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The Army and the Founding of the Turkish Republic Author(s): Dankwart A. Rustow Reviewed work(s): Source: World Politics, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Jul., 1959), pp. 513-552 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2009591 . Accessed: 31/03/2012 01:05
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THE

ARMY AND THE FOUNDING THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

By DANKWART A. RUSTOW

OF

participation the military politics.* by in The so-called "Young Turk Revolution" i908, in fact, of maywell be regarded theprotoas typeof Near Easternmilitary coups of thiscentury.1 decade later, A MustafaKemal [Atatiirk]2 and otherarmyofficers took the lead in creating nationalist a TurkishRepublicout of the ruinsof the multinationalOttomanEmpire.Since the proclamation the Republicin of 1923,however, Turkisharmy the has abstained from any suchobvious roleon thepolitical stage.Indeed,during periodwhenmilitary a coups havebecomeendemicin thenewlyindependent countries the Near of East,Asia, and Africa, Turkeyhas builtup a unique recordof a generationof civiliangovernment orderlyconstitutional by procedures. Although pendulumin thelastthirty-five has swungfroma the years dictatorial one-party system towardcompetitive and back party politics againtoward increasing restrictions political on expression, Kemalist the movement I9I9-I923 has remained date the military of to intervention to end all military in interventions Turkey. In this articleI proposeto examinethe circumstances which led first the profound to involvement the armyand of armyofficers of in Turkishpolitics after FirstWorld War and laterto their the withdrawalfromthepoliticalstage.
I.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

ODERN Turkish furnishes history numerous examples active of

The Young Turk military of coup of i908 was the culmination a

* The research is out mainlyat the Hoover on whichthisarticle based was carried Princefrom Center International the of Studies, Library, Stanford, Calif., undera grant Staff Seminar to University ton University. first A draft was presented the Princeton Tevfik my to in Near Eastern Studies. shouldlike to express gratitude theHonorable I in of participant and leadinghistorian manyof the eventsheredescribed, Biyiklhoklu, version. The writer alone is responforhis careful and critical readingof the present as sibleforsuch errors factor interpretation remain. of 1 The earlier in stage coup of Urabi Pasha in Egyptwas suppressed an embryonic military coups survey Near Eastern of by theBritish occupation I882. For a general of "The Role of theMilitary MiddleEast Politics," in see sincethattime, Majid Khadduri, as reprinted "The Army American Political Science Review, XLVII (1953), pp. 5II-24; in N. His Officer: Role in Middle EasternPolitics," Sydney Fisher,ed., Social Forces in the Middle East, Ithaca,N.Y., I955, pp. i62-84. namesadoptedby Turksin accordance 2 Throughout thisarticle, witha law family Kemal's last name was bestowedon him by of I934 are given in square brackets. specialactionof the GrandNationalAssembly.

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long series antecedents Near Easternand Ottomanhistory. of in Islam arosein the seventh century as a conquering A.D. faithwhichunified, withina century afterthe Prophet'sdeath,a vast regionfromthe to Pyrenees thePamirsand imposedon mostof it a religious and culturalstampwhichthirteen centuries have not deleted. Comparedwith other worldreligions, Islamin itstheology jurisprudence and accords a high degreeof legitimacy warfare. to The doctrine jihad, or Holy of War,forexample, asserts thatthetruefaith be spreadby conquest can as well as by conversion; Muslim international restson a basic law distinction between Abode of War and the Abode of Islam; and the amir al-mu'minin,or Commander the Faithful, one of the most of is frequently titles theCaliph.3 used of Withinthe earlyIslamicdomain,the Ottomanstateitself emerged as one of the manyprincipalities foundedby frontier warriors along the northern over Byzantium marches.4 The Ottomanvictory (1453) Ottoman initiated century spectacular a whichcarried rule of conquest as faras Algeria, Hungary, Ukraine, the Iraq, and Yemen.Throughout Ottomanhistory army,along with the Sultan'spalace establishthe and most expensive ment,remainedthe largest, mostelaborate, part of the Empire's "rulinginstitution";5and the decline of Ottoman military fortunes the protracted in contestwith the Habsburg and Romanov Empires only served to reinforce the military's central The impactof modernEurope on the OttomanEmpirewas position. feltmostacutely a military as of impact-from breaking thesecond the of Vienna (i683) to Bonaparte's siege invasionof Egypt (1798) and down to the GreatWar of I9I4-I9O8. The Ottomans' naturalreaction was to try borrow, and foremost, "cutting to first the edge" of Western civilization.6 With the importation European military of instructors, whichbegan in the late eighteenth century, the substitution a and of newly organizedarmyfor the dissoluteJanissary corps (I&26), the army officers became one of the most Westernized elements the in
3 Cf. Majid Khadduri, War and Peace in theLaw of Islam,Baltimore, I955. 4 Cf. Paul Wittek, The Rise of the Ottoman Empire, London,I938. 5The phrase thatof Albert Lybyer is H. (The Government the Ottoman Empire, of

Cambridge, Mass., I933). For a more recentsurveyof Ottomanmilitary and civil A. administration to theeighteenth up century, Hamilton R. Gibband H. L. Bowen, see IslamicSociety and the West,i, Parti-ii,London,I950-1957. 6 In Lewis V. Thomas' apt phrase;see L. V. Thomas and R. N. Frye,The United Statesand Turkeyand Iran, Cambridge, Mass., I95I, p. 51. On the Ottoman reform see of attempts, the suggestive interpretation given in the manywritings ArnoldJ. Toynbee(e.g., The Worldand the West, London,I953, ch. 3; and A. J.Toynbeeand K. P. Kirkwood,Turkey, London, I926), and BernardLewis, "Turkey:Westernizain tion,"in GustaveE. von Grunebaum, Unityand Variety MuslimCivilization, ed., Chicago,I955, pp. 3II-3I.

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Empire. The officer had always corps had a widebaseof socialand geographic recruitment;a result thenineteenth-century as of reforms, italsobecame ofthemost one conspicuous channels merit for advancement within Empire's the social structure. The Ottoman as had Empire, itsname on indicates, been founded the dynastic principle loyalty theHouse of Osman.The many of to linguistic denominational and groups within Empire-Turks, the Arabs, Greeks, Kurds, Bulgarians, manyothers; and Muslims, Christians of numerous distinct churches, Jews-were together a looseand held by jointed system administration of whichleftconsiderable leeway for ethnic localautonomy bya system ethnic and and of division labor of whichlinked in these groups a multiple symbiotic relationship. The spreadof political ideas of nineteenth-century first the Europe to Balkans later theNear Eastpresentedtwofold to a and challenge to Ottoman traditions. Nationalism threatened delicate the adjustment Liberal ideasof representative amongtheEmpire's polyglot subjects. undermined principle dynastic the government of absolutism. Within officers among first be converted theOttoman were to elite, army the the officer thus to these newideas.In itssocialethos, reformed corps wasmuch closer theBonapartist tradition middle-class of to revolution of thanto the agrarian-conservative tradition the Prussian Junkers. like reform was a Nationalism, moreover, military itself, largely reAs defeats. lateas thebeginning this of to the sponse repeated century, classwereproudto consider members theEmpire's themof ruling the selves"Ottomans," reserving term"Turk" for the unlettered Modern of nationalist consciousness prepared was peasant Anatolia.7 as by suchpatriotic proclamations NamikKemal'splayVatan(The the of of Fatherland),i873, whichcelebrated defense theRumanian two one of clear frontier fortress Silistria decades earlier; of itsfirst Emin [Yurdakul], statements thepoemof Mehmed was "Goingto nationalist the on in Battle" against Greek (i.e., insurgents Crete i896), to Ottoman which "I proudly-and, polite ears, shockingly-opened, am a Turk, faith, racearesublime. ..." my my staff Students themilitary colleges, particularly medical at and the of became center secret the cadets, political organization within the the Ottoman from mid-nineteenth Empire onward. The atcentury 11 of Abdiilhamid (i876-i909) to haltor reverse tempt Sultan Westin ernizing fields innovationsmany while allowing them continue to in the army pushed officers the further toward forefront social the of
7On theriseof Turkish national consciousness, Bernard cf. Lewis, "History-Writing Revivalin Turkey," and Nationalist MiddleEastern iv Af/airs, (1953), pp. 218-27.

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stream a supplied steady political suspects of His change. practice exiling in organization conspiratorial of to of recruits thecenters expatriate adopted young revolutionaries that these ParisandGeneva.8 fact The was their to indicates whatextent thinking "NewOttomans" thename as they To concepts. Westerners areknown bounded dynastic by still and European hosts by on bestowed them their Turks," name a "Young of only theform a French in in currency Turkish has onethat found radicals by inspired these TheOttoman revolution i908 waslargely of officers various in out by rebellious in exile,though was carried it coups it military NearEastern later Like Macedonian garrisons. many at attempts socioof unrest, ambitious of ushered a period political in policy foreign by reform jeopardized evenmoreambitious political was aim commitments. immediate of the revolutionaries the The of had been constitutioni876, which of restoration theparliamentary Their upon almost immediately itsadoption. shelved Abdiilhamid by Empire a modinto ofthe wasthetransformation decrepit wider goal its sense allegiance of among citizenry basedupona common ernstate and strength halttheencroachto sufficient military political andwith Both the goalseluded YoungTurks. ments European of powers. which of the a mutiny theIstanbul garrison A year after revolution, was suppressed the by constitutional regime the challenged restored between The march the on capital. ensuing wrangle Macedonian army's set thei908 revolutionaries anda federalist faction among a centralist of known theComas for dictatorshipthecentralists, thestage a party increasingly power (CUP). The party's mittee UnionandProgress of in wartime triumvirateEnver, of cameto be concentratedthefamous officers whom revoluthe two army and Cemal, Talat-thefirst young a the careers, third former tionhad launched political uponmeteoric to over party's apparatus. local clerk telegraph whohadrisen control the Comof EnverPasa-Minister War and deputy Amongthe three, manderin Chief (under the Sultan'snominalauthority)-soon to Thusnegotiations leading the as figure. powerful emerged themost so alliance of with 2, secret Germany August I914, which disastrously conducted Enver by World were War, in the involved Empire theFirst three his cabinet of of colleagues. withtheknowledge onlytwo or constitutionalism of Within fewyears lofty a the theory parliamentary and of into had beenconverted thecrudepractice partisan personal dictatorship.
8 The exilemovement described detailby Ernest Jr., Ramsaur, The in Edmondson is N.J.,I957. Young Turks:Preludeto theRevolution 1908, Princeton, of

loan word,JonTurk.

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I9I2-I9I3, thedealings theArmenian of nationalists CzaristRussia with duringthe FirstWorld War which prompted the much-publicized Arab repressive measures i9i5-i9i6, and theBritish-supported revolt of of i9i6-i9i8). Within the culturaland administrative the spheres, Unionistcabinetsof Mehmed Said Halimn(19I3-I9I7) and Talat (i9i7-i9i8) undertook numberof far-reaching a reforms-including the establishment a modern university Istanbul,a simplified at of for orthography the Arabic scriptthen still used for Turkish,the elimination thelastvestiges tax-farming theImperial of from of revenue and a revision Muslim familylaw whereby marriage of the system, could contract monogamy. partners for Enver's But in the meantime grandiose and amateurish conductof thewar,whichsubstituted political romanticism strategic for designand personalvanityfor tactical of calculation, theEmpirescoresof thousands itsbesttroops. cost The RussianRevolution February of on whichrelievedthe pressure i9i7, thenortheastern the disaster front, delayed impending The onlybriefly. separatearmistice which the Ottomangovernment itselfforced saw to signat Moudros(October30, i9i8) putan end notonlyto Ottoman participation the FirstWorld War but also to six hundred in yearsof Imperial history. Onlythree dayslater, Enver, Talat, Cemal,and other Young Turk leadersignominiously beyondthe bordersof the fled Empire.9 The decade fromi908 to i9i8 had established army,in close the alliancewiththeUnion and Progress Party, the dominant as element on the politicalscene. The deposed Abdiilhamid, confinedfirstin Salonicaand thenuntilhis death (i9i8) in Beylerbeyi palace opposite

The idealofa common was Ottoman citizenship undermined as just rapidly the CUP's faciletendency equateOttomanism by to with and Turkish nationalism also by the secessionist of inclinations the major non-Turkish nationalities manifested theBalkan (as in Warsof

