Battle of Kovanbaşı

The Battle of Kovanbaşı took place between Turkish National Forces and the French Third Republic during the Franco-Turkish War. The battle ended with a Turkish victory on 11 October 1920.

Battle of Kovanbaşı
Part of the Franco-Turkish War
Disposition of the French and Turkish forces during the battle.
Date 10–11 October 1920 Location Osmaniye Result Turkish victory
Belligerents
National Forces	France French Armenian Legion

Background

French interest in the region was sparked by the Sykes-Picot Agreement, signed amidst World War I.

Battle

Battle of Kovanbaşı was the first one of 2 major battles in Osmaniye Province during the Franco-Turkish War.^[1] The battle started on 10 October when French artillery fired several fires against Turkish targets. As a response, Turkish troops marched to the French positions and French forces retreated. Then the French moved their troops in Düziçi to the battlefront in Kovanbaşı but were defeated again. After 8 hours of fighting, all French and Armenian troops in the region retreated to northern Ceyhan with heavy casualties, around 1,000.^[1][2][3]

Aftermath

After the battle, Battle of Kanlı Geçit was fought in November and resulted in Turkish victory, forcing French to fully retreat from Osmaniye Province.