Corfu incident

During the Italo-Ottoman war of 1911–12, Italy had occupied the Dodecanese islands whose population was largely Greek. Under the Venizelos–Tittoni agreement of 1919, Italy promised to cede the Dodecanese islands except for Rhodes to Greece in exchange for Greek recognition of the Italian claims to part of Anatolia.Kallais, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.109. However, the Turkish National Movement's victory in the Turkish War of Independence had put an end to all plans for partitioning Asia Minor by 1922, and Mussolini took the view that since the Italians had been forced out of Turkey that cancelled out the obligation to cede the Dodecanese islands to Greece. The Greeks continued to press Mussolini on the Dodecanese issue, and in the summer of 1923, he ordered the Italian garrison in the Dodecanese reinforced as part of his plans to formally annex the islands to Italy, which caused Greece to issue notes of protest.Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini Indianapolis: Alpha Books 2002 p.163.

In May 1923, during a visit to Rome, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon, told Mussolini that Britain would cede Jubaland and Jarabub to Italy as part of a general settlement of all of Italy's claims, saying that Italians had to settle their disputes with both Yugoslavia and Greece as part of the price of Jubaland and Jarabub. Under the terms of the Treaty of London of 1915, under which Italy entered World War I, Britain had promised to cede Jubaland and Jarabub to Italy, and as Mussolini had founded the Fascist Party in 1919 in part to protest the "mutilated victory" of 1918 as Italy did not obtain all of the territory promised by the Treaty of London, Jubaland and Jarabub had over-sized symbolic importance in Italy far out of proportion to the actual value of these territories.Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini Indianapolis: Alpha Books 2002 p.162-163. To obtain Jubaland and Jarabub would mean that Italy would have to settle the Fiume dispute with Yugoslavia and the Dodecanese islands dispute with Greece, neither of which Mussolini wanted to compromise on. Though the Milner-Scialoja agreement of 1920 had committed Britain to cede Jubaland and Jarabub to Italy, the British had subsequently tied that to the Italians settling the Dodecanese islands dispute first.Kallais, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.109-110. Under the Treaty of Lausanne in July 1923, all of the Allied powers abandoned their claims to Turkey, which badly damaged Mussolini's prestige as he promised as an opposition leader to obtain all of the territories the Italians had fought for in World War I including a large chunk of Anatolia. Having denounced his predecessors as weak leaders who had brought about the "mutilated victory" of 1918 and promised that he was a "strong leader" who would undo the "mutilated victory", Mussolini by the summer of 1923 was to face the reality that Italy was simply too weak to achieve all of his promises.Kallais, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.108-109.

There was a boundary dispute between Greece and Albania. The two nations took their dispute to the Conference of Ambassadors, which created a commission of British, French, and Italian officials{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65035758 |title=THE ITALO-GREEK CRISIS. |newspaper=The Register |location=Adelaide |date=15 October 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} to determine the boundary, which was authorized by the League of Nations to settle the dispute. The Italian General Enrico Tellini became the chairman of the commission. From the outset of the negotiations, the relations between Greece and the commission were bad. Eventually the Greek delegate openly accused Tellini of working in favour of Albania's claims.{{cite book|last1=Brecher|first1=Michael|last2=Wilkenfeld|first2=Jonathan|title=A study of crisis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC&pg=PA583|year=1997|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=0-472-10806-9|page=583}}

In July 1923, Mussolini ordered the Regia Marina's admirals to start preparing for Corfu's occupation, which he predicated would happen that summer in response to the "expected provocative acts" by Greece.Kallis, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism In Italy and Germany, 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.68. The Italian Navy minister, Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, welcomed the plan to seize Corfu for budgetary reasons, believing a triumph by the Regia Marina would show the Italian people the navy's importance and thus lead to a bigger naval budget. At the same time, Mussolini did not inform the professional diplomats of the Palazzo Chigi about his plans to seize Corfu, expecting them to object, an expectation that was confirmed when Corfu was indeed bombarded.

{{Location map | Greece

| caption = Location of Kakavia, where Enrico Tellini was murdered.

| relief =

| label = Kakavia

| lat_deg = 39.912

| lon_deg = 20.358

}}

On 27 August 1923, Tellini and two aides, plus an interpreter and a chauffeur, were ambushed and assassinated by unknown assailants at Kakavia's border crossing, near the town of Ioannina in Greek territory.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC&q=Tellini+Greeks+Protocol&pg=PA583|title=A Study of Crisis|isbn=0472108069|last1=Brecher|first1=Michael|last2=Wilkenfeld|first2=Jonathan|year=1997|publisher=University of Michigan Press }} The five victims were Tellini, Major Luigi Corti, Lieutenant Mario Bonacini, Albanian interpreter Thanas Gheziri and the chauffeur Remigio Farnetti. None of the victims were robbed.{{cite book|last=Massock|first=Richard|title=Italy from Within|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxqHSvEfd_QC&q=enrico+tellini&pg=RA1-PA39|year=2007|publisher=READ BOOKS|isbn=978-1-4067-2097-6}} The incident occurred close to the disputed border and therefore could have been carried out by either side.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99O-2XcUgjgC&q=tellini+1923+greek&pg=PT131| page=131| title=History for the IB Diploma: Peacemaking, Peacekeeping: International Relations 1918-36| author= Fellows Nick | publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=2012| isbn=9781107613911| quote=Although the incident occurred close to the disputed border and could therefore have been carried out by either side, the Italians blamed the Greeks. }}{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVYSBAAAQBAJ&q=tellini+1923+greek+murder&pg=PT56| page=131| title=The League of Nations and the Organization of Peace| author= Housden Martyn | publisher=Routledge| year=2014| isbn=9781317862215| quote=Unfortunately he was murdered, most likely by bandits. Although the culprits were never caught, reports were flashed to Mussolini blaming the Greek side}}

According to Italian newspapers and the official statement of the Albanian government, the attack was carried out by Greeks,Italy in the last fifteen hundred years: a concise history By Reinhold Schumann page 298 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=bP87AAAAMAAJ&q=enrico+tellini+1927]){{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93298948 |title=GREEK PLOT ALLEGED. |newspaper=Kalgoorlie Miner |location=WA |date=31 August 1923 |access-date=16 March 2013 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Italian newspapers declare that the murders were the result of deliberate ambuscade by Greeks—natives of Epirus, and will leave an indelible stain. The Albanian Legation in London has received a telegram from Tirana affirming that Greek armed bands were the assassins" while other sources, including the Greek government and its officials and the Romanian consul in Ioannina, attributed the murder to Albanian bandits.[https://books.google.com/books?id=2k9pAAAAMAAJ Albania's Captives.] Pyrrhus J. Ruches. Argonaut, 1965 p. 120 "He had no trouble recognizing three of them. They were Major Lepenica, Nevruz Belo and Xhellaledin Aqif Feta, alias Daut Hohxa."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78068333 |title=ALBANIANS BLAMED. |newspaper=The Daily News |location=Perth |date=31 August 1923 |access-date=16 March 2013 |page=7 Edition: THIRD EDITION |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Governor-General of Epirus, the Greek Delegation, and the Roumanian Consul in Janina, attribute the Telini crime to Albanians."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96042820 |title=MURDERED ITALIANS. |newspaper=The Recorder |location=Port Pirie, SA |date=17 September 1923 |access-date=16 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Exchange correspondent at Athens says the Court of Inquiry into the Janiria murders puts forward a suggestion that the Italian delegates were killed as an act of vengeance because during the Italian occupation of Vairona Colonel Tellini as Governor had several Albanians shot, including notables."{{cite book |last= Duggan|first= Christopher |title= The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lSRwOZ0Yxw8C |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |date=April 2008 |page= 439 | isbn= 978-0618353675}} "...the killers (who had never caught) had almost certainly come from Albania,..."{{cite book|author1=Robert Elsie|author2=Bejtullah D. Destani|author3=Rudina Jasini|title=The Cham Albanians of Greece: A Documentary History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4IK9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA360|date=18 December 2012|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-78076-000-1|page=360}} In April 1945, the British Ambassador to Greece, Reginald Leeper, sent a letter to British Foreign Secretary Sir Anthony Eden that expressed the viewpoint that it was the Cham Albanians who were responsible for General Tellini's murder. The letter stated that Daout Hodja (Daut Hoxha), a Cham Albanian bandit, killed General Tellini and the other officers. Summarising the most recent evidence, the Greek historian Aristotle Kallis wrote:

Much about the incident which resulted in Tellini's assassination remains unclear. There is sufficient evidence to lend credence to the Greek government's argument that the perpetrators had in fact originated from Albania and had crossed the border illegally to ambush the car inside Greece and thus inculpate the Greek side.

Upon news of the murder, anti-Greek demonstrations broke out in Italy.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31186323 |title=Italians Incensed. |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=1 September 1924|access-date=16 March 2013 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Demonstrations against the Greeks are reported from all parts of Italy."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31186338 |title=GREEK FLAG BURNED. |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=16 March 2013 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} " Anti-Greek demonstrations continue in the Italian towns, notably in Trieste, where Nationalists and Fascists burned the Greek flag in the public square, and threw it into the sea. In Milan there were noisy scenes in front of the Greek Consulate, and demonstrators carried off a shield which bore a replica of the Greek arms."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96041838 |title=ITALIAN DEMANDS A MINIMUM. |newspaper=The Recorder |location=Port Pirie, SA |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=16 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Anti-Greek demonstrations are reported from all over Italy, and the police have been reinforced." The Greek newspapers were reported by Australian newspapers to

condemn unanimously the Tellini crime, and express friendly sentiments towards Italy. They hope that the Cabinet will give legitimate satisfaction to Italy without going beyond the limits of national dignity.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31186326 |title=Greek Press Views. |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=1 May 2013 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Greek newspapers condemn unanimously the Telini crime, and express friendly sentiments towards Italy. They hope that the Cabinet will give legitimate satisfaction to Italy without going beyond the limits of national dignity."

On August 28, 1923, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini sent a cable to the Prefects of Lecce and Bari "to make the necessary preparations to stop all cable-telegraphic communications directed to Greece, unless instructed otherwise.” |url= https://www.farnesina.ipzs.it/series/SETTIMA%20SERIE/volumi/VOLUME%20%20II/full#DOCUMENTI.|access-date=16 February 2025 |page=190 Thereafter, Italy sent an ultimatum to Greece on August 29, 1923, demanding:

1. a complete official apology at the Italian legation in Athens,
2. a solemn funeral in the Catholic cathedral in Athens in the presence of the whole of the Greek government,
3. military honours for the bodies of the victims,
4. full honours by the Greek fleet to the Italian fleet which would be sent to Piraeus,
5. capital punishment for the guilty,
6. an indemnity of 50 million lire{{cite book|title=GCSE History Notes|url=http://ejlilley.sdf-eu.org/historynotes.pdf|page=19}} "...blamed the Greeks and demanded 50 million lire in compensation"{{cite book|last=Burgwyn|first=James|publisher=Praeger|date=April 1997|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940|page=23|isbn=978-0275948771|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&q=Enrico+tellini+murder&pg=PA23}} "..., a 50 million lire penalty,..." within five days of receipt of the note and
7. a strict inquiry, to be carried out quickly with the assistance of the Italian military attaché.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93298949 |title=TERMS OF ULTIMATUM. |newspaper=Kalgoorlie Miner |location=WA |date=31 August 1923 |access-date=16 March 2013 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}{{cite book|last=Burgwyn|first=James|publisher=Praeger|date=April 1997|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940|page=23|isbn=978-0275948771|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&q=Enrico+tellini+murder&pg=PA23}} "...demanding of the Greeks an apology, a funeral service for the victims, naval salutes for the Italian flag, a 50 million lire penalty, and a strict inquiry, to be carried out quickly with the assistance of the Italian military attaché."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17236859 |title=ITALY AND AFRICA. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 October 1935 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=10 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Two days later the Italian Minister at Athens forwarded to the Greek Government the following demands: An unreserved official apology, the holding of a solemn memorial service in the Catholic cathedral at Athens all the members of the Government to be present, the paying of honours to the Italian flag by the Greek navy, a drastic Inquiry into the assassination in the presence of the Royal Italian military attaché, capital punishment for the authors of the crime, military honours for the bodies of the victims, and an indemnity of 50,000,000 lire within five days of the presentation of the note."

In addition, Italy demanded that Greece must reply to the ultimatum within 24 hours.{{cite book|last1= Brecher|first1 = Michael|last2 = Wilkenfeld|first2 = Jonathan|title = A study of crisis|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC|publisher = University of Michigan Press|year = 1997|page = 583|isbn = 0472108069}}"...demanding compliance within 24 hours."

Greece replied to Italy on August 30, 1923, accepting four of the demands which with modifications as follows:

1. The Piraeus commandant would express the Greek Government's sorrow to the Italian Minister,
2. a memorial service will be held in the presence of members of the government,
3. on the same day a detachment of the guard would salute the Italian flag at the Italian legation,
4. the military would render honors to the remains of the victims when they were transferred to an Italian warship.

The other demands were rejected on the ground that they would infringe the sovereignty and honor of Greece.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96041836 |title=THE ALBANIAN MURDERS. |newspaper=The Recorder |location=Port Pirie, SA |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}{{cite book|last=Burgwyn|first=James|publisher=Praeger|date=April 1997|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940|page=23|isbn=978-0275948771|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&q=Enrico+tellini+murder&pg=PA23}} "Greece accepted all but the last two parts of the ultimatum, which appeared to violate its national sovereignty."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96041835 |title=GREECE WILL INDEMNIFY BEREAVED. |newspaper=The Recorder |location=Port Pirie, SA |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Government is ready to express profound sorrow and indemnify the bereaved families, but is not disposed to accept Italy's humiliating conditions."

In addition, the Greek government declared its complete willingness to grant, as a measure of justice, an equitable indemnity to the families of the victims, and that it didn't accept an enquiry in the presence of the Italian military attaché but it would be pleased to accept any assistance which Colonel Perone (the Italian military attaché) might be able to lend by supplying any information likely to facilitate the discovery of the assassins.{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsdalesites.org/personal/hstewart/war/%281923-08-30%29%20Greek%20Reply%20to%20Italian%20Demands.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-03-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214054332/http://www.hillsdalesites.org/personal/hstewart/war/%281923-08-30%29%20Greek%20Reply%20to%20Italian%20Demands.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-14 }}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37202874 |title=Another European War Possible. |newspaper=The Advertiser |location=Adelaide |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=10 April 2013 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}"The reply adds that it is impossible to accept the demands of capital punishment for those responsible and an indemnity of 500,000 or an enquiry in the presence of the Italian military attaché, but Greece will willingly accept Italian assistance in carrying out the investigations. The Greek Government are prepared to accord a just indemnity to the families of the victims."

Mussolini and his cabinet were unsatisfied with the Greek government's reply and declared that it was unacceptable.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63782024 |title=WARLIKE ACT COMMITTED BY ITALY. |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Signor Mussolini (the Italian Premier) read the Greek reply to the Italian ultimatum to Cabinet, which declared that it was, unacceptable." The Italian press, including the opposition journals, endorsed Mussolini's demands and insisted that Greece must comply without discussion.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63782197 |title=FRENCH FEELING FAVORS ITALY. |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Italian press, including the opposition journals, enthusiastically endorse Premier Mussolini's demands and insist that Greece must instantly comply without discussion."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96041826 |title=ITALIAN NEWSPAPERS SUPPORT GOVERNMENT. |newspaper=The Recorder |location=Port Pirie, SA |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The newspapers are unanimous in supporting the ultimatum."{{cite book| last= Neville| first= Peter | title= Mussolini| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rleP5CVe070C| publisher= Routledge|date=December 2003| page= 93|isbn= 978-0415249904}}"Even his critic, Luigi Albertini, gave Mussolini full backing in Corriere della Sera." Mussolini's decision was received with enthusiasm in all of Italy.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19230901&id=X8hXAAAAIBAJ&pg=6280,5089400 |title=TELL WHY CORFU WAS OCCUPIED |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location= Spokane, Washington|date=1 September 1923 |page=12}} "Mussolini's decision that the Greek reply could not be accepted, was received everywhere with greatest enthusiasm"

On August 31, 1923, a squadron of the Italian Navy bombarded the Greek island of Corfu and landed between 5,000 and 10,000{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19230905&id=sm0tAAAAIBAJ&pg=6224,740955 |title=ITALIAN NAVY GUNS KILLED ARMENIANS ORPHANS IN CORFU. |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |date=5 September 1923 |page=10}} "...when i left the Italians had landed 10,000 troops and six batteries of light artillery." troops. Aeroplanes aided the attack.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19230901&id=ALQgAAAAIBAJ&pg=2073,3825573&hl=en |title=Italians Bombard Corfu 15 Greeks Are Killed And Many Said To Be Wounded |newspaper=The Lewiston Daily Sun|date=1 September 1923}}"Fire also was opened from airplanes above the town." Italian fire was concentrated on the town's Old Fortress, which had long been demilitarized and served as a shelter for refugees from Asia Minor, and on the Cities Police school at the New Fortress, which was also a refugee shelter. The bombardment lasted 15{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19230905&id=sm0tAAAAIBAJ&pg=6224,740955 |title=ITALIAN NAVY GUNS KILLED ARMENIANS ORPHANS IN CORFU. |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |date=5 September 1923 |page=10}} "The bombardment lasted 15 minutes..." to 30{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ymhcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2018,1001690&dq=corfu+bombardment&hl=en |title=WAR CRISIS IN EUROPE. |newspaper=Aurora Daily Star|date=1 September 1923 |page=1}} "Fort at Corfu bombard for 30minutes." minutes. As a result of the bombardment 16 civilians were killed, 30 injured and two had limbs amputated, while according to other sources 20 were killed and 32 wounded. There were no soldiers reported among the victims, all of whom were refugees and orphans. The majority of those killed were children. The Commissioner of the U.K. based charity, Save the Children Fund, described the Italian bombardment as "inhuman and revolting, unjustifiable and unnecessary".{{cite book|author=William Miller|title=The Ottoman Empire and Its Successors, 1801-1927|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hj8sBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA548|date=12 October 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-26039-1|page=548}}

The Corfu's prefect, Petros Evripaios, Greek officers and officials were arrested by the Italians{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4zheAAAAIBAJ&pg=4163,644905&dq=corfu+bombardment&hl=en |title=Killing Of 15 Greeks, Occupation Of Corfu, Brings Serious Crisis. |newspaper=The Washington Reporter|date=1 September 1923 |page=1}} "The Prefect and Greek officers who remained in the fort were arrested by the Italians" and detained aboard an Italian warship.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7vZiAAAAIBAJ&pg=6856,2910506&dq=corfu+bombardment&hl=en|title=BOMBARDMENT OF CORFU CONSIDERED DECLARATION OF WAR. |newspaper=Easton Free Press|date=1 September 1923 |page=3}} "The governor of Corfu and ten officers are being detained abroad an Italian warship [...] while the garrison of 150 men retired to the interior of the island." The Greek garrison of 150 men did not surrender but retired to the island's interior.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4zheAAAAIBAJ&pg=4163,644905&dq=corfu+bombardment&hl=en |title=Killing Of 15 Greeks, Occupation Of Corfu, Brings Serious Crisis. |newspaper=The Washington Reporter|date=1 September 1923 |page=1}} "The Greek troops which were stationed in the Corfu fortress have been withdrawn to the interior of the island."

Following the landing, the Italian officers feared British citizens may have been wounded or killed, and were relieved to discover that there were no British subjects among the victims.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65032548 |title=THE CORFU BOMBARDMENT. |newspaper=The Register |location=Adelaide |date=5 September 1923 |access-date=18 April 2013 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}"The first Italian officer who landed walked along, mopping his brow, to the spot where English and American nurses were attending the wounded. The officer asked, "Were any Britons killed or wounded? "No." was the reply, whereupon he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Thank God!"" However, the residence of the British officer in charge of the police training school was looted by Italian soldiers.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19230905&id=sm0tAAAAIBAJ&pg=6224,740955 |title=ITALIAN NAVY GUNS KILLED ARMENIANS ORPHANS IN CORFU. |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |date=5 September 1923 |page=10}} "After landing one group of Italian soldiers visited the residence of Captain Sloonan, director of the British police school. Sloonan was away on his vacation. They looted the premises despite protests from the British servants."

Mussolini in a speech denounced the Greek government for not understanding that "Corfu had been Venetian for four hundred years", before becoming part of Greece in 1864.Kallis, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism In Italy and Germany, 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.50-51. Throughout the crisis, Mussolini kept stating that Corfu had been ruled by Venice in a manner that suggested he viewed Corfu as rightfully part of Italy rather than Greece under the grounds that Italy was the heir to the Most Serene Republic of Venice. One of the few groups in Italy who did object to the bombardment were the senior diplomats of the Palazzo Chigi who were not informed. Many of them, including Salvatore Contarini, the Permanent Secretary to the Foreign Minister, were on vacation on the day of the bombardment.

During the crisis, Contarini together with Antonio Salandra, the Italian delegate to the League of Nations, and Romano Avezzana, the Italian ambassador to France, emerged as a force for moderation within the Italian government, constantly working to persuade Mussolini to drop his more extreme demands and to accept a compromise. Mussolini who only became prime minister on 28 October 1922, was determined to assert his power by proving that he was an unconventional leader who did not follow the normal rules of diplomacy, and the Corfu crisis was the first clash between Mussolini and the traditional elites in Italy, who while not objecting to imperialistic policies, disliked Il Duce{{'}}s reckless style.Kallis, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism In Italy and Germany, 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.68-69. At the time, Italy was engaging in negotiations with Britain for the cession of Jubaland in East Africa and Jarabub in North Africa to the Italian empire.Kallis, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism In Italy and Germany, 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.109. From the viewpoint of the Palazzo Chigi, the success of these negotiations hinged in part on presenting Italy as a responsible partner to Britain, which was threatened by Mussolini's rash behavior such as the occupation of Corfu.Kallis, Aristotle Fascist Ideology Territory and Expansionism In Italy and Germany, 1922-1945, London: Routledge, 2000 p.109-110.

Following the incident, the Greek government proclaimed martial law throughout Greece.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23668926 |title=MARTIAL LAW IN GREECE. |newspaper=The Mercury |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=21 March 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Government has proclaimed martial law throughout Greece." The Greek fleet was ordered to retire to the Gulf of Volos to avoid contact with the Italian fleet.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20647566 |title=PLAYING SAFE. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=8 September 1923 |access-date=21 April 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

In the Athens Cathedral, a solemn memorial service was held for the people who were killed in the Corfu bombardment, and the bells of all of the churches were tolled continuously. After the service, demonstrations against Italy broke out.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78065994 |title=MOURNING IN ATHENS. |newspaper=The Daily News |location=Perth |date=5 September 1923 |access-date=25 March 2013 |page=7 Edition: THIRD EDITION |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "...on Monday a solemn memorial service was held in the cathedral for 12 people who were killed in the Corfu bombardment. The bells of all of the churches were tolled continuously, and incense was burned in many houses as a sign of mourning. Crowds paraded the streets after the service, crying, "Down with Italy," but the police dispersed them." All places of amusement were closed as a sign of mourning for the victims of the bombardment.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WgZTAAAAIBAJ&pg=1686,360806&dq=italians+landed+on+corfu&hl=en |title=BALKAN CRISIS STILL GRAVE; MORE GREEK TERRITORY SAID TO BE OCCUPIED BY ITALIANS |newspaper=The Morning Leader |date=3 September 1923 |page=1}}

After the protest of the Italian Minister, the Greek Government suspended for one day the newspaper Eleftheros Typos for characterizing the Italians as "the fugitives of Caporetto" and dismissed the censor for allowing the statement to pass.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31186678 |title=Newspaper Suspended. |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=4 September 1923 |access-date=3 May 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}" A Greek newspaper has been suspended for the day for styling the Italians: "The fugitives of Carporetto." The Censor has been dismissed for allowing the publication of the insult."

The Greek Government provided a detachment of 30 men to guard the Italian Legation in Athens.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78065414 |title=SUBMARINE SEIZES GREEK STEAMER. |newspaper=The Daily News |location=Perth |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=21 April 2013 |page=9 Edition: THIRD EDITION |publisher=National Library of Australia}} Greek newspapers were unanimous in condemning Italy's action.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31186677 |title=FEELING IN GREECE. |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=4 September 1923 |access-date=3 May 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

Italy closed the Straits of Otranto to Greek ships. In addition, Italy suspended all Greek shipping companies sailing for her, and ordered Italian ships to boycott Greece,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5317460?zoomLevel=1&searchTerm=%20corfu&searchLimits=l-decade=192|title=WAR LIKE ACT COMMITTED BY ITALY. |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=23 April 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "An Italian tramp steamer going to ports in Asia Minor was ordered to boycott Greece." although the Greek ports were open to Italian vessels.

Greek steamers were detained in Italian ports and one was seized by a submarine in the straits of Corfu,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5317460?zoomLevel=1&searchTerm=%20corfu&searchLimits=l-decade=192|title=WAR LIKE ACT COMMITTED BY ITALY. |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=1 September 1923 |access-date=23 April 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "A Greek steamer about to depart from Brindisi homeward was stopped and remains in the harbor" but on September 2, the Italian Ministry of Marine ordered all Greek ships to be released from Italian ports.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78065418 |title=RELEASE OF GREEK, SHIPS. |newspaper=The Daily News |location=Perth |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=21 April 2013 |page=9 Edition: THIRD EDITION |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "According to a Rome message, the Ministry of Marine has ordered all Greek ships to be allowed to leave Italian ports without hindrance."

Anti-Greek demonstrations broke out in Italy again.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20639039 |title=GREEK "ARMS" TORN DOWN. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=19 April 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "During an anti-Greek demonstration at Milan the crowd tore down the Coat of Arms from the Greek Consulate." The Italian government ordered the Italian reservists in London to hold themselves in readiness for army service.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20639042 |title=ITALIANS IN LONDON. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=19 April 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Italian reservists in London have received orders from the secretary of their Legation to hold themselves in readiness for army service during the next five days, when it will be known whether they are wanted or not." The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, returned to Rome from his summer residence immediately.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51246442 |title=KING RETURNING TO ROME. |newspaper=The Examiner |location=Launceston, Tas. |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=21 April 2013 |page=5 Edition: DAILY |publisher=National Library of Australia}}"A Rome message says that the King is returning to Rome from his summer residence immediately." The Italian military attaché who was sent to inquire into the murder of the Italian delegates was recalled by the Italian legation, and Greek journalists were expelled from Italy.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9mpdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3529,3257910&dq=corfu+bombardment&hl=en |title=OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ BY U.S. CITED BY ITALY IN CORFU BOMBARDMENT |newspaper=The Bonham Daily Favorite |date=3 September 1923 |page=1}}"Three Greek journalists have been expelled from Italy, one of them being Elefteros Typos."

Albania reinforced the Greco-Albanian frontier and prohibited passage across.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51246444 |title=THE ALBANIAN FRONTIER. |newspaper=The Examiner |location=Launceston, Tas. |date=3 September 1923 |access-date=21 April 2013 |page=5 Edition: DAILY |publisher=National Library of Australia}}"It is announced that Albania has reinforced the Greco-Albanian frontier. Guards prohibit passage across the frontier. A Greek courier carrying delimitation commission papers has been prevented passing."

Serbian newspapers declared that Serbia would support Greece, while elements in Turkey advised Mustafa Kemal to seize the opportunity to invade Western Thrace.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96042274 |title=ANOTHER BALKAN WAR THREATENED. |newspaper=The Recorder |location=Port Pirie, SA |date=8 September 1923 |access-date=26 June 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Reports from Turkey show that a section of opinion is already urging Kemal Pasha to seize the opportunity to invade Western Thrace."

Head of the Near East Relief said that the bombardment was completely unnecessary and unjustified.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19230909&id=2ZMuAAAAIBAJ&pg=6504,1447202&hl=en |title=Terms Bombardment Of Corfu Unjustified |newspaper=Reading Eagle |date=9 September 1923 |access-date=26 June 2013 |page=14}} Italy called the American legation to protest against this statement.

Chairman on the League of Nations commissioning assisting deported women and children, who was eyewitness of the bombardment said: "The crime of Corfu was official murder by a civilized nation...I consider the manner in which Corfu occupied as inhuman."{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19230913&id=RWJOAAAAIBAJ&pg=3432,6124526&hl=en |title=Doctor Says Corfu Capture Was Marked By Wanton Killing |newspaper=Toledo Blade |date=13 September 1923 |page=8}}

Lord Curzon, wrote that the "terms demanded by Mussolini are extravagant-much worse than the ultimatum after Sarajevo".Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini 2002 p.165 In a telegram to the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who was vacationing at Aix-les-Bains, Lord Curzon wrote that Mussolini's actions were "violent and inexcusable" and if Britain did not support the Greek appeal to the League of Nations then "that institution may as well shut its doors".{{sfn|Yearwood|1986|p=561}}Harold Nicolson and Sir William Tyrrell at the Foreign Office wrote a memo calling for "concentrating our efforts to protect Greece through the agency of the League of Nations against an unfair exploitation by Italy".{{sfn|Yearwood|1986|p=561}} Lord Curzon's initial attempt to end the crisis by referring it to the League of Nations was dropped after Mussolini threatened to leave the League.Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini, Indianapolis: Alpha Books 2002 p.165 More importantly, sanctions against Italy would require the approval of the League Council and it was believed that France would veto any sanctions against Italy if the Corfu incident was referred to the League.{{sfn|Yearwood|1986|p=564}} Within Whitehall, the Treasury objected to sanctions against Italy under the grounds that the United States was not a member of the League and any League sanctions if adopted would be ineffective as the United States would continue to trade with Italy while the Admiralty demanded a declaration of war against Italy as the prerequisite of a blockade.{{sfn|Yearwood|1986|p=564}} Howard William Kennard, in charge of the British embassy in Rome as the ambassador Sir Ronald Graham was on vacation, wrote in a dispatch to Lord Curzon that Mussolini was possibly insane, a man suffering from a "mixture of megalomania and extreme patriotism".Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini Indianapolis: Alpha Books 2002 p.166 Kennard drew the conclusion that Mussolini was perhaps rash enough to turn the crisis into an all-out war between Italy and Greece as he kept demanding sums of money in compensation that were well beyond Greece's ability to pay. However, Kennard believed that the Fascist regime was the only thing saving Italy from communism, and if Mussolini were defeated in a war, then the Fascist regime would collapse and the Italian Communist Party would take over.Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini Indianapolis: Alpha Books2002 p.166 As Kennard much preferred Fascism in power in Italy to Communism, this led him to advocate appeasement, saying that Britain must pressure Greece to submit to the Italian terms while trying to persuade Mussolini to lower the compensation amounts as the best way of avoiding a war. Farther afield, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were more supportive of Greece with both governments condemning Italy's actions.

{{Location map many | Greece

| caption = Kakavia (with red) and Corfu (with green).

| relief =

| label1 = Kakavia

| lat1_deg = 39.912

| lon1_deg = 20.358

| label2 = Corfu

| lat2_deg = 39.619299

| lon2_deg = 19.919585

| pos2 = bottom

| mark2 = Green pog.svg

}}

On September 1, Greece appealed to the League of Nations, but Antonio Salandra, the Italian representative to the League, informed the Council that he had no permission to discuss the crisis. Mussolini refused to co-operate with the League and demanded that the Conference of Ambassadors should deal with the matter.{{cite book|title=GCSE History Notes|url=http://ejlilley.sdf-eu.org/historynotes.pdf|page=19}}{{cite book|last=Todd|first=Allan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|title=The Modern World|page=55|isbn=978-0199134250|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vlw30T44PS0C}} "Greece asked the League for help, but Mussolini ignored the League as he argued it was a Conference of Ambassabors' matter." Italy assured that it would leave the League rather than allow the League to interfere.{{cite news |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=HNS19230907.2.22 |title=CORFU INCIDENT |newspaper=Hawera & Normanby Star |date=7 September 1923 |page=5}}

Britain favored referring the Corfu matter to the League of Nations, but France opposed such a course of action fearing that it would provide a precedent for the League to become involved in the French occupation of the Ruhr.{{cite book|last=Burgwyn|first=James|publisher=Praeger|date=April 1997|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940|page=23|isbn=978-0275948771|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&pg=PA23}}

With the threat of Mussolini to withdraw from the League and lack of French support the matter went to the Conference of Ambassadors. Italy's prestige was safeguarded and the French were relieved from any linkage between Corfu and the Ruhr at the League of Nations.

On September 8 the Conference of Ambassadors announced to both Greece and Italy, as well as to the League of Nations, the terms upon which the dispute should be settled.

The decision was that:

1. the Greek Fleet shall render a salute of 21 guns at Piraeus to the Italian Fleet, which will enter the port, followed by French and British warships, which shall be included in the salute,
2. a funeral service shall be attended by the Greek Cabinet,
3. military honours shall be rendered to the slain upon embarkation at Preveza,
4. Greece shall deposit 50,000,000 lire in a Swiss bank as a guarantee,
5. the highest Greek military authority must apologise to the British, French, and Italian representatives at Athens,
6. there shall be a Greek inquiry into the murders, which must be supervised by a special international commission presided over by the Japanese Lieutenant-Colonel Shibuya, who was a military attaché of the Japanese embassy, and which must be completed by September 27,
7. Greece must guarantee the commission's safety and defray its expenses and
8. the conference requested the Greek Government to communicate its complete acceptance immediately, separately, and simultaneously to the British, French, and Italian representatives at Athens.
9. In addition, the conference requested the Albanian Government to facilitate the commission's work in Albanian territory.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1998427 |title=TERMS FOR GREECE. |newspaper=The Argus |location=Melbourne |date=10 September 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=12 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

Both Greece, on September 8,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51247884 |title=Ambassadors' Decisions. |newspaper=The Examiner |location=Launceston, Tas. |date=11 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=5 Edition: DAILY |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Greece has replied to the Note of the conference of Ambassadors, announcing a readiness to conform with the conference's decision." and Italy, on September 10, accepted it. The Italians added, however, that they would not evacuate the island until Greece had given full satisfaction.

In Italy the press widely reported satisfaction with the Conference's decision and praised Mussolini.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66787211 |title=Italy Triumphant |newspaper=The Advocate |location=Burnie, Tas. |date=11 September 1923 |access-date=18 March 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

On September 11 the Greek delegate, Nikolaos Politis, informed the Council that Greece had deposited the 50,000,000 lire in a Swiss bank and on September 15, the Ambassadors Conference informed Mussolini that Italy must evacuate Corfu on the September 27, at the latest.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65046802 |title=EVACUATION OF CORFU. |newspaper=The Register |location=Adelaide |date=15 September 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=15 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

On September 26, before the inquiry had finished, the Conference of Ambassadors awarded Italy an indemnity of 50,000,000 lire, on the alleged ground that "the Greek authorities had been guilty of a certain negligence before and after the crime."

In addition, Italy demanded from Greece 1,000,000 lire per day for the cost of the occupation of Corfu and Conference of the Ambassadors replied that Italy reserved the right of recourse to an International Court of Justice in connection with the occupation expenses.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article80945093 |title=EVACUATION OF CORFU. |newspaper=Singleton Argus |location=NSW |date=29 September 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The award of the Ambassadors' Conference with respect to Janina has been confirmed, and the matter is declared to be settled, except that Italy reserves the right of recourse to an International Court of Justice in connection with the occupa- tion expenses."

In Greece there was a general depression over the decision, because Italy had obtained everything it demanded.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20656808 |title=PRACTICALLY UNOBSERVED. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=29 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The news of the evacuation at Corfu was almost unobserved owing to the general depression through Italy obtaining practically, everything she demanded."

Harold Nicolson, a first secretary in the central department of the Foreign Office said: "In response to the successive menaces of M. Mussolini we muzzled the League, we imposed the fine on Greece without evidence of her guilt and without reference to the Hague, and we disbanded the Commission of Enquiry. A settlement was thus achieved."{{Cite journal |last=Yearwood |first=Peter J. |date=1986 |title='Consistently with Honour': Great Britain, the League of Nations and the Corfu Crisis of 1923 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/260586 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=559–579 |doi=10.1177/002200948602100404 |jstor=260586 |issn=0022-0094|url-access=subscription }}

On September 27 the Italian flag was lowered and the Italian troops evacuated Corfu. The Italian fleet and a Greek destroyer saluted the Italian flag, and when the Greek flag hoisted, the Italian flagship saluted it.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20656807 |title=THE EVACUATION. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=29 September 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Italian flag was lowered and salutes from the Italian fleet and a Greek destroyer. The Italian flagship saluted the Greek flag when it was hoisted."

40,000 residents of Corfu welcomed the prefect when he landed, and shouldered him to the prefecture. British and French flags were waved by the crowd which demonstrated enthusiastically in front of the Anglo-French consulates.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93297505 |title=EVACUATION OF CORFU. |newspaper=Kalgoorlie Miner |location=WA |date=29 September 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

The Italian squadron had been ordered to remain anchored till Italy received the 50 million lire.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93297506 |title=FLEET WAITS FOR PAYMENT. |newspaper=Kalgoorlie Miner |location=WA |date=29 September 1923 |access-date=17 March 2013 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The Italians have not completed the evacuation of Corfu. Although the troops have left the Italian squadron has been ordered to remain till Italy actually receives the fifty million lire, payable by Greece."

The 50,000,000 lire deposited in a Swiss bank were at the disposal of The Hague Tribunal and the bank refused to transfer the money to Rome without the authority of the Greek National Bank, which was given on the evening of the same day.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93301138 |title=EVACUATION OF CORFU. |newspaper=Kalgoorlie Miner |location=WA |date=1 October 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "The return of the Italian fleet to Corfu was due to the fact that the fifty million lire deposited in a Swiss bank were at the disposal of The Hague Tribunal and the bank refused to transfer the money to Rome without the authority of the Greek National Bank, which was given yesterday evening."

On September 29, Mussolini ordered the return of 10 million of the 50 million lire and directed it to be spent on needy Greek and Armenian refugees.{{cite news |last=De Santo |first=V. |date=September 30, 1923 |title=Italians Return $500,000 from Greek Indemnity | work=Chicago Daily Tribune|page=3 }}

On September 30, the Italian fleet, except one destroyer, departed.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article34263504 |title=EVACUATION OF CORFU. |newspaper=Western Argus |location=Kalgoorlie, WA |date=2 October 1923 |access-date=20 March 2013 |page=21 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "Corfu, Sept. 30. The Italian fleet, all except one destroyer, has now departed."

The reputation of Mussolini in Italy was enhanced.{{cite book|first= Tony|last= Jaques|title= Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3amnMPTPP5MC|date=November 2006|publisher= Greenwood|isbn= 978-0313335372|page= 262}} "..., enhancing the reputation of Mussolini, who then annexed Fiume"{{cite book|last=Burgwyn|first=James|publisher=Praeger|date=April 1997|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940|page=24|isbn=978-0275948771|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&q=Enrico+tellini+murder&pg=PA23}} "Improvised and incoherent, Mussolini's gunboat diplomacy failed to add Corfu to Italy's possession, but it did successfully fulfill demagogic and propagandistic aims within the country."{{cite book| last= Neville| first= Peter | title= Mussolini| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rleP5CVe070C| publisher= Routledge|date=December 2003| page= 93|isbn= 978-0415249904}}"There is no doubt that Mussolini's occupation of Corfu had widespread support at home."

