Yörük Selim Bey, One of the Heroes of the Southern Front in the National Struggle and His Activities

The Southern Front was one of the most vigorous fronts of the National Struggle, where epic battles were fought by the Kuvâ-yı Milliye organizations against the French and Armenians. These clashes have caused the names of countless heroes to be heard. One of these heroes is Captain Salim Kurtoğlu from Inebolu, who carried the nickname Yörük Selim Bey, and was sent to the region with Kılıç Ali Bey for the defense of Maraş in line with the order of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Within the scope of our topic, the life and activities of Yörük Selim Bey, one of the heroes whose name was frequently heard in the southern region during the National Struggle, are discussed. The developments in the case of Yörük Selim Bey, who led the national forces on the Southern Front for a while, formed the main argument of our study. For our study, archival documents, the press of the period, memoirs and previously written works were examined; and the sources were processed in order according to the history research method. In this direction, information that is not at the forefront of the struggle of Yörük Selim Bey in Maraş, Osmaniye and Antep has been tried to be brought to the literature. Yörük Selim Bey was one of the pioneers who was sent to ensure that the Defense of the Law, located in the vicinity of Elbistan, was organized around Maraş. He also enabled the national forces in Göksun to be organized. After being useful in the defense of Maraş, he contributed to the organization of the national forces in order to save the Haruniye (Düziçi) region. As the Cebelibereket District Commander in the Osmaniye region, Yörük Selim Bey, who achieved significant success by sabotaging the railways in the region and disrupting the shipping lines of the French forces, also participated lastly in the defense of Antep for a short time.

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