9 A detailedexamination the internalpoliticaldevelopment the Ottoman of of Empirefromi908 until i9i8 remainsone of the urgentdesiderata modernhisof toriography. AhmedEmin [Yalman],Turkey the WorldWar,New Haven,Conn., in I930, may serveas an introduction for the English-speaking reader.Yusuf Hikmet Bayur,Turk InkildbiTarihi,Istanbuland Ankara,1940-, emphasizes international politicsand also treatsthe period largelyin termsof what it contributed later to developments Ali undertheRepublic. Fuad Tiirkgeldi's modest, conscientious, deand tachedmemoirs, 2nd Gdrfip mainlyto the Isittiklerim, ed., Ankara,I95i, are limited small,if crucial, of of segment publicaffairs whichhe had official knowledge secreas taryto the Sultan.The Turkishwar effort thoroughly competently is and treated by M. Larcher,La GuerreTurque dans la GuerreMondiale,Paris, I926; see also the memoirs the Austrian of military plenipotentiary, Der Joseph Pomiankowski, Zusamdes menbruch ottomanischen Uriel Heyd,Foundations Reiches, Leipzig, I928. Finally, examines philosophical Nationalism, the London,I950, systematically ideas of Turkish of theleadingUnionand Progress theorist, G6kalp. Ziya

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over of of reminder thepower party soveras served a living Istanbul, his throughoutreign (i909-i9i8) V Mehmed Resad His eign.10 brother In deposition.1"themeanof of lost never sight thepossibility another (withItaly, hostilities uninterrupted of years almost time, seven i9iIWorld War) brought I9I2; in theBalkans, I912-I913; and in theFirst state to closer beinga garrison thanit had perEmpire theOttoman its hapsbeenat anytimesince infancy. moreover, and theBalkans, of The experience thewarsin Tripoli the to an leaders opportunity refine Macedonian gave theOttoman RevoTurk in Young so techniques successfully employed the komitadji of reconquest lostterritories. lution toapply them theattempted to and in forces theSecondBalkanWar wereretaking WhentheOttoman local up Thrace totheMaritsa, Turkparts Eastern of and Edirne other Thracein of government Western a formed provisional ish leaders individual Ottoman officers, asand beyond; immediately theregion to of extraction, proceeded bandsmainly Circassian sisted armed by the Following for government.12 a organize militia thisprovisional the Balkan in campaign, boundary limited Ottoman victory thesecond was and Thracegovernment alongtheMaritsa accepted theWestern with presumably War But year disbanded. thefollowing Enver Papa, set (Tekildtzi SpecialOrganization Ministry funds, up a so-called and service it Mahsusa)-a combination, would appear,of secret carried irredentist the fewyears over forces-which thenext guerrilla The first borders. the beyond Ottoman to territories struggle other was an Askeri, Siileyman of commander thisSpecialOrganization, in of who had beenactive thecampaign theWestern captain army partof theWorldWar,a numThraceirregulars. Duringtheearly the helpedto organize from berof officers theSpecialOrganization in fight Sanusi order other and tribal elements their continued against in was campaign undertaken i9i8 in rule.A similar Italiancolonial the under operated guerrillas theCaucasus the region, where Ottoman
10 Depositions had ones,however, history. earlier The in had beenfrequent Ottoman was prompted in beendue to intrigues thepalaceand thecapital;Abdiilhamid's thefirst The Cf. D. action. Anthony Alderson, Structure theOttoman bypopularand partisan of

passim. "Tiirkgeldi, op.cit., Thrace episode,see accountof the Western 12For a detailedand well-documented Ankara, I955-I956, I, pp. 75ff.;cf.Djemal Milli Mficadele, Tevfik Trakyada Biyiklioklu, and [AhmedIzzet London,I922, pp. 49ff., Statesman, Pasha,Memories a Turkish of Leipdes Izzet Pascha,tr.by Karl Klinghardt, Furgag],Denkwfirdigkeiten Marschalls impressed Mustafa Kemal is said to havebeengreatly Zig, I927, p. 2I5. A decadeearlier tactics offered theGeneral at Staff CollegebyTrabzonluNuri by thecoursein guerrilla Kemal Atatlirk Milli Mficadele ve Tarihi,3rd ed., Istanbul, (see EnverBehnanSapolyo,
I958, pp. 54f0)

Dynasty,Oxford, I956, pp. 7If.

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

519

high-flown ofArmy Islam. name this Enver of Throughout period kept closepersonal of control these over operations. Thus,theArmy Islam was headed hisbrother an by Nuri [Killhgil], army majoron whom Enver earlier had and conferred rankof honorary the majorgeneral, who from i9i5 to i9i8 had served withtheSpecialOrganization in uncleHalil [Kut] in hiscapacity to of Libya;it wasattached Enver's commanding general theCaucasus.1" in
II. IF NOT THE ARMY, WHO ELSE?

The importance the armyin Turkish of was greatly acpolitics in centuated following Empire's the of defeat i9i8. Undertheterms thearmistice Moudros, Allieskeptenough of the in Istanbul troops to deprive Sultan hisfreedom action, notenough the the of of but in hinterland establish to effective over authority Anatolia. tothetime Up of theGreeklandings May i919, Alliedforces theinterior in in of Anatolia consisted of chiefly token detachments alongthemainrail linefrom Istanbul Adanaand at several to BlackSea ports. Potential control Anatolia over thusremained thehandsof theseven in army corpsthathad in largepartbeenreconstituted the Ottoman from Empire's Caucasian, Syrian, and Mesopotamian armies. Decimated though were, they these forces never, had throughout World the War, been deployed so compact area. over an Despite general the demobilization decreed Moudros, army at the preserved discipline itsclear its and chain command. telegraphic couldbe usedforinstant of Its code and secret communication political well as military for as purposes.14 In taking thenationalist up cause, army the wouldbe able,where necesto sary, resist force countermeasuresthepartof theAllies by any on ortheSultan. successive The encroachments Allies thewinter bythe in and spring igig,somemadepossible thevagueterms the of by of
13 On theformation the Special Organization, of see Blyiklioklu, op.cit., pp. 88ff. i, for Furga9 (op.cit.,pp. I35, I93) refersto General Staffpreparations popular rein sistance lost areas such as Macedoniaand Libya. On the Armyof Islam and its operations the Caucasus,see TevfikBiyikho'lu, in Osmanli ve Turk Dogu Hudut Istanbul, I958, p. i8; W. E. D. Allen and Paul Muratoff, CaucasianBattlePolitikast, Eng., I953, pp. 468, 479, 490ff.; and Pomiankowski, Cambridge, fields, op.cit., 172f., pp. 388. On Nuri [Killhgil], SametAkaoklu, see BabaminArkadaslar:, Istanbul, 1959, pp. 30-34. The fullest account published theSpecialOrganization, one of Askeri's yet of by successors, unfortunately all theearmarks historical bears of sensationalism rather than of detached reporting. Hilsameddin See Ertiirk, DevrinPerdeArkasi, by Samih Iki ed. Nafiz Tansu, Istanbul,I957. 14When asked by a journalist I922, "How did you win thisvictory?" in Mustafa Kemal is said to have replied, "Withthe telegraph wires."(Sapolyo,op.cit., 349.) p. For detailsof the struggle whichdeveloped the summer i919 between in of Kemalist forces and theIstanbul over of government control thetelegraph see stations, Ali Fuad Cebesoy, Milli MiicadeleHdtzralari,Istanbul, 1953, p. I49.

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armistice somein outright and violation it,led to early of stirrings of national resistance. thisresistance scattered ill organBut was and ized. To quotea participant thisperiod, of "This heroic[Turkish] people only defect-it notyet had one was linked any to organization."15 It was this defect which leadership thearmy itshigh-ranking by and commanders ideally was equipped remedy. to Quite from apart historical antecedents itsownpositive and qualifications thepost-igi8 in situation, army the and its officer corpswere propelled action into because other all political forces were, least at for themoment, disqualified offering effective from any initiative. Turkish citizens looking leadership theimpending for in struggle national for independence couldwell ask (as did Gamal Abd al-Nasir and his fellow-conspirators thecorrupt against regime King Faruq a genof eration later):"If theArmy doesnotdo this whowill?""16 job, Several of these potential political forces deserve closer examination this in context. The viewoftheSultan bounded theintrigues thecapital was by of and thepalace.Few Ottoman of Sultans thelateperiod wouldhave as of qualified leaders a popular VI Mehmed Vahideddin movement. (who ruledfrom untiltheabolition his throne 1922) of in mid-i9i8 waslesspopular than most. toan intimate level-headed and According observer, was nervous disposition irascible temper "He of and of and wouldnowandthen shout people;buthisirequickly at subsided.... However polite Sultan Vahideddin might in hisapartment, be toward he outsiders seemed very cool.Whenreceiving audience, would in he bendhis head forward his wayin and out and,without on taking notice anyone, with of pass Whenhe received minisscowling face. the tersas a group wouldclosehis eyesand,taking minute two he a or overeach word, wouldwithbatedbreath he makea fewinsulting remarks. Mostministers quitebelieved he couldcarry a never that on conversationall,letalonespeakfluently. after had received at But he someonefew a times become and accustomedhim would to he gradually openup andsometimes continuously an hour. this talk for In manner he couldnotendear himself outsiders.""17 to The Unionand Progress which had concluded German Party, the alliance and maneuvered Empire the intothewaron thesideof the losing Central Powers, utterly was discredited a result thedefeat as of and of thecowardly flight itstopleaders. party of The organization,
15

16 Gamal Abdul Nasser,Egypt's

Cevat Dursunoglu, Milli Mficadelede Erzurum, Ankara,I946, p. 27. Liberation, Washington, D.C., 1955, p. 7 Tiirkgeldi, opecit., 274f. pp.

31.

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resolved ownabolition, its four after armistice, the days reconstituting as of underthe chairmanship Mehmed itself the RenewalParty, Memseddin [Giinaltay], liberal a theology professor. winter The of of and i9i8-i919 broughtnumber investigations trials the a of wartime Unionist and leaders, anyovert prominent or association withthem a became distinct political Thus whenKemal [Atatiirk] liability. in thespring i919 wasbeing of considered theinspectoratetheoth for of his were to Army, friends atpains deny hehadever that beena Unionist." Kemalhimself a statement thepress in to disclaimed conany withtheRenewal nection And Party."9 themembers theKemalist of of of Congress Sivasin thesummer i919 swore that "would not they for work therevival theSociety Unionand Progress."20 of of On theother hand,a decadeof Unionist hegemony concenhad much thecountry's trated of political talent within party its the and affiliated in organizations the educational cultural and fields. Early in igig the Sultancomplained his secretary: realizethat[the to "I are ministers] incompetent; whomare we to appoint their but in If places? there five sixpeople this are or in country cangetthings who done, [the Allies] objectthat theyare Unionists."'" Halide Edib in [Adivar] herrecollectionsthis of period only slightly overstated the casewhen said, she "Every manin this country oncea Unionist was in thepast."22 party The had greatly extended traditional of the base political recruitment. Talat,who rosefrom telegraph clerkto First Minister and the rank of Papa, once told his friend Dr. Adnan
18See, e.g., Cebesoy, Milli Macadele . . . , pp. 34ff. 19TarnkZ. Tunaya, Tiirkiyede Siyasi Partiler, Istanbul,I952, pp. 4i3f., quoting Kemal'sletter January of i919 to the Istanbul paperSoz. In October i919 Kemal,when asked,"Is it possiblethatthe Unionists will influence NationalForces?"replied: the "Our NationalForcesare underthe influence onlyof the nationand of the supreme national aims.Asidefromthisno individual society exercise influence or can any upon them."([Kemal Atatirk],Nutuk,Istanbul,1934, III, pp. i6gf.,document 144.) Four yearslaterhe was to statemorecandidly:"We were all members the Society [of of Union and Progress]. . . Most of the members thatsociety . of and of the Renewal . Party . . joined,or participated the Society theDefenseof Rights Anatolia in, for of and Rumelia...." (Kemal Atatfirk, Soylevve Demefler, Istanbul-Ankara, I945-I954, he had declared, there "If mustneedsbe someUnionism this in III, p. 62.) And earlier thentheentire accusedof Unionism." business, nationstands (Ibid., III, p. 2.) 20 German "Der tfirkische translation oath in A. Fischer, of und Nationalismus der Damad FeridPascha,"Der neue Orient, No. 3 (I920), Sturzdes dritten Kabinetts vii, p. 98.
21

Izzet Pa~sa TurkishOrdeal,New York, I928, p. 39. Similarly "The Committee Union and Progress, of was to recallof the timeof his premiership: still in and failures, was a force to be neglected thecountry not its despite manyfaults All as a whole and in Istanbulin particular. the police officers [were] theirown Mahmud Kemal Inal, OsmanlzDevrindeSon people...." (Quoted by Ibniilemin Sadrzazamlar, Istanbul, 1940-1953, p. i983.)

22 Halide Edib, The

Tfirkgeldi,

op.cit.,

p. I76.