In Corfu during the first quarter of the 20th century, many Italian operas were performed at the Municipal Theatre of Corfu. This tradition came to a halt following the Corfu incident.{{cite book |first= Elaine |last=Thomopoulos |title=The History of Greece|page=109 |publisher=Greenwood|date=December 2011|isbn=978-0313375118 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jlKheq6g3r8C&q=king+george+of+greece+1923+corfu&pg=PA109}} "Incensed by Italy's act of aggression, the Corfiots stopped playing Italian operas at their theater." After the bombardment, the theatre featured Greek operas as well as Greek theater performances by Greek actors such as Marika Kotopouli and {{Interlanguage link|Pelos Katselis|el|3=Πέλος Κατσέλης}}.Municipality of Corfu Official Website. (2008) [https://web.archive.org/web/20070623224051/http://www.corfu.gr/en/profil/theatro.htm History of the municipal theatre via the Internet Archive]After 1923, when Italy bombarded Corfu, the Italian operas ceased to appear in Corfu. From that time on Greek operas were called under the direction of the maestros Dionisius Lavrangas, Alexandros Kiparissis, Stefanos Valtetsiotis and others. Since then, dramatic plays were also staged and artists like Marika Kotopouli and Pelos Katselis appeared in Corfu, as well as many operettas of the time"

The ulterior motive for the invasion was Corfu's strategic position at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20643600 |title=The Brisbane Courier. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=11 September 1923 |access-date=31 January 2013 |page=4 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}"... because there is not the slightest doubt that the real cause of trouble is that old disturbing "Adriatic question " which has been the cause of many Balkan troubles, and is likely to be the cause of many more."{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65033880 |title=The Register. ADELAIDE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1923. |newspaper=The Register |location=Adelaide |date=24 September 1923 |access-date=31 January 2013 |page=6 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} "But, though deprived of a base which would have made her control of the Adriatic more secure,..."{{cite book| author = Phil Wadsworth | title = Cambridge International AS Level International History 1871-1945 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U-PbG5jN9WgC| publisher = Cambridge University Press| date = 2013| page = 73 | isbn = 9781107613232}}

The crisis was the first major test for the League of Nations but the League failed it. It showed that the League was weak{{cite book|last=O'Connell|first=Ciaran|title= GCSE History Paper 1 Revision Guide|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/90406073/22/The-Corfu-Incident-1923|page=15}} and couldn't settle disputes when a great power confronted a small one.{{cite book|title=Guide to International Relations and Diplomacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5ndamBABdIC&pg=PA214|year=2004|isbn=978-0826473011|page=214|last1 = Fry|first1 = Michael Graham|last2 = Goldstein|first2 = Erik|last3 = Langhorne|first3 = Richard| publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }} The authority of the League had been openly defied by Italy, a founding member of the League and a permanent member of the council. The Italian Fascist regime had managed to prevail in its first major international confrontation.{{cite web|title=The Corfu incident|publisher=IME|url=http://www.ime.gr/chronos/14/en/1923_1940/foreign_policy/facts/03.html}}

The incident is commonly seen as exposing the "true nature" of Italy's League membership and demonstrating that Italy did not consider its participation to be legally or ethically binding.{{cite book| author = Elisabetta Tollardo | title = Fascist Italy and the League of Nations, 1922-1935 | date = 27 October 2016 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A6JlDQAAQBAJ| publisher = Palgrave Macmillan UK| page = 4 | isbn = 9781349950287}}

The crisis was also a failure for the policy of Great Britain, which had appeared as the greatest champion of the League during the crisis. As the Greeks became focused on securing the return of Corfu, the Dodecanese islands issue faded into the background, and the Greek government ceased to protest the continued Italian occupation of the islands, which Mussolini formally annexed to Italy in 1925.Axelord, Alan Benito Mussolini Indianapolis: Alpha Books p.2002 p.166-167

In addition, it showed the purpose and tone of Fascist foreign policy. Italy's invasion of Corfu was Mussolini's most aggressive move of the 1920s. The reputation of Mussolini in Italy was enhanced.{{cite book|last=Jaques|first=Tony|title= of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3amnMPTPP5MC|date=November 2006|publisher= Greenwood|isbn= 978-0313335372|page= 262}} "..., enhancing the reputation of Mussolini, who then annexed Fiume"{{cite book|last=Burgwyn|first=James|publisher=Praeger|date=April 1997|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940|page=24|isbn=978-0275948771|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&pg=PA24}} "Improvised and incoherent, Mussolini's gunboat diplomacy failed to add Corfu to Italy's possession, but it did successfully fulfill demagogic and propagandistic aims within the country."

An Italian Post Office opened on September 11, 1923 in Corfu, issuing a set of 8 Italian stamps overprinted "CORFÙ" which were placed on sale on the 20th. Three additional stamps overprinted in Greek currency arrived on 24th. The third stamp was 2.40 drachma on 1 lire. The Post Office closed at midday on 26 September 1923, only remaining open to dispatch the morning mail. The office had been open for 15 days.

Three further values arrived on the day the Post Office closed, and were never issued. They eventually became available for sale at the postal ministry in Rome. Many used copies of these stamps have forged postmarks, but it is known that the Corfu cancel was applied to hundreds of stamps before the Post Office closed.{{cite web|url=http://www.dcstamps.com/?p=1822|title=Corfu, Italian Occupation (1923)|work=Dead Country Stamps and Banknotes|date=21 August 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.italianstamps.co.uk/po/corfu/index.html|title=Italian Post Offices - Corfu|author=Tony Clayton|work=italianstamps.co.uk}}

• Stylianos Gonatas, Prime Minister.
• Nikolaos Politis, Greek representative to the League of Nations.
• Georgios Papandreou, Minister of Internal Affairs.

• Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister.
• Antonio Salandra, Italian representative to the League of Nations.
• Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy.
• General Armando Diaz, Minister of War.
• Giulio Cesare Montagna, the Italian ambassador in Athens.
• Colonel Perone di San Martino, the Italian military attaché.
• Admiral Emilio Solari, commander of the Italian troops in Corfu.
• Admiral Diego Simonetti, commander of the Italian fleet in Lower Adriatic, he was appointed as Corfu governor during the occupation.
• Captain Antonio Foschini, chief of the naval staff, the man who presented the ultimatum about the Italian occupation to the Greek prefect.

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite journal|last=Barros|first=James|title=Mussolini's first Aggression : the Corfu ultimatum|journal=Balkan Studies|volume=2|issue=2|pages=257–286|url=https://ojs.lib.uom.gr/index.php/BalkanStudies/article/download/56/55}}
• {{cite book

| last = Hearder

| first = Harry

| title = A Short History of Italy

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lJk3AAAAIAAJ

| publisher = Cambridge University Press

| year = 1963

| pages = 214–215

}}

• {{cite book

|first = James

|last = Barros

|title = The Corfu incident of 1923: Mussolini and The League Of Nations

|url = https://archive.org/details/corfuincidentof10000barr

|url-access = registration

|year = 1965

|publisher = Princeton University Press

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Seton-Watson

|first=Christopher Seton-Watson

|publisher=Routledge Kegan & Paul

|date=June 1979

|title=Italy from liberalism to fascism: 1870-1925

|pages=670–675

|isbn=978-0416189407

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJkOAAAAQAAJ

}}

• {{cite book

| last = C. C. Jardine

| title = Mussolini and Italy (Modern Times)

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d0cOAAAAQAAJ

| publisher = Longman Group United Kingdom

|date=April 1980

| pages = 29–30

| isbn = 978-0582204263

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Burgwyn

|first=James

|publisher=Praeger

|date=April 1997

|title=Italian Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940

|pages=23–24

|isbn=978-0275948771

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNHxISN-dmQC&q=Enrico+tellini+murder&pg=PA23

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Brecher

| first1 = Michael

| last2 = Wilkenfeld

| first2 = Jonathan

| title = A study of crisis

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GjY7aV_6FPwC

| publisher = University of Michigan Press

| year = 1997

| pages = 583–584

| isbn = 0472108069

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Neville

| first = Peter

| title = Mussolini

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rleP5CVe070C

| publisher = Routledge

|date=December 2003

| pages = 92–93

| isbn = 978-0415249904

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Goldstein

| first1 = Erik

| last2 = Langhorne

| first2 = Richard

| title = Guide to International Relations and Diplomacy

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5ndamBABdIC

| publisher = Bloomsbury Academic

|date=March 2004

| page = 214

| chapter = Corfu Incident, 1923

| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5ndamBABdIC&q=corfu+incident+1923&pg=PA214

| isbn = 978-0826473011

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Gooch

| first = John

| title = Mussolini and his Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PXhlsFmFsGQC

| publisher = Cambridge University Press

|date=December 2007

| pages = 45–47

| isbn = 978-0521856027

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Duggan

| first = Christopher

| title = The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lSRwOZ0Yxw8C

| publisher = Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

|date=April 2008

| pages = 439–441

| isbn = 978-0618353675

}}

• {{cite book

|first = Ιωάννης Σ.

|last = Παπαφλωράτος

|title = Η Ελληνοϊταλική κρίση του 1923 Το επεισόδιο Tellini/ Κέρκυρας

|trans-title=The Greco-Italian crisis of 1923 The incident Tellini / Corfu

|year = 2009

|publisher = Σάκκουλας Αντ. Ν.

|language = el

|isbn = 9789601522388

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Gilbert

| first1 = Mark F.

| last2 = Nilsson

| first2 = Robert K.

| title = The A to Z of Modern Italy

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=24Cn5AQQ6eUC

| publisher = Scarecrow Press

|date=April 2010

| page = 114

| isbn = 978-0810872103

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Siebert

| first = Diana

| title = Aller Herren Außenposten. Korfu von 1797 bis 1944

|date=2016

| pages = 144–157

| publisher = Diana Siebert

| isbn = 978-3-00-052502-5

}}

• [https://www.scribd.com/doc/90406073/22/The-Corfu-Incident-1923 Successes & failures of the League Of Nations, in the 1920s]
• [http://www.fhw.gr/chronos/14/en/1923_1940/foreign_policy/facts/03.html The Corfu incident] Foundation of the Hellenic World
• [http://www.dcstamps.com/?p=1822 Corfu, Italian Occupation (1923)] Dead Country Stamps and Banknotes
• [http://modern_italy.enacademic.com/103/Corfu Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625081839/http://modern_italy.enacademic.com/103/Corfu |date=2013-06-25 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131214054332/http://www.hillsdalesites.org/personal/hstewart/war/%281923-08-30%29%20Greek%20Reply%20to%20Italian%20Demands.pdf Greek reply to the Italian demands] Athens, 30 August 1923
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150627164935/http://www.hillsdalesites.org/personal/hstewart/war/%281923-09-04%29%20Bombardment%20of%20Corfu%20%28Salandra%29.pdf Bombardment Of Corfu] Geneva, 4 September 1923
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150628211021/http://www.hillsdalesites.org/personal/hstewart/war/%281923-09-08%29%20Bombardment%20of%20Corfu%20%28Politis%29.pdf Bombardment Of Corfu] Geneva, 8 September 1923
• {{cite book

| title = GCSE History Notes

| url = http://ejlilley.sdf-eu.org/historynotes.pdf

| page = 19

| chapter = 3.4.5 The Corfu Incident (1923)

}}

• {{cite book

| title = US Naval War College

| url = https://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/eab8d4b7-e0bd-43da-81e8-dfe31a5c56e3/Chapter-III.aspx

| pages = 33–34

| chapter = Chapter III-State Practice During the Pre-United Nations Period

| access-date = 2013-03-20

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150627192644/https://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/eab8d4b7-e0bd-43da-81e8-dfe31a5c56e3/Chapter-III.aspx

| archive-date = 2015-06-27

| url-status = dead

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Finney

| first = Patrick Benedict

| title = The Relations between the Entente Powers and Greece, 1923-6

| url = http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/669/1/uk_bl_ethos_270797.pdf

| pages = 186–220

|date=September 1993

}}

• [http://www.tovima.gr/books-ideas/article/?aid=327944 Article in the Greek newspaper "To Vima"] {{in lang|el}}
• [https://archive.today/20130217162913/http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_100004_20/12/2009_384261 Article in the Greek newspaper "Kathimerini"] {{in lang|el}}
• [http://www.corfuhistory.eu/?p=1443 Corfu History] {{in lang|el}}
• [http://www.sansimera.gr/articles/168 The murder of Telini and the occupation of Corfu from the fascist Italy] {{in lang|el}}

• [http://www.britishpathe.com/video/occupation-of-corfu/query/greece Occupation Of Corfu 1923] From British Pathé
• [http://www.britishpathe.com/video/corfu-italy-seizes-island Corfu – Italy Seizes Island 1923] From British Pathé
• [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsgfqg_y-yyyyyyyyy-yyy-yyyyyyyy-31-8-23_school#.UPmkGvJuLTo The occupation of Corfu] From the old Greek TV show "Στον χώρο της ιστορίας" (In the history), 1990 {{in lang|el}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1923 in Greece

Category:1923 in Italy

Category:Aftermath of World War I in Italy

Category:Blockades

Category:Conflicts in 1923

Category:Diplomatic crises of the 20th century

Category:Greece–Italy relations

Category:History of Corfu

Category:League of Nations

Category:Maritime incidents in 1923

Category:Mass murder in 1923

Category:Ultimata

Category:1923 in international relations

Category:Benito Mussolini

Category:Italian fascism

Category:Military history of Corfu (city)

Category:Naval bombing operations and battles