PLACE ALL THE FORCES UNDER YOUR COMMAND AT MY DİSPOSAL
During the Gallipoli Campaign, after
receiving reinforcements, the enemy planned to seize the
Conkbayırı-Kocaçimen line and then advance toward the Kabatepe-Maydos
line, thereby cutting the Turkish Army’s connection with Istanbul. At
the same time, with its remaining forces, it intended to land at
Anafartalar and establish a base of operations there.
On an August morning, a serious danger emerged in the
Conkbayırı-Kocaçimen sector, because this line was undefended. If it
fell into enemy hands, the Gallipoli Peninsula itself could be lost.
The Army Commander, Field Marshal Liman von Sanders Pasha, whose
headquarters was at Yalova, called Mustafa Kemal by telephone. Their
conversation was relayed through the Chief of Staff, Kazım Bey.
Sanders asked:
-How do you assess the situation, and what measures do you propose?”
Mustafa Kemal replied that he had already informed all concerned
authorities of his assessment and the measures that should be taken, but
his warnings had gone unanswered. Then he said:
-I have already informed you how I see the situation. Now only one
measure remains.
-What measure is that?
-Place all the forces under your command at my disposal. That is the
measure.
In a somewhat ironic tone, Sanders replied:
-Wouldn’t that be too much?
Mustafa Kemal answered:
-It would be too little!
The conversation ended.
At 9:50 p.m. on the night of 8–9 August, Mustafa Kemal was informed that
he had been appointed commander of the Anafartalar Group. He later said:
“Assuming such a responsibility is certainly not a simple matter. Yet I
accepted it because I had already resolved not to live if my homeland
were to perish.”
Mustafa Kemal personally directed the offensive he had planned and
forced back the superior enemy forces. Then, at dawn on 10 August, he
moved to the front of the ranks he had prepared for a bayonet charge and
led them against the enemy.
After daylight broke, the enemy began an intense bombardment of
Conkbayırı from both land and sea. During this attack, a piece of
shrapnel struck Mustafa Kemal on the right side of his chest.
Fortunately, the watch in his breast pocket shattered and absorbed the
impact, saving him from injury, and perhaps from death itself.
Leading from the very front of the 10 August offensive, organized by the
8th Division in close formation, Mustafa Kemal drove back the enemy that
sought to establish itself at Conkbayırı and, for the second time, saved
the peninsula.
The fierce enemy assault of 21 August 1915 was likewise repulsed after
brutal hand-to-hand fighting.
Mustafa Kemal’s Account of the Battle of Conkbayırı
In his notebook, Mustafa Kemal later wrote:
"I spent the entire night extremely restless and
without sleep. Reports arriving from the Anafartalar region, especially
certain incorrect but important reports, occupied my attention. At the
same time, commanders who had lost contact with their units or superiors
during the previous days’ confusion came directly to me for guidance,
leaving me no time to rest."
I sent several officers from my headquarters to determine the
dispositions of the Eighth Division. The 41st Regiment failed to arrive
by the appointed hour for the attack. It had gone in the wrong direction
but later appeared. The Eighth Division had taken up its assigned
positions.Two battalions of the 23rd Regiment had formed the front line,
while another battalion was stationed behind them, all prepared to
assault Conkbayırı. The 28th Regiment had likewise completed its
preparations to attack Şainsırt.
Dawn was approaching. I stepped outside my tent and could see the
soldiers who were about to attack. I intended to wait for the assault to
begin. The darkness of night had lifted. It was now time.I looked at my
watch. Within a few minutes daylight would fully expose our troops to
the enemy. I had no doubt that if the enemy infantry and machine-gun
fire began, and if shells from their land and naval artillery exploded
among our tightly packed ranks, the attack would become impossible.He
then ran forward and joined the division commander at the head of the
assault line:
We moved to the front of the formation. I conducted a very brief
inspection. As I passed before the soldiers, I greeted them loudly and
said:
"Soldiers! I have no doubt whatsoever that we shall defeat the enemy
before you. But do not rush forward. Let me advance first. When I signal
with my whip, you will all charge together."
I ordered the commanders and officers to ensure that the soldiers
watched closely for my signal.Then I advanced a short distance in front
of the assault line and raised my whip into the air. That was the
signal.Every man fixed his eyes upon him.
