The Western Front During the National Struggle

The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mondros on October 30, 1918 and withdrew from World War I. The Armistice of Mondros put the Ottoman Empire in a difficult situation in many respects. Immediately after the Armistice, the Entente States started to occupy the lands under the control of the Ottoman Empire based on Article 7, which allowed them to occupy the places where they saw as a threat to their security. Many cities, including Mosul, Ayntab, Maras, Urfa, Batumi, Iskenderun, Mersin and Adana, were occupied by the Allies during this period. On May 15, 1919, Izmir was occupied by Greece with the support of Britain. The last straw for the Turkish nation was the occupation of Izmir by Greece. The Greek occupation of Izmir was a turning point for the National Struggle. Greece expanded its occupation zone in Western Anatolia in a short time and tried to take the whole of Western Anatolia under its control. In this context, Afyonkarahisar, Manisa, Aydın, Kütahya, Uşak and Eskişehir were also occupied by Greece. Turks living in these cities under Greek occupation were subjected to intolerable persecution. Many people were massacred, wounded, insulted and even raped by the occupying Greek soldiers. In the face of these events, the Turkish nation had to defend itself. In these cities, Associations for Defence of National Rights were established, and with the self-sacrificing efforts of the established associations, Kuvâ-yı Milliye troops were formed, the National Struggle was initiated and the Western Front was established.

Click to cite.

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