= Turkish War of Independence = The '''Turkish War of Independence''' was a direct continuation of [[WorldHistory/WorldWar1|World War 1]]. <> ---- == Antecedents == The '''Armistice of Mudros''' ceased [[WorldHistory/WorldWar1|hostilities]] on the eastern front and allowed an occupation by British, French, and Italian armies to begin. [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire|Mehmed VI]] was generally accommodating to their demands. The land cessions planned by the '''Sykes-Picot Agreement''' between France and the UK, and then drafted into the '''Treaty of Sèvres''', included: * Smyrna and Thrace to [[Greece]] * [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], and a western portion of Anatolia to France * This western portion of Anatolia was intended to hold a plebiscite over independence as Kurdistan. * the Dodecanese Islands and southern Anatolia to Italy * [[Iraq|Mesopotamia]] (sometimes called ''Mandatory Iraq''), [[Palestine|Mandatory Palestine]], [[Jordan|Transjordan]] to the UK * independence for [[Armenia]] [[Russia/Monarchs#Imperial_Russia|Russia]] had also entered the war with claims stipulated in the '''Constantinople Agreement''', but this scheme fell apart under the [[Russia/Democratization#October_Revolution|Russian Revolution]]. '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' established a provisional government in [[Turkey/Ankara|Ankara]] and refused to ratify the treaty; hostilities resumed. ---- == Greek Front == [[Greece|Greece]] launched a military landing, with French support, into Smyrna in May 1919. This sparked the '''Greco-Turkish War''' saw an invasion deep into Anatolia. French withdrawal from the conflict severely weakened Greece's ability to continue the war. The Turks launched the '''Great Offensive''' in August 1922, and began to quickly reclaim land. The UK threatened to enter the conflict as Turkish armies advanced on the Dardanelles Strait. [[UnitedKingdom/DavidLloydGeorge|Lloyd George]] however refused to escalate, and the '''Chanak Crisis''' ended peacefully. It was nonetheless made clear that there would be no [[WorldHistory/AlliedPowers|Allied]] relief for Greek forces. Quite the opposite, the [[WorldHistory/SovietUnion|USSR]] began to substantially finance the Turkish government. Smyrna was reclaimed in September 1922, and the '''Armistice of Mudanya''' was agreed in October. ---- == Southern Front == Apart from supporting the Greek invasion, France launched the '''Cilicia Campaign''' in November 1918. While they enjoyed immediate successes in occupying major port cities, the '''Battle of Marash''' in early 1920 was a turning point and began a slow withdrawal. The peace process for the '''Franco-Turkish War''' took years to finalize. The '''Treaty of Ankara''' was ratified in 1922 but left various provisional structures in place on either side of the new border with [[Syria]]. The '''Armistice of Mudanya''' officially dropped French claims to Turkish lands. ---- == Eastern Front == The '''Turkish-Armenian War''' broke out against the [[Armenia|First Armenian Republic]] in September 1920. By December, the Turkish army had seized most of western Armenia. Foreign minister '''Alexander Khatisyan''' was forced to sign the '''Treaty of Alexandropol'''. Besides becoming a client state, the occupied western half of the country was ceded to Turkey and Nakhchivan was ceded to [[Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]]. The [[WorldHistory/SovietUnion|USSR]] invaded Armenia in the final days of this war and rapidly seized power in [[Armenia/Yerevan|Yerevan]]. They declared an '''Armenian Socialist Republic'''. Negotiations resumed but the new '''Treaty of Moscow''' largely reaffirmed the land cessions. In the following October, a nearly identical '''Treaty of Kars''' was signed by [[Georgia|Soviet Georgia]] and Azerbaijan as well. ---- == Consequences == The '''Treaty of Lausanne''', signed in July 1923, superseded the '''Armistice of Mudanya''' and officially ended [[WorldHistory/WorldWar1|World War 1]] between the [[WorldHistory/AlliedPowers|Allied Powers]] and [[Turkey/Democratization#Republic_of_Turkey|Turkey]]. Possession of the territories that the Turkish army occupied was recognized and old [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire|Ottoman]] debts were cleared. Millions of ethnic Greeks or Turks were displaced and resettled across the new borders. The 1914 border with [[Greece]] along the Maritsa (alt. ''Meriç'' or ''Hebros'') River was re-established, and it remains as the modern border. The modern borders with [[Syria]] and [[Armenia]] were also established by this treaty. Possession of Mosul remained an open-ended issue. A plebiscite in 1926 finally awarded it to [[Iraq|Mandatory Iraq]]. ---- CategoryRicottone