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[Adivar]: "Afterbecame I minister everybody nursing same began the ambition."23 tendency The therefore fordissident second-rank or was members thewartime of Unionand Progress regime takethelead to in thepost-armistice period. The compositionthecabinet of which signed armistice Moudthe of rosclearly reflects tendency.washeaded Ahmed this It by IzzetPasa,a general hismid-fifties enjoyed highest in who the professional respect his among fellow officers. thei908 revolution had served After Izzet as army commander, of Staff, Minister War.Buthe did Chief and of notconceal contempt officers likeEnver, their his of who, used political influence compensate their to for military ineptitude; a result, as he had beenrelegated secondary to assignments following Balkan the Wars.24 Minister Marine(and one of the co-signers the The of of Moudros agreement) Hiiseyin was Rauf[Orbay], whohadwonwide fame a courageous as navalcommander during warandwas assothe ciated withtheYoungTurkswithout holding prominent any party post. The Interior portfolio heldbyAli Fethi[Okyar], former was a army officer one-time and member theUnionandProgress of executive committee in theclosing who, months thewar,had beenparliaof mentary leaderof an opposition groupwithin party. the The only holdover Talat's from outgoing cabinet Cavid, Finance was the Minister, whoearlier left cabinet protest had the in against Enver's Germanophile war policy and onlyreluctantly re-enteredlater. it lrgiibliiMustafa Hayri, as*eyhillislam who (Grand Mufti) the in SaidHalimcabinet had signed I9I4 fetvacalling a HolyWar and left cabinet the for the in in i9i6, partly disagreement Enver, with thistime as reappeared Minister Justice. of the who Among public in figures had participated theearly Young Turkmovement, its and supported idealsof nationalism political rebut generation, sharply the condemned policyand strategy the of Enver-Talat Kemal [Atatirk] regime, Mustafa was by farthemost He in prominent. had beena cofounder i906 of theFatherland and Freedom a in and Society, YoungTurkgroup Damascus, three years later had taken leading a of conpartin theaction theMacedonian that the Buthe counterrevolution. hadkept tingent suppressed Istanbul from and his aloof the Unionist with Party politics, within army rivalry Enver proverbial. I9I7 he hadtaken uponhimself criticize In was to it and lengthy theconduct thewarin great of detail an acrid in memo23 24

and passim.

Quotedin ibid.,p. i962. On Izzet's relations see with the Unionists, Furgaq,op.cit.,pp.

202,

2I5,

2I7,

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523

randum thehighcommand.25 had declined different to He two army Crown on commands, Prince to accompanied Vahideddin a trip Gerand many, only before endofthewarresumed the active comshortly mand theSyrian on front. also belowthe The return office dissident to Unionists occurred of level. who as cabinet ResidPasa,a Unionist hadbeendismissed governorofKastamonu hiscriticism theTalatgovernment's of for Armenian pogrom policy, records theDamadFerid that government tobring had menbackfrom adretirementitsattempt purge provincial in to the ministrationCUP supporters. himself of owedhisappointment Resid as governor Sivas(where assumed somewhat a of he hesitant position and between nationalists antinationalists) tohisearlier differences only with Talatgovernment.26 the ofsmall stature dimvision. Freedom Accord and The and Party (Harriyet itilaf, ve often translated Liberal as Entente) beenfounded had in i9ii bythefederalist oftheYoungTurkmovement been wing and dissolved years two later whenit lostoutto thecentralist CUP. The and Freedom Accord was reconstitutedi919 and furnished group in themain political of support thefive formed Vahideddin's cabinets by brother-in-law Damad FeridPala (Marchto October i9i9 and April to October I920). Butthenewparty little had more than namein the common withitspredecessor.27 original The program federalism of among various the nationalities theEmpire now largely of was inapand plicable, theAraband Armenian followers theold party of no longer participatedTurkish in politics. Someofthemost capable members theoriginal of Freedom Accord and Party other and anti-Unionist groups thei908-i9I3 period, of moreover, joinedtheKemalist movementin Anatolia soon after inception.28 new Freedom its The and
25The target Kemal's sharpest of criticism was General von Falkenhayn, suhis perior commander theYildirim as of groupof armies theSyrian on front. The memorandum was first madepublicin theIstanbul paperTasviriEjkdrduring i919 electhe tion campaign. is reprinted HiiseyinHiisnii Emir [Erkilet],Yildirim(suppleIt in mentto Mecmua-yi Istanbul, pp. 78ff. number reI337 [i.e., I921]), A of Askeriyye, lated documents have recently been published HikmetBayur,"Mustafa by Kemal'in Falkenhayn'la Ilgili Heniiz Yayinlanmamis Raporu," Belleten,xx Bir Qalismaslyle
26See [ResidPasa], ResitPapa'n=n ed. hatiralari, by CevdetR. Yularkiran, Istanbul, I939, p. '3.
(1956), pp. 6i9-32.

The anti-Unionist of politicians the capitalwere,by and large,men

27 On the leadership and programof the two Freedom and Accord parties,see pp. Tunaya,Tiirkiyede Siyasz Partiler, 315-44, 447-56. 28 Amongthese maybe namedthenationalist writers Riza Nur,AhmedFerid [Tek], and Akquraoklu Yusuf;theprominent Istanbul lawyer Celaleddin Arif, lastspeaker the of the Ottoman House of Representatives before dissolution March 1920; Nihad its in Re~sad[Belger],who servedas one of the first diplomatic representatives the Anof

524

WORLD POLITICS

withthevictor AccordParty advocated policyof abjectcollaboration a the a peaceand retaining appearpowers thehopeofsecuring lenient in overArabiaand the of ance,if notthe substance, Ottomansuzerainty carried as FertileCrescent well as Anatolia.This policywas faithfully but out by the variousDamad Ferid governments, the final Allied in of as peace terms announced thespring I920 and signedby Damad illusory a at Ferid'semissaries Sevresin Augustshowedhow utterly policyit had been. thanthe The civilianbureaucracy provedto be farmoreconsistent and hencemoredisto armyin its loyalty the Sultanand his cabinet, actionthatmightsmackof treason inclined takeanypro-nationalist to such Istanbul Ministers theInterior, as Ali Kemal of or insubordination. to opposition Mustafa and Adil,provided someof themostdetermined the Kemal's attempt consolidate Anatolianmovement-ata time to stillwere solidlyconwhen the War Ministry and the GeneralStaff at This divergence the apex pretrolledby nationalist sympathizers. policies, appointment by sumablyaccentuated, means of contrasting at betweenmilitary and civilianofficials the the politicaldifferences and subgovernors base. Most of the Anatoliangovernors provincial and fall of i9i9 seem to have in (valis and mutasarrzfs) the summer correct towardthe nationalist been hostile, cool, or at bestcautiously cause. This was true in Ankara, Kastamonu,Samsun, and Sivas.29 Kemal had one of his narrowest escapesin late Junei9g9 when the of Ali governor Mamuretiilaziz, Galib,on instructions newlyappointed exhim in Sivas.30 There were of course, fromIstanbultriedto arrest in instrumental Hilmi [Uran], as subgovernor Kars, was of ceptions. Cauof provisional government Southwest launchingthe nationalist IbrahimSiireyya casia late in i9i8. BekirSami,ex-governor Beirut, of of and [Yigit],ex-subgovernortzmit, MazharMiifid[Kansu],governor movement civilians join theAnatolian to of Bitlis, wereamongthefirst of all threewere old personalfriends Kemal. The govin mid-igig; to ernorof Erzurum, Miinir [Akkaya],in August i9i9 refused obey
and of Undersecretary the Interior coformer and kara government; Cami [Baykurt], of Defenseof RightsSociety tzmir.In the in founder Decemberi9i8 of the Ottoman as respectively, MinCami, Ferid,and Riza Nur served, of Ankaracabinet 1920, Arif, of Finance,and Education.On the earlierpartyaffiliations Interior, isterof Justice, thesemen,see ibid.,pp. 239, 244, 290, 358. 29 See Cebesoy, Milli Macadele . . . , pp. 49, 77, 84f., iiof., i43; Aqsks6zcii Hfisnii, 1933, pp. r3ff.; Hasan Umurand Adil Pasin, Kastamonu, HarbindeKastamonu, lstikldl 1944,p. 9. For Sivaswe havethegovernor's Mfidajaai Samsun'da own, Hukuk,Istanbul, passim. testimony: ResidPasa,op.cit., candid, naively 30 Atatirk, colonel Nutuk,i, pp. 27ff.It shouldbe added thatAli Galib was a former Staff. on theGeneral

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

525

the Istanbulgovernment's Kemal and Rauf [Orbay].3" orders arrest to And EbiibekirHazim [Tepeyran],IstanbulMinister the Interior of earlyin I920, was sentenced Augustof thatyearby a courtmartial, in headed by Nimrod MustafaPapa for having aided the nationalists whileserving governor Bursa.Yet,by and large,eventhecivilian as of of Unionist support the earlyKemalistmovement came fromformer politicians other or local notables rather thanfrom local representathe of tives central authority. The variousnon-Turkish groups of the Empire,as mightbe expected, remained outside nationalist the movement. larger The groupssuchas theArabs, Armenians, Greeks-wereengagedin setting and up or enlarging and theirown nationalpoliticalcommunities, the latter two were soon engagedin military actionagainstthe AnatoliannaEven the Kurds,encouraged Allied promises, for tionalists. by strove regionalautonomy. Some of thesmaller Muslimnationalities supplied manyof the mostdedicated bitter-end supporters the supranational of Ottoman and of Empire, hencemany themostdetermined of opponents fromthe Turkish the Kemalistmovement; without solid support yet there little was that alonecouldsavetheEmpire. element, prospect these Izzet Bey,a Kurdishgovernor Van, was instrumental givingan in of orientation the TevfikPapa cabinet(Novemberi9i8 to antinationalist of to January in whichhe served Minister Pious Foundations. as i919), His brother-in-law, Nimrod MustafaPasa, as chairmanof the aforementionedcourt martial,presidedover one of the most sweeping purgesof former Young Turks and othernationalist sympathizers. Izzet'snephew, serif Pasa,at thesametimewas presenting demands for Kurdishindependence the Allied diplomatsin Paris. SeyyidAbto chairman the separatist diulkadir, of Kuirdistan Teali Cemiyeti (KiurdistanResurrection Society),was a prominent memberof the revived Freedomand AccordParty and a cabinet minister underDamad Ferid. Ahmed Anzavur,retired gendarmerie major and ex-subgovernor of who in thefalland winter I9I9-I920 tookthefieldagainst tzmit, of the nationalists thehead ofa force irregulars, a Circassian. was at of was So of Edhem, commander the nationalists' irregular cavalry, who ultiwentoverto theGreeks. Albanians werewell represented the in mately Istanbul of someofthem, Ahmed governments I9I8-I922, although like Izzet Paia, adoptedan attitude benevolent of neutrality towardKemal. And throughout Circassian and Kurdishgangsor tribes took Anatolia, of and summer I920 which of leadingpartsin theuprisings thespring of challengedthe authority the nascentnationalist government at
31Cf. Tarih Vesikalarz, No. i6 (August i,
1955),

pp. 7ff.

526

WORLD POLITICS

otherOttomancitiCircassians, to Ankara.32 contrast theseloyalist In movement joinedtheAnatolian prominently zens of Caucasiandescent Kemal's onesbeingRauf [Orbay],who was Mustafa -the most notable Sami,the Ankara collaborator I9I9-I920, and Bekir in closest political first government's Foreign Minister.33 III.
NATIONALIST AND ANTINATIONALIST OFFICERS

the It should not be assumedthat the officer corpssupported nain officers, fact, remained tionalist cause to a man. Some high-ranking to loyalto the Istanbulgovernment the veryend. A few stakedtheir demotion thefiring or on squad risking careers thecauseof resistance, and thus avoided if theyshould fail. Some applied for retirement period Othersspentmuch of the post-armistice politicalinvolvement. in or exile.Most,especially thelower in voluntary involuntary political of carried theorders their immediate And superiors. out ranks, simply carefully among conflicting many in the higherranks maneuvered directives fromIstanbuland Ankara,cautiously awaitingsome indicais fullyand tionof the outcome.More research requiredto establish of and activities each of thesegroups.In the clearly the composition originof certain availabledata on the age and geographic meantime period leadersduringthistransition categories civilianand military of fromOttomanEmpire to TurkishRepublicallow us to comparein who withthose thoseofficers remained loyalto Istanbul generalterms and also each of thesewiththeir movement, who joined theAnatolian civiliancolleagues. in An examination the figures Table I revealsseveralstriking of features. two and a half timesas manypersonsservedin the First,exactly fromthe end of theWorld War untilthe demiseof Istanbulcabinets
32 Cf. Nami KurtulusSavaslarz (AskeriMecmuaTarihkismi, Malkog,920 Yzlznzn No. 48) Istanbul, 1937, pp. 33ff. 33 On plans to make Izzet Pasa Princeof Albaniain I913, see Inal, op.cit., 1979, p. and Furgag,op.cit., p. 231. On BekirSami's descent, Allen and Muratoff, pp. see op.cit., 546f.His father, Musa in Czaristand laterOttoman Kundakov, general, i865 had led a large groupof Osfromthe Caucasusto the Tokat regionof North-Central setianand Chechenrefugees AdmiralMehmedMuzaffer Anatolia.Orbay'sfather, Pasa, likewisehad immigrated fromtheCaucasus.The Istanbul includedsomeCircassians cabinets who took a moderately benevolent attitude towardtheAnatolian cause-such as Salih Hulu'si [Kezrak] for weeksearlyin I920 and repeatedly Minister Marine, of Pasa, Premier three whose a father, Dilaver Pasa, had commanded Circassianauxiliary corps in the OttomanRussianwar of i877 (Inal, op.cit., p. 21i8); and AhmedAbuk Pasa, Minister War of and of Worksin I919-1920. OtherCircassians, suchas War Minister OmerYaver Pasa, who was to accompany SultanVahideddin intoexile,wereknownfortheir antagonism cause. to thenationalist

