Essex Regiment - Turkey (1922)

Turkey (1922)

At the conclusion of the First World War Britain maintained a garrison at Constantinople to ensure free passage of the sea lanes between Aegean and Black Sea. The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and its transformation into the Turkish Republic coincided with the rise of Greek nationalism, resulting in the Greco-Turkish War. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George increased the size of the British garrison - which included 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment. The garrison was withdrawn in 1923.