TESTIMONIALS OF THE WITNESSES WITH REGARDS TO ARRIVAL OF THE GREEK ARMY TO IZMIR AND OCCUPATION ACCORDING TO BRITISH ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS

The Ottoman Empire signed the Mudros Armistice Agreement at the end of World War I. The occupation idea of ？zmir in February 1919 was put forward by British Prime Minister Lloyd George by the suggestion of Greek Prime Minister Elefterios Venizelos. On March 28, 1919, the Italians invaded Antalya. The British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, thought that they could take over Western Anatolia in the face of this occupation of Italy. Then, Great Britain come to an agreement with France and USA on May 6, 1919 and decided for the arrival of Greece to Izmir. The news that the city will be occupied by the Greeks caused great public reaction. This danger was agonizing for the people of Izmir. On May 15, 1919, Greece occupied Izmir on behalf of and under the umbrella of the Allied Powers. Before and after this occupation, in addition to the fleet of the allied powers, the vessels belonging to the USA were also ready. The occupation was carried out according to the Article 7 of the Mudros Armistice Agreement, which specified that this is the right to occupy any strategic location in the event of a threat against the security of the allies. However, it was clear that there was no situation in Izmir that would shake the security of the Allied Powers. There was no organization against the allies in the city as well as no incident has occurred. However, the Allied Powers arbitrarily interpreted the Mondros Armistice Agreement and did whatever they desired. With the arrival of Greece troops to Izmir, the native Greeks carried the flags of Greece and started demonstrations and outbreaks. When these were done, the main purpose was to incite the Turks, to create confusion, and thus to have the city completely annexed by Greece. The developments that occurred after the occupation were closely followed by the representatives of the allied powers located in Istanbul and Izmir. In the meantime, the Greece, who expanded the occupation territories, initiated attempts to settle in western Anatolia. So the city began to experience all pains of the Greece occupation after the Great War. In this study, occupation of Izmir by the Greece army, attitude of the Turks against the occupation, violence and massacres occurred with the cooperation of Greece soldiers and native Greeks, lootings and robberies will be set forth from the perspectives of British, American, Swedish and Canadian officials in the light of the British archive documents and in line with the observations of the witnesses