“Our soldiers, with bayonets fixed and one foot
thrust forward, and our officers before them with pistols and swords in
hand, surged ahead like a mass of steel the moment my whip came
down.Soon, within the enemy trenches, nothing could be heard except
cries of ‘Allah! Allah!’The enemy scarcely had time to use their
weapons.After heroic hand-to-hand combat, the enemy occupying the first
line was completely annihilated.”
After four hours of fierce fighting, the 23rd and 24th Regiments cleared
Conkbayırı of enemy forces, while the 28th Regiment recaptured the
highest points of Şahinsırt and drove the enemy westward.
Once Conkbayırı had been retaken, the enemy unleashed an intense
artillery barrage from both sea and land.“Conkbayırı became a hell.
Shrapnel and fragments of iron rained from the sky. Heavy naval shells
buried themselves deep in the earth before exploding, opening huge
craters beside us.The whole ridge was engulfed in smoke and fire.
Everyone calmly awaited whatever fate would bring.Around us lay martyrs
and wounded men. As I watched these events unfold,
a piece of shrapnel
struck the right side of my chest.It smashed the watch in my pocket to
pieces but failed to penetrate my body. It left only a deep bruise and a
stain of blood. Later, I presented that shattered watch to Liman von
Sanders Pasha as a memento of that day. In return, he gave me his own
watch, bearing his family crest.
On the Threat of Poison Gas Rumors spread during the campaign that the
enemy would employ poison gas.Mustafa Kemal wrote:
"We
had no means of protection against such a weapon. Even if the enemy used
poison gas, we occupied the heights while they were in the plain below,
so it would not affect us greatly."
In fact, they attempted an experiment, but a change in the wind spared
us from disaster.The soldiers’ confidence in us increased as a
result.Daily Order from Kemalyeri, April 1915Mustafa Kemal issued the
following order:
“All
soldiers fighting here with me must know with absolute certainty that,
in fulfilling the sacred duty of honor entrusted to us, there is no such
thing as taking a single step backward.I remind you all that seeking
personal comfort and peaceful sleep would result not only in ourselves,
but in our entire nation being deprived of that comfort forever.”
The End of the Campaign
By this stage, the war at Gallipoli had become a struggle of entrenched
positions. Convinced that the enemy was preparing to withdraw, Mustafa
Kemal proposed a final offensive to drive them entirely into the sea.
However, he could not persuade the higher command.The response he
received was:
“We have no forces to waste, not even a single
soldier.”
Seeing what he believed was a major missed opportunity, Mustafa Kemal
submitted his resignation on 10 December 1915. Out of respect for him,
Liman von Sanders did not accept the resignation outright but converted
it into temporary leave. After arriving in Istanbul, Mustafa Kemal
learned that the enemy had evacuated Gallipoli without suffering major
losses on 19 December 1915.Former War Academy commander
General Ali Fuad Erden
later wrote:
“At the most critical
moment in Gallipoli, the right man was present where he was most needed.
He altered the course of the war.”
He added that
Winston Churchill, then
First Lord of the Admiralty, had referred to Mustafa Kemal as:
“The Man of Destiny.”
Although Mustafa Kemal had become the rising star of the Ottoman Army,
Enver Pasha and his supporters feared that his growing reputation might
overshadow them. According to contemporary accounts, when a photograph
of Mustafa Kemal discussing the Anafartalar operations was scheduled to
be published in the military journal Harp Mecmuası (War Review),
publication was allegedly halted and his image replaced with that of
Liman von Sanders.
In a letter to his friend Madame Corinne in Istanbul, Mustafa Kemal
wrote:
“Do
not be surprised if my name is not heard. I preferred that the honor go
to Sergeant Mehmet as the hero of these important battles. Naturally,
you will have no doubt that it was your friend who directed the battle,
and who found Sergeant Mehmet on the night of the fighting.”
Finally, let us conclude with the words of
Rauf Orbay regarding the
Hero of Anafartalar:
“There
is no doubt that it was Mustafa Kemal Bey who first blocked the British
plan to unite with the Russians, after separating us from our allies by
driving us back into Asia, through his correct decisions and successful
offensives.”