Editing Constantine I of Greece (section)

===Events===
[[File:The persuading of Tino (Punch 1916).jpg|thumb|240px|King Constantine ("Tino") being torn between Britain and France on the one, and Kaiser Wilhelm, assisted by Ferdinand of Bulgaria, on the other. Satirical cartoon in the style of an ancient Greek vase, published in ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' in November 1915]]

In the aftermath of the victorious Balkan Wars, Greece was in a state of euphoria. Her territory and population had doubled with the massive liberation of Greeks from Ottoman rule and, under the dual leadership of Constantine and Venizelos, her future seemed bright. However Constantine had been ill with [[pleurisy]] since the Balkan wars and almost died during the summer of 1915.

This state of affairs was not to last, however. When [[World War I]] broke out, a dispute appeared between the king and the government about the responsibility for the external policy of the state in case of war.

Constantine was faced with the difficulty of determining where Greece's support lay. His first concern as King was for the welfare and security of Greece. He rejected the early appeal from Kaiser Wilhelm that Greece should march on the side of Germany and stated that Greece would remain neutral. Sophie, Constantine's queen, was popularly thought to support her brother Kaiser Wilhelm, but it seems that she was actually pro-British{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}; like her father the [[Frederick III, German Emperor|late Kaiser Frederick]], Sophie was influenced by her mother, the British-born [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Victoria]]{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}. Venizelos was fervently pro-[[Allies of World War I|Entente]], having established excellent rapport with the British and French, and was convinced that German aggression had caused the war and that the Allies would quickly win the war.

Both Venizelos and Constantine were keenly aware that a maritime country like Greece could not, and should not, antagonise the Entente, the dominant naval powers in the [[Mediterranean]]. Constantine settled on a policy of neutrality because it seemed the path that best assured that Greece would emerge from the World War intact and with the substantial territorial gains it had won in the recent Balkan Wars.

In January 1915, the Entente made proposals to both Bulgaria and Greece to side with it. Bulgaria would take eastern Macedonia from Greece (with [[Drama, Greece|Drama]] and [[Kavala]]), while Greece in exchange would gain land in Asia Minor from Turkey after the war. Venizelos agreed but Constantine rejected the proposal.

Constantine claimed his military judgement was right, after the outcome of the Allies' failed operation of landing on [[Battle of Gallipoli|Gallipoli]]. Despite the popularity of Venizelos and his clear majority in Parliament for supporting the Allies, Constantine opposed Venizelos. Venizelos actually wanted Greece to participate at the Gallipoli operation, but after military objections by the General Staff ([[Ioannis Metaxas]]), the King rejected the idea.

In autumn 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and attacked Serbia, with which Greece had a [[Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913|treaty of alliance]]. Venizelos again urged the King to allow Greece's entry into the war. The [[Hellenic army]] was mobilized for defensive reasons, but Constantine claimed that the treaty had no value in case of a global war, but only of Balkan issues. Furthermore, he supported that according to the treaty, Serbia should mobilize 150,000 soldiers against Bulgaria, something that it could not do at that time.

The British then offered [[Cyprus]] to the Greek Kingdom to join the war, but Constantine rejected this offer as well. Venizelos permitted Entente forces to disembark in [[Thessaloniki]] (establishing so the [[Macedonian front]]) in aid of Serbia and in preparation for a common campaign over the King's objections. This action of Venizelos, which violated the country's neutrality, enraged the King who dismissed him for second time.

At the same time, Germany offered the protection and security of the [[Ottoman Greeks|Greek population of Turkey]] during and after the war, in exchange for Greece to remain neutral. Constantine was accused also by his Venizelist opponents for secret discussions and correspondence with the Central Powers.

In March 1916, in an effort to increase his prestige, Constantine declared the official annexation of [[Northern Epirus]], which was controlled by the Greeks since 1914, but the Greek forces were driven from the area by the Italians and French during the next year.

In June 1916, Constantine, General Metaxas (the future dictator) and Prime Minister [[Stephanos Skouloudis|Skouloudis]] allowed [[Fort Rupel]] and parts of eastern Macedonia to be occupied, without opposition, by the Germans and Bulgarians, as a counterbalance to the Allied forces in Thessaloniki. This caused popular anger,<ref name=clogg>Richard Clogg, A Concise History of Greece, 2002</ref> especially in Greek Macedonia which now was facing the Bulgarian danger. The leadership of the Allied armies in Thessaloniki was worried also about a possible attack by the army of Constantine in their back.

In July 1916, arsonists set fire to the forest surrounding the summer palace at Tatoi. Although injured in the escape, the king and his family managed to flee to safety. The flames spread quickly in the dry summer heat, and sixteen people were killed.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|pp=96–98}} Royal rumors connected the incident with actions by French agents, especially De Roquefeuil, who was in Athens since 1915, but it was never proven. A hunting of Venizelists followed in Athens.

In August 1916, a military coup broke out in Thessaloniki by Venizelist officers. There, Venizelos established a [[Movement of National Defence|provisional revolutionary government]], which created its own army and declared war on the [[Central Powers]]. With Allied support, the revolutionary government of Venizelos gained control of half the country – significantly, most of the "New Lands" won during the Balkan Wars. This cemented the ''[[National Schism]]'', a division of Greek society between Venizelists and anti-Venizelist monarchists, which was to have repercussions in Greek politics until past [[World War II]]. Venizelos made a public call to the King to dismiss his "bad advisors", to join the war as King of all Greeks and stop being a politician. The royal governments of Constantine in Athens continued to negotiate with the Allies a possible entry in the war.

During November/December 1916, the British and French landed units at Athens claiming the surrender of war materiel equivalent to what was lost at Fort Rupel as a guarantee of Greece's neutrality. After days of tension, finally they met resistance by paramilitary ([[Epistratoi]]) and pro-royalist forces (during the [[Noemvriana]] events), that were commanded by officers [[Ioannis Metaxas|Metaxas]] and [[Viktor Dousmanis|Dousmanis]]. After an armed confrontation, the Allies evacuated the capital and recognized officially the government of Venizelos in Thessaloniki. Constantine so became the most hated person for the Allies after his best man Kaiser Wilhelm.

Early in 1917, the Venizelist Government of National Defence (based in Thessaloniki) took control of Thessaly.<ref name=clogg/>

After the [[February Revolution|fall of the monarchy in Russia]], Constantine lost his last supporter inside the Entente opposed to his removal from the throne. In the face of Venizelist and Anglo-French pressure, King Constantine finally left the country for [[Switzerland]] on 11 June 1917; his second-born son [[Alexander of Greece|Alexander]] became king in his place. The Allied Powers were opposed to Constantine's first born son George becoming king, as he had served in the German army before the war and like his father was thought to be a Germanophile.{{sfn|Van der Kiste|1994|p=107}}