2 Septumber1922, 101st Anniversary of the Liberation of Eskisehir

Eskisehir was given to Osman Gazi by the Anatolian Seljuks in 1289, but it fell into the hands of the Karamanids during the reign of Orhan Gazi. Murat I re-incorporated it into the Ottoman lands and it remained under the Ankara Principality until the early times of Mehmet the Conqueror. After 1451, when Kütahya became a Beylerbeylik, there was a change in the Anatolian Administrative Organisation and it was connected to Kütahya Beylerbeylik from Ankara Principality.  Eskisehir, which has large and fertile plains, has constituted one of the important commercial, economic and strategic points in terms of location, and agriculture has formed the lifeblood. The railway, which arrived in the 1890s, developed, followed the natural trade routes and became an intersection point of the railways coming from the west and going east and south. In the 19th century, Eskisehir was a small and neglected accident, where the majority of the people made a living from agriculture, animal husbandry and partly mining (Meerschaum). The first train from Haydarpaşa arrived at Eskişehir station on 19 June 1892. The railway revived Eskişehir's trade and increased its importance by making it an important strategic point in terms of military as well as trade. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the event that affected Eskişehir the most socially and economically was the railway reaching Eskişehir and continuing towards Konya and Ankara. Being the meeting point of the natural roads that cut Anatolia in the west-east and north-south directions has increased its military and commercial importance many times over. Eskişehir has become one of the important centres of Anatolia due to its strategic location and being at the crossroads of railways. For this reason, it has been at the centre of power struggles. Eskişehir became an independent mutasarriflik in the early 20th century and reached a large population.

Based on the article of the Armistice of Armistice of Mudros signed by the Ottoman Empire with the Entente Powers on 30 October 1918 after World War I; "The Entente Powers may occupy important points within the borders of the Ottoman Empire on the grounds of security", British forces landed in Istanbul on 13 November 1918 and started to occupy the places they deemed important along the Istanbul-Baghdad railway line. Two and a half months after this occupation, British troops were sent to the railway centres of Izmit, Eskisehir and Afyonkarahisar as of 18 January 1919 to inspect the railway line. On 22 January 1919, the British occupied the strategically important Eskişehir station with 200 troops and established a headquarters with 520 troops. 

In time, the number of British occupation forces increased and reached 2,000 in March 1920. However, in the face of these occupations, the Turkish nation did not remain silent and mobilised its innate power of resistance. Mutasarrıf Hilmi Bey, who supported the British and was a member of the Hürriyet and Entente Government established by Damat Ferit Pasha and who sympathised with the occupiers, considered the reactions and demonstrations of the people against the occupation as "disturbing riots". Despite Hilmi Bey, the people of Eskişehir reacted to the occupation, protested violently, made speeches, distributed declarations and sent telegrams to the authorities. In Eskisehir, there was a great reaction especially against the Greek occupation of Izmir and they expressed their reaction with a rally organised on 17 May 1919 in Odunpazari district. This rally was also the spark that ignited the fire of the National Struggle among the people of Eskişehir. They continued to react against the atrocities committed by the French-led Armenians in Maraş and finally against the activities of the Entente States aimed at eliminating the independence of the Turkish nation. 

The resistance against the occupiers became more organised and stronger. 20th Corps Commander Ali Fuat Pasha supported the organisation of the Kuvayı Milliye and the resistance intellectuals of Eskişehir. These rallies formed the basis of the services of the people of Eskişehir, which were extremely important for the National Struggle. The people of Eskişehir made attempts to bring a government to power that would save the homeland from occupation and sent a telegram to the Ottoman Parliamentary Assembly. The rallies held in Eskişehir against the occupations and the telegrams of protest strengthened the awareness of national unity and solidarity among the people of the city. Firstly, a unity of purpose and unity of action was formed for the liberation of the homeland from the enemy and the realisation of this purpose.

