HAKAN ALTIN

On the 106th anniversary of May 19, 1919, when the founder of the Republic of Turkey, the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, landed in Samsun and started our War of Independence, we remember with mercy and gratitude all our martyrs and veterans, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms. (19.05.2025)

CAPTURE OF ISTANBUL AND THRACE WITHOUT FIRING

A SINGLE BULLET

J. Benoist-Mechin is a French writer known for his works on recent history. As with most Western writers, it is possible to come across some unrealistic details in his works. However, I believe that the lines that came out of his pen and that we will summarize to you, in the face of the sun of truth that sets in the eyes, the writer was forced to confess the genius and heroism of Atatürk. Summary passages from his article published in a French magazine:

Entry to Izmir; The Commander-in-Chief entered on September 9, 1922, in bright sunny weather. He had covered the last kilometers of the road in an open car. He was at the head of a long car cortege that disappeared under armfuls of flowers.

A dense crowd of people had gathered on both sides of the road. The Turks of Izmir did not know how to show their joy.

At the gates of Izmir, a cavalry squadron with bare swords surrounded the Gazi. They passed slowly through the streets filled with the joyful people who were applauding them wildly.

They reached the port. There, a mooring length away, were the warships of the Allied Powers. As if they were looking down on the dock. But they were all anchored, motionless. Their governments had ordered their admirals not to intervene. Their guns had not been unplugged. The cortege passed in front of them as if they were not present and proceeded towards Bornova. Mustafa Kemal, who arrived at his headquarters, looked at the city, the port and the sea from the terrace for a while, then entered his study, called a few staff officers, had a map brought, and began to work,

The capture of Izmir was not an end to the war, the Greeks wanted revenge. They were trying to establish a new army in Thrace. Mustafa Kemal knew that victory would not be considered achieved unless the enemy forces were eradicated. The Greeks Thracian army had to be destroyed. The most rational way was to accomplish this task before this army was even established.

The Turkish forces could only reach Thrace by land routes passing through Çanakkale. Without wasting a moment, they mobilized their divisions under the command of İsmet Pasha towards the West.

In Çanakkale, they encountered British forces blocking their way. This was an unprecedented situation. A Greek army was being established in the Rumelia region, and the Turkish army was advancing on this army to destroy it. Halfway through, British forces blocked the Turks' path and prevented them from crossing the Bosphorus.

What should have been done? It was not a difficult task to complete the Greek defeat, but falling into disagreement with England was a separate problem.

The worst thing was that Mustafa Kemal could not delay in this task. Every passing day was in favor of the Greeks and allowed them to complete their armament. The Turkish forces were exhausted, although they were filled with the joy of victory. Would the British be determined to fight and want to fight? The whole problem was here.

Mustafa Kemal, the victor of Sakarya, had friends in Istanbul. They were working in international commission services. One of them had managed to secretly send Gazi copies of some telegrams sent by the British Commander-in-Chief Sir Charles Harrington to the London cabinet. Mustafa Kemal Pasha had carefully examined the copies of these telegrams and saw that Harrington was more of a diplomat than a soldier. He concluded that he was not a man with strong nerves to resist force. When he was faced with the choice of fighting or surrendering, there was a strong possibility that he would choose the second option at the last minute.

Mustafa Kemal said the following:

- If the British had really intended to intervene, they would have done so before, that is, before we entered İzmir. You saw the Allied fleet, didn't you? It was holding the city under fire. Yet it didn't fire even once. Now it's too late. The British didn't give a damn yesterday, they won't give a damn tomorrow.

This was an assumption and the result of this view could be important. If Mustafa Kemal was wrong in his calculations, he could lose the fruits of a four-year struggle in one day.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha was determined not to enter into peace negotiations with the Greeks unless he completely achieved his goal, but on the other hand, to do his best not to enter into a dispute with England. He resorted to a very aggressive maneuver because he believed that he could make Sir Charles Harrington bow down to his will.

