The new flare-up of combat in the Balkans spread the war to Greece.
British and French forces had entered Greece in late 1915 in a futile effort
to aid Serbia. A large contingent of their troops remained in the port of
Salonika, on Greek territory, but without the consent of the Greek government.
In 1916 the political establishment in Greece split: supporters of King
Constantine clung to a neutrality colored by sympathy for the Central
Powers. Meanwhile, former prime minister Eleutherios Venizelos and his
faction favored fighting on the Allied side. Territory under the control of
Venizelos joined the Allies in November while the country as a whole
seemed to slide toward civil war.
World History
