material or claiming any satisfaction for the massacre of December 1st. The Greek Government accepted without hesitation, and the 16th Colonial Division departed for Salonica. These events undoubtedly weakened the prestige of the Entente in the East, because it was clearly seen that the Allies were by no means agreed as to the policy to be followed and that they dare not take strong measures. This consequently strengthened King Constantine and the pro-German and neutralist elements. The only thing that the Allies did decide to do was to impose a blockade on Greece, which aroused great irritation against them without being sufficient to reduce the Athens Government to obedience. At the Rome Conference in January, 1917, at which General Sarrail had been present, although little attention was paid to him, no conclusion concerning Greece was arrived at, except that of doing nothing for the present. But the situation at Athens rendered that of the Armée d’Orient ever more difficult, and it was necessary to find some solution for the former if the Macedonian front were to be made safe. The Greek Government, although it had withdrawn its troops from Thessaly, left many officers and strong detachments of _gendarmerie_ there, which might serve as cadres for the reservists. From the Peloponnese many soldiers were allowed to go to Thessaly on leave. Whereas at Athens provisions were lacking, they were being concentrated in abundance in the north; every now and then the control officers, who had been re-established, found arms and ammunition depots. Bands, comprising soldiers and reservists, were also formed.[28] It was to oppose these bands and to prevent them from penetrating into the Neutral Zone that General Sarrail sent detachments to Kozani and Grevena. But the Greek question continued to provoke inter-Allied incidents; according to Sarrail, General Phillips, the Chief of the British Military Mission in Greece, tried to minimize the importance of the trickery and chicanes of the Greeks; even two French officers supported King Constantine--General Bousquier, Chief of the French Military Mission at Athens, and General Baumann at Corfu (always according to the French C.-in-C.).