The 1884–1890 French naval mission to Greece was invited to the country by the government of

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis (; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of confidence in the Greek constitution, p ...

to reorganize the

Royal Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. ...

, in parallel to a

military mission A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operatio ...

for the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

. The naval mission, headed by Rear Admiral , arrived in Greece in December 1884, and remained in the country until 1890. Among its major achievements were the establishment of a separate

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

in 1884, administrative and legislative reforms, and the modernization in training and service regulations, including the establishments of a naval training centre at

Poros Island Poros (; ) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south of the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surf ...

and a naval hospital. Under the influence of the French mission, the Greek government engaged in major arms purchases from France: the three new ''Hydra''-class ironclads, as well as the older cruiser ''Navarchos Miaoulis''.

References

Sources

* 1884 in Greece 1885 in Greece 1886 in Greece 1887 in Greece 1888 in Greece 1889 in Greece 1890 in Greece History of the French Navy History of the Hellenic Navy Naval Mission 1884 History of Greece (1863–1909) Charilaos Trikoupis {{Greece-hist-stub