How did Turkey achieve such a quick military rebound after World War I?

Question

The Ottoman military had a very weak performance in World War I (1914-1918), completely defeated in the Middle Eastern theatre and ended up losing almost all of its non-Anatolia possession. This was also the case shortly before WW I, for example the Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). However, shortly after World War I, it fought pretty succesfully against its former WW I enemies, including Greece, the United Kingdom, France and Italy (see Greco-Turkish War and Turkish War of independence, 1919-1922)

I understand that during this time the Ottoman Empire was abolished and replaced by the Republic of Turkey, but other than this, how was such rebound in military performance achieved? For example, did Turkey significantly improve its military equipment? Did it replace the officers and by chance the new ones were much better?

Answer 1

As @Tom Au mentions, the newly found Republic of Turkey was led by Mustafa Kemal, later named Ataturk, or the Father of the Turks. Why was he named like this? Well, i'm glad you asked:

He was a person that inspired a lot of Turks to fight for their homeland - because now they weren't fighting in some colony taken centuries ago for the glory of some perfumed fat fellow in Istanbul - they were fighting for their own country, their own villages, their own families and friends. Esprit de corps is a powerful thing, Napoleon once said(kinda).

While during WWI the army was very poor, with low morale, extremely poor training, tactics and equipment, and as a result suffered heavy losses and embarrassing defeats (yes, Gallipoli is an exception mostly due to bad planning from the Allies, insufficient support and relatively high morale on that front, again because of Kemal's rallying prowess), post-WWI the new army was with somewhat decent equipment and supplies (Soviet Russia was helping a lot with both money and armament, in exchange for Batum), and once again - high morale. They were fighting to defend what was left of their country, and it's mainly that stubbornness that prevailed.

That and the fact that the Allies didn't have the will the continue the war - only the Greeks fought on, and they weren't all that powerful on themselves, their economy unable to support long term mobilisation without foreign aid(which was not incoming, the British were the only ones that supported them, and they were afraid to act not to antagonize the French), and with extreme political problems - their King got bitten by a monkey and died, then the government changed and quickly purged to - so far - successful army.

And from then on, the Turks, fueled with Soviet arms and money and home-grown patriotism, hand the upper hand.

Source - Wikipedia, Bulgarian History taught in High School, a book about the fall of the "Sick man of Europe" in Bulgarian whose name I cannot remember for the life of me...

Answer 2

In the 1920s, Turkey was led, militarily and politically by Mustapha Kemal, who was later designated as "Ataturk" or "Father of the Turks." In terms of his importance to the country, think of George Washington in the United States.

During World War I, Kemal was "working his way up," at battles like Gallipoli, which the Turks won, even while they were losing other battles. Basically, the Turks won where Kemal was in charge, and lost elsewhere. But when Kemal was made Supreme Commander, at the beginning of the War of Independence, they won just about everywhere, because he was in charge everywhere.

Answer 3

The Ottoman Empire had lost the First World War, along with Austria and especially, Germany in 1918. During the immediate aftermath of the Ottoman Empire, a young and audaciously bold Fighter and Revolutionary named Mustafa Kemal "Ataturk" came on the historical scene and within 5 years, would become the next major Leader of a Post-Ottoman Turkish Republic. He would rule Turkey until the late 1930's-(for approximately 15 years).

Ataturk was a historically significant figure who essentially modernized what was a decaying, ossifying, anachronistic empire. He officially separated Mosque and State, banned publicly worn religious attire, Latinized-(and in turn, Westernized) the centuries old Arabic based Turkish script, converted the centuries old Aya Sofya Mosque/(Saint Sophia Byzantine Cathedral) into a Museum-(which exists to this day), essentially coined (or helped to coin) the name, "Istanbul" from the older, "Constantinople" and then relocated the Capital of the Turkish Republic from Istanbul, to the Central Turkish city of Ankara. He was also central to the 1923 Greco-Turkish population exchange.........(and ethnically cleansed the centuries old Greek and Armenian populations from the city of Smyrna/Izmir on the West coast of Turkey in 1922).

Ataturk had a lengthy political tenure that was highly controversial to some, though culturally transforming and welcoming for a new, as well as future generations of Turks throughout the 20th century.

All of these changes-(both laudatory......as well as lamentable), were the result of Kemal Ataturk's military skill and ingenuity. He was a fierce and determined fighter who moved up the military and political "chain of command" rather quickly. The warlike talents and skills of Kemal Ataturk were primarily motivated by his vision of a revitalized Turkish state. Ataturk "saw the writing on the wall"-(culturally and historically speaking). Had a defeated theocratic empire remained culturally unchanged, one can only speculate as to what would have materialized in geopolitical terms. However, with Ataturk's new vision of a Westernized Muslim state which partially existed in the Southeast corner of the European continent, only such a vision could have been enacted with the ferocity and determination of a mighty and rapidly renewed military machine. A military machine that was led by a Commander who had a foresighted vision, coupled with muscularity, ruthlessness pragmatism and above all.....determination.

Answer 4

Did the Allies who defeated the Ottoman Empire not leave Anatolia very quickly? Yes, the occupation began on 13.11.1918 and ended on 23.08.1923. The British did not colonize the place, I think all of them are based on secret treaties.

Why did the Allied Powers, after occupying the Ottoman Empire, leave Anatolia (the Republic of Turkey)? When we look at the history of the British, it is obvious that they colonized the places they occupied and benefited from the resources. Yesterday, when I examined the pre-war meetings of the Ottoman military secret organization "Committee of Union and Progress", I found the answer that convinced me.

When we examine the meetings, I see that Mustapha Kemal did not like the ideas of Enver Pasha and his close circle and that he was utopian, and Mustafa Kemal's ideas were ignored by the members of the Society. Afterwards Mustapha Kemal stopped attending the meetings and entered the military rank race with Enver Pasha. In my opinion, Mustapha Kemal was jealous of Enver Pasha's military position and hated him over time, secretly negotiating with the British and helping them to secure his own throne after the war.

There's no reason why the British just left us. They got what they wanted most of the time. The 7th Army in the Palestinian Front is the last blow of this plan. The names of the commanders on this front are not surprising;

• -Mustafa Kemal
• -İsmet İnonü
• Ali Fuat Cebesoy.

That is, soldiers who founded the Republic of Turkey. These soldiers were not tried by the Allies. This theory is similar to that of the Ottoman Mecca Sheriff Hussein in the same way promised to be betrayed against the Ottoman Empire.

Conclusion: The British reached the oil, the Great Islamic State in the Middle East disappeared. With the Treaty of Lausanne, Turks were taken under international control. With the secret treaties, the Turks were disconnected from the past (Latin Letter Revolution, Costume Reform, Destruction of the Caliphate, Secular state understanding, the necessity of a British hat) The New Turkish Historical Society (the institution of history which started in 1923) was instilled with the love of Mustapha Kemal. Together with the institution, the citizens thought that Mustapha Kemal defeated the Allied states one by one.

Mustapha Kemal Ataturk's Republic of Turkey is protected by a special law (Ataturk Protection Act). You are responsible for what you talk about.

-A Turkish citizen who secretly colonized.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enver_Pasha#Relations_with_Mustafa_Kemal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_Army_(Ottoman_Empire) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne