Turkish Civil War (Central Victory)

October 30, 1918 – May 1919
On August 12, 1918 the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I, bringing hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I to a close. The treaty granted the Allies the right to maintain areas the already occupied. Rauf Orbay—the Ottoman signatory of the Mudros Armistice—stated the Ottoman public position that they desired to place British possesions in the Middle East under military occupation by "occupying Kuwait". However, the Ottoman government no longer saw eye to eye with the other Central Powers and lost their support.

On January 19, 1919, the Berlin Peace Conference opened, a meeting of nations that set the peace terms for the defeated Allied Powers. An Ottoman representation to the Berlin Conference, lead by Rıza Tevfik, was established to pursue the ambitions the Ottoman government had in the Middle East. Among the objectives was the annexation of the North Aegean and Dodecanese islands from Greece. The Ottoman Empire sought annulment of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913. It also expected to exercise control over Aden, Muscat and Oman, and also wanted aid in supressing the Arab Revolt.

Initial organization


Fahrî Yâver-i Hazret-i Şehriyâri ("Honorary Aide-de-camp to His Majesty Sultan") Mirliva Mustafa Kemal Paşa was assigned as the inspector of the 9th Army Troops Inspectorate to reorganize what remained of the Ottoman military units and to improve internal security on April 30, 1919. He and his carefully selected staff left Istanbul aboard the old steamer SS Bandırma for Samsun on the evening of May 16, 1919.

Knowing the Ottoman Empire to be the weakest of the Central Powers the Allies began making demands at the very onset of the armistace. Many Ottoman officials organized secret Sentinel Association (Turkish: Karakol Cemiyeti) in reaction to the various policies including from their own allies. The objective of the Sentinel Association was to thwart Allied demands through passive and active resistance. Many Ottoman officials participated in efforts to conceal from the occupying authorities details of the burgeoning independence movement spreading throughout Anatolia. Munitions were secretly smuggled out of Istanbul into Central Anatolia, along with Ottoman officers keen to resist any division of Ottoman territories. Mirliva Ali Fuad Paşa in the meantime had moved his XX Corps from Ereğli to Ankara and started organizing resistance groups, including Circassian immigrants under Çerkes Ethem.

Since the southern rim of Anatolia was effectively controlled by the Ottoman government, the Turkish National Movement′s headquarters moved to the rugged terrain of central Anatolia. The reasons for these new assignments is still a matter of debate; one view is that it was an intentional move to support the national movement, another was that the Sultan wanted to keep Constantinople under his control. The most prominent idea given for the Sultan’s decision was by assigning these officers out of the capital, the Sultan was trying to minimize the effectiveness of these soldiers in the capital. The Sultan was cited as saying that without an organized army, the Allies could not be defeated, and the national movement had two army corps in May 1919, one was the XX Corps based in Ankara under the command of Ali Fuat Paşa and the other was XV Corps based in Erzurum under the command of Kâzım Karabekir Paşa.

Mustafa Kemal Paşa and his colleagues stepped ashore on May 19 and set up their first quarters in the Mintika Palace Hotel. Mustafa Kemal Paşa made the people of Samsun aware of the indignation their empire was suffering by being aligned with Germany, staged mass meetings (whilst remaining discreet) and made, thanks to the excellent telegraph network, fast connections with the army units in Anatolia and began to form links with various nationalist groups. He sent telegrams of protest to foreign embassies and the War Ministry about British reinforcements in the area and about the lack of German aid to Ottoman forces. After a week in Samsun, Mustafa Kemal Paşa and his staff moved to Havza, about (53 mi) inland.

Mustafa Kemal Paşa writes in his memoir that he needed nationwide support. The importance of his position, and his status as the "Hero of Anafartalar" after the Gallipoli Campaign, and his title of Fahri Yaver-i Hazret-i Şehriyari ("Honorary Aide-de-camp to His Majesty Sultan") gave him some credentials. According to Halil Berktay, not having a hand in the Armenian Genocide is also an important factor in being selected as leader. On the other hand, this was not enough to inspire everyone. While officially occupied with the reorganization of the army, he had increased his various contacts in order to build his movement's momentum. He met with Rauf Bey (Orbay), Ali Fuat Paşa (Cebesoy), and Refet Bey (Bele) on June 21, 1919 and declared the Amasya Circular (June 22, 1919).

