| Samsun Clashes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Anglo-Turkish War, Franco-Turkish War and Pontic uprising | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Pontic Rebels [1] | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mustafa Kemal Pasha Topal Osman Şefik Avni Pasha | Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 15th Division [2] | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 division |  200 [2]  150 [2]  700+ [3] Most of the Greeks in Samsun [2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The Samsun Clashes were military engagements during the Turkish War of Independence that resulted in a victory for the Turkish forces.
After the Armistice of Mudros, British and French forces invaded Samsun on March 9, 1919. Following the British, the ANZAC forces arrived and were stationed at the site of the present-day Samsun Atatürk Anatolian High School. On February 1, 1920, as residents gathered in front of the Samsun Şehremanet building to protest the occupations, Greek forces, who were celebrating the arrival of American warships and additional land troops at Samsun Port, occupied the Şehremanet building. [4]
Şefik Avni Pasha, who arrived in Samsun on May 7, 1920, assumed command of the 15th Division. The division was rearmed with support from the Grand National Assembly. Once rearmed, the 15th Division engaged in conflicts with British, French, and Pontic forces.
Following the clashes, British and French forces withdrew from Samsun. [2] [3] [5] Subsequently, Turkish forces made gains against the Greek rebels. [6]
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish army officer and statesman who served as the second president of Turkey from 11 November 1938, to 22 May 1950, and as its prime minister three times: from 1923 to 1924, 1925 to 1937, and 1961 to 1965.
The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922.
The Turkish War of Independence was a series of military campaigns and a revolution waged by the Turkish National Movement, after the Ottoman Empire was occupied and partitioned following its defeat in World War I. The conflict was between the Turkish Nationalists against Allied and separatist forces over the application of Wilsonian principles, especially self-determination, in post-World War I Anatolia and eastern Thrace. The revolution concluded the collapse of the Ottoman Empire; ended of the Ottoman sultanate and Ottoman caliphate, and established the Republic of Turkey. This resulted in the transfer of sovereignty from the sultan-caliph to the nation, setting the stage for nationalist revolutionary reform in Republican Turkey.
Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta and Amisos, is a city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. Over 700,000 people live in the city. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of over 1,350,000. The city is home to Ondokuz Mayıs University, several hospitals, three large shopping malls, Samsunspor football club, an opera house and a large and modern manufacturing district. A former Greek settlement, the city is best known as the place where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk began the Turkish War of Independence in 1919.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, also known as Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 until the Surname Law of 1934, was a Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. He undertook sweeping progressive reforms, which modernized Turkey into a secular, industrializing nation. Ideologically a secularist and nationalist, his policies and socio-political theories became known as Kemalism (Atatürkism).
Nutuk was a speech delivered by Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 15 to 20 October 1927, at the second congress of Republican People's Party. The speech covered the events between the start of the Turkish War of Independence on 19 May 1919, and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, in 1923. It took thirty-six hours to be read by Atatürk, and became a foundation of Kemalist historiography. Nutuk marked a turning point of Turkish nationalism by introducing a series of new myths and concepts into the vernacular of public discourse, such as republic, democracy, sovereignty of the nation, and secularism. Atatürk designated these concepts as the 'most precious treasures' of Turkish people, the 'foundations' of their new state, and the preconditions of their future 'existence' in his speech.
The Turkish Land Forces, or Turkish Army, is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the foundation of the army include suppression of rebellions in Southeast Anatolia and East Anatolia from the 1920s to the present day, combat in the Korean War, the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the current Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War, as well as its NATO alliance against the USSR during the Cold War. The army holds the preeminent place within the armed forces. It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces to have been the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces prior to his appointment as Turkey's senior ranking officer.
Ali Fuat Cebesoy was a Turkish military officer who served in the Ottoman Army and then in the Turkish army and politician.
