The Turkish War Of Independence

The dramatic story of the turbulent birth of modern Turkey, which rose out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire to fight off Allied occupiers, Greek invaders, and internal ethnic groups to proclaim a new republic under Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk). It is exceedingly rare to run across a major historical event that has no comprehensive English-language history, but such was the case until The Turkish War of Independence brought together all the main strands of the story, including the chaotic ending of World War I in Asia Minor and the numerous military fronts on which the Turks defied odds, fighting off several armies to create their own state from the defeated ashes of the Ottoman Empire. This important book culminates Erickson's three-part series on the early 20th-century military history of the Ottomans and Turkey. Making wide use of specialized, hard-to-find Western and Turkish memoirs and military sources, it presents a narrative of the fighting, which eventually brought the Turkish Nationalist armies to victory. Often termed the "Greco-Turkish War," an incomplete description that misses its geographic and multinational scope, this war pitted Greek, Armenian, French, British, Italian, and insurgent forces against the Nationalists; the narrative shows these conflicts to have been distinct and separate to Turkey's opponents, while the Turkish side saw them as an interconnected whole.

The dramatic story of the turbulent birth of modern Turkey, which rose out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire to fight off Allied occupiers, Greek invaders, and internal ethnic groups to proclaim a new republic under Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk). It is exceedingly rare to run across a major historical event that has no comprehensive English-language history, but such was the case until The Turkish War of Independence brought together all the main strands of the story, including the chaotic ending of World War I in Asia Minor and the numerous military fronts on which the Turks defied odds, fighting off several armies to create their own state from the defeated ashes of the Ottoman Empire. This important book culminates Erickson's three-part series on the early 20th-century military history of the Ottomans and Turkey. Making wide use of specialized, hard-to-find Western and Turkish memoirs and military sources, it presents a narrative of the fighting, which eventually brought the Turkish Nationalist armies to victory. Often termed the "Greco-Turkish War," an incomplete description that misses its geographic and multinational scope, this war pitted Greek, Armenian, French, British, Italian, and insurgent forces against the Nationalists; the narrative shows these conflicts to have been distinct and separate to Turkey's opponents, while the Turkish side saw them as an interconnected whole.

"This book is about the conflict which resolved the Greek-Turkish War of 1919-1922: the Great Offensive. On 26 August 1922, the army of the GNA executed the Great Offensive against the Greek defence line extending from the Bay of Gemlik to the Meander River. The Turkish Forces split the Greek Army into two large groups: annihilated one of the groups in the field at the Battle of Dumlup ̧nar on 30 August and pursued the remaining forces of the Greek Army towards the Aegean and Marmara coasts until 18 September. Within these 24 days, the face of Western Anatolia changed unalterably: numerous towns, villages and cities of Western Anatolia were reduced to ashes. This conflict was a turning point in the histories of Turkey and Greece, as it played a significant role in shaping the present-day demographic and geopolitical landscapes of both nations. It resulted in a population exchange in 1923 that dramatically altered the lives of Muslims in Greece and Greek Orthodox people in Turkey and paved the way to the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Despite the outcome of this war and the existence of a rich literature on its military and political history, the landscapes, memoryscapes and material culture have not been systematically investigated. This book bridges that gap via an archaeological, historical and oral-historical study into the Great Offensive and its aftermath. With its wide chronological perspective, this book is not a pure analysis of a historical war, it is instead a journey into the foundation myth of the Turkish Republic and the ideological foundations of the Turkish state"--

This is not a documentary of historical events but a story based on historical documents about a period in Turkish history during the Turkish peoples' struggle to form an independent republic. Though the events in question occurred relatively recently, the story of Ethem Bey has long been clouded in misinterpretations. It is a canvas portrait of Turkey in that period of crisis and the machinations of the colonial powers to undermine the national aspirations of the Turkish people. The story deals with the rivalry and conflict which arose early between Ismet, the clever politician, and Ethem, the soldier, and how this conflict affected Mustafa Kemal's outlook and decisions during this most turbulent time of modern Turkish history; it is a drama of ambition versus patriotism, compromise versus stubbornness, loyalty versus greed. It becomes apparent that Ismet envied Ethem's popularity and plotted cleverly and successfully to remove him from favour, forcing him ultimately to leave the country. It was Winston Churchill who said "victors always write the history" and that saying is very true in regard to this period of Turkish history. The victor, in this case Ismet Inonu, did write the history of Turkey, and he determined its political and economic policy for nearly 60 years by making the military the masters of the Republic. Ethem's departure from Turkey was immediately portrayed as treason and he was dubbed "Traitor," when in reality Ethem's action was forced upon him by Inonu, and he left Turkey in order to avoid a terrible civil war, the outcome of which might have completely changed the geography and political status of the new Republic we know today. His leaving was in fact an act of sacrifice by a soldier who was a true patriot. The Ismet Inonu campaign against him went so far as to wipe his name from the official history of the war, and if mentioned at all, it was only in negative terms. When he chose to leave the country to avoid a terrible civil war prompted by Ismet Inonu, the label of "Traitor" was put on him by the very republic he had helped to create. Only recently was this label removed and now his sacrifices and heroism are slowly being acknowledged.