In this process, 3 delegates from Eskişehir, Bayraktarzade Hüseyin Akbaşlı, Hüsrev Sami Kızıldoğan and Siyahizade Halil İbrahim Bey, participated in the Sivas Congress held on 4 September 1919. Some collaborating administrators were eliminated and the organisation of the Kuvayı Milliye was established in the city. Bayraktarzade Hüseyin Akbaşlı donated 200 Ottoman Gold for the printing of the minutes of the congress, as it was necessary for the necessary financial resources. Ali Fuat Cebesoy Pasha moved from Ankara to Sivrihisar on 13 September 1919 due to the fact that the British started to mass in Eskişehir to organise attacks against the Forces Nationalist forces. On 20 September, he issued a declaration in his capacity as the Commander of the Western Anatolian Kuvayi Milliye and asked the local administrators in Eskişehir not to listen to the orders of the Istanbul Government. In the meantime, he made an appeal to the British forces and asked them not to take sides in this operation launched against the Istanbul Government. At this time, a detachment under the command of İsmail Hakkı Bey went to Kütahya and ensured the withdrawal of a British occupation force in Kütahya towards Eskişehir. After the withdrawal of the British forces to Eskişehir, Turkish troops demolished the Alayunt bridge on the Eskişehir-Kütahya Railway and prevented the British from coming to Kütahya again. This incident disturbed the supporters of the Government of Liberty and Entente in Eskişehir. Mutasarrıf Hilmi Bey asked for help from the British, but the British stated that these conflicts were internal problems of the Ottoman Empire and did not support Mutasarrıf Hilmi.

Realising that the people of Anatolia had developed great hatred and resentment upon the British occupation of Istanbul, the British moved the Indian Battalion in Afyonkarahisar to Eskişehir and increased their forces here to one regiment. However, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his friends decided to drive the British away due to the special and strategic importance of the railways. It was aimed that one way to secure Ankara and the work in Ankara was to recapture the railway, which was under British occupation and control. For this purpose, on the night of 17-18 March 1920, the headquarters of the 24th Division, a cavalry company and the 143rd Infantry Regiment were dispatched to Eskişehir under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Mahmut, the Division Commander, by the order of Ali Fuat Cebesoy Pasha, the Commander of the Western Front Kuvayı Milliye. Although the troops settled at the Ağapınar station east of Eskişehir the next morning and started to occupy the hills overlooking Eskişehir and other important places, the British did not intervene. Thus, the railway between Ankara and Eskişehir was recaptured and controlled, and the British soldiers and officers who resisted were arrested. 

On 20 March 1920, Mahmut Bey, Deputy Commander of the 20th Corps, who was commanding the National Regiment, issued an ultimatum to the occupation forces in Eskişehir and asked them to leave the region within one hour. On the same day, the British forces, whose requests for an extension of the deadline were rejected, were forced to withdraw in three military trains, leaving behind a large number of equipment and ammunition, and left Eskişehir, ending the occupation. At 11:00 on 21 June 1920, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk arrived at the railway station with the Minister of National Defence Fevzi Çakmak Pasha and the Chief of General Staff Colonel İsmet İnönü. He discussed the situation of the Greek offensive with Ali Fuat Cebesoy, the Commander of the Western Front, and left for Ankara the same night. On 22 June 1920, the simultaneity of the forward movement of the Greek forces attacking from Bursa, Uşak and Nazilli and the Ethem incident caused new problems in the city. The forward movement of the Greeks from Bursa to Eskişehir started on 6 January 1921 and arrived in front of the İnönü positions 3 days later. However, the I. Inönü Victory demoralised the enemy and they were forced to retreat rapidly. Thus, the regular army formed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey successfully passed its first test. The morale of the Turkish people rose, and with the belief that the war would be won, participation in the war began to increase. 

The British aimed to strangle the newly born Turkish National Government, which had a strong and secure future, before it reached this goal, and to eliminate its small but self-sacrificing army. For this purpose, it took the Greeks under its protection and directed them to a second and major offensive. The Greeks, on the other hand, accelerated their preparations for the offensive in order to avenge their defeat, to have the Treaty of Sèvres accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and to re-establish their reputation in the eyes of the Entente Powers. While Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who had a great power of intuition, was moving to Eskişehir on 9 July, the Greek offensive, which started on 10 July 1921, soon extended to the front of Eskişehir. On 18 July, Atatürk arrived at the Western Front headquarters in Karacahisar village and decided to evacuate Eskişehir. Greek forces launched an offensive against Kütahya and Eskişehir via Uşak and Bursa and occupied Eskişehir on 20 July 1921. With the withdrawal of the Turkish Western Front Command forces until Çifteler, the situation turned completely against the Turkish forces. The arrival of the occupation forces near Ankara caused disturbances in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The Minister of National Defence, Fevzi Pasha, demanded that Ankara be abandoned and the parliamentary activities be moved to Kayseri. However, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey decided that Ankara should not be abandoned and on 5 August 1921, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the "Commander-in-Chief" with parliamentary powers. 

