Turkish War of Independence: From Sevrés to the Armistice of Mudanya

The Allied occupation of Anatolia was legitimized through the Treaty of Sevrés by sharing Anatolia among themselves. But their plan was just left on paper since a national struggle started in Anatolia under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal.

It was the Grand National Assembly (Büyük Millet Meclisi) called the Turkish Grand National Assembly (hereafter the TGNA) after March 1921 with its government served as the sole political entity defending the Turkish national interests in Anatolia and organized people around a common goal to save it from the occupations.

The Struggle was initiated by the militia groups called kuva-yı milliye (national forces) in 1919 later maintained by the regular army established under the authority of the TGNA in June 1920.

The Turkish War of Independence had two stages.

The first stage started after the landing of the Greek Troops in 1919 which initiated the Greco-Turkish War and continued until the first defeat of the Greek Army at the Battle of Sakarya in September 1921. During this period the TGNA Army repelled the Armenian attacks in Eastern Anatolia and the national forces repelled the French and Armenian attacks in Southern Anatolia as well.

The second stage was the period that started after the Sakarya Battle until victory achieved with the Turkish Great Offensive (Büyük Taarruz) in 1922 which defeated the Greek Army and sent them out of the National borders determined by the National Oath/National Pact (Misak-ı Milli).

The Mudanya Armistice not only ended the Allied occupation which had started in 1918 but also brought an end to the Ottoman Empire.

The Greco-Turkish War started after the Greek landing in İzmir in 1919, in accordance with the agreements made with the Allied powers, and continued until the Greek troops were defeated in 1922. This war at the same time was the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence to save Anatolia from the Allied occupation.

The patriotic people in Aegean Region protested occupations and they formed militia forces (national forces) to confront the Greek Army. To this end, the first national force of the western front was formed by District Governor (Kaymakam) Bekir Sami and Major Tahir in Ödemiş on 23 May 1919 to confront the Greek Army. Many recently discharged Ottoman Turkish soldiers as well as thousands of civilians joined this national force.

The Redd-i İlhâk Komitesi (Rejection of Annexation Committee) held congresses in Balıkesir (June 1919) and in Alaşehir (August 1919) to call people to stand against the Greek occupation. These congresses had great influence on people to get organized in western Anatolia.

Ali Fuat Pasha, the Commander of the Western Front, attacked the Greek Army but failed to stop them and had to retreat. Upon this, Colonel İsmet (İsmet İnönü), replaced Ali Fuat who was appointed as Ambassador to Moscow. The Western Front was divided into two commands. İsmet Pasha was in command of the North West while Ali Refet Pasha was in charge of South West Front. Colonel İsmet came to Bilecik on 10 November 1920 to organize the forces under his command.

Ankara government created a regular army. This army was under the command of Ankara Government and represented the TGNA. When Mustafa Kemal decided to put his trusted friends to the command of the Western Front, Ethem who has been very supportive of the national movement took it as an insult. He had to become part of a regular army which did not sit well with him. Gradually, his relations with the Ankara government became stressed and in the long run even hostile. He rebelled against the Ankara government just as the Greeks were getting ready to attact on the TGNA Army. Çerkez Ethem lost and in the end he disbanded his forces. Some of them joined the national army, some took to the mountains and became outlaws. In the end, Çerkez Ethem took refuge with the Greeks and later fled and lived in Jordan until his death.

The Italian occupation was realized without encountering any resistance. The most important reason why the Italian occupations were easily done was their friendly attitude towards the Turkish people. Unlike the brutal Greek occupation, the Italians treated the people fairly, protected the Turks living in the occupied territories against the Greeks and provided help to the Turks who had to migrate from the Greek occupation zone. The Italians wanted to own the lands which were promised to them with the secret war agreements by establishing peaceful relations with the Turks. They reconstructed the bridges in the towns and in the cities they occupied, provided health service to the people and even let the national forces to enter their occupied areas to find deserters, fugitives and the criminals.

Britain invited the TGNA to this conference through the Istanbul Government on January 27 both to show that the Allies do not recognize the TGNA as an independent political entity and that the Allies still accepted the Istanbul Government as the representative of the Turkish people. Mustafa Kemal, the President of the TGNA, rejected this invitation. He informed the British that Ankara Government would not participate in the conference unless a separate invitation was issued. Mustafa Kemal also sent a message to Tevfik Pasha, the Grand Vizier, and indicated that Istanbul was not independent since it was under Allied occupation and the Turkish Grand National Assembly was the sole independent representative of Anatolia.

While, the Allies were trying to subdue the TGNA, Ankara signed a friendship agreement with Afghanistan on March 1, 1921. Afghanistan was the first Muslim nation to recognize the TGNA as an independent entity.

The Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Moscow (the Treaty of Brotherhood or Friendship) with the TGNA on March 6, 1921 after the Turkish victory at İnönü.

