Kuva-yi Milliye

Kuva-yi Milliye (National Forces[1][2] or Nationalist Forces[3]) refers to Turkish irregular forces or guerilla forces[3] in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of the country by the forces of the Allies, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Later, Kuva-yi Milliye was integrated to the regular forces (Kuva-yi Nizamiye)[3] that was named as the Army of the Grand National Assembly (Büyük Millet Meclisi Ordusu ).

Contents

History

In the Armistice of Mudros, Ottoman Empire was divided between the Allies, so the Greeks occupied the west, British occupied the capital and southeast, Italians and French occupied the south of the country. The Kuva-yi Milliye were the first armed groups to defense of the Ottomans' rights in Anatolia and Rumelia. They consisted of deserted Ottoman army officers and militias. The Kuva-yi Milliye became active when Greek landed at Symrna (İzmir).. People who opposed the partitioning of Anatolia by the unratified Treaty of Sèvres joined the resistance. In western Anatolia, Kuva-yi Milliye fought against the Greek Army by hit-and-run tactics[4] until a regular army was set up. The resistance of the Kuva-yi Milliye slowed down the Greek advance in Anatolia.[5]

Battle of Gediz and resolution of Kuva-yi Milliye

Although the Kuva-yi Milliye was the first step of resistance in the "liberation" of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal abandoned it later.

They lacked discipline and experience; they had no chance in open field battles against the Greeks. After the Grand National Assembly (GNA) was opened, the Army of the GNA was rebuilt by merging different Kuva-yi Milliye groups. The First Battle of İnönü is the first war in which the standing army fought against the Greek forces.

Rebels

Some Kuva-yi Milliye groups, most notably Çerkes Ethem's Kuva-yi Seyyare refused to disband his forces and mutinied against the Ankara Government. Although Çerkes Ethem cooperated with the Greek Army, the Army of GNA defeated both the Greek Army and the Rebel Forces at the end of Turkish War of Independence.

See also

References

  1. ^ Sina Akşin, Turkey: From Empire to Revolutionary Republic: The Emergence of the Turkish Nation from 1789 to the Present, New York University Press, 2007, ISBN 9780814707227, p. 126.
  2. ^ Stanford J. Shaw, Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, 1977, ISBN 9780521291668, p. 341.
  3. ^ a b c Elaine Diana Smith, Turkey: Origins of the Kemalist Movement and The Government of the Grand National Assembly, 1919-1923, The American university, 1959, p. 68.
  4. ^ Belleten. Türk Tarih Kurumu. 2001. http://books.google.com.tr/books?id=8EYtAQAAIAAJ&q=hit+and+run+kemal&dq=hit+and+run+kemal&hl=tr&ei=3-RrTLX9FZ-JOMrlsZwB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
  5. ^ http://www.etarih.net/tr/cumhuriyet/kuvaimilliye.html

External links