Turkish War of Independence
war fought between the Turkish National Movement and the Entente and their proxies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Turkish War of Independence (also known as the Turkish War of Liberation) was a military conflict waged by the Turkish National Movement against the Allied Powers after World War I. The war lasted from 1919 to 1923 and resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
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Turkish War of Independence | |||||||||
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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. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Turkish Nationalists: Supported by:
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Entente: Greece (in 1920) Supported by: Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Georgia Georgia (in 1921) Istanbul Government[e]
Separatists:
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa Fevzi Pasha Mustafa İsmet Pasha Kazım Karabekir Pasha Fahrettin Pasha Ali Fuat Pasha Refet Pasha Nureddin Pasha Ethem the Circassian Template:Country data Cyrenaica Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi[18] |
Constantine I Alexander I Eleftherios Venizelos Anastasios Papoulas Georgios Hatzianestis Leonidas Paraskevopoulos Kimon Digenis (POW) Nikolaos Trikoupis (POW) Henri Gouraud Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia Drastamat Kanayan Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia Movses Silikyan Sir George Milne Mehmed VI Damat Ferid Pasha Süleyman Şefik Pasha Anzavur Ahmed Pasha Ethem the Circassian | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
May 1919: 35,000[19] November 1920: 86,000 (creation of regular army)[20] August 1922: 271,000[21][note 1] |
Dec. 1919: 80,000[22] 1922: 200,000[23]–250,000[24][25] 60,000[26][27] 30,000[28] Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia 20,000[29] 7,000 (at peak)[30] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
13,000 killed[31] 22,690 died of disease[32] 5,362 died of wounds or other non-combat causes[32] 35,000 wounded[31] 7,000 prisoners[33][f] |
24,240 killed[34] 18,095 missing 48,880 wounded 4,878 died outside of combat 13,740 prisoners[34][35][note 2] Template:Country data Democratic Republic of Armenia 1,100+ killed[43] 3,000+ prisoners[44] ~7,000 | ||||||||
264,000 Greek civilians killed[45] 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians killed[46][47] 15,000+ Turkish civilians killed in the Western Front[48] 30,000+ buildings and 250+ villages burnt to the ground by the Hellenic Army and Greek/Armenian rebels.[49][50][51][52][53] | |||||||||
Notes
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After World War I, the Ottoman 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. In response, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 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 Allied Powers and their local proxies, including the Armenian, Greek, and French forces. The conflict was marked by several key battles, including the Battle of 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. This 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 Atatürk became the first president of Turkey and 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, as it marked the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of a new era in Turkish history, characterized by secularism, modernization, and a strong sense of national identity.