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The Turkish War of Independence (Turkish: Kurtuluş Savaşı), or sometimes referred to as "birth of a nation" was part of the political and military events that began with the establishment of national movement and succeeding at revolts, Turkish-Armenian war, Greco-Turkish war, French, Italians, and gaining international recognition through the Treaty of Lausanne, declared the Republic of Turkey; on the political side movement instituted the relationships and ideas among the Turkish revolutionaries which led to the evolution of Kemalism by replacing millet and ottomanism, and later to the reforms defining the Turkish nation.

While in modern Turkey these events are called a War of Independence, it is generally not recognized as such in most other countries. Usually the events are referred to as a series of wars such as the Greco-Turkish War and the Turkish-Armenian War. In fact Turkish independence was never really under threat, as the Treaty of Sevres called for a truncated Turkish state to be established. Instead the wars were fought to acquire territory inhabited by an ethnically mixed populace for the new Turkish Republic from Greece, as well as Armenia and Kurdistan which did not last as independent states as the Sevres Treaty stipulated due to Turkish military action.

The functions of the Ottoman government had been increasingly coming under the direct rule of the Triple Entente after the Armistice of Mudros. The reshaping of the Middle East, with states that were controlled by their mandate countries, were already in place before the armistice. The Triple Entente was engaged in dismantling the Ottoman military and disseminating its own views, often in competition against one another. The idea of using the Bolshevism or the Mandates were first applied in the capital Constantinople (Turkish:İstanbul see also:Istanbul (etymology)) and then eventually transmitted into the interior of the country where the Turkish National Movement was forming. During this time, which is explained in the section "precursors", competing factions with differing aims were appearing inside Anatolia.

During the "initial organization", the nature of revolution was defined with a series of conferences. Turkish Revolutionaries were arguing for sovereignty and seeking to create a national parliament without relying on the support of external powers. Aside from the military power of the Triple Entente which was encroaching on its borders, The Turkish National Movement also had to deal with the internal groups that volunteered, or were advised by the Allies to take a mandate on. In fact, the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 established a special body, "The Inter-Allied Commission on Mandates in Turkey" pursuant to the Secret Treaties among the Allies signed between 1915-1917 to the groups in Anatolia.

"Jurisdictional Conflict" explains the activities, which shaped the new state that stood on its own feet, (Republic of Turkey) against the ideas of outside forces (Greece, British, Italy, France, Democratic Republic of Armenia) and inside forces (Ottomans, Feudal Lords, Minority). The section "Stage for Peace" covers the international recognition of the new state as a sovereign nation. __TOC__

The Precursors

Resistance to the Ottoman puppet government started soon after Allied troops began occupying parts of Turkey. The Greeks had visions of a new Hellenic Empire (Megali Idea). The French obtained Hatay, Lebanon and Syria and desired a part of South-Eastern Anatolia. Italians sought the southern part of Anatolia (Mediterranean region) which was promised. The British already had Arabia, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq (see: Sykes-Picot Agreement).

The Entente's first action was to control the ammunition and its distribution. In reaction to this, many Ottoman officials organized secret Outpost Societies (Karakol Cemiyeti) shortly after and used their positions to thwart the Allied demands, both through passive and active resistance. Small boats from the capital were sent out into the Aegean and the Black Sea. The second demand was disbanding the small units either to a bigger more controllable or totally sending them home. The first resistance movements in Thrace and Constantinople (Istanbul) were organized within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before the leading officers of the Ottoman Army such as Mustafa Kemal, Kazim Karabekir, Ismet Inonu and others returned to Istanbul from their last posts. In the face of their situation, the Sultan and government bribed them with important positions in the areas remaining under so-called direct Ottoman authority. Places that were mainly occupied by the armies of Allies. Even today, the reason of these assignments was discussed if they were to support the national movement or to keep what little is left to them. The most prominent idea given against for sultan’s decision was by assigning these officers out of the capital to already occupied places, he tried to minimize the effectiveness of these soldiers. The view from the capital was without the organized army, the Allies could not be defeated. Many Ottoman officials also did all they could to conceal the details of the movements that spread through the country side from the occupation authorities.

On the political front the Anatolia was fragmented. There were conflicting sides which had conflicting visions. Only one source was binding all these people together, the Entente powers which wanted to eliminate their sovereignty from the places that they saw as their homeland.

To put an end to this situation the major Entente power involved (Britain) asked the weak Ottoman government to restore law and order in those parts. "If the Ottomans wouldn't do it, they would" was the threat.

