This is an extremely rare 1919 book I had inadvertently come upon (in a search) and one of TAT's regular contributors managed to find it, scan it, and made it available for the worldwide audience C. F. Dixon-Johnson's "The Greeks in Asia Minor" richly deserves. The British author documents the "systematic" atrocities and attempt at "extermination" that the run-amok invading Greeks were perpetrating, and right under the noses of Western observers. This is why few can deny the horrible crimes of the Greeks, as too many who would normally have defended them witnessed what the Greeks were capable of. (Note in the Appendix the testimony of an officer in the French Navy, who informs us how such firsthand views reporting the crimes of the Greeks were censored by his country. Yes, the same country, France, responsible for what happened to the Armenians as much as the British and the Russians, and today has the audacity to declare a "genocide," equally censoring anyone who says otherwise, through actual criminal penalties.) The mad bloodlust and inhumanity expressed by the Greeks followed the actions of the Armenians to a tee, but the Armenians get a better pass (for that matter, so do the Greeks, thanks to Western prejudice; the evidence is, sadly, irrelevant), because practically the only Westerners to document the crimes of the Armenians in the east were the allies of the Armenians, the missionaries and the consuls, to whom non-Armenian lives primarily did not matter. (Along with Entente officers, some of whom were honorable enough to prepare honest reports, which today irrefutably help condemn the Armenians.) Hip-hip-hooray for C. F. Dixon-Johnson, a man of great integrity, to have gone out of his way to document the real happenings. He went against the policy of his government, a government that wished to make the Turkish nation extinct, and against what was an overwhelming majority opinion accepting the overwhelming propaganda without question, and damning the Turks, proving once again that majority opinion means nothing if we wish to get to the honest bottom of matters. The one and only reason why Dixon-Johnson went through such trouble was because of his desire to let the truth be known.

The Greeks

in

Asia Minor.

-----------------------

By

C. F. DIXON-JOHNSON

-----------------------


COLE & CO. (WESTMINSTER) LTD., Printers, London, S.W. 1






The Greeks in Asia Minor.

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Smyrna Massacres.

THE atrocious massacre committed at Smyrna in full view of the Allied warships (actually under their protection, because it was the presence of the Allied fleet which facilitated the landing, and indirectly encouraged the commission of the outrages) is sufficient excuse for calling attention to the unfitness of the Greeks to govern any part of the Ottoman Provinces in Western Asia.

C. F. Dixon-Johnson

The Ottoman Government, acting on the advice of General Townshend (so he has stated), and trusting in the good faith and generosity of the Entente Powers, unconditionally surrendered, and by so doing prevented the prolongation of the War and the loss of many thousands of valuable lives. It is, therefore, inconceivable that, in order to gratify the conflicting aspirations of certain small States, ambitious out of all proportion to their size, and capacity to govern alien races, an industrious and virile peasantry, forming by far the largest part of the population of this part of Asia, should be handed over to the "tender" mercies of their bitterest enemies. Even the severest critics of Turkish rule acknowledge the sterling qualities of these simple-minded, frugal, and hard-working Ottoman peasants, whose hospitality and kindness to strangers are proverbial. These poor people had no share in the responsibility for the War. Their share was to suffer the loss of their fathers, brothers, and sons, of their cattle and corn, their only worldly possessions. It is easy, therefore, to understand how thankful they must have been when told that their Government had signed an armistice with the great Western Powers, which meant there would be no more fighting, and that those who had been spared could once again go about their business in peace.

Refugees from Macedonia had told them of the horrors of invasion which they had suffered during the Balkan war. Grateful, indeed, they must have been to think that this terrible danger terrible danger was once and for all removed: contentedly they saw the fortifications dismantled and the troops who had so valiantly protected them during these long years of long war withdrawn ; for surely what better confirmation could there be of the explanation of this blessed word "Armistice."

We can easily imagine then their dismay when a few months later suddenly, without warning, the stately vessels so peacefully anchored in their gulf vomited thousands and thousands of their hereditary foes ; any who knew the legend might well in the bitterness of their hearts have compared "The Armistice" to the "Wooden Horse" which enabled the Greeks of old treacherously to capture the City of Troy; duped like the Trojans, they had yet to learn the devious ways of a discredited diplomacy.