He gathered the officers and men of the two selected regiments and personally explained to them what he expected of them. When the signal was given, the men would march towards the British positions with their rifle butts raised. They would continue on their way without paying any attention to the British warnings and would silently pass the enemy trenches.

The maneuver could be successful on one condition only. Not a single shot would be fired. The prerequisite was that everyone should show a calmness, discipline and composure almost beyond human strength.

On the morning of September 29, after the situation was explained to the soldiers once more, the order to move was given. The maneuver began in a heart-wrenching silence. As the Turkish soldiers slowly advanced towards the British lines arranged to block the road to Çanakkale, their nerves were getting tense with each passing minute, and the tension was becoming too much to bear. A single misinterpreted order, a single nervous behavior could lead to a conflict. Turkey could have gone to war with England,

On the other hand, the British troops had also received strict orders. They would prevent the Turks from passing, but they would neither open fire before them nor resort to force.

However, despite the warnings given as a matter of procedure, the Turks continued to advance. They neither stopped nor did they want to fight. The British officers were completely surprised and did not know what to order their men.

The situation was very electric. The officers' nerves were on edge as if they were about to snap. The Turks had broken through the first trench lines. Step by step, they were approaching the British lines. If they got a few meters closer, they would clash.

At that moment, a British officer gave the order to aim. A rapid crack was heard, the soldiers drew their weapons. But the Turks were preparing to cross the trenches with great composure, without slowing down at all.

At this very critical moment, a motorcyclist was seen coming at full speed, waving a white flag in his hand. He rushed towards the British Colonel commanding the unit. The British officers shouted the command "At ease!" At the same time, the commanders of the two Turkish regiments gave the order to their own men to stop.
The order came from both sides to remain in their positions and to prevent bloodshed. An agreement was made at the last minute.

Mustafa Kemal's will prevailed.

The French government was alarmed, thinking that this incident could be the beginning of a new World War, and that this time the Russians would side with the Turks. In order to prevent at all costs a spark from Çanakkale from igniting Europe again, they immediately sent a negotiator to Mustafa Kemal Pasha. This negotiator was Monsieur Franklin Bouillon, who had signed the October 10, 1921 agreement with him. The negotiator made all kinds of commitments to Gazi on behalf of both the Greeks and the British. He promised that the Greeks would evacuate Thrace and that Western Türkiye would be returned to the Turks.

H. C. Armstrong describes this event in the following sentence: Mustafa Kemal was kind enough to accept this proposal.

In fact, he had obtained all his demands without firing a single shot.

The conference began in Mudanya on October 6. Four generals attended this conference, one Turkish, one British, one French and one Italian. The Turks and the British agreed that they would not allow a new World War to start over the only unresolved territorial issue, Eastern Thrace and the Straits, and considering the political and military realities of the moment, all the negotiators were wise to limit their mutual demands.

British admitted that they had trusted the victory of the Greeks and that they had lost. They had agreed to persuade the Athens government to abandon the entire Thrace region east of the Maritsa and to evacuate all Thrace lands, including Istanbul, in a short time. In return, the Turks had agreed to take into account British interests in the Straits issue and make it an international issue. Mustafa Kemal was now sure that he could establish peace in the world as well as at home...

* * *

After the capture of Izmir, the French General Pelle asks Atatürk to stop the Turkish troops advancing on the Bosphorus. Thereupon, Atatürk replies:
"Even I cannot stop these victorious armies anymore."

He tells the French General,
"They should decide to make an armistice immediately."

After the war, Atatürk confesses:
"The army is extremely tired and has no strength to take any steps, the Military Units have dispersed to clear the fleeing enemy forces. Therefore, even if I try to gather the troops, it may take weeks."

The Turkish army entered Izmir on the morning of September 9, 1922, after covering a distance of approximately 450 kilometers in the 15 days following the attack that started on August 26.