On May 15, 1919 Greeks forces occupied Smyrna (Izmir). The admiral of the British warships, at anchor offshore, had to order the Greek commander to restore order. A few days later the Italians landed in Antalya, taking a piece from their promised part of Anatolia. The interior of Anatolia however was beyond any control (apart from some Entente, mostly British, detachments and officers) and was in the hands of the remnants of the Ottoman Forces and gangs of Greek or Turkish brigands. The country was in a state of collapse, with the Entente powers virtually occupying the capital and controlling the Ottoman government.

Initial Organization (May 1919-March 1920)

The ottoman army was ordered to be disband. Here lay the chance for general Mustafa Kemal. Through manipulation and the help of friends and sympathizers at the right places, Kemal had the opportunity to become Inspector General of virtually all of the Ottoman forces in Anatolia. Since the southern rim of Anatolia was more or less under control by British warships and by competing Greek and Italian troops, the restoration of law and order had to be carried out from the north of Anatolia. He and his carefully selected staff left Constantinople (Istanbul) aboard an old steamer for Samsun on the evening of May 16, 1919.

The Inspector General who stepped ashore on May 19, 1919 set up his quarters in the Mintika Palace Hotel. He made the people of Samsun aware of the Greek and Italian landings, staged mass meetings (whilst remaining discreet) and made, thanks to the excellent telegraph network, fast connections with the army units in Anatolia. He started to form links between various nationalists groups. He sent telegrams of protest to foreign embassies and the War Ministry about British reinforcements in the area and about British aid to Greek brigand gangs. After a week in Samsun Mustafa Kemal and his staff moved to Havza, about 85 kilometers inland. He did this with the pretext that he was ill and needed the hot springs of Havza to recover.

Mustafa Kemal needed national support. His notoriety from his position, and his status as a hero after the battle of Gallipoli, gave him some credentials. It was not yet enough to mobilize anything. Besides his task was to disarm the army, he had to secure some relations to gain more movement. He met with Rauf Orbay, Ali Fuat Cebesoy, and Refet Bele on June 21, 1919.

Before the Amasya Agrement, Mustafa Kemal met with a Bolshevik delegation headed by Colonel Semyon Budyonny. Bolsheviks wanted to annex the First Republic of Armenia and other parts of the Caucasus which were formally part of Czarist Russia. Turkey could also be a buffer, especially if it turned to communist ideology. Kemal's official response was "Such questions had to be postponed until Turkish independence was achieved." Having this support was important for the national movement.

The British became alarmed when they learned that the victor of Gallipoli had become an Inspector General and his behavior didn't make it any better, Britain urged Kemal to be recalled. Thanks to friends and sympathizers in government circles, a 'compromise' was developed whereby the power of the Inspector General was curbed, at least on paper.

Jurisdictional Conflict (March 1920 - March 1922)

In December 1919, as a result of nationalist persuasion and pressure, new elections were held for the Ottoman parliament, which assembled in Constantinople (Istanbul). The new government hoping to dissolute the national movement passed a fatwa (legal opinion) from Şeyhülislam. The fatwa stated that true believer should not go along with the nationalist (rebels) movement. Along with this religious decree, government prosecuted Mustafa Kemal and prominent nationalists to death in absentia. At the same time, müfti of Ankara in defense of national movement gave a counter acting fatwa declaring that the capital was under control of Entente and the Ferit Pasha government. In this text, nationalist movement's goal was stated as freeing the Sultan and Caliphate from the enemies.

The British who were looking skeptical to all these movements decided to use irregular power to counter act the nationalist movement, which was mainly an irregular movement at that time. These irregular national forces were distributed around the Turkey, so many small counter forces were dispatched. Ahmet Anzavur and his forces, or will be his forces with the help of British army, was the biggest opposing force of all. Besides the irregulars, under the name of Kuva-yi İnzibatiye (Disciplinary forces) another army was collected. It was about 2000 strong force. It was initially deployed in Nicea.

Grand National Assembly

The strong measures taken against the nationalists by the Ottoman government created a distinct new phase. For the first time the nationalists claimed the sole right to rule. Mustafa Kemal declared that the only legal government of Turkey was the Representative Committee in Ankara and that all civilian and military officials were to obey Representative Committee rather than the government in the capital. This argument gained very strong support, as by that time the fact of the Ottoman Parliament being fully under the Allied control had been established. However, Mustafa Kemal appealed to the entire Islamic world asking for help against the infidel to make sure that everyone knew he was still fighting in the name of the sultan. He stated he wanted to rescue him from the Allies. Plans were made to organize a new government and parliament in Ankara, and then sultan asked to accept its authority.