If the Politicians, the great three in Paris, who ordered this sudden landing of the Greeks in Smyrna, had had the landing most superficial knowledge of the Greek character and the conditions prevailing in Smyrna, they must have known that to land Greek troops without first landing a very much larger force of trustworthy French and British troops, and allowing these troops sufficient time to take the necessary precautions, was to invite the horrors which actually occurred.

Sir Arthur Crossfield's Apologia.

An ardent apologist of Greek misdemeanours, Sir Arthur Crossfield has, as Col. Aubrey Herbert emphasises in reply, admitted in The Times that the occurrence of "the unhappy event" was due to "grave errors of judgment and culpable negligence" on the part of the Greek authorities. When Sir Arthur Crossfield proceeded to minimise what happened Col. Aubrey Herbert frankly admits that he prefers to accept the account of British officers who were present. This Greek apologist euphemistically speaks of the massacre o the Moslem civilians, men, women, and children of Smyrna; as an '' unhappy event," just as the Armenian apologists speak of a similar massacre of the Moslems in Van as "a so-called rising " of the Armenians. Had he been here to try the case the remarks of the late Lord Brampton, the popular Mr. Justice Hawkins, would certainly have shocked this self-constituted advocate who, on a plea of guilty, urges as extenuating circumstances "grave errors of and g culpable negligence."

Greek G.H.Q.'s Apologia.

A further reason why his defence, from the Greek point of view, is singularly unfortunate is that it is in entire contradiction to the communiqué published by the Greek Headquarters on May 25th, which, as reported by the Press Association, emphasises the remarkable orderliness that has characterised the occupation of Smyrna, as well as the warm welcome given to the Greek Army not only by unredeemed Greeks but also by the Mussulmans. The communiqué describes as excessively exaggerated the rumours relating to fighting and pillage organised during the first days of the occupation by Turkish soldiers and bad characters of all races. "Two Greek soldiers were killed and eight wounded," says the communiqué, "while 150 civilians were killed or wounded." A further Greek communiqué of May 27th, reported also by the Press Association, "announces the occupation of the town of Bainder, 31 miles eastward of Smyrna, amid indescribable enthusiasm. Perfect order prevails throughout the occupied regions up to now."

A third contradictory statement is that of the Greek Minister in London, as shown in the following paragraph, which appeared in The Globe of June 7th.

M. Caclamanos' Apologia.

"The Smyrna battle.—M. Caclamanos, the Greek Minister in London, has favoured us with a communication which commences with an assurance that certain `erroneous and biassed information' has been spread concerning the incidents which occurred in Smyrna on the first day of the landing of Greek troops at that port. Enclosed with the communication is in official statement regarding the battle which ensued as soon as the Greeks landed, and in which the casualties comprised 62 Greeks, 78 Turks, and 23 others. ' Unfortunately,' continues the statement, ' this resistance had been premeditated. On the eve of the landing proclamations had been abundantly distributed, calling on the Mussulman crowd to resist.' The document concludes by stating that owing to the tact and solicitude shown to all the elements of the population by the Greek troops, the latter have been able to extend their occupation to the interior without incident, and to the satisfaction of all. This, the writer of the account hopes, will prove to the Great Powers that the Hellenic Government has responded to the trust with which they have been honoured."

(Page 10)

In Crete, too, after a very few years' of Greek rule, the Moslem peasants had disappeared. A report of an agent of the Bible Society complained bitterly that the rich valleys, once carefully tilled by the exiled or murdered Turkish peasants, were lying barren and waste, the Cretan Christian, with his rifle and bandolier, being too great a "gentleman" to pay attention to such details, which were left to his already overworked wife. Any visitor to-day to the rural districts of Greece may see the sleek and lazy husband riding a donkey alongside a toiling load of hay or firewood, under which struggles a woman—his wife.

In Macedonia and Salonica the present position of Moslems is unenviable, and in a few years it is probable that they will have ceased to exist. Specific cumulative and convincing evidence existed that up to June, 1914, the migration of 240,000 Macedonian Moslems to Asia Minor and Ottoman Thrace had been brought about by a wholesale system of oppression and cruelty ; on the other hand, it must not be forgotten that during the progress of the Tripolitan and Balkan wars not a single Italian or Greek was molested in Turkey. Whilst the Greeks have thrived and prospered under Turkish rule, under Greek rule the Moslem population has been or is in process of being exterminated. The Greeks have amply proved their capacity for obliterating and their incapacity for ruling a Turkish and Moslem race.

Should Constantinople and the Smyrna district be given, despite the pledged word of Mr. Lloyd George, to be ruled by the Greek minority, then in a few years Moslem mosques, schools, and religious foundations will be as non-existant as they are in Greece at this day, and one of the fairest and most prosperous provinces of Asia will be turned into a wilderness.

Greek cruelly systematic

Greeks are, on account of their cruelty, totally unfitted to govern other races, whether Moslem or Christian. Those who have forgotten the crimes committed by the Greeks in the Balkan war should by these cold-blooded murders at Smyrna be sharply reminded of the Carnegie Commissioners' report that, "whereas all the Balkan nations had violated the laws of civilisation and humanity, the most deliberate and systematic cruelties were those perpetrated by the Greeks."

Some years ago the writer was told by a French naval officer, whose ship had been one of an international fleet sent to Crete, how a Turkish naval officer had been captured by the Greeks, or, rather, Cretan insurgents, and burnt alive. He remembers that French naval officer's horror and indignation at this dastardly deed. What then must have been the feelings of the French and English officers and sailors who, under somewhat similar conditions, were the horrified spectators of a far greater massacre? The answer is contained in a personal letter sent by a French naval officer, who was present at the disembarkation of the Greek troops, to M. Pierre Loti, who adds that " All the other French officers recount what happened, with similar expressions of indignation." M . Pierre Lob's correspondent wrote as follows. (See Appendix)

If the Greeks were unable to restrain their lust for slaughter even in the presence of the most highly civilised Powers, Europe may well ask what crimes they will not perpetrate when they are on their own, and have the unfortunate Moslem population at their mercy.

Massacre at Mnemen

The Times correspondent has reported that at Mnemen the Greek troops killed the Turkish governor and, at least, 100 Turkish civilians besides looting extensively. Major K. Thompson, who has recently returned from Aidin and is, at present, in England, reports that the Moslem part of the town was entirely destroyed, and that every shop in the bazaar was pillaged and sacked by the Greek troops ostensibly sent there to keep order.


(Page 12)

No justification for Smyrna landing.

That there was not the slightest justification, during a time of Armistice, for arbitrary and ill-advised interference with the internal administration of a peaceful and prosperous community occupied in gathering the abundant harvest, the hard-earned fruits of their patient and industrious toil, the surplus of which was destined to relieve the scarcity of a famine-stricken Europe, is amply proved by the impartial and politically unbiassed report of the Ottoman Smyrna to Aidin Railway Company, the pioneer of British railway enterprise and commercial interests in Asiatic Turkey. The following extract is taken from the half-yearly report as published in The Times on September 20th. "The working of the railway has been carried on by the Company's staff, under the control of the Inter-Allied Military Commission, since April last. The whole district was then quiet, and the receipts from traffic were very good, as there were considerable stocks of exportable goods remaining in the interior. Unfortunately, following upon the landing of the Greek Army in May, and their occupation of Smyrna and the country as far as Aidin, disturbances arose, and it was not possible for transport to be continued in any volume. A British Mission has arrived at Smyrna, and there is every hope that order will be restored so far as its influence extends (but not where Greek influence is paramount). The stocks of produce in the country are still stated to be large, and a ready market is available as soon as they can be moved. The coming crops are also reported to be good. Owing to the disorganisa­tion arising out of the disturbances it has riot been possible to complete the accounts for the past half-year." The words in brackets did not appear in the report, which was evidently drafted some time ago. It may, therefore, well be that the greater part of the valuable foodstuffs which would have been carried on a British railway, forwarded by British merchants in British ships to British ports to feed British people has now been destroyed, and instead of the cash earnings of the Railway Company being sent in the form of dividends to this country British capital may have to be exported to cover the loss on working the railway, and yet the British Government professes itself anxious to reduce the price of food and the depreciation in the rate of exchange.

Turks may be driven to retaliate.