After the occupation of Eskişehir, on 22 July 1921, the Greek King Constantine came to Eskişehir with the high-ranking officers of the Greek army. At the meeting held in Eskişehir, King Constantine became the Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Armies and at the meeting held in Kütahya 5 days later, the decision to attack Ankara was taken. After great preparations, the Greek Army attacked the Turkish positions in three columns on 13 August and Mihalıççık was occupied on 16 August. On 21 August 1921, the Greek Army crossed to the south of the Sakarya River, and Papulas, the commander of the occupation army, who did not encounter any serious resistance until 23 August, demanded that the Western Front positions be attacked and that the front be broken through in two places. The Turkish troops holding Mangal Mountain retreated, leaving a force the size of a regiment. On 24 August 1921, the Greeks captured Mount Mangal, but they preferred to keep their forces waiting for 2 days due to their suspicion that the Turkish Army would leave the area very quickly. Taking advantage of this delay, the Turkish General Command massed forces behind the positions and repelled the Greek offensive on 25 August 1921. However, the fact that the Greek forces were spread over a very large area provided a great advantage. On 30 August 1921, Greek troops launched a new offensive, and although they suffered great losses in the clashes that lasted for 5 days, they were barely able to capture Çal Mountain. Meanwhile, on 4 September 1921, Greek Commander Papulas wrote in a report to the Minister of War that it was impossible to advance as far as Ankara. 

On 6 September 1921, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Fevzi Çakmak and İsmet İnönü agreed in a meeting that the Greek forces were losing strength. On 7 September 1921, reconnaissance attacks were launched and great successes were achieved. On 10 September 1921, Turkish Forces decided to launch a "General Counter Attack" and Duatepe was captured. The Greeks retreated until the Beylikköprü ridges. On 12 September 1921, Kartaltepe and Beştepe were captured. On 13 September 1921, Greek troops completely crossed to the west of Sakarya. On 14 September 1921, the Cavalry Division following the Greeks entered Sivrihisar. On 17 September 1921, when the Turkish Corps began to encircle the Greeks from the south, Papulas planned to retreat to Eskişehir. On the same day, the vanguard entered Mihalıççık. On 20 September 1921, Turkish troops, which could move very slowly due to lack of ammunition, crossed west of Sakarya. On 23 September 1921, Greek troops withdrew as far as Eskişehir, where they were reinforced with new forces and ammunition. The Greek occupation, which could have ended at the end of September 1921, was prolonged for a year due to lack of supplies and ammunition. Meanwhile, the Greeks continued to seek political support in Europe, but Britain and France saw the end of the war. The French Prime Minister Briand suggested that the Greeks should make peace with the Turks as soon as possible and the British Prime Minister Lloyd George started to say that the spirit of Sevres should be abandoned as soon as possible. 

While these developments were taking place, both Turkish and Greek troops made preparations for mutual offensive during the spring months of 1922. Greek cavalry troops entered Eskişehir at dusk on 19 July 1921, and after a long struggle, the enemy was repulsed with the Turkish Army's Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, which started on 26 August 1922, and after the 30 August victory, the Turkish main army (1st and 2nd) cleared the Uşak-İzmir line from the enemy. On 1 September 1922, the Porsuk detachment of the 3rd Turkish Corps liberated Seyitgazi from enemy occupation. On 2 September 1922, the Turkish Cavalry coming from the direction of Seyitgazi descended from Tekkeönü to Eskişehir, expelled the enemy forces and put an end to the Greek occupation. The British occupation of Eskisehir, which lasted 423 days, and the Greek occupation, which lasted 407 days, ended with the victory of the Turkish army. However, there was a significant pause in the city's trade as the Greeks looted, set fire to, burned and destroyed various neighbourhoods and bazaars while evacuating Eskişehir, as in all of Western Anatolia, and turned the city into a complete ruin. Throughout this process, the people went through many hardships, but they never fell into frustration and despair, and the determination of the administrators and the people to revitalise the city did not disappear. 

