Internment of the Greek IV Corps at Görlitz

The Greek government had given its local forces strict orders not to oppose neither the Allies nor the Central Powers, in an attempt to preserve the country's neutrality during the conflict.

However, contrary to German assurances that they would respect Greek sovereignty and civil authorities, the Bulgarians quickly made clear that they aimed to annex the territories they captured, and tried to isolate and capture the Greek troops of IV Corps piecemeal.

To avoid Bulgarian captivity, the acting commander of the corps, Colonel Ioannis Hatzopoulos, asked the German authorities to accept moving his men to Germany for the duration of the war.

Between 15–27 September 1916, Hatzopoulos and his men were moved by train to Görlitz, where they were interned for the remainder of the war.

Initially welcomed, the Greeks were allowed to leave their barracks and move about town and drew a regular salary from the German government.