Their harvest ruined, their towns and villages destroyed, winter and starvation before them, unable to appreciate the high-minded ideals of the statesmen lodged in the most luxurious and palatial Parisian caravanserais, the Moslem peasants, (*) goaded to fury, being only human, may retaliate, with the result that the most terrible atrocities will then be committed by both parties, as, indeed, happened in the Greek War of Independence in 1821, and more recently in Kurdistan, where the massacre of Moslem inhabitants of Van and Bitlis and neighbouring villages, under circumstances of the greatest cruelty, led to retaliation on the part of the Moslem population against the Armenian aggressors.

Greek Warfare in the Morea.

The Encyclopædia Britannica describes how the Greek peasantry in the Peloponnesus, instigated by Russian agents, rose and massacred the Mussulman population of Patras, enacting similar scenes of butchery in every captured town. The horrors culminated in the capture of Tripolitsa, the capital of the Vilayet. " In the month of September this was taken by storm. Kalistrones rode in triumph to the citadel, over streets carpeted with the dead, and the crowning triumph of the Cross was celebrated by a cold-blooded massacre of 2,000 prisoners of all ages and sexes! At sea, as on land, the Greeks opened the campaign with hideous atrocities, almost the first exploit being the capture of a vessel carrying to Mecca the Sheik-ul-Islam and his family, whom they murdered, with every aggravation of outrage (sic). These inauspicious beginnings, indeed, set the whole tune of the war, which was frankly one of mutual extermination." Having succeeded in provoking the Turks to retaliate as they intended Greek agents and Greek sympathisers at once organised throughout Europe a successful Grecophile campaign, part of the stock-in-trade being the parade of a notorious brigand, whom they christened Odysseus, and dressed as an ancient Greek. This same brigand patriot, whose real business was loot, later on joined the Turks, and was subsequently taken prisoner and executed by the Greeks. Public opinion was camouflaged, and the Greeks were victorious not by force of arms but by force of words. Whenever Turkey has been attacked by her Balkan neighbours, her position has been systematically prejudiced in the eyes of Europe by the wildest and grossest misrepresentation.

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(*) “The peasantry is one of the most steady, thrifty and honest in the world. In fact, the Turkish peasant is a thorough gentleman, so to speak."—Lieut.Col. Fife-Cookson, late additional Military Attaché to the British Embassy in Constantinople.

Venizelos compared to Diaz.

The fall of Diaz was disastrous to British Capital invested in Mexico; in the unstable atmosphere of Greek politics it is by no means certain that M. Venizelos will remain a permanent actor. Should he fall British commitments in the Near East could not fail to suffer.

Commercially a Greek occupation of Constantinople and Smyrna would cause serious loss to this country.

British trade decline under Greek rule.

In 1911, under Turkish rule, the value of British exports to Salonica totalled nearly L1,000,000. Under Greek rule, in 1913, the value had decreased to nearly one-third. Tariffs and other disabilities resulting from Greek rule would similarly depreciate our very considerable trade with Smyrna and Constantinople. During the four years preceding the Balkan Wars, which caused a slight set back, our trade with Turkey in Asia had been on a steady upward grade. The exports from the United Kingdom consisting almost entirely of articles and goods made in our factories amounted in 1911 against foreign L5,844,759 as against L89,466 from all other foreign and Colonial countries. Asiatic Turkey was a good customer of ours, and for the same year our imports, consisting for the most part of foodstuffs or raw material for the use of our factories totalled L4,363,540. Manufactured articles exported; raw materials imported. It is not pleasant to think that this highly important trade is threatened with an eclipse as dark as that of our trade with Salonica. The Greek (of course there are honourable exceptions) is not a pleasant man to do business with.

Lord Byron speaks out.

That great Phil-Hellene, Lord Byron, who fought and died for Greece, admitted this, "In all money transactions with the Moslems, I ever found the strictest honour, the highest disinterestedness. In transacting business with them, there are none of those sordid peculations under the name of interest, difference of exchange, commis­sion, etc., etc., uniformly found in applying to a Greek Consul to cash bills even on the first houses in Pera."

Britain's past and future relations with Turkey.

Our whole future policy with regard to Turkey requires the most careful consideration, and as we are no longer ostensibly allied with Czardom, there is, therefore, no hindrance or reason why we should not establish the most cordial relations.

