was reorganized in 1922, Golem Grad (Saint Peter) belongs to the newly established North Macedonia, while Maligrad (Saint Paul) continues to be in Albania. In Maligrad in particular, monuments with Greek elements have survived, including the Church of the Virgin Mary (built in 1369), with Greek inscriptions and frescoes still visible in the interior.
2. The island of Sason ceded to Albania (1914)
The case of Sason (Alb: Sazan), in the Gulf of Vlora, is a typical example of a political concession of a territory of strategic importance. Based on the Treaty of London (1864), by which the Ionian Islands were ceded to Greece, Sason belonged to the Greek state as part of the Diapontian Islands.
Under intense pressure from Italy, the government of Eleftherios Venizelos submitted and passed a two-article law in May 1914, which allowed the concession of Sason to Albania. This decision had serious consequences, including:
- the loss of control of the "key to the Adriatic"
- the abandonment of the Greek population on the island
- the violent extermination of the Vlachophone Greek inhabitants by armed Albanian groups
Years later, Venizelos himself recognized the error and in 1929 requested the return of Sason, but the powers of the day refused his request.
3. Eastern Thrace and the Karaağaç Triangle ceded to Turkey (1922-1923)
Eastern Thrace was liberated by the Greek Army in the summer of 1920, without any serious Turkish resistance. Adrianople, Saranta Ekklisies and Raidestos were administratively incorporated into the Greek state, while the Treaty of Sèvres internationally guaranteed Greek sovereignty.
Nevertheless, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922, the Great Powers - particularly France and Italy - imposed the Armistice of Moudania (October 1922). In the terms of the armistice, Greece was forced to evacuate Eastern Thrace within 15 days without a fight, despite the fact that the Greek Army in that region was extremely capable of defending against the Turks.
This was followed by the 1923 concession of the very strategic Karaağaç Triangle to Turkey as a "war reparation." The Karaağaç Triangle is located on the western bank of the Evros River, while the rest of the Turkish border is on the eastern bank of the river.
4. The 14 villages of western Macedonia ceded to Albania (1924-1925)
After the demarcation of the Greek-Albanian border, an international commission headed by an Italian delegation decided to cede 14 Greek villages from the regional units of Florina and Kastoria in western Macedonia to Albania. These villages, although under Greek administration since 1912, were ceded as part of a so-called “border correction.”
The decision was ratified by the second Protocol of Florence (1925). In this case too, in 1929, a Greek request for the return of these villages was rejected by the Great Powers. According to historian and author Vasilis Georgiou, France's foreign minister, Aristide Briand, was so incensed by the Greek request for the return of the 14 villages that he sarcastically responded to Greece's foreign minister, Andreas Michalopoulos, stating: "Don't worry Mr. Michalopoulos. Of course a solution will be found. Either the villages will be returned to you and the residents to the Albanians, or the villages will be given to the Albanians and the residents to you."
The period 1912-1925 clearly shows that the territorial fate of Greece was not decided only on the battlefields, but mainly at the diplomatic tables of the Great Powers. Despite Greek military successes and international legitimacy at critical moments, the country was led to territorial losses due to:
- international pressure by the powerful
- strategic blackmail
- political choices with a short-term horizon
The study of this period does not aim to be a search or a deep dive into the responsibilities, but at understanding the mechanisms that shape historical reality - and at realizing that diplomacy, when not based on national strategy and stability, can nullify even the greatest sacrifices.
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