Greece

Greece established a constitutional monarchy in 1829 after an uprising against the Turkish Ottoman Empire. King George was on the throne until assassinated in Salonika on 18th March, 1913. He was succeeded by his pro-German son, Constantine I. This created conflict with his prime minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, who favoured Britain.

In peacetime the Greek Army contained about 32,000 men. However, during the Balkan Wars (1912-13) this was increased to 210,000. Senior officers were strongly royalist and tended to support Germany in its disputes with Britain.