What Great Britain can do to build up a real hegemony in Western Asia and the Mussulman world in general by helping Turkey to recovery and reconstruction, by the establishment of a well organised and independent Turkish homeland will be made clear by the following remarks, which are based on a true knowledge of the facts.

Our subservience to Imperial Russia has in great measure been responsible for the sufferings of the Turkish Moslems and their fellow Christian subjects. Acting under pressure of the Russian Government we have time and again refused the urgent requests of Turkey to assist her in putting her house in order : a house that was being continually turned inside out by Russian intrigue both in the Balkans arid Asia Minor. Never once until now, since the days when the Russian armies attacked the Byzantine Christian Empire, has Russia abandoned her fixed purpose of holding Constantinople: even when posing as a friend her one aim has been to weaken and disintegrate the Turkish Empire by stirring up strife and rebellion : the ministers of any Balkan state unwilling to play the Russian tune were assassinated—such was the fate of Stambuloff, Petroff, and others. So successful and consistent was the Russian policy that never for a period of more than ten or fifteen years was Turkey left at peace, and these decades were never peaceful because either in Macedonia, Kurdistan, or some other part of the Empire, Russian agents-provocateurs were for ever fomenting trouble. Small wonder then, that the material and moral progress of Turkey has often disappointed even her friends.

It has often been asked how it was that the Ottomans have never succeeded in amalgamating their subject races. In return it may well be asked what countries have succeeded unless they destroyed the male population, the language, religion and customs ? Has Great Britain amalgamated with the Indians, the Egyptians, the Maltese, or the Greeks of Cyprus ? Has the Ulster colony planted by the conquer­ing English amalgamated with the Irish race?

Our great opportunity for benefitting the Moslem and Christian races of the Ottoman Empire came with the Turkish revolution which broke out in 1908, and eventually led to the deposition of the Sultan Abdul Humid. No country stood so high in the esteem of the Turks as England did then. Germany was absolutely at a discount in fact, she had lost all credit in Constantinople, and our influence was paramount. When the English Ambassador, Sir Gerard Lowther, arrived in Constantinople, he received an unprecedented ovation. Did we try to consolidate this influence ? Our Foreign Office threw away the golden chance of binding Turkey to us by the closest political and economic ties. The Ottoman Government applied to England for the services of a very distinguished Anglo-Indian administrator to put their civil and revenue administration in order, with the fullest discretion to choose his own staff. This was refused under pressure of the Imperial Russian Government.


(Page 19)

They applied for the services of military officers, on generous terms of pay and length of service, to organise their army. This also was refused under pressure of the Imperial Russian Government. They applied for admini­strators for their European and Asiatic provinces, to whom they promised to accord practically plenary power. This also was refused under pressure of the Imperial Russian Government.

Turkey stood, in 1909 and 1910, in dire need of money for the purposes of international reorganisation. She applied in the first instance for a loan from France. Her request met with prompt refusal. England hesitated, but eventually refused under pressure of the Imperial Russian Government. Forced by the necessity of the situation she applied to Germany, and the application was immediately complied with. The terms were stringent, but they were better than the rebuffs she had met with in England and France. Can we wonder, then, at the loss of our influence in Constantinople and the re-establishment of German pre­dominance ? Turkey had placed an order for two Dreadnoughts in English hands, which, unless I am greatly mistaken, were paid for in advance with money raised by popular subscriptions, to which women had subscribed their trinkets and the poorest porters had given their mites. When this cruel war broke out we took over the ships that were being built for Turkey. The disappointment among the Turks was naturally bitter, for they had built in these ships their hopes of safety from further aggression. Did we endeavour to salve their feelings in any way ? Instead of paying bat the money we treated them with rebuffs. Again, when the crisis arose, and the guns of the " Goeben" and "Breslau," which had escaped from our admiral in the Mediterranean were trained on the Sultan's palace, did we consult a single Englishman in Turkey who possessed the confidence the Turks? There were then numbers of Englishmen in Constantinople who possessed the esteem and confident of the Turks : their counsel and help would have been, as can be easily imagined, of the utmost value. Receiving rebuff after rebuff, insult after insult, fully aware of our intention to parcel out the Turkish Empire, is it little wonder that Turkey, against her will and inclination, was pushed by us into the enemy's camp? Our diplomacy towards Turkey has been a tragedy of blunders—a tragedy for us and a greater tragedy for Turkey.

