The strategic value of the island of Lemnos had been recognized by Greek naval planners for many years, as it lay at the entrance of the Dardanelles Strait and offered an excellent natural harbour in Mudros Bay.

This obstructed the movement of Ottoman reinforcements to the front lines, and allowed the capture of the remaining Ottoman-held Aegean islands over the following months.

The island of Lemnos had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire since 1456, when Sultan Mehmed II captured the domains of the Genoese Gattilusio dynasty in the northeastern Aegean Sea.

French scholar Vital Cuinet, in his 1896 work La Turquie d'Asie, recorded a population of 27,079, of which 2,450 were Muslims and the rest Greek Orthodox.

[2] Already during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Greek government had considered the occupation of the northern Aegean Islands, chiefly Lemnos and Imbros, due to their strategic location at the entrance of the Dardanelles Strait.

[5] The importance of Lemnos was also appreciated by Italy, which envisaged occupying it during its own 1911–1912 war with the Ottomans, only to back down due to the vehement opposition of Austria-Hungary.

[9] The Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, was persuaded by the admiral's suggestion, but insisted on obtaining the consent of the British government for this first.

[10] The fleet arrived at the capital of Lemnos, Kastro (Myrina) at 14:00 on the next day, and Koundouriotis issued a demand for the surrender of the island's garrison.

The Greeks encountered only minor resistance, by the Ottoman garrison and a group of about 280 armed Muslim inhabitants of the village of Lera (modern Agios Dimitrios).

[14] A wireless station was established at the islet of Koumbi, while destroyers permanently patrolled the bay entrance for protection against torpedo boat attacks.

Finally, in the Treaty of London, the fate of the islands was placed in the hands of the Great Powers, who in the event would cede them to Greece in February 1914, apart from the two closest to the Dardanelles, Imbros and Tenedos.