3 JULY 1920, Page 9

The Greek Army, having been commissioned by the Allies to

repress the defiant Turkish Nationalists, opened its campaign on Wednesday week. Two columns, advancing to the east and to the north of Smyrna, caught Mustapha Kemal's forces in the act of preparing for an offensive and by smart manoeuvring surrounded and captured the 13th Turkish Corps near Alashehr, the ancient Philadelphia. The Turkish losses were estimated at 8,000. The Greeks rapidly pushed on eastwards in the direction of Afiun Karahissar, where the Smyrna and Baghdad lines meet. At the same time they extended their left or northern front so as to clear the country up to the Dardanelles. Another Greek force landed at Chanak, on the Dardanelles, on Monday to co-operate with the main body. A British naval detachment has occupied Mudania, the port of Brusa. If the Greeks can move swiftly, M. Venizelos' prediction that the campaign will be short and comparatively bloodless may be fulfilled. When the Turk is once on the run and is properly followed up, he never recovers