The Chanak Crisis (also called the Chanak Affair) occurred in September 1922, when British and French troops stationed near Çanakkale (also called "Chanak") to guard the neutral zone of the Dardanelles were threatened with attack by Turkish troops after the recapture of İzmir (Smyrna) following the Greek defeat. It partly led to the downfall of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Image:Canakkale Yat Liman. ... Map of the Dardanelles The Dardanelles (Turkish: Çanakkale BoÄŸazı, Greek: Δαρδανέλλια, Dardanellia), formerly known as the Hellespont (Greek: Eλλήσποντος, Hellespontos), is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. ... Ä°zmir (Ottoman Turkish: إزمير Ä°zmir, Greek: Σμύρνη SmýrnÄ“, Armenian: Ô»Õ¦Õ´Õ«Ö€ Izmir, Italian: Smirne, Ladino: Izmir, without the Turkish dotted I) is the third most populous city of Turkey and the countrys largest port after Ä°stanbul. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the the United Kingdom. ... David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, OM, PC (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a British statesman who guided Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations through World War I and the postwar settlement as the Liberal Party Prime Minister, 1916-1922. ...

The British Cabinet met on 15 September 1922 and decided that British forces should maintain their positions. On the following day, in the absence of Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon, certain Cabinet ministers issued a communiqué threatening Turkey with a declaration of war by Britain and the Dominions, on the grounds that Turkey had violated the Treaty of Sèvres. On 18 September, on his return to London, Curzon pointed out that this would enrage the pro-Turkish Prime Minister of France, Raymond Poincaré, and left for Paris to attempt to smooth things over. Poincaré, however, had already ordered the withdrawal of the French detachment at Chanak. Curzon reached Paris on 20 September, and after several angry meetings with Poincaré, reached agreement to negotiate an armistice with the Turks. In British politics, the Cabinet is comprised of the most senior government ministers, most of them heads of government departments with the title Secretary of State. The Cabinet is actually a committee of the Privy Council and all Cabinet members are also Privy Councillors and therefore have the prefix of... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The title of Foreign Secretary has been traditionally used to refer to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. ... George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (January 11, 1859 - March 20, 1925), was a conservative British statesman and sometime Viceroy of India. ... Communiqué is the second album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music). ... A dominion, often Dominion, is the territory or the authority of a dominus (a lord or master). ... The Treaty of Sèvres is a peace treaty that the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire signed on 10 August 1920 after World War I. Representatives from the governments of the parties involved signed the treaty in Sèvres, France. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Prime Minister of France (Premier ministre de la France) is the functional head of the Cabinet of France. ... Raymond Poincaré, President of the French Republic during the Great War. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ...

The British public was alarmed by the Chanak episode and the possibility of going to war again. It did not help that Lloyd George had not fully consulted the Commonwealth prime ministers. Unlike the case eight years earlier, when World War I broke out, Canada in particular did not automatically consider herself active in the conflict. Instead, Prime Minister King insisted that the Canadian Parliament should decide on the course of action the country would follow. By the time the issue had been debated in the Canadian House of Commons, the threat at Chanak had passed. Nonetheless, King made his point: Parliament would decide the role that Canada would play in external affairs. The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as The Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states all of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom, except for Mozambique and the United Kingdom itself. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna... Not to be confused with William Lyon Mackenzie, Mackenzie Kings grandfather. ... The Parliament of Canada (in French: le Parlement du Canada) is Canadas legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. ... The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ...

Lloyd George's rashness was a major factor in the calling of the Carlton Club meeting on 19 October 1922, where Conservative MPs decided that they would leave the coalition and fight the next general election as a single, united party. The ramifications of such a decision were dire for Lloyd George, as the Conservative Party made up the vast majority of the 1918-1922 post-war coalition; indeed, they could have made up the majority government if it were not for the coalition. The Carlton Club is a gentlemens club in London. ... October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Lloyd George also lost the support of the influential Curzon, who considered that the Prime Minister had been manoeuvring behind his back.

Following the Carlton Club decision, the MPs voted 185 to 85 in favour ending the Coalition. Lloyd George resigned as Prime Minister, never to return as a major figure in party politics.

See also

• Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)

Combatants Greece Turkish Revolutionaries Commanders Gen Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Gen Anastasios Papoulas, Gen Georgios Hatzianestis Ali Fethi Okyar, İsmet İnönü, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Fevzi Çakmak Strength 200,000 men 120,000 men (plus thousands more volunteers) Casualties 23,500 dead; 20,820 captured 20,540 dead; 10,000 wounded...

References

• Canada A Nation Unfolding, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 1994.