In the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, Prince Andrew of Greece was given command of the 2nd Army Corps during the Battle of the Sakarya. He was commanded to lead his troops in attacking the Turkish positions, but to the consternation of his commanding general, Anastasios Papoulas, he elected to follow his own battle plan. Following three weeks of bitter fighting, Papoulas ordered a retreat, placing the blame directly on Prince Andrew. The final defeat of the Greek army in Asia Minor came in August 1922 and precipitated the 11 September 1922 Revolution in Athens, which led to Prince Andrew’s lifelong banishment from his homeland. Towards Disaster is Prince Andrew’s own account of the campaign in Asia Minor in which he defends his actions during the Battle of the Sakarya, a hopeless contest in his estimation, during which he was intent on avoiding needless loss of life.

Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark was born in 1882, the fourth son of King George I and Queen Olga of Greece. He served as an officer in the Balkan Wars and the Greco-Turkish War, and in the latter was held partly responsible for his country’s defeat and loss of territory. After being court-martialled for disobeying orders, Prince Andrew and his family, including his son Philip, later Duke of Edinburgh, were banished from Greece. Andrew died in exile 1944. Towards Disaster, an account of the war and a defence of his actions, was published in 1930.