The National Defence coup d'état ( el, Κίνημα της Εθνικής Αμύνης) was a military uprising in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

on 17 August 1916, by

Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

officers opposed to the neutrality followed by the royal government in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and sympathetic to former Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and the

Entente Powers The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

. With the support of Entente forces present in the area as part of the Salonica front, the coup established control of Thessaloniki and much of the wider region. Soon after, Venizelos with his leading followers arrived in the city to establish a Provisional Government of National Defence, which entered World War I on the side of the Entente. These events marked the culmination and entrenchment of the so-called "

National Schism The National Schism ( el, Εθνικός Διχασμός, Ethnikós Dichasmós), also sometimes called The Great Division, was a series of disagreements between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos regarding the foreig ...

" in Greek politics.

References

Sources

* {{Greece during World War I Conflicts in 1916 1916 in Greece Greece in World War I Military coups in Greece Eleftherios Venizelos 1910s coups d'état and coup attempts August 1916 events Modern history of Thessaloniki