Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/460

LEFT GREECE 396 OBEECE Cabinet resigned and the King was obliged to invite Venizelos back into pow- er. In September the final invasion of Serbia by Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian, and German armies began and the Allies wished to send aid through Saloniki. This was done with the consent of Veni- zelos, who was supported by the National Assembly. The King, however, de- clared that he could not support this pro-Ally policy and demanded Venizelos' resignation, which was given. He was succeeded by Zaimis and a policy of strict neutrality was again announced. Zaimis was also forced to resign in November as a result of a vote of lack of confidence in the government. The King appointed another of his support- ers premier in the person of M. Skoulou- dis. He at once dissolved the National Assembly, announcing that a general election would be held to indicate the sentiment of the people of Greece. As the soldiers mobilized were not allowed to vote, it would have been impossible to ascertain the will of the people by this method. In the meantime, the Greek authorities, both civil and military, were hampering in every possible way the activities of the Allies, who were pre- paring to relieve Serbia from the South. On Nov. 19, 1915, French and British warships began a blockade of Greek ports with the object of bringing Greece to terms through economic pres- sure. The strict embargo established quickly brought the Greek people to the verge of starvation and raised the dan- ger of popular revolution in Athens. Finally the King and the government surrendered, and the Greek army, which had been concentrated around Saloniki, was withdrawn, and the railroad running from Saloniki to the Macedonian front was turned over to the Allied authorities. The sympathy of the Greek Government, however, continued to be strictly pro- German, and Venizelos was again in re- tirement. A general election was held, but the supporters of Venizelos refused to vote. The Bulgarian army on May 26, 1916, crossed the Grecian frontier. The Greek forces offered no resistance and either surrendered to the Bulgarians or retired. It was the belief among the Allied governments that this was the re- sult of a secret agreement between the Greek Premier and Germany. In June, another partial blockade of Greek ports was instituted. This resulted in the partial demobilization of the Greek army. Finally, on June 23, 1916, the Allies de- manded complete demobilization, a new cabinet, and the dissolution of the Na- tional Assembly. The cabinet resigned and Alexander Zaimis became Prime Minister. The conditions exacted by the Allies were not fully kept. Among the people, Allied sentiment continued to grow, but the government remained fii'm in its pro-German policy. On Oct. 11, 1916, the Allied warships suddenly seized the larger part of the Greek fleet. This was followed by an attack, on Dec. 2, by Greek soldiers upon French marines stationed at Athens. Venizelos now declared himself in revolt against the King and established himself in Sa- loniki. The situation remained estranged until during the spring of 1917, on June 12, it was suddenly announced that Con- stantine had abdicated in favor of his second son, Alexander. This was the re- sult of an ultimatum presented by the Entente nations. On the following day Constantine embarked on a British war- ship to Italy, going thence to Switzerland, where he remained in retirement until December, 1920. He was accompanied by members of his family. The hostile attitude of Greece now came to an end. Venizelos returned to Athens and was invited by King Alex- ander to form a new cabinet. On June 29 the Greek Government severed diplo- matic relations with the Central nations and prepared to take part in active hostilities. The Greek army rendered valuable service in the operations which followed in the Balkans, In the person of Venizelos, Greece was one of the most active participants at the Peace Conference, and as a result of his policy Greece was awarded large concessions in Macedonia and Thrace. These are described in an earlier por- tion of this article. A great peace cele- bration was held in Athens following the deliberations of the Peace Conference, but propaganda to restore Constantine to the throne was already under way. On Aug. 12 an attempt was made to assassinate Venizelos in Paris. On Oct. 25 King Alexander died as the result of a bite from a pet monkey. Three days later Parliament proclaimed as King his brother Paul, who was at that time with his father at Lucerne. Paul declined the throne, thereby strengthening the conspiracy to bring back the deposed sovereigrn. An election was held on Nov. 14 and a special plebiscite on Dec. 5, both of which were strongly in favor of the return of Constantine. Despite the protest of the Allies, he returned and was received triumphantly as King. Greece ratified the Bulgarian, Austrian, and German treaties on Feb. 28, 1920. Turkey re- fused to abide by the conditions of the Sevres Treaty, by which Greece was awarded portions of former Turkish