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC TABLEI

AGE AND REGIONAL ORIGIN OF TURKISH I9I4-I923*
BIRTHPLACES PER CENT BORN IN 0
-

527

MILITARY

AND CIVILIAN

LEADERS,

BIRTH DATES

0
-

H
I i 2 2

0 ~~~~~~
3 I86o I838 I838 I846 I856 I856
I870

X ^bO

= ~~~~~~4, N H ~14

p4

---

0
IO II 0

Ottoman Army Commanders, 19I4-I8 Istanbul Ministers,

I9I8-22

4 I876 I864 I867 I86o i88i i88o i88i i88o

5
I882

6
I7

9
I2
24 23 23

I7

I7 62
26

35
I5
20

35
47 48 46
22

i8 6 5 8
0 0

3 4

5 Ankara Ministers, 6
7
I920-23

Civilians Officers

88 59
29

36 35
26

i88i i880 i88I

I892 I892

66
40
26 32 23

8 5
I5 0 0

Civilians
Officers

35
26

I9

8 Nationalist Commanders,I9I9-22

I862

I884
i885

33
24

I3

9 56 44

59 78
ii
32

0
0

0
0

25

25

25

has the *Definitions. In tabulating data forlines4 and 7, "officers" been takento for except thosewho tookup civilian military includeall activeand retired personnel, in who leftthearmy 19I2 to Hence Ali Fethi [Okyar], the leaving service. after careers is and diplomat, includedin lines 3 and 6; HiiseyinRauf becomea partyofficial movefromthe navyin May i9i9 so as to join theAnatolian [Orbay],who resigned in position, lines4 and 7. official mentwithout column7 includesall Europeanpartsof the Ottoof In the breakdown birthplaces, Greece,Macedonia,Bulgaria,Bosnia,the Dobruja, man Empire (Albania,Northern Column9 includestheAsiaticpartsof Crete, AegeanIslands),as well as Cyprus. the Iraq, and Egypt. Syria, Columnio includes Turkey. present-day are Sources.The listsof names on which the above calculations based have been sources: the derived from following Paris,1926, pp. 540, Mondiale, Turque dansla Guerre La Line I: M. Larcher, Guerre by supplemented othersources. occasionally 596-99, MahmudKemal Inal, OsmanhDevrindeSon Sadrazamlar, Lines 2 to 4: Ibniilemin 2nd ed., GorfipIfittiklerim, 1940-1953, passim; Ali Fuad Tiirkgeldi, Istanbul, I4 fascicles, der des zur "Beitrage Geschichte Kampfes Jischke, Ankara,1951, passim;and Gotthard n.s.,v (1957), pp. 6i-62. In addition, Welt Tiirkeium ihreUnabhingigkeit," des Islams, Vols. i-ix (A to in postsare listed TurkAnsiklopedisi, cabinet of incumbents individual undertitlelnZnii Ansikiopedisi), i, Cato), Ankara,1946-i958 (Vols. i to iv published Dergisi,ii, No. 3 p. 143 (Justice) and v, p. 64 (Navy); and Harp Tarihi Vesikalarz in contained each of these (March I953), p. 4 (War). It is hoped thatinaccuracies withthe rest. have been eliminated collation by sources Lines 5 to 7: Tiirkiye 25nci Yzlddnfimzini7 Ankara, BiiyiikMilletMeclisinin Anif, Appointments in and ages are listed ibid.,pp. I-73, passim. I945, pp. 84-I00; birthplaces and posts ministers other temporary have beendisregarded. as acting ZaferKitabeleri: Line 8: Cemal Nadir [Giiler] and Naci Kasim, eds., Ordumuzun Mahzun Analar 4fin,Sark Kitabevi [Istanbul, Yetim Biraktzg~ Yunan Askerlerinin in of contained a pp. 97-I48 (copy in Hoover Library).The selection officers I923?], for may be assumedto be representative our purposes. panegyric contemporary Note,

528

WORLD POLITICS

the Sultan'sgovernment in (fouryearsand one month) as served the Grand National Assembly variousAnkara cabinetsduringthe first (threeyearsand fourmonths).This is explainedonly in small part by the somewhat largernumberof portfolios to i5 in Istanbulas (13 one cabinet includedas against to I2 in Ankara;in addition, Istanbul 8 of manyas tenministers without portfolio). The largeturnover ministersin Istanbulreflected bothits hesitant politicalcourseand its diffiin culties attracting qualified personnel. abouthalftheIstanbul ministers of Second, werenatives theImperial capital, whereasthe Ankaragovernments, especially and theircivilian membership, were overwhelmingly made up of men fromAnatolia, whose defense nationalists undertaken. the had The military each in group represent somewhatwider regional spectrum, a with strong representation fromMacedonia,especially among the Ankara officers. As might expected, be of Arabterritories reprenatives theOttoman are in sented thecivilian and military of leadership thelateEmpire, are but absentfromthe Ankara governments; same is truefor entirely the natives the Caucasus. of
-joined the AnkaraAslisted-Cemal [Mersinli] however, thatone of the 25 officers military command Anatolia. in sembly without assuming active any Division of the Turkish of I am greatly indebted the officials the War History to for generously me data, based on official supplying with biographical GeneralStaff referred in this to for includedin the tableor otherwise records, mostof the officers datesand placeswill be foundin thefollowing on article. Published information birth biographies: by works, whichon occasionhave been supplemented individual IbrahimAlaettinG6vsa, TfirkMeshurlari Istanbul,1946, for the Ansiklopedisi, better-known figures. withA or B. (see TiirkAnsiklopedisi above) forthosewhosenamesstart in Obituaries Milli Nevsal (annual) Istanbul, I92I-I925. sincethe late I920'SAnkara,published T.B.M.M. Yilliki and T.B.M.M. Ailbfimi, session-for thosewho laterjoinedtheparliaments the of as a rule,onceper legislative Republic. 2 Ali 9ankaya,MiilkiyeTarihi ve Miilkiyeliler, vols.,Ankara,1954, for graduates line school(Miilkiye), of thecivilservice especially 3. training lawHasan BasriErk, MeshurTurk Hukukcular:, Istanbul, 1959(?), forprominent line yers, especially 3. MuharremMazlum [Iskora], Erkdnzharbiye Mektebi (Harp Akademisi) Tarihi, of Staff MehmedEs'ad, College;and Silistreli Istanbul, 1930, forgraduates the General Mir'at-% Harbiye,Istanbul,I3I0 (i.e., i894), for graduatesof the officers' Mekteb-i school. training of and as The lasttwosources, well as Giller, giveonlybirthplaces summaries military dateshave been estimated subtracting on For careers. fourofficers line 4, birth by 23Y2 fromstaff collegeas givenby Iskora.(The mean yearsfromtheirdate of graduation of age for73 graduates the period 1876-i909 whose birthdates could be established was independently 23.5; 6o of themrangedin age from2i to 25, so thatthe margin on will exceedtwo years.)For threeofficers line 8, birthdates have of errorrarely to estimated been similarly according information givenby Giiler. and Faik ResitUnat have expertly helped me Finally,Messrs.TevfikBiyiklioklu of solvea number remaining biographical puzzles,forwhichI shouldlike to record mygratitude.

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

529

nouncedamong the military years) thanamong the civiliancom(2I the in ministers Istanbulwere ponent(13 years). Similarly, military of on the averagesixteen yearsolderthan the armycommanders the World War. With veryfew exceptions theywere brought back from on whereasofficers activedutyoverwhelmingly appear to retirement, movement. havejoinedtheAnatolian betweenthe supporters the Sultan and of of The age difference Kemal is byfarthemostremarkable contrast Mustafa between two the illustrations be cited.The seven and numerous striking may groups, of menwho headedtheelevenIstanbul cabinets thisperiod from ranged of 66. appointment, averaging The 54 to75 years age at thetimeoftheir GeneralsIzzet [Furgac] (October-November twoyoungest, i9i8) and also Salih Huluisi[Kezrak] (March-April I920), significantly werethe aims.One oftheelderly whom to mostsympathetic nationalist generals of to as Damad Feridselected Minister War replied theSultan'ssecond "Don't letthemlatchon to me: I am headedstraight invitation: urgent for for the grave."" The Istanbulgovernment's predilection retired was evenmorestarkly illustrated side in on personnel either ofthegrave AhmedTevfik November Premier-designate i9i8, whenthe73-year-old Kadi ofEgypt, the to [Okday]"appointed thepostof*eyhillisla'm former
as without later,in Junei919, at the age of 65, while serving minister two months portfolio.
op.cit., 34Tiirkgeldi, p. 211.

men of and the Third, somewhat surprisingly, proportion military Cabinet was in than Ankara cabinets. actually larger theIstanbul in the was in of turnover Istanbul particularly in theMinistries War rapid pressures Allies nationfrom and andMarine, reflecting conflicting the operated. (Therewerefifteen alists under whichthesedepartments and changes minister theWar Office ninein theNavyDepartof in of only as minister; contrast, by ment, against onlysixchanges prime posts-Minister National of fourpersons occupied two military the Staff-in Ankara of the In cabinet.) and Defense Chief theGeneral men demonstrated a penchant military for addition, Istanbul premiers as Minister PublicWorksand of Commerce; evensuchnonof but as Education Pious and Foundations attimes were military departments headed generals. by a of and minisFourth, lookat theage distributionIstanbul Ankara of confirms theprofusion military that ministers Istanbul was in ters solid far support theSultan's for regime. very from indicating army ministers fully was The median ofIstanbul seventeen above years age of Ankara the that their being colleagues, difference evenmorepro-

in the died Mehmed Sakir, minister question, Marshal

530

WORLD POLITICS

learned, had died two Yahya Resid Efendi,who, it was subsequently on yearsbefore. . .35 The Ankaragovernment, the otherhand,was . headedby Mustafa of Kemal, aged 39 in I920, as President theGrand National Assembly. first Its were Fevzi [9akmak] prime ministers appointand Hiiseyin Rauf [Orbay],aged45 and 41 at thetimeoftheir of wereoverfifty yearsof age; ment.Onlythree theAnkaraministers the oldest,Ismail Fazil Pala (I856-iq2i), had joined the nationalist causeas a result theprominent playedin it byhis son,Ali Fuad of role [Cebesoy](b. i882), a classmate Kemal who,at 38,becamethefirst of The secondoldestwas commander the nationalist of Westernfront. AnkaraminBekirSami (i862-I932). The youngest ForeignMinister NationalAssembly 28-two yearsbefore at the reaching statutory age of The between rivalgovernthe formembers parliament. age contrast in I92I, to ments becameapparent theLondon Conference February at from to whichtheAllieshad beencareful invite competing delegations was headed by Premier Istanbuland Ankara.The Istanbuldelegation AhmedTevfikPasa, by then76 and ailing,and thatfrom Ankaraby himself of bed out BekirSami,who was only59. Tevfik Pasa, dragging heardin theconference and able to makehimself withdifficulty barely to at room,yieldedthe floor the Ankara delegation the veryopening win first and important diplosession, thushelpedthenationalists their maticvictory." thatthe severalcategories personslistedin of It shouldbe stressed (Orbay, Okyar,(?akmak,and Table i overlap.Thus four ministers Ahmed Ferid [Tek]) servedin both Istanbuland Ankara cabinets; Istanbulminissignificantly again,theywere among the six youngest Of still Turkish ters, although abovetheAnkaraaverage. theseventeen in cabinet periodup to thereinforced occupaposts(especially theearly on tionof the capitalon March i6, I920), and six reappear the listof of commanders I9I9-I922. nationalist Indeed,thepost-armistice careers illustrate of theseWorld War commanders vividlyboth the general situation periodfromEmpireto Repubpolitical duringthe transition lic,and theofficer corps'partin thattransition. one, Hafiz Ismail (a) Of the seventeen generalsin this group,37
36 Inal, op.Cit.,p- 1735. 35ibid.,p. i63. 37Four other or armies army of had beenGermans. Of commanders Ottoman groups Liman von Sanders, Field MarshalColmarvon der Goltz died in i9i6, whereas these,

ister, MahmudEsad [Bozkurt](i892-I943),

had joinedthe Grand

of commanders I9I4-i9i8, army

fivelaterserved various in Istanbul

and (along withEnver'sdeputyduringthe Kressvon Kressenstein, von Falkenhayn months thewar,von Seeckt) leftTurkeyby theend of i9i8. None of these of closing or in is included the above summary in Table i.

