South Marmara During The Period of the Grand National Assembly (From 23 April 1920 Until the Abolition of the Kuvâ-yı Milliye (National Forces))

The Entente States officially occupied Istanbul on 16 March 1919. They raided the Meclis-i Mebusan (the Ottoman Parliament) and dissolved the parliament. Some of the deputies, including important names, were exiled to Malta. Following this, Mustafa Kemal Pasha immediately started to work to establish a parliament with extraordinary powers in Ankara. Elections were also held in the cities of the Southern Marmara region and the elected deputies were sent to Ankara. On 23 April 1920, the Grand National Assembly was opened in Ankara and started its activities. Meanwhile, there were rebellion movements affecting the cities of the Southern Marmara region. These rebellions posed very important problems for the newly established parliament and government. On 22 June 1920, the Greek army crossed the Milne Line and started to occupy the Southern Marmara region. While Balıkesir and Bursa were occupied one after another, the national forces here were withdrawn in a controlled manner. A Greek division was brought to Izmit to provide support to the British troops. In the face of this situation, the forces affiliated to the National Struggle wanted to be transformed into a regular army. Within the scope of this idea, Ali Fuat (Cebesoy) Pasha, the Commander of the Western Front, was sent to Moscow as an ambassador after the failed Gediz Offensive. The Western Front was organised and Miralay İsmet (İnönü) Bey was appointed as the commander and Refet (Bele) Pasha was appointed as the commander of the Southern Front. All units of the Kuvâ-yı Milliye were organised as part of the regular army. Thereafter, the National Struggle was conducted in an effort to stop the Greek army and to remove it completely from Anatolia. In this section, the process from the opening of the Grand National Assembly to the establishment of the regular army is evaluated.

Click to cite.

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