September 9, 1922, The Story of Liberation

Izmir is the cornerstone, the star city of the National Struggle. The direction and target given in the order "Armies, your first target is the Mediterranean Sea!" is Izmir. İzmir was the place where the National Struggle began with Hasan Tahsin's first bullet, and it was also the place where it symbolically ended with Captain Şerafettin's raising the Turkish flag to the government building.

The year 1918, on the 30th day of October, the Mudros Armistice Agreement was signed and it was documented that the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the great war. Two articles of the agreement did not attract much attention in the rush. These were Article 5, which stated that the Ottoman army would be demobilized except for internal security and border troops, and Article 7, which stated that the victorious states could occupy strategic places in Ottoman territory if they needed to. Since 1912, Anatolia was tired, Anatolia was exhausted from the wars that had been going on since 1912, these articles were not given much importance. After all, the war was ending, it was going home.

Of course, these articles were not put into the Treaty at random. The victorious states immediately started to implement them. A so-called peace conference was convened in Paris. The map of the Ottoman Empire was laid on the table, and those who picked up a crayon marked and colored the lands they coveted. The French, Italians, and the British almost collapsed on the Ottoman lands. Everyone got their share, and they agreed on a joint administration of the Straits.

Meanwhile, the Greeks were off the table. Soon the plan on the table began to work. The Italians immediately landed troops in Antalya. The French also settled in the Adana region. Seeing that the Italians were moving fast and worried that they would also settle in Western Anatolia, the British immediately found a formula. They persuaded the USA and France and brought in the Greeks to occupy Smyrna and Western Anatolia.

Thus began Greece's adventure in Asia Minor. When this news was heard, Izmir rose up. The Mudafa-i Hukuk and Reddi İlhak Societies organized demonstrations and started to organize against the Greek occupation. The police station was even raided, weapons were confiscated and distributed to the public. However, Aydın/Izmir Governor Kambur Ahmed İzzet Bey suppressed these activities. He tried to provide an environment to facilitate the occupation. Nevertheless, the last big demonstration was held on May 14, 1919 at Maşatlık (Gürçeşme Jewish Cemetery). At night, fires were lit all over the city for the Greek fleet in the Gulf to see.

However, all efforts could not prevent the Greek invasion that began in the early morning hours of May 15th. A Greek division started to land troops from Alsancak and Pasaport piers. Greek flags were everywhere in the city and church bells were ringing. Local Greeks and minorities took to the streets with joy. Turks, on the other hand, watched the developments with anxiety. As the Greek Legion of Enchantment, carrying a banner, marched proudly down Kordon, suddenly the guns went off. This is where the first bullet was fired against the occupation, this is where the resistance began. Hasan Tahsin and a few of his friends were the first to resist the occupation. The Greek troops, who had recovered from their initial astonishment, then embarked on massacres and plunder in the city, and Izmir was left alone with its fate.

The next day, on May 16, 1919, a different development took place in Istanbul. Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his friends left Istanbul on a ferry and set sail for Samsun. The National Struggle had actually begun. We know what happened next. Congresses, the opening of the Parliament, the Battle of Inonu, the Battle of Sakarya and the Great Offensive...

The noose around the neck of the Turks was removed at Dumlupınar and put around the neck of the Greeks on the Afyon Plain. The dates were August 30, 1922. The Turkish Army received the well-known order from its Commander-in-Chief. "Armies, your first target is the Mediterranean, forward!" The signal was Izmir. The pursuit operation began. The Turkish Army started to advance towards Izmir. Afyon, Uşak, Salihli, Ödemiş, Manisa were captured one after another.

"We came down from the Murat Mountains,

The Gediz river appeared in the distance,

The Turkish pasture was established in Izmir,

We gave the homeland a homeland again."

Fleeing in panic, the Greek army was massacring and burning everywhere they retreated. Shameful events took place in nearly 3000 settlements, especially in towns.

In the morning of September 9, 1922, Turkish cavalry under the command of Mürsel Pasha began to enter Izmir from the Bornova side. Another column was advancing to Karşıyaka via Manisa and Menemen. Most of the Greek army had been evacuated and taken on board ships, the rest put up a very weak resistance and were eliminated. The cavalry from the Bornova side arrived in front of the government building in Konak Square around 10:30 a.m. Captain Şerafettin moved quickly and took down the Greek flag on the balcony of the government building and raised the Turkish flag in its place. Immediately afterwards, the Turkish flag was raised at Sarıkışla (near the government building, demolished) and Kadifekale. Prayers had been answered, dreams had come true. People took to the streets, praying for the soldiers, crying, hugging each other...

"Blood flowed from the scabbards of swords,

The gray steeds from the white,

Our spring has always bloomed redbuds,

We gave flowers as a gift to the mountains."

Interestingly, the people of Izmir did not believe that the occupation would end. Because they had no means of receiving any news from Anatolia. Due to the censorship imposed on the press and communication, they were unaware of the victories won. This was confirmed in later research. In Izmir, Menemen, Foça, Bergama, the people were almost resigned to their fate. Therefore, when they suddenly saw the Turkish cavalry in front of them, they were astonished.

Cavalry Division Commander Mürsel Pasha sent a telegram to İsmet Pasha, the Commander of the Western Front, and reported the situation. "The Greeks are fleeing our beloved Izmir. Some of those who resisted were destroyed and some were taken prisoner. We entered Izmir at 10.30 a.m. All the people and foreigners welcomed our army with applause. Our troops are on the coast, at Kadifekale and in the direction of Yenikale. The 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions are under my command. For the time being, I have taken the command of Izmir in my hands".

"Flowers bloom on the mountains of Izmir

The golden sun shines there

The golden sun shines there

Corrupted enemies flee like the wind

Long live Mustafa Kemal Pasha, long live

Your name will be inscribed on the jewel stone..."

Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Mustafa İsmet Pasha and Mustafa Fevzi Pasha, the "Three Mustafa's" spent the night of September 9th in Belkahve and Nif (Kemalpaşa), watching the lights of Izmir. The next day they entered Izmir accompanied by the enthusiastic demonstrations of the people. It was an apocalyptic scene...

The last bullet was not fired in Izmir. The last martyrs of the War of Independence were killed in Bandirma on September 17, 1922. However, the Turkish flag hoisted by Captain Şerafettin on the Izmir government house, never to come down again, was the symbol of the victory of the National Struggle.

Immediately after the liberation, Izmir suffered a great fire. The fire that started in Basmane engulfed the whole city in an instant. Izmir was engulfed in flames for days. Izmir had experienced both joy and pain at the same time.

The story of 3 years, 3 months and 24 days of occupation is long. Many of the stories told by Yakup Kadri in Sodom and Gomorrah also happened in Izmir. There were always collaborators, those who turned the occupation into trade, those who squatted on the property of the people. But on the other side were the resistance fighters, the Hasan Tahsin, the fighters for independence. History is the greatest witness that no injustice will last forever.

What happened to Governor Kambur Ahmed İzzet Bey? He was accused of treason for collaborating with the Greeks during the occupation period. The Greek government awarded him the Order of Anoteron Taksiarhis. In January 1920, he died of a heart attack in the line of duty. He did not see the liberation. There will always be Kambur İzzet and he will not like the İzmir Anthem, let's not forget that.

On this occasion, on the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Izmir, September 9, 1922, I commemorate with mercy and respect all the veterans and martyrs of our War of Independence, especially Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Happy Izmir!