The 100-year anniversary of the 1821 Greek War of Independence was celebrated in Greece and in the army of Asia Minor in an atmosphere of unrest, political and diplomatic instability and disaffection.
The Asia Minor Campaign was Greece's ultimate effort to end the Asia Minor affair by military means: the pursuit of the Kemalist army and its complete crushing, an effort that had begun in the spring of 1921.
In the thematic exhibition below, you will find a variety of photographs depicting the initial, promising moments of the launch of the campaign, scenes from the advance of the Asia Minor Army, battle scenes and daily scenes from life on the trenches as well as the frantic retreat to the Aegean. Telegrams, reports, and correspondence illuminate the political scene and the communications between the Army and mainland Greece, while maps of the wider region and important cities give useful geographical information about the course of the campaign.
The records in the exhibition shed light to the advance of the Asia Minor Army, the spring offensive of March 1921, the summer offensive of June 1921, the critical meeting of Kioutacheia that resulted in the fatal decision to move forward inland, the painstaking march through the devilishly hot Almyra Desert and the deadly battles in Sangarios River in August 1921, as well as the collapse of the Front in Afyon Karahisar and the inevitable course towards defeat and retreat.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
