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Turkish War of Independence


The Turkish War of Independence (also known as the Turkish War of Liberation) was a military conflict waged by the Turkish National Movement against the Allied Powers and the remnants of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. The war lasted from 1919 to 1923 and resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Turkish War of Independence
Part of the Revolutions of 1917–1923
in the aftermath of World War I
Türk Kurtuluş Savaşı - kolaj.jpg
Clockwise from top left: Delegation gathered in Sivas Congress to determine the objectives of the Turkish National Movement; Turkish civilians carrying ammunition to the front; Kuva-yi Milliye infantry; Turkish horse cavalry in chase; Turkish Army's capture of Smyrna; troops in Ankara's Ulus Square preparing to leave for the front.
Date19 May 1919 – 11 October 1922 (Armistice)
24 July 1923 (Peace)
(4 years, 2 months and 5 days)
Location
Anatolia, Southwestern Caucasus, Upper Mesopotamia, and East Thrace
Result Turkish victory[16][17]
Territorial
changes		 Establishment of the Republic of Turkey
Belligerents

Turkish Nationalists:
Ankara Government
(1919–1920; 1920–1923)

Supported by:
 Entente:
 Greece
 France
(until 1921)[c]
 United Kingdom[d]
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia
(in 1920)
Supported by:
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Georgia Georgia
(in 1921)
Istanbul Government[e]
Separatists:
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Kemal Pasha
Mustafa Fevzi Pasha
Mustafa İsmet Pasha
Kazım Karabekir Pasha
Fahrettin Pasha
Ali Fuat Pasha
Refet Pasha
Nureddin Pasha
Rectangular green flag.svg Ethem the Circassian
Template:Country data Cyrenaica Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi[18]		 Kingdom of Greece Constantine I
Kingdom of Greece Alexander I
Kingdom of Greece Eleftherios Venizelos
Kingdom of Greece Anastasios Papoulas
Kingdom of Greece Georgios Hatzianestis Executed
Kingdom of Greece Leonidas Paraskevopoulos
Kingdom of Greece Kimon Digenis #
Kingdom of Greece Nikolaos Trikoupis #
French Third Republic Henri Gouraud
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia Drastamat Kanayan
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia Movses Silikyan
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sir George Milne
Imperial standard of the Ottoman Sultan.svg Mehmed VI
Damat Ferid Pasha
Ottoman Empire Süleyman Şefik Pasha
Ottoman Empire Anzavur Ahmed Pasha Executed
Rectangular green flag.svg Ethem the Circassian
Strength
May 1919: 35,000[19]
November 1920: 86,000
(creation of regular army)[20]
August 1922: 271,000[21][note 1]		 Kingdom of Greece Dec. 1919: 80,000[22]
1922: 200,000[23]–250,000[24][25]
French Third Republic 60,000[26][27]
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 30,000[28]
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia 20,000[29]
Ottoman Empire 7,000 (at peak)[30]
Casualties and losses
13,000 killed[31]
22,690 died of disease[32]
5,362 died of wounds or other non-combat causes[32]
35,000 wounded[31]
7,000 prisoners[33][f]		 Kingdom of Greece 24,240 killed[34]
18,095 missing
48,880 wounded
4,878 died outside of combat
13,740 prisoners[34][35][note 2]
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia 1,100+ killed[43]
3,000+ prisoners[44]
French Third Republic ~7,000
264,000 Greek civilians killed[45]
60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians killed[46][47]
15,000+ Turkish civilians killed in the Western Front[48]
30,000+ buildings and 250+ villages burnt to the ground by the Hellenic Army and Greek/Armenian rebels.[49][50][51][52][53]
Notes
  • ^ a. Kuva-yi Milliye came under command of the Grand National Assembly after 4 September 1920.
  • ^ b. Italy occupied Constantinople and a part of southwestern Anatolia but never fought the Turkish army directly. During its occupation Italian troops protected Turkish civilians, who were living in the areas occupied by the Italian army, from Greek troops and accepted Turkish refugees who had to flee from the regions invaded by the Greek army.[54] In July 1921 Italy began to withdraw its troops from southwestern Anatolia.
  • ^ c. The Treaty of Ankara was signed in 1921 and the Franco-Turkish War thus ended. The French troops remained in Constantinople with the other Allied troops.
  • ^ d. The United Kingdom occupied Constantinople, then fought directly against Turkish irregular forces in the Greek Summer Offensive with the Greek troops. However, after this the United Kingdom would not take part in any more major fighting.[55][56][57][58] Moreover, the British troops occupied several towns in Turkey such as Mudanya.[59] Naval landing forces had tried to capture Mudanya as early as 25 June 1920, but stubborn Turkish resistance inflicted casualties on British forces and forced them to withdraw. There were many instances of successful delaying operations of small Turkish irregular forces against numerical superior enemy troops.[60] The United Kingdom, which also fought diplomatically against the Turkish National Movement, came to the brink of a great war in September 1922 (Chanak Crisis).
  • ^ e. The Ottoman controlled Kuva-yi Inzibatiye ("Caliphate Army") fought the Turkish revolutionaries during the Greek Summer Offensive and the Ottoman government in Constantinople supported other revolts (e.g. Anzavur).
  • ^ f. Greece took 22,071 military and civilian prisoners. Of these were 520 officers and 6,002 soldiers. During the prisoner exchange in 1923, 329 officers, 6,002 soldiers and 9,410 civilian prisoners arrived in Turkey. The remaining 6,330, mostly civilian prisoners, presumably died in Greek captivity.[33]

