Greek landing at Smyrna

Greek landing at Smyrna
Part of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) campaign of the Turkish War of Independence
Men of the 1/38 Evzone Regiment at the Smyrna quay
Date May 15, 1919 Location Aidin Vilayet, Ottoman Empire 38°25′07″N 27°08′21″E / 38.4186°N 27.1392°E / 38.4186; 27.1392 Result Greek victory: occupation of Smyrna Greek army extends to capture Aydın, Menemen, Pergamos, Kydonies, and Çeşme
Belligerents
Greece Naval support:[1][2][3][4] United Kingdom  France	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Colonel Nikolaos Zafeiriou¹ Lt. Colonel Dionysios Stavrianopoulos² Cpt. Elias Mavroudis³ Lt. Colonel Haralambos Tseroulis⁴ Lt. Colonel Alexandros Schinas⁵ Lt. Colonel Konstantinos Tsakalos6	Nureddin Pasha7 Ali Nadir Pasha8 Hürrem Bey9 Ali Bey10 Kâzım Bey11
Strength
Up to 15,000 soldiers[5]	3,000 soldiers[6]
Casualties and losses
2 killed 6–20 wounded[7][8]	30–40 killed (killed in captivity or during surrender)[9][10][11] 40–60 wounded[10][11]
100 Greek civilians killed or wounded 300-400 Turkish civilians killed or wounded (minimum)
1: Commander of the Greek 1st Division, 2: Commander of the 1/38 National Guard Command, 3: Captain of the Leon Destroyer, 4: Commander of the Division Regiment, 5: Commander of the 4th Infantry Regiment, 6: Commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment, 7: Commander of the Ottoman XVII Corps, 8: Commander of the Ottoman 56th Division, 9: Commander of the 172nd Infantry Regiment (Ayvalık), 10: Commander of the 173rd Infantry Regiment (Urla)

The Greek landing at Smyrna (Greek: Ελληνική απόβαση στη Σμύρνη; Turkish: İzmir'in İşgali, Occupation of İzmir) was a military operation by Greek forces starting on May 15, 1919 which involved landing troops in the city of Smyrna and surrounding areas. The Allied powers sanctioned and oversaw the planning of the operation and assisted by directing their forces to take over some key locations and moving warships to the Smyrna harbor. During the landing, a shot was fired on the Greek 1/38 Evzone Regiment and significant violence ensued with Greek troops and Greek citizens of Smyrna participating. The event became important for creating the three-year-long Greek Occupation of Smyrna and was a major spark for the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).