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

531

Hakki Papa (0879-I9I5), a prominent CUP politician (and, like Enver, married a princess theImperial to of died oftyphus in early the house), war. (b) Nine of thegenerals-themajority-spent varying periodsafter thewarin exile.Enver(i88I-I922) and AhmedCemal (i872-I922), as notedearlier, soonafter armistice; bothengagedin intense fled the and complexpoliticalactivities mainlyin Moscow and in the Caucasus. They were soon joined by Halil [Kut] (i88i-i9-), who earlier had beeninterned theBritish Batumand imprisoned by at during Istanthe bul government's round-up Young Turks,butwho had escapedeach of time.Cemal and Halil Papas seem to have done muchto preparethe Bolshevik-Kemalist rapprochement involvedin due coursea cothat ordinated offensive againstArmenia,and Russianshipments gold of and armsto Anatolia,and was to culminate theFriendship in Treaty of Marchi6, 192i. Enver, assisted Halil and other by former associates, attempted comebackin Anatolia when MustafaKemal's military a fortunes seemed thedecline thesummer I92I. Cemalwas killed on in of by an Armenian assassin's bulletin Tiflisin July i922-a fatethathad overtaken in Taluat Berlinand Said Halim in Rome theprevious year. Two weekslaterEnverlosthis lifein an ill-calculated advenmilitary turein Turkestan-flamboyant quixoticto the end. Vehib Paia and (i877-i940) was arrested Istanbulin early igig-apparentlyfor in allegedfinancial irregularities duringthewar rather thanforpolitical reasons-and subsequently escapedto Europe.38 Ali Ihsan[Sabis] (i882-I957) and Yakub bevki [Siibap] (i876-i939), at thetimeofthearmistice commander the6thand of the9thArmy of were to at (Iraq, Caucasus),respectively, recalled Istanbul Allied insistence(March-April i919). Ali Ihsan was arrested upon his arrivalat station deported theBritish Malta,wherehe was and by to Haydarpapa soon joined by Mahmud Kamil Paia (i879-beforei930). Both of them escaped from internment Septemberi92I.3" Yakub *evki, in
Tfirkistan 380n Enver'sfinaldays,see Ahmed Zeki Velidi [Togan], Bugiinkfi ve Yakin Mazisi (old Turkishscript),Cairo, 1940, pp. 408-38;idem, Bugfinuii Tiirkili Les I947, pp. 434-53;and Joseph Castagne, (Tirkistan) ve Yakin Tarihi,i, Istanbul, to to Sami Sabit Basmatchis Paris,I928. On his attempt return Anatolia, (U917-I924), Karaman,Trabzon ve Kars Hdturalarz: Istikld Mucadelesive Enver Pasa, Istanbul, Istanbul, I949; and Ali Fuad Cebesoy, SiyasiHdtzralar, I957, pp. 25f. On Halil, see Die Tfirkei seit dem Weltkriege: Gotthard Jischke and Erich Pritsch, Geschichtskalp. "Beitrige . . " . ender, I9I8-I928, Berlin, 1929, p. I9; Larcher, opecit., 665; Jischke, between Moscowand Ankara,see Ali Fuad pp. 47f.On Cemal'sand Halil's mediation Cebesoy, Istanbul, i955, passim.On Vehib and his adventurous MoskovaHdturalari, careerabroad (includingservicein Ethiopiaagainstthe Italiansin 1935-1936), see op.cit., 223, 674; Allen and Murapp. Jaschke Pritsch, and op.cit., I5, 34; Larcher, pp. p. xx Moderno, (I940), p. 52. toff, opcit.,p. 375; Govsa,opecit., 397; and Oriente 1952, pp. 24, 34ff. 39 Ali Ihsan Sabis,Harb Hdtsralarzm, Istanbul, v,

532

WORLD POLITICS

Cemal [Mersinli](i873-I940), and Cevad [9obanli] (i870-I938) were of to includedin the secondwave of deportations Malta in the spring of in I92i as a result the to I920, and werereturned Turkey November on followingKemal's decisivevictory the Sakexchangeagreement by MustafaFevzi [9akmak] (i876-I950) escaped deportation arya.40 fleeingto Ankara in April I920. 9obanli and 9akmak, who from as with shortinterruptions, Decemberi9i8 to April I920 alternated, contributed decisively thelaunchto of Minister War and ChiefofStaff, comyounger movement postingenergetic by ing of the nationalist of the mandersto Anatoliaand by facilitating smuggling armsfrom of as Istanbul. Cemal [Mersinli], Minister War in theAli Riza cabinet Istanbulrepresentative himself official the (Octoberi919), considered Committee").4" (or government "Representative ofKemal'sprovisional and Cevad return from Malta,Ali Ihsan,Yakub *evki, Followingtheir in commands Anatoliain thefinalphase of the assumedvarious front who had appliedforretireCemal [Mersinli], War of Independence; in Grand Naservedas deputy the first mentpriorto his deportation, MahmudKamil,a nativeof Damascus,seemsto have tionalAssembly. been theonlyone of the Malta groupwho did not go to Anatolia; in of fact,I have foundno indication his lateractivities. Kemal [Atatiirk](i88I-I938), (c) Threeof theseventeen-Mustafa Istanbul 9akmak,and Nihad [Anilmif](i878-I954)-proceeded from in to Anatoliaat various times i9i9 and I920. a nativeof Damascus,resigned (d) Hasan Izzet Pasa (i870-I9--), his armycommandjust priorto the defeatat Sarikami?(December fromthe army (19I5), and went to retired was subsequently I914),
Syria in
40

stayedin Istanbul wartimecommanders (e) The threeremaining

I921.42

from Malta had begunas earlyas AprilI92I. Amongthe The release prisoners of of were the poet Ziya G6kalp,and Ali Fethi [Okyar],a closefriend earlierreturnees and Minister the timeof armistice laterin Ankara.Of at Mustafa Kemal and Interior to in ten asked to be repatriated Istanbul,the rest to those exchanged November, Peker, pp. I05ff., who lists59 in all; and Nurettin op.cit., Anatolia (see Aqlks5zcii, . Savasinzn Vesikave Resimleri . . Inebolu ve KastamonuHavalisi, 1918-1923 Istikidl in to included, addition the Istanbul, 1955, p. 384,who givesonly55 names).The latter Rauf [Orbay],who had been the nationalist mentioned above,Hiiseyin threegenerals Anatolian of parliament I920, and ColonelKara Vasif,chief floor leaderin theIstanbul in representative Istanbulin I9I9-I920. SavasindaGarp CephesiNasil Kuruldu?,Istanbul, I942, 41 See RahmiApak,Istikldl 9obanli and Mersinli p. p. 45 (commanders Anatolia);Inal, op.cit., 2II3 (Alliesforce to ammunitions depot); and Ataraid largenationalist on French-guarded to resignafter Committee). turk, Nutuk, ii, pp. i50-55 (Mersinliand Representative Divisionof the GenfromtheWar History 42 Iskora, op.cit.,p. 228; communication eral Staff.

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC (i862-I952)

533

i920. of became Minister Marine in March-April briefly to Izzet [Furga~] (i864-I937), in addition his termas Premier Ahmed in and of as in i9i8, served Minister Interior thenofForeignAffairs the I922). And Zeki Baraz Sultan'slastcabinet(October I920-November duringthis same periodwas the last IstanbulChief of (i860-i942) groupof oldestof theentire As Staff. can be seen,thesewerethethree and wereofAlbanianorigin, Furgasand Biilkat seventeen; addition, in Baraz was a nativeof Syria. as These details confirmour earlier generalizations to age and of regionaloriginof the supporters the Sultan and of the Anatolian who sooneror laterjoined The eightgenerals movement. nationalist in and theAnatolianmovement the fivewho remained exile wereall The 44 under50 in I920, averaging and 42, respectively. fourwho refifties, mainedin Istanbul(or, in one case,wentto Syria)werein their were of non-Turkish origin.43 The 56; averaging all four,moreover, in who servedfirst Istanbuland thenin Anatoliawere three generals top-ranking averaging All in all, forevery all in theirlate forties, 47. in commander front who remained Istanbuluntilthe end,therewere two who joined the Anatoliancause. If the fiveexiled or deceased are Young Turk generals added on the side of the sevenAnatolians, Turkisharmycommandclearthattwelveof theseventeen it becomes to ers of the FirstWorld War were committed the cause of Turkish Enver,Hafiz Cemal,Qakmak, nationalism Atatiirk, Qobanhi, (Anllml?, Sabis, and Siibasi)-whereas Hakki, Kut, Mahmud Kamil, Mersinli, onlytwo (Baraz, Furga~) servedthe Sultanuntilthe end of his government. of commanders line8 of Table (see The relative youth theAnatolian data as wellas thebiographical justreviewed)goesa longwaytoward i, new politicalideas. The typical to theirreadiness support explaining cabinet saw his lastservice in officer served theIstanbul who at retired thathad spent the front duringthe Balkan War debacle,and before of careerunderAbdiilhamid, acup to a quarter-centuryhis military

there. Esad [Biilkat] leading postsin thegovernment and accepted

origin(see above). withregardto age, as well as to ethnic 43There wereexceptions maybe citedMarshal leanings who showedsomenationalist Amongtheaged generals knownas "CrazyFuad"), who at 84 called in personon the Fuad Pasa (i835-I93I; of for petition dismissal Damad Ferid the Sultanto transmit Anatoliannationalists' and Ali Riza Pasa (i854-I92I; knownas Topqu Riza or op.cit., p. 244); (Tiirkgeldi, Ali withPrimeMinister Riza Pasa [i860-I932]), LivanallRiza, and notto be confused fromthe vote by which the PrivyCouncil approved abstained who demonstratively as well as IsmailFazil Pasa (see in I920 (Inal, op.cit., p. 2063); Treaty July theSevres above).

534

WORLD POLITICS

of in to himself onewayor another thestagnant commodating spirit Anatolian that Mostofthetop-ranking despotic regime. commanders, of on theother received as toward turn the the hand, training officers for and constitutional century, whenYoungTurk agitation liberal in As schools. political was principles rife themilitary suspects, many ofthem to in or were posted remote assignments theBalkans Arabia, in wherethey received painful objectlessons the Empire's military and withthenationalist of weakness, where dailycontact aspirations the Empire's reinforced own nationalist their non-Turkish subjects in sentiments. actively They participated thethorough reorganization ofthearmy undertaken YoungTurkandGerman officers I9I3in by withGerman officers to contact I9I4; but further assigned various of Ottoman commands the Warconvinced during World many them couldultimately thecountry." Turkish save that Five only leadership Mustafa KemalandAliFuad [Cebesoy] served had ofthem (including as military in attaches Europe, at leasttwoothers and spent varying on official abroad. entered war periods other missions Mostofthem the and to as captains majors hadrisen therankofcolonel i9i8. At or by weremajor thetime thearmistice three of only generals (Galib,Fevzi and and others [9akmak], Cemal[Mersinli], seven brigadier generalshad in ofwhomKemaland twoothers beenpromoted i9i6, therest toward endofthewar). the statements theseyouthful Severaleloquent commanders by may whichanimated the of them.In March illustrate spirit nationalism facedwithsystematic British i9i9 Yakub *evki, to attempts force of Turkish evacuation theCaucasian frontier of provinces Kars, Ardaand attributing to a general them han,and Batum, plan to occupy and in Istanbul therest thecountry clearviolation thearmistice of of said terms, in a cabletotheWarMinistry: has "History shown many movements times that resistance basedon legitimate rights force can states change to aim even their andpurpose. consider necesI strong it if this with hopein mind. to Otherwise sary act, only compliance will If in annihilation. it is asserted theway of resistance result that is at in useless leadstoan abyss, least this and and wayhonor dignity are nation The cannot comeback to lifeby simply preserved. Turkish favor the If currying with British. theTurkish nation find way can a and and to win thefavor friendship, hencetheassistance, thenaof
44 On Kemal'scriticism German of on leadership theSyrian see front, above,pp. 522from 23. Yakub Sevkiin i9i6 had to be transferred his command the Turkish of conto he with in tingent Galiciabecause refused communicate German headquarters any in languagebut Turkish(Larcher, op.cit., p. I42).