The Hâkimiyeti Milliye Newspaper reported that the Greeks killed 250 people during their retreat, burned 2 thousand houses, 22 hotels and inns, 2 thousand stores and shops, 5 baths, 4 factories, 2 mosques, 3 masjids and 10 schools in the city centre, set fire to 13 thousand houses and 2 thousand sheepfolds in the villages, and reduced 150 thousand decares of forest land to ashes. 

According to the sources of that day, the balance sheet of the occupation in Eskişehir and its surroundings was heavy and 150 million liras of damage was incurred. The reporter of Anadolu'da Yeni Gün Newspaper, who travelled around the region in order to record the horrors of the war in history; "When we entered Eskişehir (on the evening of 2 September), our car had become invisible from the patches, it resembled the old Ottoman Empire in the truest sense. After passing through many ruins, we stopped among those ruins again, and I found Eskişehir, which I knew very well, in a state I could not recognise at all. The enemy had burnt the town almost from top to bottom. Our car stopped at a place called Köprübaşı. We were surrounded by the black and horrible debris of burnt shops, stores and houses." Despite the horrible scene, the TGNA Government did not delay in re-establishing a centralised administrative mechanism. Mutasarrıf İbrahim Bey, who had moved to Sivrihisar with his officials after the occupation of Eskişehir, returned and took over the administration.

Eskisehir gave full material and moral support to the National Struggle led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Three of the five most important battles of the National Struggle were fought in Eskişehir. In 1921, the First and Second Battles of Inonu were fought in Inonu, 40 kilometres from Eskişehir. The first victory was won with the Battle of I. İnönü, one of the important battles of the National Struggle. The Battle of Sakarya, which started on 23 August-13 September 1921, when the Turkish Army retreated to the east of Sakarya in the Eskişehir-Kütahya War, was a life and death struggle for the Turkish nation. While this battle was one of the best examples of the Turkish army's abandonment of tactical retreats and the implementation of strategic defence at the end of a large-scale retreat, it also constituted the turning point of the National Struggle. With the Great Offensive of the Turkish Army, which started on 26 August 1922, a great victory was achieved on 30 August 1922 and the liberation of Eskişehir took place on 2 September 1922.

After the liberation of Eskişehir, the first thing that was started was the repair of the railway tracks and bridges connecting Eskişehir to Istanbul and Ankara. The main reason for the prioritisation of these repairs was that the city was not only strategic, but also closely related to social and economic life. Within two months, the railway line was repaired and opened for operation, the courthouse organisation, educational institutions for the start of education and training in the city, and the water and electricity installations of the city, which had been damaged by the fire, were restructured. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's visit to Eskişehir on 15 January 1923 was a turning point for both the future of Turkey and the development of Eskişehir. In his speech at the Government House about the sacrifices of the people of Eskişehir in the National Struggle, he said: "I already know Eskişehir and the people of Eskişehir. The people of Eskişehir showed great patriotism, nationalism, determination and heroism when there were enemy forces in and near Eskişehir and we had no forces at our disposal. Ali Fuat Pasha from Ankara came here alone and the people here joined him as an internal and external force. As a result, the Istanbul force fled and the British force was expelled. The people of Eskişehir are a people adorned with these distinguished qualities. The people of Eskişehir have helped us a lot. Then, as a result of military operations, our army had to make a sacrifice for Eskişehir and its people. This sacrifice necessitated great casualties. But the army demanded this sacrifice in order to save its existence and to compensate for these casualties after saving its existence, and Eskişehir suffered a disaster as a result. This disaster was that the enemy entered the city and turned it into a nest of cruelty and fire. Today the enemy has been expelled. We see the casualties of this place with our eyes. It has been burnt, destroyed and the inhabitants have suffered losses. This was a self-sacrificing act for the whole nation and the people of this city endured it, I congratulate them. I know Eskisehir and Eskisehir people very well. During the years of the National Struggle, they have always stood by our struggle with great patriotism and outstanding courage, and have contributed extensively to this struggle. According to what I have seen, the people are enlightened and active. The soil is fertile. In a short time, they will compensate for the casualties and be proud of their sacrifices." He stated that he appreciated the self-sacrifice shown by the people of Eskişehir, who suffered great pain during the National War of Independence. He emphasised that the people of Eskişehir were a people adorned with distinguished qualities and congratulated them for all their services. He was closely interested in the reconstruction of the city due to its great contribution to the winning of the war. He instructed that they should urgently focus on issues such as animal breeding and protection of animals from diseases, seed distribution, construction of roads, construction of new school buildings, and mapping of existing forests. 