It is now our duty to repair the fabric of the Ottoma Empire, which, by the faults and omissions of the past, we have done so much to destroy, and, if we cannot entire rebuild the structure, at least, we should see to it that Mr. Lloyd George has the backing of the British democrat behind him when he insists that Turkey shall not be deprived of her capital or of the rich and renowned lands of Asia Minor and Thrace, which are predominantly Turkish in race.* Turkey should be granted the fullest and most complete control over her provinces, freed from the strangle hold of the Capitulations. To force upon her the acceptant of foreign administration would be to defeat the very object we have in view : even a beaten Turkey would resent such interference, which would in consequence never work smoothly. Left to herself, we may be quite sure that she will again ask us to supply her with our ablest administrators ; and this time we shall not refuse. Sir Adam Block has said that " he found the Turks employed in the service of the Ottoman Debt very capable of doing the work allotted to them." There should be, therefore, no difficulty in training a capable body of civil servants, given a fair chance to reorganise, with Britain's help and Britain's good­will, we may look with confidence to a brighter and happier future for the Turkish Empire.

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(*). The late Colonel Sir Mark Sykes. M.P., in a short but recent pamphlet, entitled " The Future of the Near East," which is violently anti-Turk (therefore all the more convincing) and in sharp contrast to his previous writings on the Near East, acknowledges that “as Turkey in Asia stands to-day, the Anatolian Peninsula may be regarded a practically Turkish."

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It would be absolute stupidity to suppose that Greek ambition would be satisfied with any territorial allotment made by the Paris Conference. Intrigue and provocations would continue until the whole of Asia Minor became a festering and running sore—something pitiable to look upon. Are the vineyards of Naboth to be a curse for all time ?

If by our apathy we were to allow an ambitious state to seize the richest provinces of Turkey, and upon her remaining provinces impose " Mandates "—a polite word for the annexation which is bound to follow—we shall do violence to our own national interests as well as to those lofty ideals for which our soldiers died.

C. F. DIXON-JOHNSON.

September 30th, 1919.


(End Page 21.)

(Page 23)

"In their stupid fury the Greeks massacred 15 of their fellow countrymen who, as officials, were wearing the Ottoman head-dress; they assassinated the stationmaster of the French railway, two Italians, and one British subject, etc.

“The Greek Commander having declared a state of siege, murder and pillage were now no carried on under military protection. The 40th regiment joined up with the thieves and assassins ; the other regiments were not slow to follow suit. They imprisoned the Turks wholesale and plundered their houses. But the Greeks did not seize only what belonged to the Moslems, for they also plundered the depot of the Ottoman Bank. also the store room of the French Consulate, etc.. etc.

“They committed the infamous crime of arming the Palikares, that is to say the brigands who belong to the scum of the Greek population of Smyrna. They even armed the women of these people who made use of their weapons to dishonour the dead bodies of the Turks heaped in the Ottoman hospital.

" Crimes and acts of cowardice of every description continued to be committed openly in the streets. An old Turkish colonel, sick and almost helpless, was met by the Palikares (' Men of Courage'). He was riddled with bayonets. At the gates of the town three unarmed gendarmes, returning peacefully to their homes in a carriage, not knowing what was happening in Smyrna, were butchered with all the ‘refinements’ of cruelty.

“ At another place, one of our naval officers, seeing a Greek patrol dragging along an old man, whose head the caporal was belabouring with the butt of his rifle, asked the caporal:

“ ‘ Why do you beat this old and unarmed man?’

“ ‘ Because he is a dangerous man. We have found arms in his house.'

" ' What arms ? ’

" As a result of the enquiry it was ascertained that these arms consisted of 200 grams of small shot, 100 grams of sporting powder, and two empty cartridge cases !

“ Now and then, Mars—the god of war—must needs yield place to Mercury—god of commerce. Greeks, honest to the backbone, offered to guide the street patrols to the house of such and such a man whom they described as ' dangerous.' And as by some lucky chance this dangerous man always happened to be the creditor of the man who denounced him, his account was quickly settled.

