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clash. Turkey’s official response was that this was a result of another border incursion
by Greece, where their troops allegedly crossed into Karalik Dervend and cut off tele-
graphic communication with a Turkish military post. To survive, their troops needed
to cross into the Greek side, were fired on, and responded in kind. Two more attacks
followed that same day; both were driven back by the Turks.
By August 31, Turkey demanded an armistice, and Greece was willing to accept.
However, Greece wanted Turkey to withdraw from what it occupied after the clash on
August 29. Turkey refused. More troops arrived from Turkey. The next day (July 1),
the European Powers intervened, telling Greece to agree to the armistice. The Turks,
who were now being driven from Zorbas and the Thessalian coast, wanted Greece
to establish a neutral zone around the contested territory before its final delimitation.
Greece refused.
After communications between Constantinople and Athens, the status quo ex ante
returned to the area on September 2. Fighting had stopped, largely after a turn of
events on the battlefield in favor of the Ottoman Empire. A formal armistice was con-
cluded on September 6. The matter was formally adjusted for good on November 9,
- The border commission then adjusted the matter, with Greece still left unsatis-
fied with the border.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from March 1882. End Date changed from
Missing. Fatalities changed from Missing.
MID#1739
Dispute Number: 1739
Date(s): September 1888 to September 20, 1888
Participants: 350 Greece/640 Turkey
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: In September 1888, Turkey seized a Greek vessel at Chloe and, despite
various Greek protests, Turkey had not given them a satisfactory response. On Sep-
tember 20, several Greek warships were put on alert and ordered into Turkish waters.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from July 1888. End Date changed from Missing.
MID#1569
Dispute Number: 1569
Date(s): December 1896 to May 20, 1897
Participants: 350 Greece/640 Turkey
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side B (Negotiated)
Fatalities: >999 deaths
Narrative: The origins of the Greco-Ottoman War of 1897 lay in Greek irredentism
and, specifically, the desire to own Crete outright. Crete was formally under Ottoman
rule, but the Turks gave Crete substantial autonomy under the Halepa Pact of October
- After a revolt by the Cretans, a Greek boat was dispatched to prevent Ottoman
forces from trying to maintain order of the island (December 1896). Great power inter-
vention, which consistently blocked Greece from changing the status quo to preserve