HOW COULD I KNOW THAT THE GENIUS OF THE 20TH CENTURY WOULD EMERGES FROM TURKEY WITH THE NAME OF MUSTAFA KEMAL?
Memoirs of the British officer Major Salter, who was tasked with
arresting ATATURK when he landed in Samsun on May 19th and
sending him to Istanbul, but who instead of arresting him, froze
in the face of Atatürk’s gaze and surrendered with his battalion
Mr. Salter recounts the rest of the incident as follows:
“Mustafa Kemal Pasha gave me one of those black-booted,
black-capped men, and sent me to Ankara, where they said I would
be hosted, with my own official car and driver.
I learned that the prisoners of my battalion were also placed in
prison camps set up in Çorum, Çankırı and Kastamonu. I stayed in
a two-story wooden house on the street in front of the
Hacıbayram Mosque in Ankara until the end of the Turkish War of
Independence. I lived in this house for nearly four years with a
woman who they said would serve me, but who was actually my
guard and who could squeeze my water if she squeezed me.
According to the agreement signed at the end of the war, my
battalion and I were exchanged for Turkish prisoners in Malta.
As soon as I returned to England I was arrested and brought to the court
martial for treason. They wanted a long prison sentence for me!
My family and parents who visited me while I was in the military prison
brought me many newspapers and books so that I could make my defense.
I prepared a short but concise defense using them.The crime I was
accused of was surrendering my battalion without any resistance.The
prosecutor claimed that my surrender was tantamount to treason and
wanted me to be punished in the most severe way.
When I appeared before the Supreme Military Court I read my defense with
great composure and ended it with the following sentences:
"Honourable judges… Our Prime Minister Lloyd
George was asked the following question in the House of Commons:
‘We armed the Greeks and landed them in Izmir on May 15, 1919… And
since then we have spent billions of pounds. What was the result? The
Greeks were thrown into the sea in Izmir.
In addition, all the Greeks in Anatolia were expelled or forced to
migrate. What did we gain from this incident? None… Isn’t this an unwise
blunder, a terrible mistake, a great disaster?’
In response to this harsh and accusatory question, our Prime Minister
Lloyd George gave the following answer:
‘Centuries produce one or two geniuses. How could I have known
that the genius of the 20th century would come out of Turkey under the
name of Mustafa Kemal?’
You see, Honourable judges… This officer before had come face to
face and eye contact with the genius of the 20th century that our Prime
Minister was talking about at a moment I least
expected. What could I have done?
If I had acted differently that day, you would have come with me to
visit the graves of my entire battalion. But now, except for three of
our soldiers who died of natural causes, we have all returned to our
homeland safe and sound and reunited with our families. The decision
belongs to your supreme justice.'
“I was acquitted and discharged. I went to Turkey with my family and
visited Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Pasha welcomed me with his magnificent
kindness. If I had not been called back to England for duty, I would
have stayed in Turkey...
When I returned to England, they took me to the Royal Air Force and...
They gave me an important position in the Intelligence Directorate.
I am working in the group that provides communication between Turkey and
England.”
Retired Air Force Colonel Kemal İntepe says in her memoirs about Major Salter, "We work together for more than two years. During this time, he always defended us and always considered himself one of us. he was a great admirer of Atatürk.