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

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of tions theentire then no world, maybe itcanbe saved. is This, doubt, thewayofhonor, and dignity, firmness."45 A few years Cemal of later, former member thewartime Papa, Young Turk triumvirate, defended Turkish the decision enter First to the World Waragainst Russia herallies similar and in terms: ... inmy than miserably the view, rather fall under yoke the of Russians, English, French the and after Russians won, wasinfinitely to had it better defend ourselvesthe drop blood the to last of in hope freeing of ourselves forever-the alternative only worthy a brave great of and nation-or at toa splendid a national close history wasestablishedhonour which on and courage, rich fame glory.... and in and Ofcourse, observationsaddressed tothose areready my are only who to give their todefend honour. miserable lives their The creatures are who ready endure to ifonly can anything they prolong wretched for their lives a few will days certainly appreciate words.46 not my In hisSix-Day Speech I927 Mustafa of Kemal, describing thinkin the ingthat prompted formation theAnatolian the of movement i9i9, of echoed these samesentiments, them language in expressing harking backtotheAmerican ofIndependence: War Thebasic the nation goalwasthat Turkish should in dignity live and honor. goalcould This be only achieved thepossession complete by of A nation independence. of deprived itsindependence-however wealthy andprosperous be-is not itmay in eyes regarded worthy,the ofcivilized ofany better that humanity, treatment than ofa slave.... the Butinfact Turk possesses andability a great honor, self-respect, to andhigh than in Rather live servitude better such nation degree. itis that a should perish! Therefore: or IndependenceDeath! Thiswastobecome rallying ofthose desired salvation. the who cry true for Letus suppose a moment theapplicationthis that of decision had been doomed failure. would been result? to What have the Slavery! In the Very well, gentlemen.adopting other proposals as that [such for an American mandate Turkey] over would theresult been not have the same? this With difference-that that a nation defies death itsstruggle in for to all sacrifices will independence becontent make the required human by And and its in dignity honor. naturally position theeyes friend of and from of foealike differ that theabject miserable will and nation which its hands the around neck.47 its with own puts chain
45 CableofMarch i9i9, quotedin Tevfik "Mondros 6, Mitarekenamesinde Biylklloklu, xxi ElviyeiSelasefle IlgiliYeni Vesikalar," Belleten, 0957), p. 577. 46Djemal Pasha,op.cit., 125f. pp. The Englishversionpublishedin 47Atatiirk, Nutuk,i, pp. 9f. (my translation).

anyrate be abletosay, to "Toutestperdu and saufl'honneur!" thus bring

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WORLD POLITICS

by And a comment Kemal on Wilson's famousFourteenPoints,to in theirpoliticalaims in the referred defining whichthe nationalists intorelief Kemal's conception Pact, sharply throws so-called National that in "I between mightand right history: confess of therelationship to according the I also triedto define the nationalbordersomewhat humanitarian But purposesof Wilson'sprinciples. let me make clear I principles defended at once: On the basis of these humanitarian had alreadydefendedand laid boundaries which Turkishbayonets thatlines which are not down. Poor Wilson,he did not understand cannotbe by defended the bayonet, force, honor and dignity, by by defended anyother principle."48 by
IV. ORGANIZATION OF THE KEMALIST MOVEMENT

detailsreviewed the preceding in Important are the biographical as a analysiscannotadesection, mere group profileand its statistical of of quatelyconveythe intensity the drama in whichthe formation the Turkishnationalmovement was enacted;theyare also likelyto obscurethe decisiverole which MustafaKemal Pasa played in that drama. position amongthecommanders Kemal held a uniqueand unrivaled of Ottoman In to picture of thedemobilized army. contrast thedreary and of of vainglory, disarray theremainder theTurkish incompetence, accomrecordof solid military he war effort, had builtup a brilliant of forces His manytimes invading plislhment. defense Gallipoliagainst had stronger savedthe OttomanEmpirefromcollapseand its capital fromimminent occupation-and thisat a timewhen CzaristRussia Laterhe had stabilized front Eastern in the Anastillstoodpowerful. had gone down in defeat, and contolia,wheremanyothergenerals retreat. The verted routof Turkisharmiesin Syriaintoan orderly the
is apparently a retranslationfrom the French or German, unfortunately both I927, inaccuratein detail and inadequate in style.(See A Speech Delivered by Ghazi Mustapha

Leipzig,I929.) Republic, of Kemal,President the Turkish

the notion that "a weak existence is preferable to total annihilation," by which the Sultan's Privy Council justified its acceptance of the Sevres peace terms (see Jfschke and Pritsch,op.cit.,p. 37). 48Biiyiik Gazinin Hatiralarindan Sahifeler, No. 26. These reminiscencesof Mustafa newspapersHakimiyeti Milliye (Ankara) published in the semi-official Kemal were first and Milliyet (Istanbul) from March I3 to April I2, I926; a French translation,somewhat condensed, was made by JeanDeny ("Souvenirs du Gazi Moustafa Kema'l Pacha," I, Revue des EtudesIslamiques, I927, pp. II7-36, I45-222, 459-63; the above quote appears on p. I74). A continuation,covering the crucial period until May i919, was published by Falih Rlfkl Atay (i9 Mayis, Ankara, I944, pp. 5-30). A readaptation of the Bana Anentire series of memoirs will be found in Falih Rifkl Atay, ed., Atatfirk'tin lattiklari,Istanbul, I955, which, however, omits the quote on Wilson.

Contrast withthisstatement

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

537

of his fully sharpcondemnation Enver defeat i9i8 seemedto justify of No military leaderin i919 German strategic advisers. other and Enver's of or could matchKemal's popularity reputation invincibility.49 lead of The events i9i9, moreover, one to concludethatnone of the in for if armycommanders, given an opportunity leadership highest couldhave equaled situation, and at times desperate delicate thishighly with combined and courage, resoluteness, evenruthlessness, thepersonal Even and whichKemal was to display. foresight, judgment, patience, werequotedabove, sentiments nationalist whosevigorous Yakub *evki, call acceptedthe War Ministry's to returnto Istanbul,and thus rethat leadership localnationalists of the position potential linquished very sought immediately wereurging and uponhim,50 whichKemal actively before armistice had allowed a the Ali afterward. ihsan,who shortly the had by largepartof his armyto be captured the British, accepted to to summons Istanbul-and ultimately Malta-even earlier. documents thathave so far contemporary Unfortunately, scanty the of come to lightgive littleindication how Kemal's plans took shape in fromthe timeof his recallfromthe Syrianfront Novemberi9i8 to May-and subsequent untilhis assignment Anatoliathe following It be witha good deal of caution.51 is mustnaturally treated accounts Kemal vainlytriedto use his conknownthat, evenbefore return, his of at nections the Sultan'spalace to securethe appointment a modin cabinet whichhe would have held the crucialWar Unionist erately had ruledTurkey a from whichEnverearlier as position portfolio52-a SomewhatlaterKemal obtaineda personalaudience virtual dictator. to There are severalotherreferences unsuccessful withVahideddin.53 of by attempts Kemal to gain a position powerin thecapital-whether
49Cf. Tevfik xx Belleten, Kisa Atatuirk'iun Bir Portresi," "Baskumandan Biyiklioklu,
42; and Fahreddin Erdogan,TfirkEllerindeHatiralarim, Yeni Matbaa [Ankara?],I954, pp. I99f. aus Abberufung Adana in Istanbul Kemal nachseiner 51"Die langeZeit,die Mustafa und von Dunkel gehiillt Teil nochin geschichtliches . verbrachte.. , ist zum grossen ... "Beitrage .," p. 27. Jaschke, umrankt." Legenden is to Naci [Eldeniz],adjutant theSultan, I9I8. Kemal'scable to his friend 52 October Az in reprinted HikmetBayur,"I9I8 Birakismasindan Once Mustafa [sic] Kemal Naci Bey Yulo [sic-i.e., Yolu] Ile Padisaha Bir Basvurmasi," Pasa'nin Basyaver xxI (I957), pp. 56I-63. Kemal's proposedcabinetwas far more definitely Belleten, to In thanthatwhichwas in factappointed. addition Izzet as in Unionist complexion Fethi,Rauf,and Hayri (cf. above,p. 522), it was to have includedIsmail premier, policechiefof Istanbul underTalat), Azmi (the Unionist Minister Canbulat(Justice to who a monthlater fled with the triumvirate Berlin), and Tahsin [Uzer] (a underthe CUP administration). governor provincial 53 December I, op.cit., p. 28. 20, I9I8. Jaschke-Aksu,

(1956),

p. 7I3. p. op.cit., 50Dursunoglu,

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POLITICS

defeatof TevfikPapa's cabinet;54by by securingthe parliamentary grandold man, undertheYoung Turks' dissident a forming ministry Ahmed Riza;'5 or even by plans-quickly abandoned-for a coup werecomingto a head. At of spring i919, developments In theearly of thebeginning MarchtheFreedomand AccordPartyunderDamad powersgave In Feridhad cometo powerin Istanbul. April,thevictor of to theirsanction Greekannexation Izmir.The Ferid government's comof deportations military round-up Young Turks and British of manderswere clear signs of personal danger to Mustafa Kemal. it Whether theseor otherreasons, seemsthatKemal by thistime for had "slowlycome to the conclusionthatnothingcould be done in his But Istanbul."57 just thentherecallof Yakub *evkifrom 9thArmy new opportunity. commandin early April opened up a promising armycommands(then being converted Of the threepost-armistice includedthe Straits at the into"inspectorates"), first, Istanbul, region, cabinet fromthe Allies and froman antinationalist wherepressure The second,at Konya, included the western would be irresistible. held major and southern partsof AnatoliawhereAllied contingents fromSyria(and later pressure and rail centers, whereFrenchmilitary the By Greekpressure fromtheAegean) would be strongest. contrast, Kizilirfrom the in Anatolia(roughly territory Northeastern Army's Ath and British mak to Lake Van) was almostfreeof Allied contingents; in Armenian troops theCaucasuswerefarweakerand had a farmore in supplyroutethan the British Mosul or the Frenchin precarious therewas Cilicia. Exceptfor the line fromErzurumto the frontier, not a singlerailroadwithinthe entirearea. This lack of means of of inhospitality muchofthe withtheextreme together communication, but build-up, farmore obstacles any defense to terrain, imposedgreat formidable ones to any suddenattack. in movement the Eastern Kemal's plans for heading a resistance musthave takenfinalshape towardthe middle Anatolianmountains policyof postingits best commanders of April. The General Staff's at Kemal's own connections thepalace datingback to his to Anatolia, within and withVahideddin, a fortuitous acquaintance to trip Germany of as enabledhim to secureappointment inspector theFerid cabinet58
54November i8, i9i8; see BiiyfikGazinin . . ., op.cit., Nos. 33-34 (Deny, op.cit., pp. 203-6; Atay, Atatiirk'zn . . ., pp. 84ff.). 55 March23, igig. See Ka'zim Karabekir, I95I, Esaslarz, Istanbul, istikldl Harbimizin p. 34; cf. Atay, 4tatiirk'an. .. , pp. io6f. 57 Jaschke, 56 Ibid.,pp. 94f "Beitrage . . . ," p. 29. 58MehmedAli, Damad Ferid'sMinister Posts and Telegraphs, earlierthatyear of

and had of to in had givenhis daughter marriage theelderbrother Ali Fuad [Cebesoy] Milli Mucadele,p. 34. home. See Cebesoy, parental Kemal at Cebesoy's met Mustafa

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

539

the9thArmy theendofthemonth. by of Recent complaints political agitation the in areaandoffriction Muslims non-Muslims between and alongtheBlackSea coast provided welcome a for justification conferring uponthe9thArmy inspectorate civil broad it powers, enabling to giveinstructions togovernors subgovernorsitsownregion and in and tocommunicate directly those with immediately adjoining.59 When, on May i9, theBritish representative, General Milne,askedforan exof planation why newinspector a large a with had to staff beensent an armycommand thathad officially abolished, been Kemal and his entourage eighteen of carefully chosen officers justlanding were in Samsun. Another three weeks passed before WarOffice, Milne's the at insistence, requested Kemal'sreturn thefirst on steamer; it was and
not until July20 thatthe Istanbulgovernment, view of Kemal's in

increasingly defiance, open terminated powers.60 his The twomonths' headstart Kemalhadthus that enabled gained him tolaythefoundationsa well-organized of nation-wide resistance movement. Kemalhad become first the general takeup thenationalist to cause courageously. difference hisarrival thescene The which on made has beenwell summed by ColonelBiyiklio-lu: up "Mustafa Kemal PapainAnatolia headed a situation off where every commander would haveactedseparately according his ownlights. united and to He all front commanders theciviland military and authorities Anatolia in under energetic his leadership in thepursuit a definite and of national ideal;thus prevented he anarchy."6" Kemal's endeavor tobuild position strength which first was a of from to resist Alliedscheme partition dismemberment deany of or of the feated Empire within armistice the boundaries. Effective resistance clearly presupposed co-operation organized the of civilian groups. An witha hostile indifferent army or population itsrearwouldhave in

59Kemal'sinstructions reprinted facsimile are in and transliterated Harp Tarihi in Dergisi,I, No. i (September doc. 3. MehmedAli, who happened I952), Vesikalart to be ActingMinister Interior mid-May, of in drew attention a geographic to oversight in thatdocument: The mutasarrzfl/ks of Kayseriand Maras also bordered the 9th on Army's area; shouldtheyhave been includedin the list?By all means,was the War Office's reply. (Ibid.,docs. 12-13.) 60Ibid., docs. 15ff., and i, No. 2, docs. 35ff. The War Minister's cable requesting Kemal'simmediate return (June6) was followed a postscript by from head of the the GeneralStaff's first section, indicating that British pressure was at work (doc. i9); Kemal'sdilatory reply three dayslaterreferred lack of coal and gasoline(doc. 20). to That there was continued collusion between Kemal and theWar Office clearly is indicatedby theopening passageof thefirst cablewhichthe new War Minister, Ferid Ali Pasa, sentKemalon June 30: .... Since1, like you,relyon mypowers judgment, of I can assert thatthere no one who understands deepest is the recesses yourmind as of well as I do...." (Ibid.,doc. 28.)
61

Biyiklioklu, "Mondros . . . ," p. 579.

