İzmir During the National Struggle

At the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire surrendered by signing the Armistice of Mondros on October 30, 1918. With the armistice, the victorious states gained the right to occupy wherever they wished. Due to the demobilization of its military and the surrender of its weapons, the state had no power to resist. The Entente states had divided the Ottoman country with the secret agreements they had made between them during the Great War. The victorious states gathered in Paris and started negotiations to determine the political fate of the Ottoman Empire. At the Paris Conference, it was decided to leave Izmir and its surroundings to Greece. Despite Italy's objections, Greece was allowed to temporarily occupy Izmir. The occupation of İzmir did not mean that it was ceded to Greece. As a matter of fact, in the Treaty of Sèvres, İzmir would not be directly ceded to Greece. Greece wanted to achieve Enosis (annexation). For this, Izmir had to be cleansed of Turks. As a matter of fact, the Greeks, who occupied Izmir on May 15, 1919, committed massacres and committed intolerable atrocities as a requirement of their occupation policy. The atrocities committed by the Greeks were ignored by the allied states. However, these atrocities strengthened the belief and will of the Turkish nation to fight for themselves. The İzmir Mudafaa- i Hukuk-ı Osmaniye Society, which was established in a short time, worked for the people to join the struggle. Thanks to the efforts of the militia and patriotic officers who did not demobilize their soldiers and surrender their weapons, the Kuvâ-yı Milliye detachments began to resist. The Turkish nation waged the National Struggle with the awareness that Izmir would not be abandoned to Greece. With the Great Victory, Izmir was liberated on September 9, 1922. The Greeks left Anatolia, leaving behind great suffering. Izmir and the Turkish people living in Izmir have an exceptional place in the victory of the National Struggle led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha.

Click to cite.

Note: You can access the citation text via the ‘Actions’ tab in Crossref.