After World War I, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned by the victorious Allied Powers. The Treaty of Sèvres, signed in 1920, stripped the Ottoman Empire of its territories and imposed severe restrictions on its sovereignty. In response, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a former Ottoman military commander, led a national movement to resist foreign occupation and defend Turkish independence.

The Turkish National Movement fought a successful campaign against the Allied Powers and their local proxies, including the Armenian, Greek, and French forces. The conflict was marked by several key battles, including the Battle of Sakarya in 1921 and the Battle of Dumlupınar in 1922.

In 1922, the Turkish National Movement launched a major offensive that pushed the Greek forces out of western Anatolia. This victory paved the way for the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which recognized the independence of the Republic of Turkey and established its modern borders. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the first president of Turkey and oversaw a series of sweeping reforms to modernize the country and transform it into a secular, democratic state.

The Turkish War of Independence is a significant event in Turkish history, as it marked the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of a new era in Turkish history, characterized by secularism, modernization, and a strong sense of national identity.

Turkish War Of Independence Media

Notes

  1. ↑ In August 1922 the Turkish Army formed 23 infantry divisions and 6 cavalry divisions. Equivalent to 24 infantry divisions and 7 cavalry divisions, if the additional 3 infantry regiments, 5 undersized border regiments, 1 cavalry brigade and 3 cavalry regiments are included (271,403 men total). The troops were distributed in Anatolia as follows:[21] Eastern Front: 2 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, Erzurum and Kars fortified areas and 5 border regiments (29,514 men); El-Cezire front (southeastern Anatolia, eastern region of the river Euphrates): 1 infantry division and 2 cavalry regiments (10,447 men); Central Army area: 1 infantry division and 1 cavalry brigade (10,000 men); Adana command: 2 battalions (500 men); Gaziantep area: 1 infantry regiment and 1 cavalry regiment (1,000 men); Interior region units and institutions: 12,000 men; Western Front: 18 infantry divisions and 5 cavalry divisions, if the independent brigade and regiments are included, 19 infantry divisions and 5.5 cavalry divisions (207,942 men).
  2. ↑ According to some Turkish estimates the casualties were at least 120,000-130,000.[36] Western sources give 100,000 killed and wounded,[37][38] with a total sum of 200,000 casualties, taking into account that 100,000 casualties were solely suffered in August–September 1922.[39][40][41] Material losses, during the war, were enormous too.[42]