Since Eskişehir was one of the key points of the National Struggle, it was materially and morally worn out during the war. With the investments made during the Republican period, it was endeavoured to create a modern city in a short time and became a province in 1925. In 1927 and 1928, the "Eskişehir National Trade Congress" was organised to revive the trade in the city and to discuss the measures to be taken. The congress was opened on Sunday, 5 February 1928, with the participation of about 200 merchants by the chamber's president, the confectioner Kâmil Bey. The congress discussed standardisation, packaging, transport insurance and the explanation of new economic laws. The importance of developing a common model and packaging for Turkish goods to find value in foreign markets was emphasised. It was stated that Eskişehir merchants suffered losses because mohair, fleece and opium were first sent to Istanbul and exported from there. It was suggested that the number of intermediaries should be reduced and conditions should be created for direct exports. Since even meerschaum, the most valuable export product, was exported unprocessed, neither those who extracted the meerschaum from the wells nor the local merchants who exported it could not be compensated for their labour. For this reason, the Congress stated that it was necessary to send students to Vienna to learn the techniques of carving, polishing and mass production.

The people of the city, who suffered great destruction and persecution, especially with the Greek occupation, were able to quickly recover from these ruins with the measures taken by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the Republican Governments. Eskişehir, whose contributions during the National Struggle were praised by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has managed to rise from its ashes in areas such as education, culture, agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, trade, mining and banking with the measures taken by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the Republican Governments and has made significant developments. 

Today, Eskişehir has become a city of the Republic with its 2 state universities, its contribution to the national defence industry such as locomotive, helicopter, aircraft production-repair; with its developments in the textile, food, automotive sectors; with its investments in education and cultural fields, with its people who value art and artists, who are devoted to Atatürk's Revolution and Principles, and who are advancing to the level of contemporary civilisation determined by him. Starting on 22 January 1919 with the British occupation and ending with liberation on 2 September 1922, Eskişehir has survived many hardships. The people of Eskişehir, who fully supported the National Struggle led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk without ever falling into frustration, celebrate 2 September as liberation day every year with justified pride. I commemorate with mercy, gratitude and respect all our martyrs who shed their blood for the homeland, especially the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who realised the liberation of Eskişehir. 

May their souls rest in peace. 

REFERENCES: 

Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, "Nutuk", Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, 1989.

General Staff Attaché Archive, Turkish War of Independence Volume II, Western Front 2nd Part, 1999.

Halil İNALÇIK, "History of the National Struggle (1908/1923)", Kronik Kitap, June 2023.

İnan ARI. "Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'ün 1923 Eskişehir and İzmit Speeches", TTK, Ankara, 1982.

İsmail YILDIRIM, "Eskişehir in the Beginning of the National Struggle (22 January 1919-20 March 1920), Eskişehir, 1998.

"The Days We Left Kütahya and Eskişehir", Anadolu'da Yeni Gün, 19 July 1922. 

"How the Greeks Looted and Destroyed Eskişehir", Hâkimiyet-i Milliye, 18 October 1922, 2.

"Eskişehir and Kütahya Mutasarrıfları", Anadolu'da Yeni Gün, 3 September 1922, p.2.

Ali Fuat CEBESOY, "Milli Mücadele Hatıraları", Temel Yayınlan, İstanbul, 2000;

Sina AKŞİN, "Istanbul Governments and the National Struggle", 1983, Istanbul.

Zafer KOYLU, Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eskişehir in the Early XXth Century. 

Alptekin MÜDERRİSOĞLU, "Financial Resources of the War of Independence", 2nd Edition, 1981, Ankara.

Mesut ERŞAN, "Kuvayı Milliye Döneminde Eskişehir", Atatürk University Atatürk Principles and History of İnkılâp Institute, Unpublished Master's Thesis, 1981, Erzurum.