Kurtuluş Savaşı Bir İç Savaş Değil, Bir Bağımsızlık Mücadelesidir
The Shot that Sparked the Turkish Independence War
The end of World War I is commonly demarked by either the Armistice on November 11, 1918 or by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.
Most American schoolchildren will never know the Ottoman Empire beyond the simple fact that the Ottomans were a combatant in World War I on the side of the Germans, and that they were the “other side” in the Battle of Gallipoli.
The period following the Armistice is not treated at all, so most American kids have no idea that in Anatolia fighting actually continued until the end of 1923. What they may hear of this period later on in life is also piecemeal: there may be reference to a “Greco-Turkish War” or allegations of genocide against Armenians (Turco-Armenian War). Unfortunately, such piecewise designations are not only inadequate in characterizing the true nature of the fighting, but also leave out an important aspect of the conflict: the fighting was not just among local populations, but involved the instigation, participation and indeed the planning of the “Great Powers”, such as Britain, France, Italy, and Russia.
Unfortunately, such piecewise designations are not only inadequate in characterizing the true nature of the fighting, but also leave out an important aspect of the conflict: the fighting was not just among local populations, but involved the instigation, participation and indeed the planning of the “Great Powers”, such as Britain, France, Italy, and Russia.
The Turkish Independence War – as the period is more aptly named – was not just a sequence of battles, but a resistance movement of the Turkish people against the conquest and colonization attempts of Europe.
The stakes were high. The territories of the vanquished Ottoman Empire were perhaps the most lucrative spoils of war that any nation could hope for.
Indeed, World War I offered the Allies a chance to erase from the face of the earth what they perceived to be a “Turkish Muslim threat” against “Christian Europe.”
It was against the Turks that Europe had fought most of her Crusades, albeit unsuccessfully.
And it was the Turks who knocked on the gates of Vienna in 1529. The defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, however, signaled the collapse of the Empire and many countries made claims on its territory, without any regard for the rights of the Turkish people.
Even before the end of World War I, the Allies had - in secret treaties made in 1915, 1916 and 1917 - agreed upon the division of Anatolia, the Turkish heartland, and other Ottoman territories.
Istanbul was promised to the Russians, in addition to the land lying between Persia and the Black Sea. The caliphate was to be taken away from the Turks and instead the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina were to be independently ruled.
In addition to an equal share of territory in Anatolia, Britain was promised an oil-rich piece of Persia, the port of Haifa, and lower Mesopotamia (Iraq).
France was to get a large section of Anatolia and Syria, extending all the way from the port of Acre to the Tigris River. The cities of Damascus, Homs and Aleppo were kindly “left” for a future Arab state.
In return for joining the war, Italy was initially promised large stretches of land within the Austrian Empire, a port in Albania, parts of North Africa, the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean (off the coast of Turkey) and part of Anatolia centered around Antalya.
The city of Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey, was coveted by all. On one hand, Italy was trying to expand her portion of Anatolian territory to include Izmir and the surrounding regions.
On the other hand, Greece was working to realize the “Megali Idea” – a policy that aimed to include all land that had been influenced by Hellenism at some point in history. Thus, Greece also sought the Izmir region, claiming that it was of “ancient Greek heritage” even though it had been a Turkish homeland for over a thousand years, and its population was majority Turkish.
As for England, she was mostly concerned with limiting Italian strength in the Middle East and was searching for a formula to bring Greece into the war on the side of the Allies. Izmir provided England with a way to achieve both of these goals. Thus in 1915, England offered Izmir to the Greeks in exchange for their entry into the war.
However, this proposal was rejected by King Constantine, who had deep reservations about the war. It was not until the King was expelled from Greece by the Allies and replaced with Venizelos in June 1917 that Greece entered the war. In the meantime, however, a secret treaty signed in April 1917 promised the Izmir to the Italians, in exchange for Italy’s recognition of British and French claims on Mesopotamia.
This treaty conflicted with Britain’s promise to Greece, who promptly claimed Izmir at the end of World War I.
Naturally, these conflicting aspirations caused much disagreement among the Allies during the Paris Peace Conference that convened in January 1919. In protest, Italy left the Conference on April 24 and did not return until May 5.
She even sent a warship to Izmir on April 30th to prevent a Greek occupation. Italy’s temporary absence from the Conference, however, enabled British Premier Lloyd George to persuade France and the United States to support the Greek occupation of Izmir.