The city of Smyrna and surrounding areas were under Greek military occupation from 15 May 1919 until 9 September 1922. The Allied Powers authorized the occupation and creation of the Zone of Smyrna during negotiations regarding the partition of the Ottoman Empire to protect the ethnic Greek population living in and around the city. The Greek landing on 15 May 1919 was celebrated by the substantial local Greek population but quickly resulted in ethnic violence in the area. This violence decreased international support for the occupation and led to a rise in Turkish nationalism. The high commissioner of Smyrna, Aristeidis Stergiadis, firmly opposed discrimination against the Turkish population by the administration; however, ethnic tensions and discrimination remained. Stergiadis also began work on projects involving resettlement of Greek refugees, the foundations for a university, and some public health projects. Smyrna was a major base of operations for Greek troops in Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).
The occupation of Istanbul or occupation of Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by British, French, Italian, and Greek forces, took place in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros, which ended Ottoman participation in the First World War. The first French troops entered the city on 12 November 1918, followed by British troops the next day. The Italian troops landed in Galata on 7 February 1919.
The State Opera and Ballet is the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, with venues in Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Antalya and Samsun. The directorate is bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As of January 2018, Murat Karahan is the General Director.
Samsun Atatürk Anatolian High School is an Anatolian High School, educating in its historical building which is established in Samsun city, Turkey.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a field marshal, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first president. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's military career explains his life between graduation from Ottoman War College in Istanbul as a lieutenant in 1905 to his resignation from the Ottoman Army on 8 July 1919, as well as his military leadership throughout the subsequent Turkish War of Independence.
Rıza Nur was a Turkish surgeon, politician and writer. He was prominent in the years immediately after the First World War, where he served as a cabinet minister but was subsequently marginalised, and became a critic of Atatürk. His acclaimed autobiography Hayat ve Hatıratım was written from exile in France and Egypt as an alternative narrative to Atatürk's famous speech Nutuk that has dominated the historiography of Turkey. Like Halide Edib and Rauf Orbay, Rıza Nur's work is part of a body of early Republican literature that sought plurality in the increasingly authoritarian Turkish Republic.
The Greek landing at Smyrna was a military operation by Greek forces starting on May 15, 1919 which involved landing troops in the city of Smyrna and surrounding areas. The Allied powers sanctioned and oversaw the planning of the operation and assisted by directing their forces to take over some key locations and moving warships to the Smyrna harbor. During the landing, a shot was fired on the Greek 1/38 Evzone Regiment and significant violence ensued with Greek troops and Greek citizens of Smyrna participating. The event became important for creating the three-year-long Greek Occupation of Smyrna and was a major spark for the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).
Refet Bele, also known as Refet Bey or Refet Pasha was a Turkish military commander. He served in the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army, where he retired as a general.
Urla Clashes were a series of clashes in Urla during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). After the Greek landing at İzmir, the Greek army advanced and occupied Bornova and Karşıyaka. After that, it advanced to the Karaburun Peninsula where Urla was situated.
Statue of Honor, aka Atatürk Monument, is a monument situated at Atatürk Park in İlkadım district of Samsun, Turkey dedicated to the landing of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Samsun initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence. The monument became a landmark of Samsun.
The Şehzadebaşı raid was a British Indian Army operation to capture a Ottoman Army barracks in Istanbul which took place as part of a larger operation by the Allied occupational authorities to counter the Turkish National Movement. Since Allied forces had begun the occupation of Istanbul in November 1918 in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros, Turkish resistance to the occupation was gradually increasing. On 16 March 1920, the Allies launched a raid which arrested several nationalist politicians and journalists along with occupying military and police installations and government buildings.
During the Turkish War of Independence the United Kingdom sought to undermine and contain the Turkish National Movement. London hoped the defeated Ottoman Empire would play a subservient role in its new Middle Eastern order drawn up over several diplomatic agreements during World War I, culminating with the Treaty of Sèvres. Another goal of the British was to prosecute Ottoman war criminals, which they thought Constantinople/Istanbul was not taking seriously.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)