The 1897 defeat behind Greek naval reform

An earlier defeat by Russia had driven Ottoman military reform with German support. By 1897 the Ottoman army was larger, better organized and better supplied than its Greek opponent. Greek training and organization had barely advanced since independence, leaving the army poorly prepared for war. British and French naval intervention prevented the Ottoman victory from becoming an unrestricted defeat of Greece because the great powers would not allow either side to overwhelm the other. Ottoman court factionalism then diverted attention from further preparation, while Greece faced the need to rebuild its armed forces.