References

  1. ↑ Jelavich, Barbara (1983). History of the Balkans: Twentieth century. Cambridge University Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-521-27459-3.
  2. ↑ "Українська державність у XX столітті: Історико-політологічний аналіз / Ред. кол.: О. Дергачов (кер. авт. кол.), Є. Бистрицький, О. Білий, І. Бураковський, Дж. Мейс, В. Полохало, М. Томенко та ін. – К.: Політ. думка, 1996. — 434 с." Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ↑ Внешняя политика Азербайджана в годы cоветской власти
  4. ↑ "Hüseyin Adıgüzel - Atatürk, Nerimanov ve Kurtuluş Savaşımız". 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Andican, A. Ahat (2007). Turkestan Struggle Abroad From Jadidism to Independence. SOTA Publications. pp. 78–81. ISBN 978-908-0-740-365. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  6. ↑ The Place of the Turkish Independence War in the American Press (1918-1923) by Bülent Bilmez Archived 2 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine: "...the occupation of western Turkey by the Greek armies under the control of the Allied Powers, the discord among them was evident and publicly known. As the Italians were against this occupation from the beginning, and started "secretly" helping the Kemalists, this conflict among the Allied Powers, and the Italian support for the Kemalists were reported regularly by the American press.
  7. ↑ Sforza, Diario, November 28, 1920, 61/ David Lloyd George, The Truth about the Peace Treaties, v. 2 (Gollancz, London: 1938), pp. 1348-1349 / Michael Smith, Ionian Vision: Greece in Asia Minor, 1919-1922, University of Michigan Press, 1999.
  8. ↑ Ζολώτα, Αναστασίου Π. (1995). Η Εθνική Τραγωδία (National Tragedy). Αθήνα, Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Τμήμα Πολιτικών (University of Athens) Επιστημών και Δημοσίας Διοικήσεως. σελίδες pp. 44-58
  9. ↑ «ΤΑ ΦΟΒΕΡΑ ΝΤΟΚΟΥΜΕΝΤΑ – ΣΑΓΓΑΡΙΟΣ ΕΠΟΠΟΙΪΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΤΑΡΕΥΣΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΜΙΚΡΑ ΑΣΙΑ», ΔΗΜ. ΦΩΤΙΑΔΗΣ, ΕΚΔ. ΦΥΤΡΑΚΗ, ΑΘΗΝΑ, 1974
  10. ↑ Gingeras 2022, pp. 204–206.
  11. ↑ "Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination — Stefan Ihrig | Harvard University Press". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Western Society for French History. Meeting: Proceedings of the ... Annual Meeting of the Western Society for French History, New Mexico State University Press, 1996, sayfa 206 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ Briton Cooper Busch: Mudros to Lausanne: Britain's Frontier in West Asia, 1918-1923, SUNY Press, 1976, ISBN 0-87395-265-0, sayfa 216 Archived 15 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ "British Indian troops attacked by Turks; thirty wounded and British officer captured-- Warships' guns drive enemy back Archived 6 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine," New York Times (18 June 1920).
  15. ↑ "Allies occupy Constantinople; seize ministries; Turkish and British Indian soldiers killed in a clash at the War Office Archived 4 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine," New York Times (18 March 1920).
  16. ↑ Chester Neal Tate, Governments of the World: a Global Guide to Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities, Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson Gale, 2006, p. 205. Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ According to John R. Ferris, "Decisive Turkish victory in Anatolia... produced Britain's gravest strategic crisis between the 1918 Armistice and Munich, plus a seismic shift in British politics..." Erik Goldstein and Brian McKerche, Power and Stability: British Foreign Policy, 1865–1965, 2004 p. 139
  18. ↑ Gingeras 2022, pp. 229.
  19. ↑ Ergün Aybars, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti tarihi I, Ege Üniversitesi Basımevi, 1984, pg 319-334 (in Turkish)
  20. ↑ Turkish General Staff, Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi, Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: Kurtuluş Savaşı tarihi, Türkiye İş̧ Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 2008, ISBN 9944884472, page 339 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine. (in Turkish)
  22. ↑ Arnold J. Toynbee/Kenneth P Kirkwood, Turkey, Benn 1926, p. 92
  23. ↑ History of the Campaign of Minor Asia, General Staff of Army, Directorate of Army History, Athens, 1967, p. 140: on 11 June (OC) 6,159 officers, 193,994 soldiers (=200,153 men)
  24. ↑ A. A. Pallis: Greece's Anatolian Venture - and After Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Taylor & Francis, p. 56 (footnote 5).
  25. ↑ "When Greek meets Turk; How the Conflict in Asia Minor Is Regarded on the Spot - King Constantine's View" Archived 2 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine, T. Walter Williams, The New York Times, 10 September 1922.
  26. ↑ Isaiah Friedman: British Miscalculations: The Rise of Muslim Nationalism, 1918-1925, Transaction Publishers, 2012, ISBN 1412847109, page 239
  27. ↑ Charles à Court Repington: After the War, Simon Publications LLC, 2001, ISBN 1931313733, page 67
  28. ↑ "British in Turkey May Be Increased" Archived 19 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 19 June 1920.
  29. ↑ Anahide Ter Minassian: La république d'Arménie. 1918-1920 La mémoire du siècle., éditions complexe, Bruxelles 1989 ISBN 2-87027-280-4, pg 220
