The
Battle of Sakarya, also known as the
Battle of Sangarios, was an important engagement in the
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, also called the War in Asia Minor or the Greek campaign of the Turkish War of Independence or The Asia Minor Catastrophe, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May 1919 and October 1922...
and
Turkish War of IndependenceThe Turkish War of Independence is the political and military resistance developed by Turkish Nationalists to the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat in World War I...
. The battle was fought from August 23 to September 13, 1921, close to the banks of Sakarya River in the immediate vicinity of
PolatlıPolatlı is a town and district of Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, 80 km west of the Turkish capital Ankara, on the road to Eskişehir. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 116,400 of which 79,992 live in the town of Polatlı...
, which is today a district of the Turkish capital
AnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2007 the city had a population of 4,751,360, which includes eight districts under the city's administration...
.
Active stage
In June 1921, the
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
army advanced to the Sakarya River, less than 100 km west of Ankara. On July 28, the decision to seek out and destroy the Turkish Army was taken. Papoulas planned convergent thrusts, eastwards across the Sakarya River and northwards against the Turkish lines on the Ilica, a shallow tributary of the Sakarya. On August 23, 1921, the Greeks attacked and broke through the Ilica line. Before them rose the Haymana plateau, high, dotted with higher hills, the chief of which were Mangal Dagi in the South and Chal Dagi in the centre. The Greeks took Mangal Dagi after the Turkish commander evacuated it without permission from the Turkish command, much to
Mustafa Kemal PashaMustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President....
's fury. In the face of Greek progress, Kemal ordered that no unit was to fall back even if neighbouring units did.
Fevzi PashaMustafa Fevzi Çakmak was a Turkish soldier , prime minister, and a close companion-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.-Early life:...
, the Turkish Chief General Staff, decided to hold on around Chal Dagi and brought in reinforcements. The shortening of the Turkish defensive line also helped.
The Greeks took Mount Çal (
Dağı) after fierce fighting on September 2, 1921. Unknown to him, Papoulas was also considering retreat, disheartened by the heavy losses despite the important successes. He ordered retreat on September 4, after receiving permission from the Greek government to act as he considered best. The Turks counter-attacked and took Mount Çal (
Dağı) on September 8, but were unable to pursue the enemy as their violent counter-attack was stopped by the Greek 7th division. The twenty-one day battle of attrition officially ended on September 13, 1921. The Greeks retreated in good order and still hoped to defend their base at
İzmirİzmir, historically Smyrna, is Turkey's third most populous city and the country's largest port after Istanbul. It is located along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea. It is the seat of İzmir Province, which has an area of 7350 km
2...
. They appealed to the Allies for help, but early in 1922,
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
decided that the
Treaty of SèvresThe Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
could not be enforced and should be revised.
It was this battle when
Mustafa Kemal PashaMustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President....
said when the Greek Army breached Turkish lines: "We will not defend a line, but we will defend an area. That area is the whole nation". The prevalent doctrine at that time indicated that when a defensive line was breached, the defending army retreated to a defensible position behind their lines en masse. In Battle of Sakarya, the reaction of the Turkish army to a breach was to retreat a few kilometers back and form a new line without regard of defensibility. This tactic forced the Greek army to repeatedly assault a defensive line and limited the ground gains by the Greek Army at a cost of heavy casualties for both sides.
This battle is also known as the "officers battle" by the Turks since such a large percentage of the casualties were young officers. It is also one of the longest battles in history, where the general slaughter went on for 21 days nonstop.
Results
After a string of defeats of Greeks by the Turkish nationalists, in March 1922 the Allies had proposed a ceasefire, but Mustafa Kemal Pasha refused stating there could be no settlement while the Greek army remained in
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
.
Continuous Greek advances in Asia Minor were first checked at
Inonu-Person:* Erdal İnönü was a Turkish physicist and politician.* İsmet İnönü was a Turkish soldier, statesman and the second President of Turkey.-Districts and towns:* İnönü, Eskişehir a town and district in Eskişehir Province....
where Battles of Inonu took place in 1921. With Battle of Sakarya Turks took the initiative and Greek fortunes never recovered after that. This was the last defensive battle of the Turks in their War of Independence. In August 1922, the Turks launched a new offensive, defeating the Greeks at the
Battle of DumlupinarThe Battle of Dumlupınar was the last battle in the Greco-Turkish War . The battle was fought from 26 August to 30 August 1922 near Kütahya in Turkey.- Background :...
near Afyon on August 30, 1922. Shortly after on September 9, 1922, the Turkish army recaptured
Izmirİzmir, historically Smyrna, is Turkey's third most populous city and the country's largest port after Istanbul. It is located along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea. It is the seat of İzmir Province, which has an area of 7350 km
2...
.
Right after Battle of Sakarya, Ankara Government signed
Treaty of KarsThe Treaty of Kars was a friendship treaty between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which in 1923 declared the Republic of Turkey, and representatives of Soviet Armenia, Soviet Azerbaijan and Soviet Georgia with participation of Bolshevist Russia...
with Russians, and Treaty of Ankara with the French.
It was after this battle that Turkish Parliament gave the title of
Ghazi-People:*King Ghazi of Iraq*Abdullah Shah Ghazi, VIII century Sufi saint*Ghazi , used for Muslim rulers in South Asia*The Ghazi is a title used for Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey....
to Mustafa Kemal Pasha.