Thus, on May 6, 1919, Greece was authorized to occupy Izmir, and the first Greek troops landed on May 15, 1919, under the protection of British, French and Greek warships.
At this point it should be noted that this military action against the Turkish people was taken despite the signing of the Mondros Armistice in October 1918, which stipulated the end of Ottoman involvement in World War I and a cessation of all hostilities.
As Greek troops marched towards the Turkish barracks, native Greeks walked in front, carrying a large Greek flag, applauding and shouting “Long live Venizelos!”
When Greek army officers entered the Mayor’s office, they stepped on the Turkish flag – the symbol of the Turkish freedom and nationhood – as a means of further disrespecting the Turkish people and indicating their desires to wipe the Turkish state off from the face of the earth.
However, the Turks were not to give up so easily. Left without a state, supposedly represented by an Ottoman puppet government in British occupied Istanbul, and attacked from all sides – by the Greeks and British in the west, the French and Armenians in the south, and the Russians and Armenians in the east – it would be up to the Turkish people to change the fate set out for them by the invading Allied forces.
ImageThe first courageous Turkish soul to take a stand against the Greek invasion was to be the Turkish journalist, Hasan Tahsin. Born in Salonika in 1888, Osman Nevres – later to be known by his pen name, Hasan Tahsin – graduated from the University of Paris Law School before becoming a journalist in Izmir.
He published a manifesto, entitled “The Rejection of Annexation”, opposing the Greek invasion and was the first to open fire, killing one Greek soldier, as the invasion of Izmir began. There was nothing unique about Hasan Tahsin. He was just one of many brave Turks who would become martyrs and heroes for their country.
Even though the Mayor of Izmir explained that this shot was a personal act on behalf of a demonstrator, the Greek forces used this as a pretext for beginning a general slaughter of the Turkish population.
Greek soldiers began to rob, plunder, and loot buildings in the city, killing, raping, and torturing Turks along the way. By the end of the May 15, roughly 400 Turks had been massacred, and 2,500 subjected to arbitrary detention.
Officers of the Allied Powers communicated descriptions of the atrocities to their commanders, but nothing was done to stop the horror.
On the contrary, Greek advancement into the interior of Anatolia, beyond Izmir, was condoned. The Turkish Independence War had begun.
Most American schoolchildren will never know the Ottoman Empire beyond the simple fact that the Ottomans were a combatant in World War I on the side of the Germans, and that they were the “other side” in the Battle of Gallipoli.
The period following the Armistice is not treated at all, so most American kids have no idea that in Anatolia fighting actually continued until the end of 1923. What they may hear of this period later on in life is also piecemeal: there may be reference to a “Greco-Turkish War” or allegations of genocide against Armenians (Turco-Armenian War). Unfortunately, such piecewise designations are not only inadequate in characterizing the true nature of the fighting, but also leave out an important aspect of the conflict: the fighting was not just among local populations, but involved the instigation, participation and indeed the planning of the “Great Powers”, such as Britain, France, Italy, and Russia.
Unfortunately, such piecewise designations are not only inadequate in characterizing the true nature of the fighting, but also leave out an important aspect of the conflict: the fighting was not just among local populations, but involved the instigation, participation and indeed the planning of the “Great Powers”, such as Britain, France, Italy, and Russia.
The Turkish Independence War – as the period is more aptly named – was not just a sequence of battles, but a resistance movement of the Turkish people against the conquest and colonization attempts of Europe.
The stakes were high. The territories of the vanquished Ottoman Empire were perhaps the most lucrative spoils of war that any nation could hope for.
Indeed, World War I offered the Allies a chance to erase from the face of the earth what they perceived to be a “Turkish Muslim threat” against “Christian Europe.”
It was against the Turks that Europe had fought most of her Crusades, albeit unsuccessfully.
And it was the Turks who knocked on the gates of Vienna in 1529. The defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, however, signaled the collapse of the Empire and many countries made claims on its territory, without any regard for the rights of the Turkish people.
Even before the end of World War I, the Allies had - in secret treaties made in 1915, 1916 and 1917 - agreed upon the division of Anatolia, the Turkish heartland, and other Ottoman territories.
Istanbul was promised to the Russians, in addition to the land lying between Persia and the Black Sea. The caliphate was to be taken away from the Turks and instead the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina were to be independently ruled.