  30. ↑ Jowett, Philip (20 July 2015). Armies of the Greek-Turkish War 1919–22. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781472806864. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2016 – via Google Books.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Kate Fleet, Suraiya Faroqhi, Reşat Kasaba: The Cambridge History of Turkey Volume 4 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 0-521-62096-1, p. 159.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Sabahattin Selek: Millî mücadele - Cilt I (engl.: National Struggle - Edition I), Burçak yayınevi, 1963, page 109. (in Turkish)
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Ahmet Özdemir, Savaş esirlerinin Milli mücadeledeki yeri Archived 18 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Ankara University, Türk İnkılap Tarihi Enstitüsü Atatürk Yolu Dergisi, Edition 2, Number 6, 1990, pg 328-332
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Σειρά Μεγάλες Μάχες: Μικρασιατική Καταστροφή (Νο 8), συλλογική εργασία, έκδοση περιοδικού Στρατιωτική Ιστορία, Εκδόσεις Περισκόπιο, Αθήνα, Νοέμβριος 2002, σελίδα 64 (in Greek)
  35. ↑ Στρατιωτική Ιστορία journal, Issue 203, December 2013, page 67
  36. ↑ Ali Çimen, Göknur Göğebakan: Tarihi Değiştiren Savaşlar, Timaş Yayınevi, ISBN 9752634869, 2. Cilt, 2007, sayfa 321 (in Turkish)
  37. ↑ Stephen Vertigans: Islamic Roots and Resurgence in Turkey: Understanding and Explaining the Muslim Resurgence, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, ISBN 0275980510, page 41 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ Nicole Pope, Hugh Pope: Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey, Overlook Press, 2000, ISBN 1585670960, page 58 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  39. ↑ Stephen Joseph Stillwell, Anglo-Turkish relations in the interwar era, Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003, ISBN 0773467769, page 46 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  40. ↑ Richard Ernest Dupuy, Trevor Nevitt Dupuy, The Harper encyclopedia of military history: from 3500 BC to the present, ISBN 0062700561, HarperCollins, 1993, page 1087
  41. ↑ Revue internationale d'histoire militaire - Issues 46-48, University of Michigan, 1980, page 227 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  42. ↑ Robert W.D. Ball: Gun Digest Books, 2011, ISBN 1440215448, 237[dead link]
  43. ↑ Pars Tuğlacı: Tarih boyunca Batı Ermenileri Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Pars Yayın, 2004, ISBN 975-7423-06-8, p. 794.
  44. ↑ Christopher J. Walker, Armenia: The Survival of a Nation, Croom Helm, 1980, p. 310.
  45. ↑ Death by Government, Rudolph Rummel, 1994.
  46. ↑ These are according to the figures provided by Alexander Miasnikyan, the President of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Armenia, in a telegram he sent to the Soviet Foreign Minister Georgy Chicherin in 1921. Miasnikyan's figures were broken down as follows: of the approximately 60,000 Armenians who were killed by the Turkish armies, 30,000 were men, 15,000 women, 5,000 children, and 10,000 young girls. Of the 38,000 who were wounded, 20,000 were men, 10,000 women, 5,000 young girls, and 3,000 children. Instances of mass rape, murder and violence were also reported against the Armenian populace of Kars and Alexandropol: see Vahakn N. Dadrian. (2003). The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus. New York: Berghahn Books, pp. 360–361 Archived 9 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine. ISBN 1-57181-666-6.
  47. ↑ Armenia : The Survival of a Nation, Christopher Walker, 1980, p. 230.
  48. ↑ Rummel, R.J. "Statistics Of Turkey's Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources". University of Hawai'i. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  49. ↑ Özdalga, Elizabeth. The Last Dragoman: the Swedish Orientalist Johannes Kolmodin as Scholar, Activist and Diplomat (2006), Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, p. 63. 
  50. ↑ Várdy, Béla (2003). Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe. Social Science Monographs. p. 190. ISBN 9780880339957. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  51. ↑ Toynbee, Arnold. Toynbee, Arnold (6 April 1922) [9 March 1922], "Letter", The Times, Turkey.. 
  52. ↑ Loder Park, U.S. Vice-Consul James. Smyrna, 11 April 1923. US archives US767.68116/34. 
  53. ↑ HG, Howell. Report on the Nationalist Offensive in Anatolia, Istanbul: The Inter-Allied commission proceeding to Bourssa, F.O. 371-7898, no. E10383.(15 September 1922). 
  54. ↑ Mevlüt Çelebi: Millî Mücadele'de İtalyan İşgalleri (English: Italian occupations during the National Struggle), Journal of Atatürk Research Center, issue 26.
  55. ↑ "British to defend Ismid-Black Sea line" Archived 25 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 19 July 1920.
  56. ↑ "Greeks enter Brussa; Turkish raids go on" Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 11 July 1920.
  57. ↑ "Turk Nationalists capture Beicos" Archived 1 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 7 July 1920.
  58. ↑ "Allies occupy Constantinople; seize ministries" Archived 25 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 18 March 1920.
  59. ↑ "British to fight rebels in Turkey" Archived 24 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 1 May 1920.
  60. ↑ Nurettin Türsan, Burhan Göksel: Birinci Askeri Tarih Semineri: bildiriler, 1983, page 42 Archived 15 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
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