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in foe. left the little energy tofight external WhileAlliedofficers charge kepttheir of provisions thearmistice the of supervising demobilization units, and of eyesfixedon themovements armycommanders military Concerted freedom action.62 of civiliangroupsoftenenjoyedgreater moreover, could be used in an committees, by agitation nationalist policyon the Sultanand,if he should a attempt force moreresolute to withtheAllies.The his to provereceptive, strengthen hand in dealings a provedhow vulnerable govof experience theDamad Feridcabinets preswould be to foreign ernment divorced frompopularsentiment principle both of prudenceand of democratic sure. Considerations in would makethe Alliesmorecircumspect dealingwitha movement popularsupport. based on strong and articulate build-up Anatoliacontinued in The military phaseof thenationalist and theGeneral support theWar Office of to enjoythefull,if covert, Staffin Istanbul.The Karakol ("Police Precinct") and Mim Mim fromIstanbulto whichtook chargeof the lively armstraffic societies, and officers63 are said to by werelargely staffed demobilized Anatolia, have been direct continuations Enver's Special Organization.64 of of plansfor transfer the20th the had the Earlier, War Ministry confirmed mainAnatolianrail fromthe ArmyCorps,underAli Fuad [Cebesoy], CentralAnatolianlocationat Anline at Ulukislato a morefavorable unkara.Now, after Ali Kemal'sarrival, Fuad Pasa (who was officially full offered co-opderthe2nd,rather thanthe9th, ArmyInspectorate) the sphere eration hisold friend extending nationalist Kemal,thereby to In of loyofcontrol mileswestward. thespring I920, as nationalists, 200 werereadying themselves and Greekinvaders of alisttroops theSultan, of Kemal'scontrol majorcampaign theWarofIndependence, forthefirst west and southwest the I3th and i4th Corps to farther was extended a deliberations at at Bursaand Konya-but notuntilafter setoflengthy to Kemal'sAnkaraheadquarters, whicheach oftheCorpscommanders as was brought underarmedescort tactfully disguised an honorguard.65
62 Military evasion in and authorities civiliangroupsalike co-operated the systematic Milli Muicadele, see examples, Cebesoy, for regulations; specific of the demobilization control one of the British accountof Colonel A. Rawlinson, p. 3I, and the colorful in (Adventures the Near East, London, I923, p. 22I). officers included ColonelKara Vasif(cf.note40, above),and 63 The KarakolSociety's leaders of in himself theCaucasuscampaign Sami,who had distinguished ColonelKemaleddin forces. See Halide Edib, generalin the Kemnalist I9I8 and laterbecamea brigadier . p. 39I; Tunaya,Tiirkiyede . ., p. 520. op.cit., p. 2I; Biylklloglu, Trakyada. . .I, Istanbul, Savaslartmtzda Istanbul, see On theMim Mim group, Kemal Koser,Kurtulus statistical by is group'sactivities indicated a contemporary of The extent thelatter 1946. resume,publishedin Hiuseyin Daktekin,"istiklal Savasinda Anadolu'yaKasirilan ve Muhimmat AskeriEsya Hakkinda Tanzim Edilmis Muhim Bir Vesika," Takih n.s., Vesikalart, i, No. I (August I955), pp. 9-I5. Kfilse,Maresal Fevzi p. op.cit., 200; Siileyman p. 28I; Ertiurk, 64 Sapolyo, op.cit., I953, I, p. 91. 2nd ed., 2 vols.,Istanbul, Cakmak, 65 See Cebesoy, Milli Muicadele . . . , pp. 332ff.

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

541

Nor did thecivilian the whichsupported nationalist organizations havetobe created void. anewin a complete The resistance Anatolia in an broadening the of YoungTurkdecade initiated unprecedented had process wastocontinue that and circle active of political participants-a in Politiindeed find first to its culmination theWarofIndependence. had an and cal rallies become accepted ofpublic in thecapital part life of The evenin themajor provincial centers.66 circulation newspapers locals had beenfounded evenin had vastly increased, CUP party and thesmaller towns. country Thereis considerable evidence theUnionand Progress that leaders in theclosing weeks theWorldWar tried transform loose to this of reof into of network popular organizations thenucleus a national Enver I9I7 and i9i8 had concentrated of in some sistance movement. on front. theEmpire's remaining best troops thenortheastern His imvacuum the in of mediate purpose to takeadvantage themilitary was in wake of theCzarist for collapse operations Caucasiaand,beyond But in to focus dreams. he alsoseems that, Turkestan, ofPanturanian a Anatolia case in of in havehoped prepare center resistance Eastern to In lost theEmpire thewaron theBalkanand Arabfronts. thisconTurkish nection is saidtohaveenvisagedprovisional he a government of Allied As armistice subsequent and at Baku.67 a result theMoudros forces to not Ottoman wererequired evacuate onlyTranspressure, border caucasia, also theKars-Ardahan But region. Yakubbevki but his and Pasadelayed evacuation Karsbytwomonths, in theinterval of and authorities of civilian military jointly encouraged formation a the Turkish Caucasiawithheadfor provisional government Southwest at quarters Kars.68 Similar took Thrace.As earlyas developments place in Eastern the after visit Berlin, a to urged September Talat, i9i8 judging warlost a organization." Immediately hisfriends Edirne found popular in "to in before flight November gave morespecific he to his instructions leader from orFaik [Kaltakkiran], Unionist Edirne, who promptly for of of and the ganized Society theDefense Rights Thrace Pasaeli.69
66For an anthology speeches nationalist of at ralliesin Istanbulduringthisperiod, IstanbulMitingleri, see Kemal Ariburnu, Milli Mficadelede Ankara,1951. 67 Cebesoy, Milli Micadele . . . , pp. 8, 42. 68 See the account of Fahreddin Erdogan,who, as the fledgling republic's Foreign withTurkishnationalists military and Minister, established contact authorities Erat Kars Tarihi,i, Istanbul, zurum (op.cit.,pp. i68-207); cf. Kirzioglu M. Fahreddin, ve 1953, pp. 556-58; Blyikhoglu, Osmanli TurkDogu HudutPolitikasi, 24f.; Jaschke, pp. .. pp. "Beitrage . ," pp. 24f.; Dursunoglu, op.cit., 42ff.; Allen and MuratofT, op.cit., p. 49769Blylklhoglu, Trakyada
. , I,

pp. I23ff.

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OtherDefenseof Rightssocieties werefounded earlyDecemberfor in Izmir and forEastern Anatolia(the latter first at withheadquarters in Istanbul)and these wereto becometheprototype numerous of similar resistance thatspreadthroughout patriotic societies Anatoliain i9i9.70 Popularoutrage the Greeklandingsin Izmir in May i9i9 and the at gradualFrenchadvancefromSyriaintoSouthern Turkeyswelledthe ranksof the movement. former Everywhere Unionistpoliticians and armyofficers seemto have co-operated withlocal notables forming in of thisnetwork organizations. The movement behindthe Kars provisional government composed "local landowners, was of lawyers, and reinforced some Muslimofficers theformer schoolteachers, by of Russian Imperial Army.""1 Later,Izzet Papa was to characterize entire the Anatolianmovement strikingly in similarterms one "made up for as and themostpartof military commanders their of staffs, country notables and landowners, of intellectuals."72 and in manywaysreAnatolianmovement I9I9-I920 of The successful sembled abortive the irredentist operations Western in Thrace in I9I3. had to The Thracemovement attempted regainbypopularprotest and and guerrilla activity whathad been loston thebattlefield at the conference table.In view of Allied partition plans,thewhole of Anatolia was now in dangerof becoming singleirredenta thusprovided a and in ample room for operations a twilightzone betweendiplomacy, planned popular uprising,guerrilla,and open warfare.The very defense" "national and forces" whichnow received of slogans "national been used in WesternThrace in wide currency Anatoliahad first in on of I9I3; and severalveterans thatcampaignreappeared the scene Ibrahim wereCihangiro-lu these who in i9i8-i9i9. Among [Aydin], HiisrevSami [Kizildogan], headed the Kars provisional government; of of a closefriend Kemal fromtheir Syriandaysand now a member Committee electedby the Kemalist Congressof the Representative brothers leadersin Sivas; the Circassian Resid and Edhem, guerrilla and now in Anatolia; Ilisan [Eryavuz],the Ankara governThrace of and others.73 Minister Marine, first ment's of betweenthe therewas a greater Generally continuity personnel
70 For a detailedlisting see . of thesesocieties, Tunaya,Tiirkiye'de . . , pp. 48 If.; p. pp. cf. fortheroleof local Unionists, Acikszcii, op.cit., I3-I5; ResidPasa, op.czt., 37; op.cit.,p. 27. Dursunoglu, 71 Allenand Muratoff, p. op.cit., 497. 72 Quoted p. by Inal,op.cit., i996. 73 On the slogans of I913, see Blylklhoglu, I, Trakya'da, pp. 66, 77, 8i. For brilliant see of Aydinand ihsan Eryavuz, Akaoglu,op.cit.(note sketches Ibrahim biographical in of I3), pp. II2-i6 and 44-6i; notethatthesubject each biography thisworkis identhanby name. rather tified a sobriquet by

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acknowledged74-and periodsthanis often Young Turk and Kemalist morethan anything thatled to the perelse it was thiscircumstance critics thatthe Kemalistmovement of sistent suspicion contemporary in war effort a different of was a continuation theUnion and Progress that But guise.75 itshouldnotbe overlooked Kemal had amplereasonto of fear the rivalry the exiled Young Turk leaders: Enver,for one, in seemed poisedto takecharge Anatoliaas soonas Kemal shouldsuffer A reversal thefronts.7" morebalancedexamination at would anyserious whiledefining own aimsand means, his made use indicate thatKemal, and of much of the experienced of all the rudimentary organization Unionists. The locationof the personnel behindby the fugitive left this parliament may be takento symbolize relationship. first Kemalist in convened the former AnkaraheadThe GrandNationalAssembly of Party-notbecauseof anypredilecquarters theUnion and Progress with the discredited but rather Unionists, tion for overtassociation becausein all of Ankarathiswas theonlylargebuildingavailablefor at thepurpose thetime. V. DISENGAGEMENTOF
THE MILITARY

connections between and organizational and Unionists The personal to their fundamenKemalists shouldnotbe allowed,therefore, obscure in tal differences outlookand purpose.Nothingperhapsexemplifies than the divergent better of development civil-military thatcontrast
list 74The impressive of politicalleadersof the Republicwho won theirpolitical includestwo of three Presidents (Atatiirkthe spurswithin Young Turk movement and cf. above,p. 522-and Bayar); fourof ten Premiers(Okyar,Bayar,Saracoklu, Ministers, TevfikRiistiiAras Foreign and Interior long-time Giinaltay);Atatfirk's such newspapermen as Yunus Nadi Aballokluand Falih Kaya; prominent and Siikrii included their in as Lausanne As others. early I923 theKemalists and many Rifki Atay, of delegationtwo ex-ministers Talat's wartimecabinet-Cavid and Mustafa Seref Kemalists and Unionists, between however, well as as [Ozkan]. The exactrelationship at needmuch leadersand their attempts a comeback, of theexileactivities theUnionist rankin theCUP at bestheld it Generally is truethatthosewho held first study. fuller and movement, vice versa.Followingthe I926 assassinasecondrankin theKemalist CUP leaders, of including Cavid,Ahmed on tionattempt Kemal,a number thesurviving were executed-buttheirtrialwas presidedover by Ali and IsmailCanbulat, Siikrii, of conspirators i908. By the I930'S Macedonian one himself of theoriginal [Qetinkaya], and to activity to wereallowedto return political Unionists surviving manyprominent parliament. 75For a pointed whichRecidPasa of see, expression thatsuspicion, e.g.,theremark Kemal Pasa to attributes theSivas leaderof theFreedomand AccordParty:"Mustafa . movement. . . Enver, the to himself encourage Union and Progress keeps exerting and him as theirreplacement put selected beforetheirflight, Talat, and the others, him to go to Anatolia thousand They ordered hundred poundsat his disposal. several there...." (Op.cit., p. 30.) Unionism and to revive 76 See Ali Fuad Cebesoy, pp. 25f.; and Karaman,op.cit.,passim. Siyasi Haitzralar,