In addition to an equal share of territory in Anatolia, Britain was promised an oil-rich piece of Persia, the port of Haifa, and lower Mesopotamia (Iraq).
France was to get a large section of Anatolia and Syria, extending all the way from the port of Acre to the Tigris River. The cities of Damascus, Homs and Aleppo were kindly “left” for a future Arab state.
In return for joining the war, Italy was initially promised large stretches of land within the Austrian Empire, a port in Albania, parts of North Africa, the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean (off the coast of Turkey) and part of Anatolia centered around Antalya.
The city of Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey, was coveted by all. On one hand, Italy was trying to expand her portion of Anatolian territory to include Izmir and the surrounding regions.
On the other hand, Greece was working to realize the “Megali Idea” – a policy that aimed to include all land that had been influenced by Hellenism at some point in history. Thus, Greece also sought the Izmir region, claiming that it was of “ancient Greek heritage” even though it had been a Turkish homeland for over a thousand years, and its population was majority Turkish.
As for England, she was mostly concerned with limiting Italian strength in the Middle East and was searching for a formula to bring Greece into the war on the side of the Allies. Izmir provided England with a way to achieve both of these goals. Thus in 1915, England offered Izmir to the Greeks in exchange for their entry into the war.
However, this proposal was rejected by King Constantine, who had deep reservations about the war. It was not until the King was expelled from Greece by the Allies and replaced with Venizelos in June 1917 that Greece entered the war. In the meantime, however, a secret treaty signed in April 1917 promised the Izmir to the Italians, in exchange for Italy’s recognition of British and French claims on Mesopotamia.
This treaty conflicted with Britain’s promise to Greece, who promptly claimed Izmir at the end of World War I.
Naturally, these conflicting aspirations caused much disagreement among the Allies during the Paris Peace Conference that convened in January 1919. In protest, Italy left the Conference on April 24 and did not return until May 5.
She even sent a warship to Izmir on April 30th to prevent a Greek occupation. Italy’s temporary absence from the Conference, however, enabled British Premier Lloyd George to persuade France and the United States to support the Greek occupation of Izmir.
Thus, on May 6, 1919, Greece was authorized to occupy Izmir, and the first Greek troops landed on May 15, 1919, under the protection of British, French and Greek warships.
At this point it should be noted that this military action against the Turkish people was taken despite the signing of the Mondros Armistice in October 1918, which stipulated the end of Ottoman involvement in World War I and a cessation of all hostilities.
As Greek troops marched towards the Turkish barracks, native Greeks walked in front, carrying a large Greek flag, applauding and shouting “Long live Venizelos!”
When Greek army officers entered the Mayor’s office, they stepped on the Turkish flag – the symbol of the Turkish freedom and nationhood – as a means of further disrespecting the Turkish people and indicating their desires to wipe the Turkish state off from the face of the earth.
However, the Turks were not to give up so easily. Left without a state, supposedly represented by an Ottoman puppet government in British occupied Istanbul, and attacked from all sides – by the Greeks and British in the west, the French and Armenians in the south, and the Russians and Armenians in the east – it would be up to the Turkish people to change the fate set out for them by the invading Allied forces.
ImageThe first courageous Turkish soul to take a stand against the Greek invasion was to be the Turkish journalist, Hasan Tahsin. Born in Salonika in 1888, Osman Nevres – later to be known by his pen name, Hasan Tahsin – graduated from the University of Paris Law School before becoming a journalist in Izmir.
He published a manifesto, entitled “The Rejection of Annexation”, opposing the Greek invasion and was the first to open fire, killing one Greek soldier, as the invasion of Izmir began. There was nothing unique about Hasan Tahsin. He was just one of many brave Turks who would become martyrs and heroes for their country.
Even though the Mayor of Izmir explained that this shot was a personal act on behalf of a demonstrator, the Greek forces used this as a pretext for beginning a general slaughter of the Turkish population.
Greek soldiers began to rob, plunder, and loot buildings in the city, killing, raping, and torturing Turks along the way. By the end of the May 15, roughly 400 Turks had been massacred, and 2,500 subjected to arbitrary detention.
Officers of the Allied Powers communicated descriptions of the atrocities to their commanders, but nothing was done to stop the horror.
On the contrary, Greek advancement into the interior of Anatolia, beyond Izmir, was condoned. The Turkish Independence War had begun.
Sevgi Zübeyde Gürbüz,USA Turkish Times,Edition 39
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