Mert Doruk Bal upvoted this ·
Matthew Akins, History enthusiast
Here’s the thing about this question. There have been many wars seeing the Turks on one side and the Greeks on the other. So how do you define Turkey and Greece? Do you include the Byzantine Empire, which was primarily Greek in culture, who the Ottoman Empire certainly did not lose all their wars against? Do you mean the Greek War of Independence? Do you just mean Modern Turkey and Greece?
Regardless, i’ll answer this in depth. I think you mean more modern times though so i’ll just touch on the early wars. Skip the first few paragraphs if you want the later stuff.
Beginning in 1048 A.D., Turkish nomads began to pour into Asia Minor from Persia and Central Asia. For hundreds of years the Byzantine Empire would be relegated to the coasts of Anatolia while the Seljuk Turks held the interior. The reasons for this are numerous. The onslaught of Slavic and Bulgarian invaders from the North and West made it difficult for the Byzantines to fight the Seljuk Turks whenever conflict broke out. Particularly problematic though was the Battle of Manzikert.
This battle saw half the Byzantine forces flee before the battle even began due to dubious loyalty on the part of the Byzantine mercenaries. The remaining forces were beaten handily. So handily, that after this battle it would take decades for Byzantium to restore order to it’s weakening empire. A few hundred years later, before the Ottoman Empire was even born, the Mongols swept out of the steppes, establishing the largest land empire in history.
The Mongol invasions gave Byzantium some relief from eastern invasions, but by this time Byzantium was broken anyways, by the Fourth Crusade. After the crusaders sort of broke Byzantium’s back, it never recovered, and in 1453, the Ottoman Empire successfully took Constantinople. This isn’t for lack of effort on the part of the Greeks, though. For near a thousand years they withstood numerous sieges, and it isn’t really a failure of the Turks. The walls of Constantinople were extremely strong and the city was nigh-impenetrable. So why DID the Turkish lose all their wars to Greece?
Perhaps you meant the Greek War of Independence. Alright, lets have some context. So between the above paragraph and 1821 (Independence War), what happened in Greece? Well, the Ottoman Empire had arguably been under decline for centuries by this point. Since the Battle of Lepanto crushed Ottoman naval ambitions and the second Siege of Vienna put an end to Ottoman expansion in Europe, the Ottomans had begun to stagnate. With Russia and Austria slowly advancing south, do you think the Ottomans could really afford to also suppress the Greeks? Assume they could. What would the consequences be? A massive rise in nationalist sentiments most likely, and that would not be good.
What else was going on at this time? Oh! Ever heard of this guy?
Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt at the turn of the nineteenth century did not make things easier for the already struggling Ottoman Empire. The campaign demonstrated the technological superiority of the West and showed the Ottoman Empire that life could be better.
And what about nationalism? Oh! You mean, the nationalism that fueled German and Spanish rebellions that helped put an end to the mighty French Empire? Well, after the Napoleonic Wars, nationalism began to spread like wildfire. This was why the period between 1815–1870 was so conservative; European rulers were desperately trying to keep their empires together. To do this, the European states often allied to suppress revolutions or any unrest.
Unfortunately, the Ottoman Empire, the “sick man of Europe” was not considered worthy of helping. Western Europe had better things to do and the Ottomans didn’t exactly have many fans in Eastern Europe. So what happens when your already ailing nation experiences a rebellion of very determined nationalists hellbent on becoming free? Well, frankly, you lose…
How did the Turks lose? Oh I don’t know, maybe it was the fact that Russia, Britain, AND France helped the Greeks out and that Filiki Eteria (A secret society with the aim of Balkan independence) had been planning a rebellion for years. At this point in time all hell broke loose in the Ottoman Empire…
Egypt rebelled, Russia invaded (which had a major impact on the Independence War, mind you), even Britain had a little agreement called the London Protocol.
That doesn’t look so hard, the Ottomans have this in the bag…
Now imagine the Orange, Purple, and Britain, all helping Greece out. Not to mention, Orange directly invades the Ottoman Empire. You tell me why they lost. Does this look a winnable conflict? Especially with the disparity in technology? I’m not defending the Ottoman Empire, just pointing out that it’s not like the Greeks alone beat back the Turks. They had help.
Ok ok ok, so you meant the wars during the twentieth century?
Two wars to look at, then. Firstly, the First Balkan War. By the time war broke out in 1912, to say the Ottomans were having a tough time would be an understatement. Just as we did before, lets look at what happened in between the last paragraph and 1912.
Well, the Ottoman Empire went from the above picture to something more like this.
Oof, thats a setback. So what happened? Well, lets just say that Russia didn’t stop at Greek independence, and it wasn’t like the other powers of Europe were exactly friendly to the Ottoman Empire. Ok, but why did they lose? Well, as you can see, the European part of their empire was surrounded. Even if you factor in the likely advantage in manpower the Ottoman Empire would had overall, you have to consider local superiority.
At the outbreak of war, the Ottomans had about 350,000 men, and the opposing forces (Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Montenegro) had about twice that number. The combination of the four armies proved too much for the Turks, who could not muster their full strength fast enough to beat them. Why did they lose? The Balkan League was too fast, too numerous, and too motivated to lose. The Ottoman Empire didn’t really stand a chance.
Ok, so what’s this World War One thing that seems to come up when you talk about the Ottoman Empire’s last days? Well…the First World War sort of broke the Ottoman Empire. And by broke, I mean that the Ottomans were forced to accepts conditions far worse than the Treaty of Versailles and even, dare I say, Brest-Litovsk.
Oh dear…that’s crushing. So what happened? Well, the Greeks were promised land in Anatolia in exchange for their help in World War One (and were just offered the land in general). The Turks said no, the Greeks invaded, etc. So what happened?
Well, Greece did fairly well. Fairly well…against a broken state. You see, this wasn’t exactly the Ottoman Empire of Suleiman the Great. This wasn’t the Ottoman Empire period. This was a new state, relegated to Asia Minor, shattered by the First World War. Economically, Politically, Geographically, any way you put it, Turkey was broken.
But…Turkey won? Now how could that happen? Two main reasons. For one, the Greeks seem to have forgotten a lesson often brutally taught in history: the importance of logistics. The invasion of Turkey was a logistical nightmare. Sure, the Greeks could take Istanbul. No problem. But Ankara? That’s not as easy, but ok, maybe do-able. Were they going to get to Van, and in the process cover a distance at least twice as large as Greece itself? Probably not…
The second problem was this man:
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (accent needed but not cared about) was a brilliant military man who saw that attrition could save Anatolia from certain defeat. It’s just like Vietnam, or Afghanistan, or Operation Barbarossa, or even the American War of Independence. All very different wars at very different times, but with the same underlying principle. It is not easy to fight a war against a determined opponent whose population is likely much larger than your own, or a determined opponent in general. Yes, Greece and Turkey are neighbors, but in 1920 it wasn’t as easy to wage a war overseas. What the Americans did in the Pacific (20 years later by the way) was quite a feat, and so were the D-Day landings. Turkey is several times larger than Greece. It’s not so much as the disparity between Germany and the Soviet Union would be, but it’s comparable.
Any victory Greece has had against Turkey in the past 500 years has frankly been achieved by outside factors. Consider Turkey’s sheer size and population as compared to Greece. Greece doesn’t stand a chance in a one-on-one war.
So, conclusion?
Byzantine-Seljuk Wars: Byzantine short-term victory, Seljuk long-term victory.
Byzantine-Ottoman Wars: Initial Byzantine victories, but eventual loss of all territory to the Ottoman Empire.
Greek War of Independence: Greek victory (with help).
First Balkan War: Balkan League victory (important distinction).
First World War: Greek victory (again, with help).
Greco-Turkish War of 1920: Turkish victory.
What are “all these wars” you speak of?
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