The Path to Victory What Happened August 26-29, 1922?

The Sharpening: August 26, 1922 (03:00 a.m., Kocatepe)

The Commander-in-Chief was at Kocatepe, looking out over the plain through the darkness. He was so sure of winning that he was dreaming of the blooming mountains of Izmir, 330 kilometers away. Let's read from Nazım;

"Fires were burning on the mountains one by one

And the stars were so bright, so spacious

the man with the shaggy heart

not knowing how or when it will come

he believed in good, comfortable days

and he was standing with his smiling moustache

Suddenly he saw him five steps to his right.

The pashas were behind him.

He asked the time.

The pashas said: "Three," they said,

He looked like a blond wolf.

And his blue eyes flashed.

He walked to the top of the cliff,

bent over, stopped.

If they let them

Sprawling on her thin, long legs

and slipping like a star in the darkness

He would jump from Kocatepe to the plain of Afyon."

Along the front, 225,000 soldiers clutched their weapons tightly, their eyes in deep darkness, holding their breath, waiting for the officers' command "Forward!" for the offensive. There was not a sound on the front, which was kilometers long. At exactly 04:30 a.m. there was a crackle. The Turkish artillery had begun to fire in formation. At 05:00, a deafening and intense artillery barrage raged along the entire front. As soon as the firing ceased, the Turkish soldiers, with cries of "Allah, Allah, shoot ha, koman ha!" began to pour out of the darkness into the Afyon plain and attack the positions on the first hills of the Greek defense line wave by wave. As the day began to dawn, a neck-to-neck struggle had begun, bayonet charges were made one after the other on the hills that did not fall. The raided Greek army did not know what to do, taken by surprise, it was forced to retreat, leaving the hills in front. The last great battle of the Turks had begun. The expected day had finally arrived, the good days were near. Let's listen to Akif;

"I have lived free since time immemorial, I will live free;

Which madman would put chains on me? I am amazed!

I am like a roaring flood, I will overcome my bends.

I tear the mountains, I overflow the vastness."

100 years ago today, on August 26, 1922, the Great Offensive began. The Commander-in-Chief, who said "freedom and independence are my character", rose on the plain of Afyon that day and that night and began to write the epic of Liberation.

"They are an ant in the soil,

fish in the water

like a bird in the air

they are many;

cowardly,

brave,

illiterate,

judge

and they are children

and overwhelming

they are the ones who create,

Only their adventures are in our saga..."

Footsteps of Victory: August 27, 1922, Liberation of Afyon

After yesterday's apocalypse, the Turkish Army's offensive resumed at dawn this morning. In a short time, the Greek defensive front was breached and the Turkish troops began to flow like a flood from the mountains and hills towards Afyon.

In the morning, the Commander-in-Chief ordered Colonel Reșat to capture Çiğiltepe immediately to secure the western part of the breakthrough zone. Colonel Reșat committed suicide around 11:00 a.m. for failing to capture the hill, but within minutes Cigiltepe was captured.

By noon the Greek army had abandoned all of its defensive positions and fled northward in disarray, abandoning its supplies. The Turkish Army arrived in front of Afyon. There was no enemy resistance left.

Around 17:30, the 189th Regiment entered Afyon like lightning, the Afyon government building was captured and Afyon was liberated by the Turkish army. When the news of the liberation of Afyon from the enemy reached Ankara, the people took to the streets with joy. 

The headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief and the Western Front Command were moved to Afyon. Gazi Pasha sent a telegram from Afyon to the Parliament in Ankara: "The superiority of our commanders over the enemy command in administration and management is evident."

We read from Nazım;

The mountains are illuminating.

Something is burning somewhere.

The day has dawned and will dawn.

The smell has begun to smoke:

Anatolian soil is waking up...

And at this moment, I'll release my heart to the skies like a falcon

and I'll see sparkles

and so far away

hearing voices calling me somewhere far away

on a great and sacred adventure,

on the front line, in the front row,

you wanted to rise up and die...

One More Step to Victory: August 28, 1922

The liberation of Afyon was of great importance for the Great Offensive. By this means, the enemy forces were squeezed towards the north of the front and driven away from the Uşak road.

The roads were littered with abandoned, burnt out motor vehicles, cannons and other items of use to the army. Some of the Greek army stopped fighting and surrendered.

"Look at the stone of Ankara

Look at the tears in my eyes

We captured the enemy

Look at the work of this catastrophe

We are very lucky..."

In the early hours of the morning, our 23rd Division and the Greek 4th Division fought a fierce battle on the Resulbaba side.

The railroad was also out of the hands of the Greeks. It was understood that the Greek Army's tactic was to retreat to Dumlupınar, gather forces there and thus cut the road to Izmir. Upon this, especially the 1st Army directed all its forces in the direction of Dumlupınar.

The pursuit continued. With the shrinking circle, a significant part of the troops at the front were now in charge of pursuit and chase. The headquarters was also moving with the troops.

The plan was clear. The objective was to encircle the Greek army at Dumlupınar. The Greek forces would be surrounded by the 2nd Army from the east and the 1st Army from the south, and the golden strike would be made at Dumlupınar. Dumlupınar was the wolf trap.

The common opinion of Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Fevzi Pasha and İsmet Pasha was that the divisions of the Greek Army were defeated in the battles fought on August 28, 1922 and that the Greeks had lost their defensive power. The disintegration of the Greek Army was only a matter of time. The troops were ordered to continue the offensive without a break.

The Turkish Army pursued the retreating enemy hard and determinedly, not allowing him to hold any position. The end was approaching...

We continue reading from Nazım;

 "Galloping from Far Asia

Stretching like a mare's head to the Mediterranean

this country is ours.

Wrists covered in blood, teeth clenched, feet bare

and the earth like a silk carpet,

this hell, this heaven is ours.

Let the doors of the hand be closed, never to be opened again,

Destroy man's servitude to man,

this invitation is ours...

To live as one and free as a tree

and brotherly like a forest,

this longing is ours..."

Victory in sight August 29, 1922

The goal on the fourth day of the Great Offensive was to narrow the wolf trap the Greek army was in, cut off their retreat routes and encircle and squeeze them on the plain. The account would be settled at Dumlupınar. 

On the morning of August 29, the Greeks were on the move even before sunrise in order to retreat to Dumlupınar as soon as possible, and our army to intercept and capture them.

It seemed that the Turkish forces were faster. The Greeks were dumbfounded when they saw Turkish soldiers in the first light of the morning.

Step by step, the circle around the Greek troops in the Afyon area was shrinking. The possibility of communication with Izmir was lost, and in the following hours, the siege circle began to close, almost paving the way for the next day's victory. The Greek high command, unable to receive news from its troops, could not read the situation.

From Nazım;

"And its huge flowers are lilac

                                    red

                                           white

and the stalks are as tall as a man and a half.

                        through the poppies.

And in front of Afyon

              Under the Altıgözler Bridge

                                   facing southeast"

On the other hand, the sudden attacks, reconnaissance movements, and lightning operations behind enemy lines by the cavalry units under the command of Fahrettin (Altay) Pasha became the Greek army's nightmare. Due to the sudden attacks of the Turkish cavalry on the Greek rear, the Greek troops were intimidated, their morale was shaken and there was chaos.

Nazım narrates;

"On the left, ahead was Ali Corporal.

              His face was covered in blood.

A cavalry squad galloped past him.

      He was not only chasing the fugitives

also wanted to reach

                     somewhere

and it's not just damnation

                    and he was creating it.

And swords,

                  your horseshoes,

                             your hands

                                      and the twinkle in the eyes

one bright light after another."

The battle between the two armies continued after dark. News came to the front that the Greek army was retreating, burning the villages and towns it had evacuated and committing massacres. The Turkish army was enraged, and the more the Greeks resisted, the tougher the Turkish army became. Tomorrow would be much tougher.

Commander-in-Chief Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Chief of General Staff Fevzi Pasha and Commander of the Western Front İsmet Pasha were in the town hall in Afyonkarahisar on the night of August 29, 1922. According to the reports received shortly after midnight, the latest situation was marked on a map.

The Pashas read the reports with attention and excitement, they looked at the map and a look of joy and relief appeared on their faces. The Greek army was inside the circle. They examined the map again to make sure and saw that the result would be final tomorrow, August 30, 1922. Victory was now very close...

Akif's plea;

"Friend, do not let the scoundrels invade my homeland.

Trench your body, let this undaunted raid come to a halt.

The days promised to you will dawn...

Who knows, maybe tomorrow, maybe closer than tomorrow."