83-The internal upheavals, which began during the year 1920 against our national organisation, spread rapidly throughout the country

The internal upheavals, which began during the year 1920 against our national organisation, spread rapidly throughout the country.

We have mentioned certain hostile movements and events, especially the risings which began to take place after the occupation of Stambul. They occurred and succeeded one another with great rapidity all over the country.

Damad Ferid was immediately put at the head of the Govern ment in Stambul. Damad Ferid Pasha s Cabinet, the party that all the hostile and traitorous organisations in Stambul had formed, all the rebellious organisations of this party inside Anatolia and the Greek army, in short, all the enemies united against us in common action. The instructions of this unified policy of attack were con tained in the Fetwa, “Insurrection against the Sultan,” which the Sultan-Caliph had circulated throughout the country, for which he utilised every possible means, even including enemy-aircraft.

Against this general attack of all kinds and of an anti-patriotic character, we took counter-measures before the opening of the As sembly by driving the foreign troops that where in Afium Kara Hissar, in Eski-Shehr and along the railway out of Anatolia; by destroying the bridges at Geiveh, Lefke, at Djerabluss, and by causing the honourable Ulema of Anatolia to draw up a Fetwa after the Assembly had met.

The internal upheavals, which began during the year 1920 against our national organisation, spread rapidly throughout the country.

The territories involved were Pandenna, Gonan, Susigirlik, Kir- masli, Karadsha Bey, Bigha, Ismidt, Ada Basar, Duzje, Hendek, Bolu, Gerede, Nalikhan, Bey Basar, Boskir, Konia, Ilgham, Kadinhan, Karaman, Tjivril, Seidi Shehr, Bey Shehr, Koj Hissar, Yosgad, Yeni Han, Bochaslian, Sile, Erbaa, Tshorum, Imranie, Refahie, Sara, Hafik and Viran Shehr. In all these the flaming fire of rebellion raged and reduced the whole country to ashes. The clouds of treachery, of ig norance, of hatred and fanaticism darkened the sky and threw the whole of the country into deep shadow. The waves of insurrection surged even up to the walls of our headquarters at Angora. We en countered audacious attacks, which culminated in the destruction of the telegraphic and telephonic communication between our head quarters and the town. Following Smyrna, other important districts in Western Anatolia were ravaged with fire and sword by the Greek Army.

It is remarkable that a general insurrection of this kind did not take place eight months before, when the nation had gathered round the Representative Committee and had cut off all communication with Damad Ferid s Government, and when only a few incidents, such as Ali Galib s enterprise, were to be recorded. The universal insurrec tions which now took place showed that they had been consistently prepared in the country during the previous eight months. With the Governments that followed that of Damad Ferid it was felt very bitterly once more how correct the reasons were on which our struggle for the preservation and strengthening of the national consciousness were based. On the other hand, the sad results of an omission of another description on the part of the Government in Stambul will be seen when it became a Question of occupying ourselves with the front and the Army in order to give more force to the national struggle.

In order to get a clear idea of the internal insurrection, let me put before you a summary of the phases of these demonstrations.

Ansawur s insurrection which began on the 2i st September, 1919, north of Balikesri, was repeated on the same ground on i6 t]1 February, 1920. Both of these insurrections were suppressed by our national troops. On the 19 th – April, 1920, the districts of Bolu and Duzje also rose. These insurrections spread on the 19 th April, 1920, as far as Bey Basar. Then Ansawur rebelled again for the third time on the ii to May, 1920, in the districts of Ada Basar and Geiveh. He attacked a weak national detachment of 500 men supplied with artillery and machine-guns. Ansawar continually attacked the national detach ments and the regular troops which were sent against him. He was beaten on the 20 th May, 1920, in the vicinity of the Geiveh Pass and was forced to take to flight.

The insurrection in the Duzje district was important. A band of 400 men, consisting of Circassians and Abasas, entered Duzje, broke open the prisons and, after a skirmish, disarmed our cavalry on the spot. This force took the Government officials and officers prisoners. We sent troops from every direction against the insurgents. Among them was the 4 th Division which was stationed at Geiveh, and with its commander Lt -Colonel Mahmud Bey marched forward on Duzje. Hendek also revolted when Mahmud Bey had left that town for Duzje, on the very day the Assembly was opened, that is to say, on the 23 rd April, 1920. The insurgents took possession of Ada Basar as well. On the 25 th April, 1920, Mahmud Bey, set on the wrong track by the insurgents, fell into an ambush and was killed on the road between Hendek and Duzje by the first shot. His chief staff officer, Sami Bey, his ordnance officer and several others fell with him. Following this, the 24 th Division was captured by the insurgents without having had an opportunity to come into action. All their guns and rifles were taken and their baggage was plundered. At this mo ment the Vice-governor of Ismidt, Tsherkess Ibrahim, arrived at Ada Basar from Stambul. He conveyed the Imperial greetings to the population and began to enrol voltmtrees for the sum of 150. When all the united insurgent forces had gained the mastery over this terri tory they began to attack our troops in the Geiveh Pass.