A flood of supporters moved to Ankara just ahead of the Allied dragnets. Included among them were Halide Edip, her husband, Adnan Adıvar, İsmet İnönü, Kemal’s most important allies in the Ministry of War, and the last president of the Chamber of Depnties, Celaleddin Arif.

Some 100 members of the Ottoman Parliament were able to escape the Allied roundup and joined 190 deputies elected around the country by the national resistance group. On April 23, 1920, the new Assembly gathered for the first time, making Mustafe Kemal its first president and Ismet Indnü, now deputy from Edirne, chief of the General Staff. The new regime’s determination to revolt against the government in the capital and not the Sultan was quickly made evident.

Breaking the links

Mustafa Kemal expected the Allies neither to accept the Harbord report nor to respect his parliamentary immunity if he went to the Ottoman capital. Hence he stayed in Anatolia. One thing he did was moving the Representative Committee’s capital from Erzurum to Ankara so that he could meet with as many deputies as possible as they traveled to Istanbul to attend the parliament. This was required to keep in touch with them. He also started a newspaper, the Hakimiyet-i Milliye (National Sovereignty), to speak for the movement both in Turkey and the outside world (January 10, 1920).

On January 12, 1920 the last Ottoman Chamber of Deputies met in the capital. First the sultan’s speech was presented and then a telegram from Mustafa Kemal. Thus manifesting the claim to be the rightful government of Turkey is in Ankara in the name of the Representative Committee. The British began to sense that something had been flourishing that they did not want. The Ottoman government was not doing what it could to suppress the nationalists. Brits to capture the control of the movement, secured the departments of both the minister of war and the chief of the general staff. Chief of the general staff was Fevzi Çakmak. He was an able and relatively conservative officer who was known as one of the army’s oldest field leaders and who soon was become one of the principal military leaders of the national movement. On January 28 the deputies met secretly. Proposals were made to elect Mustafa Kemal president of the Chamber, but this was deferred in the certain knowledge that the British would prorogue the Chamber before it could do what has been planned all along, namely accept the decleration of the Sivas Congress.

Organizing an Army

The organization of an army was a fight against Ottomans, feudal lords (tribes) and minorities as it is a power struggle for the control of the area. The riots have to be analyzed based on which power supported the activities of riots, such as moving guns and ammunitions to the rioters, giving them sources to finance the activities. This kind of analysis would show us the power disputes among the local landlords. Most of the riots had religious rhetoric.

The first thing the Turks had to do, having almost no domestic arms industry, was secure arms from abroad. They obtained these primarily from the Soviet Union, but also Italy and France. These arms, especially the Soviet weapons, allowed the Turks to organize an effective army.

The Kemalist Turks enjoyed significant Soviet support, as both countries collaborated to destroy the fledgling Armenian Republic. A telegraph sent on August 4th Turkey's representative in Moscow, Riza Nur, sent a telegram saying that soon 60 Krupp artillery pieces, 30,000 sells, 700,000 grenades, 10,000 mines, 60,000 Romanian swords, 1.5 million captured Ottoman riflesfrom WWI, 1 million Russian rifles, 1 million Manlicher rifles, as well as some more modern Martini-Henry rifles, 25,000 bayonets. Kapur, H Soviet Russia and Asia, 1917-1927

The Turks also recieved significant arms from Italy and France, who threw in their lot with the Kemalist against Greece which was seen as a British client. The Italians used their base in Antalya to arm and train Turkish troops to assist the Kemalists against the Greeks. Antalya City Website History, http://www.antalya-ws.com/english/location/antalya/whistory.asp

Theatres of the war section explain the conflicts that the "National Army" had engaged. Most of the conflicts of national army extend on the initial resistant groups developed regionally. Some of these regional groups integrated into the command structure of the national army.

East
Before the Armistice of Mudros the border between Democratic Republic of Armenia was defined with Brest-Litovsk and Treaty of Batum, after the Bolsevik revolution during 1918. With the end of the WWI, it was obvious that the eastern border was not going to stay as it had been. There were talks going on with the Armenian Diaspora and Entente on reshaping the border. The Fourteen Points was seen as an incentive to Democratic Republic of Armenia, if Armenians could prove that they were the majority of the population and that they had military control over the eastern regions. The Armenian movements on the borders were being used as an argument to redraw the border between Ottoman Empire and Armenian Republic. Woodrow Wilson agreed to transfer the territories back to the Democratic Republic of Armenia as given the ideas that they are dominantly controlled by Armenians. The results of these talks were to be reflected on the Treaty of Sèvres that was signed by Ottoman Empire.

