Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence (also known as the Turkish War of Liberation) was a military conflict netween 1919 and 1923 between the Turkish National Movement and the Allies after World War I. The Turkish victory established the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Turkish War of Independence
Part of the Revolutions of 1917–1923 in the aftermath of World War I
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.
Date 19 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[1][2] Territorial changes Establishment of the Republic of Turkey
Belligerents
Turkish Nationalists: Ankara Government (1919–1920; 1920–1923) Also: Template:Country data Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918–1920) Aras Republic (1918–1919) Iğdır National Republic (1918–1920) Provisional Kars Government (1918–1919) Green Army (1919–1920) Oltu Council Government (1919–1920) Kurdistan[3] (1919; 1921–1923)	Allied powers:  Greece  France (until 1921)[c] French West Africa[4] Armenian Legion Algeria[4] Morocco[4] Tunisia[4]  United Kingdom[d]  India[5][6][7]  Armenia (in 1920) Istanbul Government[e] Kuva-yi İnzibatiye Other pro-Istanbul rebels  Georgia (in 1921) Separatists: Pontic Greek rebels Kurdish rebels Assyrian rebels Green Army (1920–1921)
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa Fevzi Pasha Mustafa İsmet Pasha Kâzım Karabekir Pasha Fahrettin Pasha Ali Fuat Pasha Refet Pasha Nureddin Pasha Ali İhsan Pasha Osman the Lame Ethem the Circassian (until 1920)	Eleftherios Venizelos Leonidas Paraskevopoulos Constantine I Dimitrios Gounaris  Anastasios Papoulas Georgios Hatzianestis  Henri Gouraud Drastamat Kanayan Movses Silikyan Sir George Milne Mehmed VI Damat Ferid Pasha Süleyman Şefik Pasha Anzavur Ahmed Pasha  Ethem the Circassian Alişer
Strength
May 1919: 35,000[8] November 1920: 86,000 (creation of regular army)[9] August 1922: 271,000[10][note 1]	Dec. 1919: 80,000[11] 1922: 200,000[12]–250,000[13][14] 60,000[15][16] 30,000[17] 20,000[18] 7,000 (at peak)[19]
Casualties and losses
13,000 killed[20] 22,690 died of disease[21] 5,362 died of wounds or other non-combat causes[21] 35,000 wounded[20] 7,000 prisoners[22][f] Total: 83,052 casualties	24,240 killed[23] 18,095 missing 48,880 wounded 4,878 died outside of combat 13,740 prisoners[23][24][note 2] 1,100+ killed[32] 3,000+ prisoners[33] ~7,000 Total: 116,055 casualties
264,000 Greek civilians killed[34] 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians killed[35][36] 15,000+ Turkish civilians killed in the Western Front[37] 30,000+ buildings and 250+ villages burnt to the ground by the Hellenic Army and Greek/Armenian rebels.[38][39][40][41][42]
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.[43] 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.[44][45][46][47] Moreover, the British troops occupied several towns in Turkey such as Mudanya.[48] 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.[49] 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.[22]

Template:Theaters of the Turkish War of Independence

After World War I, the Turkish 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. Mustafa Kemal, 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 Allies and their local proxies, including the Armenian, Greek, and French forces. There were several key battles, including the Battle of the 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. The 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, who was later called Atatürk, became the first president of Turkey. He 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. It marked the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of a new era, which was characterized by secularism, modernization, and a strong sense of national identity.

The demographics of Anatolia have been affected mainly by the war's massacres.^[50]

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:^[10] 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.^[25] Western sources give 100,000 killed and wounded,^[26][27] with a total sum of 200,000 casualties, taking into account that 100,000 casualties were solely suffered in August–September 1922.^[28][29][30] Material losses, during the war, were enormous too.^[31]