the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly. Alexandroupoli was under temporary management of the Entente led by French General Sharpe. During French occupation the Western Thrace Turk Republic was revived for 1 year. In the second half of April 1920 in San Remo conference of the prime ministers of the main allies of the Entente powers (except USA) Western Thrace was given to Greece. However, Bulgaria retained the right of transit to use the port of Dedeagatch to transport goods through the Aegean Sea. The change of guard between Bulgarian and Greek officials occurred on May 14, 1920. The city was soon visited by Alexander I of Greece amidst great celebration. He was the first King of Greece to visit the town which was renamed in his honor.
Greco-Turkish War
Following the defeat of Greece in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), the Greek Army under General Theodoros Pangalos retreated from Eastern Thrace to the area of Alexandroupoli. Bulgaria used the opportunity of the Greek defeat to demand that Alexandroupoli either be returned to its control or declared a neutral zone under international control. Both demands were soundly rejected by the Greek leadership and found no support in the League of Nations.
The Treaty of Lausanne (24 July 1923) affirmed that Western Thrace and Alexandroupoli would continue to be controlled by Greece. A previous agreement allowing a Bulgarian presence in the town port had expired.
World War II
During World War II (see Axis occupation of Greece), the Nazis gave Alexandroupoli to their lesser Bulgarian partners Alexandroupoli was subsequently under Bulgarian occupation between May 1941 and 1944. The city suffered some damage to buildings and loss of population during the war, but was largely spared the effects of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). Forces of the communist Democratic Army of Greece in and around the town area were small and loosely organized, resulting in the absence of major