On July 2, Mustafa Kemal Pasha received a telegram from the Sultan. The Sultan asked him to cease his activities in Anatolia and return to the capital. Mustafa Kemal was in Erzincan and did not want to return to Istanbul, concerned that the foreign authorities might have designs for him beyond the Sultan's plans. He felt the best course for him was to take a two-month leave of absence.

The Representative committee was established at the Sivas Congress (September 4–11, 1919).

Representational problem
On October 16, 1919, Ali Riza Pasha sent a navy minister Hulusi Salih Pasha to negotiate with the Turkish National Movement. Hulusi Salih Pasha was not part of World War I. Salih Pasha and Mustafa Kemal met in Amasya. Mustafa Kemal put the representational problems of Ottoman Parliament on the agenda. He wanted to have a signed protocol between Ali Rıza Pasha and the "representative committee." On the advice of the British, Ali Riza Pasha rejected any form of recognition or legitimacy claims by this unconstitutional political formation in Anatolia.

In December 1919, fresh elections were held for the Ottoman parliament. This was an attempt to build a better representative structure. The Ottoman parliament was seen as a way to reassert the central government′s claims of legitimacy in response to the emerging nationalist movement in Anatolia. In the meantime, groups of Ottoman Greeks had formed Greek nationalist militias within Ottoman borders and were acting on their own. Greek members of the Ottoman parliament repeatedly blocked any progress in the parliament, and most Greek subjects of the Sultan boycotted the new elections.

The elections were held and a new parliament of the Ottoman State was formed under the occupation. However, Ali Rıza Pasha was too hasty in thinking that his parliament could bring him legitimacy. The house of the parliament was under the shadow of the British battalion stationed at Istanbul. Any decisions by the parliament had to have the signatures of both Ali Rıza Pasha and the commanding British Officer. The freedom of the new government was limited. It did not take too long for the members of parliament to recognize that any kind of integrity was not possible in this situation. Ali Rıza Pasha and his government had become the voice of the Triple Entente. The only laws that passed were those acceptable to, or specifically ordered by the British.

Last Ottoman Parliament
On January 12, 1920, the last Ottoman Chamber of Deputies met in the capital. First the sultan’s speech was presented and then a telegram from Mustafa Kemal, manifesting the claim that the rightful government of Turkey being in Ankara in the name of the Representative Committee.

A group called Felâh-i Vatan among the Ottoman parliament worked to acknowledge the decisions taken at the Erzurum Congress and the Sivas Congress. The Germans began to sense that something had been flourishing that they did not want. The Ottoman government was not doing what it could to suppress the nationalists. On January 28, the deputies met secretly. Proposals were made to elect Mustafa Kemal president of the Chamber. On January 28, the Ottoman parliament developed the National Pact (Misak-i Milli) and published it on February 12. This pact adapted six principles; which called for self-determination, the security of Constantinople, and the opening of the Straits, also the abolishment of the capitulations. In effect the Misak-i Milli solidified a lot of nationalist notions, which were in conflict with the plans of the other Central Powers.

Shift from de facto to de jure occupation
The National Movement—which persuaded the Ottoman parliament to declare a "National Pact" (Misak-i Milli ) —prompted the British government to take matters into its own hands. To put an end to this situation, the Sultan decided he needed to systematically bring Turkey under its control. The plan was to dismantle every organization beginning from Istanbul to deep into Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal′s National Movement was the main problem.

On the night of March 15, troops loyal to the Sultan began to occupy key buildings and arrest Turkish nationalists. It was a very messy operation. At the military music school there was resistance. At least ten students died but the official death toll is unknown even today. The Sultan tried to capture the leadership of the movement. They secured the departments of the Minister of War and of the Chief of the General Staff, Fevzi Çakmak. Çakmak was an able and relatively conservative officer who was known as one of the army’s oldest field commanders. He soon became one of the principal military leaders of the National Movement.

Mustafa Kemal was ready for this move. He warned all the nationalist organizations that there would be misleading declarations from the capital. He warned that the only way to stop the government was to organize protests. He said "Today the Turkish nation is called to defend its capacity for civilization, its right to life and independence, its entire future". Mustafa Kemal was extensively familiar with the Arab Revolt and British involvement. This—as well as his other abilities—gave Mustafa Kemal considerable authority among the revolutionaries.

On March 18, the Ottoman parliament sent a protest to the Grand Vizier. The document stated that it was unacceptable to arrest five of its members. But the damage had been done. It was end of the Ottoman political system. This show of force had left the Sultan as sole controller of the Empire. But the Sultan depended on the support of the Central Powers to keep what was left of the empire. He was now a puppet for Germany.