The Bolshevik government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (hereafter the USSR) also established close relations with the TGNA since both were fighting against the same enemies who were the imperialist powers of Europe. The Bolsheviks believed that instead of Britain it was better to have the Turks control the Straits and Anatolia. They presumed that the nationalists had a better chance of winning and a possible Turkish victory with the Soviet support could set an example to all Muslim societies struggling for independence which could destroy capitalism.

The Turkish victory at the battles of İnönü strengthened the image and power of the Turkish Grand National Assembly both in the country and in the world.

The Turkish victories caused Britain to loose trust in the ability of the Greek Army to be victorious over the Turks. In seemingly good faith, the British released forty Turkish detainees whom they kept in Malta on April 28, 1921.

In the end, Mustafa Kemal strengthened his position in the Turkish Grand National Assembly against his rivals and he founded the Müdafaa-i Hukuk Grubu (National Defense Group) in May.

The deputies asked Mustafa Kemal to take the responsibility of fighting the Greek army. He requested complete and unquestionable authority to take the Army under his command. He was given full powers as Commander-in-chief of the Army by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on August 5, 1921 for a period of three months.

After the Sakarya Battle Mustafa Kemal returned to Ankara in triumph and was awarded with the title of Ghazi and the rank of Field Marshal (müşir).

The opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on April 23, 1920 in fact was birth of a new state in Anatolia. Both the Ottoman Sultan and his government (Istanbul Government) as well as the Allied Powers were aware of this fact.

While the Battle of Sakarya enhanced the reputation and image of the TGNA and its army in the country, the most significant aftermath was seen in foreign relations. Most notable was that the countries that sympathize with the Turks signed either friendship treaties or treaties to solve the border disputes with the Ankara government.

The most concrete example of the treaties was the Treaty of Kars signed with the USSR on October 13, 1921 solving border disputes. The Allied Powers were shocked by the Turkish victory and tried to establish peaceful relations with the Turks again.

The French troops left Anatolia by signing a separate treaty, the Treaty of Ankara (Ankara Antlaşması) with the Ankara Government on October 20, 1921.

 On the day the TGNA was opened Mustafa Kemal submitted a proposal to the Assembly. In this proposal he affirmed that:

• There should be no power superior over the Assembly,

• There should be no appointed deputy in place of the sultan and the caliph whether temporary or not,

• The government should be responsible only to the Parliament,

• The president of the Assembly should preside over the government, and

• The future of the sultan caliph should be determined by the Assembly.

Because Britain was not satisfied with the lands they could grasp at the end of World War I and wanted to take full control of the Straits to create a buffer zone with the propaganda that Britain was the protector of the caliphate. When they discovered that this would not be possible if the Nationalists became dominant in Anatolia, Britain cooperated with the Ottoman Sultan and his government.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly had to take measures against these rebellions. To this end, in April 1920 a law was decreed by the Assembly named Hıyanet-i Vataniye (Treason against the Motherland), and in accordance with this law İstiklal Mahkemeleri (Courts of Independence) were formed to implement the law.

The Peace Treaty of Gümrü was signed on December 3, 1920. This treaty was the first peace treaty that the Turkish Grand National Assembly had signed as a result of its military success with an internationally accepted state. With this treaty, Kars, Sarıkamış, Oltu, Posof, Şavşat, Kağızman, Kulp, and Iğdır were taken back and the Armenians would disarm their army.

A lasting peace in the southern front in Anatolia was made possible when the French Army accepted defeat and signed the Treaty of Ankara (Ankara Antlaşması) on October 20, 1921.

Turkish people in Anatolia believed in Mustafa Kemal, the Turkish Grand National Assembly and its army. Beside their spiritual support the Turkish people also donated money, cloths, animals, their property and paid taxes issued by the TGNA.

The Ankara government received financial help from outside Anatolia as well. These donations were made by the Turks who lived abroad and charity organizations located in foreign countries as well as by the USSR and the Indian Muslims.

The Indian Muslims collected financial aid and sent it to the Turkish Red Crescent.

The Soviets had been aiding the national resistance. The French and the Italians also donated arms and ammunition as well as selling planes.

The preparations for an offensive against the Greek Army were arranged in the greatest secrecy. Only a few people who were close associates of Mustafa Kemal, Kazım (Özalp), the Minister of National Defense, Fevzi (Çakmak) Chief of General Staff Marshal, and İsmet (İnönü) Commander of the Western Front, knew the army could launch attack in the middle of June. All these actions were done in utmost secrecy.

The speed and swiftness of the Great Offensive was one of the reasons for its success. Turkish forces used wing formation tactics to encircle the Greek troops. At the same time the cavalry was organizing swift hit-and-run attacks on the Greek supply lines behind the Greek defensive lines. The Greek army having lost their strategic advantage started to retreat toward west, toward İzmir in a panic.

The Mudanya Armistice Agreement had the following stipulations: