Reclaiming the City
The Greek navy was decent by global standards but its largest deficiency was its lack of transport capability. The invasion plan was to initially deploy two divisions (the fleet's maximum transport capacity) to attack Gallipoli and then ferry the remainder of Greece's troops over to Eastern Thrace once the port was secured.
The Greek Navy commanded by Vice Admiral Votsis
Everyone knew that this plan came with large risks. The memory of the Gallipoli campaign was still fresh in the minds of military planners the world over. Unfortunately, there were few alternatives. Simply landing at Constantinople would put the Greek navy in the path of heavy artillery pieces in the Bosphorus where they would likely be destroyed, and landing on the western coast of Anatolia would mean a prolonged charge up from the east, potentially giving ample opportunity for the Ottomans to prepare a defense. Moreover, as Papagos pointed out, there was a major difference between 1915 and the present. The Ottomans, with the help of the Germans, had purposefully fortified the position, anticipating a British attack. It was unlikely that Ottoman strategists now would view the Greek military, both significantly smaller than their own and with its small amphibious assault ability, to be much of a threat.
Georgios agreed that the time had come to be brave and reckless, and both he and Metaxas signed off on the plan.
On June 30, 1938, Greece declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The Greek fleet moved into position off the coast of Gallipoli under the cover of darkness. Many sailors prayed that the Ottoman navy would not find them. Vlahopoulous was more concerned about what would happen once they disembarked. At midnight, Vlahopoulous led his two divisions off the ships and charged onto the beach. However, he was shocked upon landing to find almost no resistance. He initially suspected a trap but after scouting the area and finding nothing he gave the order for the navy to withdraw and begin to bring over the rest of the army. He knew that the Ottomans did not think much of the Greeks but this was just insulting.
The Gazi Pasha, the Ottoman commander at Constantinople, sat in his office at his base outside of the city, reading an article about the progress of the war in the East in the newspaper.
The commander's assistant ran into the office out of breath,
"Sir! The Greek army is headed this way!"
"Yes, I know. A token force landed in Gallipoli. We should be able to handle them easily enough with the soldiers we have available," the commander responded.
He walked out and looked out toward the plain. To his horror, the "token force" was eleven Greek divisions charging directly toward the city. He quickly tried to get his troops into a defensive position but there was no time to entrench themselves, and they were soon dispersed by the advancing Greeks. With Vlahopoulos at their head, the Greek forces maintained their rapid advance and soon took Constantinople.
With Thrace and their capital lost in the west and the united Egyptian, Arab, Persian and Kurdish armies advancing in the East, the Ottoman leadership surrendered.
The Treaty of Constantinople that followed saw Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria ceded to Egypt, southern and central Babylon to Hashemite Arabia, and eastern Babylon ceded to Persia. Cyprus, Albania, Libya and Kurdistan had their independence affirmed and Kurdistan gained lands in northern Babylon. Greece received Eastern Thrace, including Constantinople, and the Aegean Islands.
Territorial Changes in the Middle East following the Treaty of Constantinople
Greek territorial extent after the Treaty of Constantinople
The day after the treaty signing, Papagos walked alongside Metaxas and Georgios near Hagia Sophia,
"Your highness, with Constantinople finally back under Greek control we can now begin moving our government institutions here immediately. We will have your belongings moved here as well so that you can take up your residence in the royal palace."
"I have no intention of moving my residence to this city or our country's government for that matter," Georgios responded, "We are not some Byzantine successor state. We are Greece, and our capital is in Athens. I am ecstatic that we have reclaimed our ancient city of Constantinople but we must not linger on the past. Our focus should be on creating a better future."
Papagos and Metaxas were both stunned into silence by this but before either man could think of anything to say Georgios spoke again,
"Besides, we have no time to move now anyway. The war is not over yet."