The troops which we sent to this insurgent district were:

1. Tsherkess Edhem Bey s Division, which consisted of the national fighting troops at Salihli and Balikesri.

2. Captain Nasim Bey s command, consisting of two regular battalions, four mountain guns, five machine-guns and 300 mounted Efes*).

3. Lt. -Colonel Arif Bey s, consisting of two infantry battalions, eight machine-guns, two field and two mountain guns.

4. Major Ibrahim Bey s, consisting of 300 men of the national forces, two machine-guns and two mortars. *) Efes. See page 207. The commanding officers were AH Fuad Pasha, for the operations in the direction of the Geiveh Pass, and Refet Pasha, for those in the direction of Angora, Bolu and Bay Basar. Gentlemen, at Ismidt a host of traitors were also gathering under the name of the “Army of the Caliphate,” commanded by Suliman Shefik Pasha. Some of their troops under the command of Hairi Bey, Major on the General Staff, had reinforced the rebels in the Bolu district. Among these was a great number of officers who had been sent from Constantinople.

Next to Suliman Shefik Pasha, the important commanders were Subhi Pasha, a cavalry Brigadier General, and Senaji Bey, Colonel in the artillery. In Stambul there was also a specially formed staff, of which the principal leaders were Refik Bey, Colonel on the General Staff, and Haireddin Bey, Lt.-Colonel on the General Staff.

I would like to tell you here something that comes to my recol lection about Subhi Pasha. I had known him since we were at Salonika together. I held the rank of Major and Adjutant then, while he was already a Brigadier General commanding the cavalry. In spite of the difference in our rank and seniority, there was a sincere feeling of comradship between us. When the Constitution was proclaimed he carried out for the first time some cavalry manoeuvres at Djumali in the district of Istip. He had invited me and several other officers to be present at these manoeuvres and exercises. He had studied in Germany and was a very skilful rider but by no means an officer who understood his work as a leader. Although I was not entitled by my rank or authority to do so, at the end of the manoeuvres I sharply criticised the Pasha in the presence of all the officers, and sub sequently published a little work called The Camp of Djumali”. On account of my public criticism as well as rny little book, Subhi Pasha felt that he was very much offended; as he confessed himself, his spirit was broken. But he was not really angry with me personally; our comradeship continued as before. It was this same Subhi Pasha whom they had sought out and put in command of the Army of the Caliphate. Later on, the Pasha come to Angora when I was just leaving. We met in the middle of a great crowd. The first thing I said to him was: “Pasha, why have you accepted the command of the Army of the Caliphate?” Without a moment s hesitation, Subhi Pasha replied: “In order to be beaten by you.”

Kemal Pasha 2 5 By this lie meant to say that he had taken over that position for this purpose. But in reality his troops were already beaten before he accepted the command.

The revolt in the districts of Bolu, Duzje, Ada Basar and Ismidt lasted until the 4 th June, 1920 that is to say, for more than three months. There was still another revolt on the 2g th July, and then for some time everything was quiet in these districts. But in the end the rebels were completely defeated and their leaders had to suffer the avenging penalties provided by the laws of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The part of the Army of the Caliphate which was in the district of Bolu was beaten later on. Its leaders, Major Hairi and his officers, Captain All, Lieutenant Sheref eddin, Lieutenant Haireddin, Mehmed Hairi, an officer belonging to the machine-gun detachment, Hassan Lutfi, Secretary of the battalion, and Ibrahim Edhem, on the medical staff, suffered the same fate as the other leaders of the rebels. The Army of the Caliphate was compelled to flee from Ismidt to Stambul.

Whilst, we were occupied with the rebels in the north-west of the districts of our country, another rebellion broke out in the districts of Yeni Han, Boghasladjan and Yosgad. These revolutionary move ments are also worth mentioning.