One of the most important fights had taken place on this border. The very early onset of national army was the proof of this, even though there was a pressing Greek danger on the west. There was also a movement of Armenians from southeast with the French support, as the French created an Armenian army to support their claims to Cilicia. The general idea at that time was to integrate Armenian Republic to the French supported southeast Armenian movement. This way Armenian Republic could gain much sought resources to balance the Bolshevik expansionist movements.

The stage of the east campaign is developed through two reports (May 30 to June 4, 1920) outlining the situation in the region by Kâzım Karabekir Pasha. He was detailing the activities of the Armenian Republic and advising on how to shape the sources at the eastern borders, especially in Erzurum.

Before the stage was set by Kazım Karabekir Pasha on the east border, Russian government sent a message to settle not only the Democratic Republic of Armenia but also Iranian border through diplomacy under Russian control. The Soviet support was absolutely vital for the Turkish nationalist movement, as Turkey was underdeveloped and had no domestic armaments industry. Bakir Sami Bey was assigned for the talks. Bolsheviks demanded Van and Bitlis to Armenia. This was unacceptable to the Turkish revolutionaries. Revolutionaries were also faced with another dilemma, their hesitation to move forces to prevent the Armenian raids was causing a growing unsettlement among the Turks. The Greek threat and diplomatic connections needed to be balanced.

=Active stage
= Before more diplomatic exchanges took place, to show a sign of power on the discussion table, Armenia moved its forces to Oltu. This killed the discussions with Russian government and in a couple of days the Treaty of Sèvres was signed by Ottoman Empire. This was followed by occupation of Artvin by Georgian forces on 25 July.

=Resolution
= The arms left by the defeated Armenian forces were sent to the west to develop the resistance to the Greeks.

The results of Armenian activities reflected on the Treaty of Sèvres. But as this treaty had never gained effect and the Ottoman Empire was dissolved through activitivities of Turkish National Movement, Armenian efforts in this region was unfulfilled.

Turkish movement against the Armenian forces were coordinated with Bolsheviks. Bolsheviks conquered Azerbaijan while the Armenians were fighting with revolutionnaries. It is only after the peace agreement was reached (Treaty of Alexandropol) that they moved into Yerevan. Armenian Republic was not eliminated by the Turkish revolutionaries, whom Armenians could no longer threaten after being defeated. It is also possible to claim that had Armenian Republic been content with the boundaries as of 1919, she could have shown more resistance to the Bolshevik conquest, both internally and externally.

Soon after the Bolsheviks and nationalists signed another agreement March 16, 1921, Treaty of Kars. Nationalists agreed to cede Nachicevan and Batum. In response they received support and gold. For the promised resources nationalist had to wait until the Battle of Sakarya. Bolsheviks were expecting that the nationalist would not last long, and the agreements would be annulled by their defeat.

West
The war arose because the western Allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire if Greece entered the war on the Allied side. These included Eastern Thrace, the islands of Gökçeada (Imbros) and Bozcaada (Tenedos), and parts of Western Anatolia around the city of İzmir (Smyrna). Greece wanted to occupy Constantinople, the historical capital of the Byzantine Empire, to achieve the Megali Idea, but Entente powers did not gave permission.

It was decided by Triple Entante that Greece would occupy a zone around İzmir (Smyrna) and Ayvalık in western Asia Minor. The reason for these landings were prior Italian landing on the southern coast of Turkey, including in the city of Antalya. The Allies worried about further Italian expansion and saw Greek landings as a way to avoid this.

In the secret plans, to resolve the Anatolia-Greece problems it was decided that after 5 years there would be a democratic plebiscite, to see whether the İzmir (Smyrna)-zone would join Greece or Ottoman Empire. The Turkish revolutionaries refused to agree with these secret plans and resolved to expel the Greeks from Asia by force, ending thousands of years of a Greek presence in Asia Minor.

=Active stage
=

=Resolution
= With the borders secured with treaties and agreements at east and south, Kemal was now in a commanding position. The Nationals were then able to insist that unconditionally, the Greeks evacuate east Thrace, Imbros and Tenedos as well as Asia Minor, and the Meriç River to be set as the border at Thrace at its pre-1914 position.

