The Story of the Greatest Nations, from the Dawn of History to the Twentieth Century; A Comprehensive History, Founded Upon the Leading Authorities, Including a Complete Chronology of the World, and a Pronouncing Volume 2; V. 30 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 edition. Excerpt: ...Private individuals in many lands had expressed and continued to express sympathy with the Greek cause, and the Greeks not unnaturally confused this with governmental sympathy. A party of "Red Cross" nurses, women who devote themselves to tending the wounded on the battlefield and in the hospital, came out from England. They were received in Athens with an extravagant delight, which seemed to see behind them every regiment and every battleship of the British Empire. Meanwhile, the Turks were advancing in leisurely fashion. Before anything definite came of the peace talk, they had driven the disorganized Greeks from their second line of defence, and also from a third line centred at Domoko, where the bloodiest battle of the whole war was fought. Then the patient Powers arranged a truce, and peace followed. Greece yielded a trifle of territory, and agreed to pay Turkey 14,000,000, the Powers guaranteeing the payment and taking control of the Greek custom duties with which to pay it. The war had lasted just thirty-one days. It is not surprising that the Greek royal family found itself in trouble. The king had opposed the war. The Crown Prince Constantine had proved himself a military bungler, if not worse. There was that first unfortunate "mistake" of recalling the successful troops; then came the order to the still resolute and unbeaten soldiers to retreat after the battle of Mati. Many Greeks soothed their national pride by crying that they had been betrayed from the beginning. An attempt to assassinate the king followed. While he was driving in the country with his daughter, two men rose from the side of the road and aimed their rifles at him. They proved poor marksmen, amateurs at the business perhaps, for the...