On the 14 th March some individuals, like Nasim, a postman, and Kara Mustapha, a Circassian, rose in revolt with 30 or 40 men in the village of Kaman belonging to Yeni Han. This movement spread and became more important. During the night of the 27 th May the rebels surprised one of our detachments at Tshamli Bel and took them prisoners. In the district of Tokat another party of rebels attacked one of our battalions on the march on the 28 th May, dispersed it and took some of the men prisoners. Druing the night of the 6 th June, the rebels, whose boldness was increasing, occupied Sile. Our soldiers retired to the fortress of Sile, which they defended. Three days later, when their food supplies and ammunition were exhausted, our troops surrendered to the rebels. On the 23 rd June the latter attacked Boghasladjan quite unexpectedly. They dispersed our troops that were there. The 5 th Caucassian Division at Amasia, commanded by Dje- mal Djavid Bey, was sent against the rebels. Kilidsh Ah Bey, who was in the district of Aintab, was ordered to go there with some national troops. Another detachment from Erzerum, which came from there to Angora, was also appointed to this district. Until the middle of July we were occupied in fighting and suppressing the rebels. The Yeni Han revolt also encouraged agitators in other parts of Centra] Anatolia to rise. Djelal Bey, Ebid Bey, Salih Bey and Halid Bey of the Tshapan Oglu family coUected gangs of robbers. Those of the Ainadji Oglu and Deli Omer also rose in revolt on the I3 tjl June and occupied the chief place in the district of Kochne, not far from Yosgad. After occupying the town of Yosgad on the 14 th June, they became masters of a rather wide territory. The troops of the III rd Army Corps stationed at Sivas and the National Forces we had left in this district proved to be inadequate. Those commanded by Edhem Bey and Ibrahim Bey were sent from Eski-Shehr and the district of Bolu to Yosgad.

After the rebels in Yosgad and the surrounding country had been defeated, the troops which had been sent there were transferred to other districts; but, generally speaking, quiet could not be restored there.

On the 7 tb September, 1920, parties of adventurers of the type of Kutshuk Agha, Deli Hadji and Ainadji Oglu in the district of Sile, and some other individuals in the disrict of Erbaa, such as Kara Nasim and Tshopur Yussuf recommenced their criminal activity. The Ai- nadshi Oglu family had succeded in collecting a body of about 300 horsemen. Then Ibrahim Bey s command, which had received the name of the 2 nd “Flying Column,” was recalled from Eski-Shehr where they were and, in conjunction with national troops and parties of gendarmerie, followed and punished the rebels. These latter in dif ferent parties had occupied themselves with robbing and creating unrest in the districts of Maaden, Aladji, Kara Maghra and Meshid Osu. It was only after more than three months that Ibrahim Bey s efforts were crowned with success.

At the same time important revolts which demanded our serious attention also broke out in our Southern districts.

The leaders of the Mylli tribe, like Mahmud Bey, Ismael Bey, Halil Bey, Bahur Bey and Abdurrahman, after having established secret communication and connection with our enemies, considered themselves the leaders of all the tribes from Surd to the districts of Bersim, and claimed rule over and command of this district.

When, in the beginning of June, the French advanced with the intention of taking possession of Uriah for the second time, the Mylli tribe began their march in the direction of Siverek; our 5 th – Division, which was in this district, was ordered to operate against this move ment. This division was reinforced by our national troops that were in the same district. Under pressure of our troops, the tribe in question saw itself forced on the ig th June to retire in a south-easterly direction

25* into the enemy s zone. After making preparations for some time in this zone, this tribe with the force of 3,000 men mounted on horses and camels, and with nearly 1,000 men on foot, invaded our territory again on the 24^ August, They had penetrated as far as the district of Viran Shehr when they declared that they had come with the in tention of asking for pardon, thus deceiving the officers commanding districts and leading them not to take the proper precautions. Mean while they attacked out troops who were scattered about in the district, defeated them and occupied Viran Shehr on the 26 th August, 1920. In order to cut off all communication and contact with us, they destroyed all the telegraph lines in the neighbourhood. It was only a fortnight later that the detachments of the 5 th Division that had been held back and were at Siverek, Urfah, Reiss ul Ain and Diar- bekr, in combination with the forces of the loyal tribes, were able to overcome the rebels.

The Mylli tribe again fled southward towards the desert, closely pursued by our troops.

While we were engaged in the south with this suppression of the revolt of the Mylli tribe, a man named Tshopur Mussa, accompanied by others he had gathered round him, induced the soldiers in the district of Afium Kara Hissar to desert and incited the population to refuse to do their military service. On the 21 st June Tshopur Mussa attacked TjivriL He fled before the troops we sent against him and joined the Greek Army,

There was yet another revolutionary movement that took place at Konia before the one I have just mentioned. On the 5 th May we discovered in this town a revolutionary society and we set to work to arrest the members of it. The next day the leaders whom we were about to arrest incited the population to revolt and held an armed meeting in Konia itself. With others who had arrived from the neigh bourhood and who were also armed, they raised a general revolt. Our commander at Konia and who courageously intervened suc ceeded with the forces at his disposal to disperse and pursue the rebels and arrest the ringleaders of the movement.