Now all you have to do is liberate the rest of the oppressed Greeks from the Bulgarians and the Turks.
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Finishing the Job
"What do you mean, 'the war is not over?'" said Papagos, still stunned by the revelation that Constantinople would not become Greece's capital.
"We will immediately declare war against the Ottomans once more, press into the heart of Anatolia and finish the Ottomans off," explained Georgios calmly.
"But what about the treaty obligations?" asked Papagos.
"Serbia and Romania will likely break off their alliance with us. We will be alone. In this coming chaos. I am not even sure we can handle the Bulgarians by ourselves, let alone any larger power." Metaxas pointed out, coughing heavily.
"All the more reason for us to be strong," Georgios countered, "The time for neutrality is coming to an end; the alliances in Europe have become too large and too polarized. This peace is going to end soon. When it does Greece will not be among the defeated. But to win, Greece must be stronger. We will find that strength in Anatolia as our ancestors did."
"I am afraid of the backlash of the international community, but if we are to do this then this is the time," said Papagos, "The Ottoman armies are in disarray, undermanned, and still dispersed throughout the empire. There is little resistance on the other side of the Bosphorus now. If they were allowed to reorganize they could easily block us on land and counter our navy. Their population outnumbers ours by more than 2 to 1."
"Then it's settled," replied Georgios, "Metaxas, make the declaration. Papagos, send out the orders to march on Nicomedia."
The fleet was ordered to port in Constantinople for its protection and then Metaxas sent the Ottomans the declaration of war. In response, Serbia and Romania sent telegrams to Athens, dissolving the Belgrade Pact.
The combined Greek military immediately crossed the Bosphorus strait and overwhelmed the Ottoman garrison at Izmit.
The fall of Izmit coincided with a second round of great news: the island of Cyprus had decided to join the Greek state.
The Greek offensive carried on throughout the winter, gradually pushing the Ottomans east. Metaxas administered his army and the Greek state, issuing orders by radio to be relayed back to Athens, but the pace of the campaign was taking its toll on his health. He had had a terrible cough when Greek forces first advanced into Anatolia. Now his cough was accompanied by a variety of other symptoms, including a concerning weight loss.
The now gaunt Metaxas received his daily report on February 4 with a serious face. France and the Internationale had declared war on the German Empire. Contemplating this, Metaxas began to formulate a plan. He just had to see how events unfolded.
On March 9, Vlahopoulos led the final advance on Trabzon. Unable to hold out any longer, Trabzon fell. Vlahopoulos hoisted the Greek flag above the town hall proclaiming,
"At last, the land of Trebizond is reunited with Hellas. May the Pontic Greeks be forevermore joined with their brothers!"
The next week at the signing of the Treaty of Ankara the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. Now Anatolia belonged to the Greek state. As the Greek officials present began to leave the ceremony, Metaxas collapsed.
But... but cool names can't really die...
RIP Metaxas
On the positive side, the Union survived a second Civil War! The flames of Democracy still burn bright in the New World, even as its first hearth stamps out its last smoldering embers.
RIP Metaxas
On the positive side, the Union survived a second Civil War! The flames of Democracy still burn bright in the New World, even as its first hearth stamps out its last smoldering embers.
Well, I guess my warnings about a red Turkey proved to be groundless.
Dat Megali Idea...
Dat Megali Idea...
So just a few things that I thought I would say out of the story line. First, there's a weird 'forced peace' event that I noticed comes about when you fight against the Ottomans along with the Egyptians so to get the actual peace I wanted ,which was annexation (along with being able to core the 'Megali provinces' which comes through an event), I had to take a round about way of fighting. I decided to take the bad relations hit and lose my alliance with Serbia and Romania vs waiting for the treaty to end. Second, the AAR has not quite caught up to the game progress yet (although I'm working to get it there) so I won't be able to oblige recommendations at the moment although I do appreciate the feedback! Thanks to everyone who has been reading and responding so far!
Metaxas' Last Gamble, Part I
After collapsing at the treaty signing in Ankara, Metaxas was resuscitated and returned to Athens where he partially recovered. Now confined to his bed, Metaxas continued to vigorously administer the now greatly expanded country.
On June 20, 1939, Metaxas summoned Georgios, Vlahopoulos and Papagos to his chamber.
"I wanted to tell you all that it has been a pleasure but more importantly an honor to fight for this country with you. I do not know how much longer I have but I wanted to leave you with one last proposition," he said as he slowly reached for a newspaper at the side of his bed.
The front page story read, "Austria and Hungary Join Mitteleuropa to Stop the Red French Advance."
They were all aware that France had broken through the German front lines and was quickly pressing eastward. But they did not know how this involved them. After all, they did not even share a border.
Metaxas coughed heavily as he put the paper down and then he laid out the plan that he had been gradually formulating since France declared war against the German Empire almost one year earlier.
When he finished the three other men looked at each other. The plan was risky. This would require the core of Greece's military strength and it would leave their territory almost completely exposed to insurrections or foreign invasions.
"If this plan succeeds, Greece would be in a much more secure position. This is a risk I am willing to take," Georgios said solemnly.
Papagos and Vlahopoulos nodded in agreement and left to begin preparations.
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Metaxas' Last Gamble, Part II
When Greek forces entered Albania, the Austrian High Command ignored the briefings. When Tirana was occupied, few paid attention, and when Greek forces assumed control of the country's north, most thought that was the end of it.
A Balkan country had attacked another Balkan country. Countries in the Balkans fought all the time. One of Austria's generals mused aloud if they should call this the 'Fourth Balkan War.'
But the next day a new briefing appeared on everyone's desks, and this time everyone read it.
Greek forces had smashed through the Austrian border guards and had already occupied southern Montenegro. The majority of Austrian forces were on the front lines fighting the French. There were only several divisions available to hold off the invaders. Austria hurriedly radioed Budapest to request reinforcements.
Budapest scrambled to provide the assistance that it could while also fortifying its own northern and western border. Meanwhile Greek troops had made their way to Croatia and were closing in on Slovenia. Troops under Vlahopoulos took a separate army to push into Hungarian territory and prepare to repel any counterattacks.
On November 23, Greek forces under Papagos came face-to-face with Internationale troops in Ljubljana. The western thrust of the Greek advance was complete. With all of its territory lost and Vienna under the administration of France, Austria was forced to surrender and had a puppet government loyal to the Internationale installed. Now, Greece's armies turned eastward to join Vlahopoulos in attacking Hungary.
Simultaneous attacks from the Internationale and Greek forces proved too much for the Hungarian army which could only continuously fall back. It became a race to see who would seize Budapest first.
A brilliant push by Vlahopoulos, ensured that Budapest was captured by Greek forces, effectively cutting off Internationale's southward advance. From there it was just a matter of seizing Hungary's last resisting cities.
On April 26, 1940, Hungary was annexed into the Greek state. With the territory gained in this war, Greece was no longer just a Balkan power, it was a European power in its own right.
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It's time to show the Belgrade Pact that there is only one Balkan country and that should be Greece.
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Ah, I see now...
You don't want to recreate the Byzantines...
You want to reclaim Alexander's empire...
You don't want to recreate the Byzantines...
You want to reclaim Alexander's empire...