Greeks call this the "Asia Minor Disaster" or more commonly the "Meghali Katastrophi" which means "Great Catastrophe."

France, Italy and Britain called Mustafa Kemal to Venice for cease-fire negotiations. In return, Mustafa Kemal demanded negotiations be started at Mudanya. Negotiations at Mudanya began on October 3, and it was concluded with the Mudanya Armistice.


South
=Active Stage
=
Eastern Front Battles
Name Land/Sea Guest (1) General Home (2) General Date Side Treaty
Maras France National Forces Ali Fuat Pasha 20 Jan - 10 Feb 1920
Urfa France National Forces Ali Saip Bey 9 Feb - 11 Apr 1920 (30 May 1920) Armistice with France
Antep Defense France National Forces Kilic Ali Bey 1 Apr 1920 - 9 Feb 1921
Siege of Antep France National Forces Sefik Ozdemir Bey 5 August 1920 - 9 Feb 1921
Adana France National Forces Ali Fuat Pasha 21 Jan 1920 - 20 Oct 1921

=Resolution
= The resistance of the national forces was a big surprise to France. They blamed the British forces which did not curb the resistance power of the local sources. The strategic goal of opening a front at the south by moving Armenians against the Turkish National forces was a failure after the defeat of the Greek-British forces on the west. Use of armed local Armenians in the region against the Turkish National forces turned out to be a failure. Most of the Armenians in this region had to migrate alongside the French army. Even though most of the fight was organized alongside the Armenian sources, the loss of French soldiers did generate a large disapproval in France, which tried to mend the results of the continental wars. France asked 1,500,000 gold coins from the Turkish National Government (Mustafa Kemal) for their loss, which was clearly denied.

Black Sea
=Active Stage
=
=Resolution
=

Stage for Peace (March 1922- April 1923)

The first communication between nationals and the Entente build when the first time Entente began to see the need to make some kind of arrangement with the Turkish nationalists.

Conference of London

To salvage the Treaty of Sevres Triple Entente forced the Turkish Revolutionaries to agree with the Istanbul government through a series of conferances, which were failures.

The Armistice of Mudanya

The Marmara sea resort town of Mudanya host the conference to arrange the armistice on October 3, 1922. Ismet Inonü, commander of the western armies was in front of Allies. The scene was unlike Mondros as the British and the Greeks were on the defense. Greeks were represented by the Allies.

The British still expected Ankara, Grand National Assembly, to make concessions. From the first speech, Brits were startled as Ankara demanded fulfillment of the National Pact. During the conference the British troops in Constantinople were preparing for a Kemalist attack. There was never any fighting in Thrace, as Greek units withdrew before the Turks crossed the straits, remaining in Asia Minor. The Greeks were willing to give up Eastern Thrace as it's population was mostly Turks, Bulgarians and Muslim Slavs, and it's only use served as a corridor to Constantinople, and it was now clear that the city would remain in Turkish hands. The only concession that Ismet made to the British was an agreement that his troops would not advance any farther toward the Dardanelles, which gave a safe haven for the British troops as long as the conference continued. The conference dragged on far beyond the original expectations. In the end it was the British who had to yield, with the Ankara's advances.

The Armistice of Mudanya was signed on October 11. By its terms the Greek army would move west of the Maritsa, clearing the Thrace to the Allies. This was a method that started an end to hostilities. The famous American author Ernest Hemingway was in Thrace at the time, and he covered the retreat of the time. He has several short stories written about Thrace and Smyrna, which appear in his book In Our Time. The agreement came into force starting October 15. Allied forces would stay in Thrace for a month to assure law and order. In return Ankara would recognize continued British occupation of the Straits zones until the final treaty was signed. This arrangement included also Constantinople, which thus would have to wait a little while longer to be seized by Turkish forces.

Refet Bele was assigned to recovery of Thrace from Allies. He was the first representative to reach the old capital. The British did not allow the hundred gendarmes who came with him. That resistance lasted till the next day.

Conference and Treaty of Lausanne

Establishment of the Republic

See also

External Links

Aftermath of World War I | History of Armenia | History of Greece | Turkish War of Independence | Wars of Armenia | Wars of Turkey | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Türkischer Befreiungskrieg | Guerra de Independencia Turca | トルコ革命 | Kurtuluş Savaşı

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Turkish War of Independence".

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