" All this time the Turks who had been made prisoners were given nothing to eat and nothing to drink. Some British officers paid them a visit, and protested against this odious act of inhumanity. Frightened, the Greek military authorities gave permission for the Turkish women folk to take food to the captives, but when they came with the provisions the young Greeks scoffed at them, tore off their veils, and did not let them pass unless they carried in their hands a paper flag showing the glorious colours of Greece.

“ This is the true story of the Smyrna ambuscade, and let us hope that the truth will see the daylight despite those who are making a good thing out of this business. The entry of the Greeks into Smyrna showed a balance of 500 Turks killed and 600 wounded.''

“ This is how the French Press reported the events of this never to be forgotten day : 'The Greek troops have landed in Smyrna amidst Universal enthusiasm.'

" However, the enthusiasm of the first moment beginning to cool, the Commander of the Greek troops asked himself whether, despite the kindly phil-hellenism of the Entente, the Smyrna affair might not disgust the public should they once learn what had happened. He, therefore, thought it best to forestall the critics, and published an order reprimanding the conduct of ' certain irresponsible persons,' whom a court-martial would severely punish.

“ It is perfectly certain that these ‘ irresponsible persons ’ need fear neither the rope nor the gallows, although well merited, and that, on o the contrary, they will live from now onwards honoured and well provided for.

" What has happened at Smyrna has, as the Turkish newspaper Hadissat said, ' shown that not only is Greece unfitted to undertake a mandate over another country, but herself has need of a control.'

“ If anyone wishes to hear the opinion of an Armenian, whom no-one would suspect of a great partiality in favour of the Turks, this is what he thinks of the exploits of the descendants of Pericles:

" ' We have often been assassinated,' said he, naively, ' but never have the Turks done to us what the Greeks have done to them, and never have they so insulted our beliefs.'

" Let the last word be that of the commander of a fleet division, whose report ended with the words: The conduct of the Greeks has been disgraceful.' "

(Appendix, Page 5)

September 15th, 1919.

This time I have been to Dianan and Dinizle, both places full of refugees from the Aidin District, which as you probably know, has been destroyed by the Greek Army. It seems that after occupying Aidin the Greeks began to arrest all Turkish notables in spite of the expostulations of the Turkish Government. They next began a house-to-house visitation for arms—violating harems and insulting and robbing the ladies. This induced a number of Moslem families to leave the town and seek refuge in the mountains. The Greeks promptly burnt their houses and, of course, the men returned bent on revenge and the trouble started. The Greeks used machine guns and mowed down everybody including a number of Christians, and they killed every Moslem they could lay their hands on, women and children were shut up in houses nominally for safety and then the houses were burnt, and all the usual horrors attendant on massacres went on. I think the worst individual act of cruelty was the fate meted out to four women who defended themselves and their homes with their husbands' guns. They were caught and killed by being impaled on wooden spikes.

When the town had been destroyed the Greeks attacked the farms and villages, 69 of the latter have been wiped out and all farms belonging to Moslems have been destroyed. There must be about 100,000 refugees, at least, about the country, most of them escaped with only the clothes they were wearing and are in the depths of misery. 9,716 are said to have keen killed, while there is a long list of missing. What is going to happen to these people during the winter I can't think. Already the death-rate from privation and fever, particularly among the children, is very heavy, and nothing will induce them to return to their lands even if temporary shelters could be arranged while the Greeks still hold the country. The further advance of the Greeks has been stopped by the " National Turkish Army," which also turned them out of Nazili. Even many of the Ottoman Greeks themselves are beginning to regret the advent of the Hellenic Army, they say, that if they remain, Anatolia will become a second Macedonia." Besides, they got rather a sickener of their Hellenic friends at Hivali. There a band of about 1,500 Turks attacked the Greek Army some 3,000 strong with guns, and the Greeks ran away. The local Christians wanted to run too, but the Hellenes found them in the way, and turned on them with their bayonets. The result was that, between the advancing Turks and retiring Greeks, they got pretty well wiped out. When they had finished retiring the Greek army wiped out all the Moslem villages in that region in revenge.

You know the first Greek Division to land in Smyrna was the very Division which murdered our Marines and the French at Athens before Greece was starved into war. We have short memories, have we not ? And, of course, the man in the street knows nothing of what has been going on.


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See also:

"The Armenians," C.F. Dixon-Johnson

C. F. Dixon-Johnson: Letters