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relations underthetwvo regimes. The Young Turks,sweptintopower as championsof constitutional parliamentary and government, proceeded to concentrate powerincreasingly military in hands. Both the professional integrity thearmy of and theconstitutional integrity the of political process suffered severely a result. as The Kemalistmovement, froma military starting apex, workedhard to provideitself with a solid civilianbase. During the War of Independence, not only it registered striking military in successes themosttrying circumstances of but also gave Turkeyits first of genuineexperience government by The elaboration civilianinstitutions government Anatolia of of in preceded eventhelaunching full-scale of military operations, later and went apace withit. Immediately upon arrivalin EasternAnatoliain i919, Kemal made plans to hold a nationalcongress thatwould consolidate manylocal Defenseof Rights the and Rejection Annexation of societies. been scheduled Learningthata similar had already congress on a more limitedregionalscale in EasternAnatolia,he agreed to hold bothmeetings one seriatim, at Erzurumand theotherat Sivas."7 It was at the Sivas Congress thatthe resistance groupsmergedinto a nation-wide for Society theDefenseofRights Anatoliaand Rumelia of (i.e., Asiaticand EuropeanTurkey).The resignation Damad Ferid of of and theannouncement new elections his successor Papa by (October i919) gave riseto temporary hopesthatthenationalist program might be acceptedas the Sultan'sofficial elecpolicy.Vigorousand skillful oftensupported local tioneering theDefenseof Rightssocieties, by by armycommanders,78 The new produceda solid nationalist majority. House of Representatives Istanbullost littletimein adoptingthe in Kemalist"NationalPact,"whichstoutly asserted right national the to of independence the "Ottoman-Muslim" Turkishand Kurdish) (i.e., WiththereinforcementtheAlliedoccupation of of parts theEmpire. of of Istanbul,the deportation leading nationalists, and the returnof the Damad Ferid to the Istanbulpremiership, focusof nationalist acin to shifted tivity entirely Ankara, where, AprilI920, a GrandNational at convened Kemal's invitation. Assembly whichKemal now faced,he systematically In the complexstruggle
77On the Erzurum Congress, see Dursunoglu,op.cit., pp. I07ff., i55ff.; on the Sivas Congress, Vehbi Cem Askun, Sivas kongresi,Sivas,I945. 78For a specific instance, e.g., Umur and Pasin, op.cit., p. i9; for the army's see, see rolein theselection theSivasCongress, Cebesoy, of Milli Macadele . . . , p. i ii. The is political strugglein and around the last Istanbul House of Representatives analyzed by Tarnk Z. Tunaya, "Osmali imparatorlugundan Tiirkiye Biiyiik Millet Meclisi HiikuCmeti Rejimine Gecis," in Muammer Rasit Sevig'e Armagan, Istanbul, I956, pp.

discussion.

373-94.

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setouttominimize postpone and internal while on differences taking hisexternal enemies at a time-uniting followers dividing one his and his antagonists. Alliedoccupation Istanbul The of a provided convenient on pretext carrying thenationalist for in struggle thenameof theSultan, fordiscounting Sultan's and the antinationalist and acts proclamations as having beenobtained under duress. official The statements emanated Ankara that from this during period were couched all in terms monarchist of and loyalty, frequently a blended religiousMuslimwitha nationalist-Turkish appeal.79 Simultaneously Kemal to tried makeuse of vaguepro-Communist Panislamic and leanings someofhisfollowers a bidformoral among in and material support from and Russia from foreign in Muslims, particularlyIndia. In themeantime jealousy indecision and amongtheAlliesallowed Kemaltoconcentrate slim growing his but resources onefront a on at and diplomatic time, recognition hand in hand withmilitary went success. Kemalist armies defeated Armenians theeastand rethe in pelledtheFrench advance thesouth(I920-I921). in BekirSami in Londonnegotiated separate agreements France with and Italy, while Ali Fuad [Cebesoy] Moscow in a signed formal friendship with treaty Soviet Russia(MarchI921). OnlytheGreeks nowcontinued antithe Kemalist campaign. theendof I922 thelastshattered By remnants of the invading Greek armies embarked across Aegean, theAllies the and for arranged thespeedy of evacuation their troops (and also of the from Sultan) Istanbul. following the The year peacetreaty Lausanne of provided recognition that for national independence which had been so tenaciously on asserted thebattlefield.80 It wasduring years theWarofIndependence a dividing the of that linebetween and military civil institutions was drawn. first The experience Enver's with wartime regime, which based advancementthe in on army political intrigue while laying civilian the administration open to interference corrupt by army personnel, leftKemal and his had associates a setofstrong with convictionstothedesirability clear as ofa separation thetwospheres. early i909, Mustafa of As as Kemalat a Unionist Party congress advocated withdrawal army had the of officers
79For a fuller discussion thereligious of attitude and policiesof theearlyKemalist movement, DankwartA. Rustow,"Politicsand Islam in Turkey,I920-1955," in see Richard Frye, N. ed., Islam and the West,'s-Gravenhage, I957, especially pp. 69ff. 80 On theforeign policyof theKemalist movement, DankwartA. Rustow, see "The ForeignPolicyof the TurkishRepublic," Roy C. Macridis, in ed., ForeignPolicyin WorldPolitics, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,I958, pp. 295-322. For theWar of Independence see H. period, also Roderic Davison,"Turkish from Moudrosto Lausanne," Diplomacy in GordonA. Craigand Felix Gilbert, eds.,The Diplomats, N.J., 19I9-I939, Princeton,
I953, pp. I72-209.

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categorically: "Comfrom partisan politics, later and Kemal was to state out manders, while thinking and carrying the dutiesand requireof mentsof the army, musttake care not to let politicalconsiderations thatthereare other influence theirjudgment. They mustnot forget officials whose dutyit is to thinkof the politicalaspects.A soldier's dutycannot performed be withtalkand politicking... ."" But specific and later helped to developments duringthe War of Independence In crystallize army'swithdrawal the frompolitics. Julyi919, Kemal, the havingexhausted subterfuge resisting Istanbulgovernment's all in his from the orders return thecapital, to to had announced resignation his army.He forthrightly statedthathe had foundthatto continue to belovedmilitary careerwould hinderhim in his service the nation, "in and thathe therefore would continue struggle thebosomofthe the The immediate practinationas an individual fighter thecause."82 for whom cal effect thisstepwas only slight:both Kazim Karabekir, of Istanbulhad designated his replacement, and othercommanders as continued followhis directives; and soon the Erzurumand Sivas to Comcongresses, makingKemal the head of theirRepresentative by at nationalist mittee, placed him, in effect, the head of a provisional of government. the moral significance Kemal's decisionwas imBut that mense.It testified his conviction an armycareer to was notan end to in itself, mustat every but pointbe subordinated widerconsiderations of service the nation;and thata timemightcome when political to or be and military functions couldnotlegitimately effectively combined in the sameperson. and insubordinain Somewhat later, Decemberi920, the arrogance of tionof9erkesEdhem,commander thenationalists' irregular cavalry, a precipitated showdownwith the regulararmy.The resultwas the moredisof forces intothearmy's complete integration theseguerrilla did muchto Edhem'ssubsequent treason ciplinedcommandstructure. hero banditand halfnational destroy legendof thekomitadji-half the from Macedonian had the -which theearly Kemalists inherited Young blurred dividing whileitsspelllasted, Turk movement which, and any line betweencivilianand military authority.
81 Atatfurk, Kemal to from in Nutuk,II, P. 43. The I909 episodeis recounted a letter by published Kemal'sorderin 1925. See his friend Behig[Erkin]of July29, 1912, first xx Askerlik Belleten, Selanik'teki HayatinaAit Hatiralar," BehigErkin,"Ataturk'un (1956), pp. 599f. to wordingappearsin Kemal's letter the vilayet of Erzurumof 82This particular TevIstifasi Erzurum'da ve Askerlikten 9, July I919; see Faik ResitUnat,"Atatiurk'iun n.s.,I, No. I (August1955), Tarih Vesikalar:, kifiTesebbiusiiIle IlgiliBazi Vesikalar," will documents be foundin Harp TarihiVesikalarxDergisi,,I No. 2 p. 5. Otherrelated I, Sdylev, P. 27, (December1952), doc. 37; and Atatfirk,

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of The Grand NationalAssembly I920-I923 includeda largenumthey werekeptfully on duty, in practice but berofhigher officers active in or occupiedat thefront at headquarters Ankara.Kemal's energies, in maneuvering the on theother devoted careful to hand,werelargely and Assembly.Only during the proud, faction-ridden, intractable withGreece did Kemal, at the contest critical phasesof the military of and assumepersonaldirection operations, the Assembly's insistence, in in cautious legislators each case renewedhis powersas Commander Chief for only threemonths.The special IndependenceTribunals casesof treason rebellion or whichtheAnkararegime established try to of composed membut civiliantribunals wereno courts-martial rather constitution of bersof the GrandNationalAssembly. The provisional in conthe I92I, thelaw proclaiming Republic I923, and the definitive of supremacy of the stitution I924 all confirmed principle legislative of which the politicalsituation I920 had at firstmade mandatory. to withits original Kemal,to be sure,inducedthe Assembly dispense individualministers majority by methodof electingand dismissing selecvoteand to adoptinsteada cabinetsystem based on presidential to But tion and collective responsibility the legislature. even as Presito dentof theRepubliche could not persuadetheAssembly surrender dissolution the legislature the of or powersas such normalexecutive of and pardons.In I924 the Chiefof the General granting amnesties was excludedfrom cabinet whichhe had earlier the to Staff belonged. In I923 the earlierDefenseof RightsSociety was converted into the whichforthe nexttwenty-seven was years Republican People'sParty, of to control destiny theRepublic. the A growingcleavagebetweenKemal and his earliest politicaland the divorce the military of from military associates precipitated formal of Kemal, Shortly after proclamation theRepublic, the political activity. an plot againsthim among some of his army suspecting incipient obtained in passageof a law thatmade membership the commanders, withactivemilitary service. NationalAssembly The genincompatible and eralswho sidedwithKemal leftparliament retained their military who preferred retaintheirlegislative to The dissidents assignments. fromtheirarmycommands;83 they or seatsresigned, were removed, wereto furnish nucleusof the Progressive the RepublicanParty(November undertheRepublic. organized opposition I924), thefirst of between Kemal and theProgresAlthough manydetails thecontest
83 See Atatirk, for of Nutuk,II, pp. 303ff., Kemal'saccount thisepisode.The fourth in volumeof GeneralCebesoy's memoirs, pressat thetimeof writing, maybe expected to shed additional lighton theseand subsequent developments.

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sives remain still obscure, nature theunderlying the of tension be may gathered thepersonnel theopposition from of group. There wereGeneralsKazimKarabekir, Fuad [Cebesoy], Refet and [Bele]; there Ali wereRauf[Orbay], Bekir Sami,Colonel Kara Vasif, Dr. Adnan and [Adivar]-in short, most the prominent military civilian and associates whohadjoinedKemalin thecrucial daysof i919. Therehad beena growing estrangement between Kemal and theseold comrades-indue arms, generally Kemal's to increasing tendency toward purely personal leadership tohisfriends' and reluctance accept to suchleadership without discussion. ("Who are yourapostles now?" Ali Fuad once asked-andKemalreplied airily: haveno apostles. "I Thosewhoserve thecountry thenation show and and merit ability service, and for those are apostles."84) Therealso weremorespecific irritations. and Rauf Kemalhaddiffered thetactics be applied on to within lastIstanbul the HouseofRepresentatives Rauf thenationalist leader), (where was floor andRauf's in exile Malta kept outoftouch had him with Anatolian the movement itsmost in formative Therehadbeenfurther stage. friction Raufand Ismet[In6nii]whentheformer between served Prime as and as Minister thelatter chief negotiator Lausanne. Fuad had at Ali beenrelieved his command theWestern of of front after initial an military setback. BekirSami'sLondonagreement I92i had been of because a number economic of concessions rejected theAssembly by of Raufand others that madeto France. it considered Kemal'smoveto of abolish Caliphate the and Another precipitate unfortunate. group and Progressives comprised Cavid,IsmailCanbulat, Ahmedbilkrii,

in whohadserved Talat's of cabinet I9I7-i9i8 andre-entered politics

in I923 andwho,after deaths Talat,Cemal, Enver I92Iand the of in were leaders. ex-Unionist I9'22, probably themost prominent surviving In short, Progressive included political the all who Party figures might in havebecome serious rivals Kemalor who might somerespects to in his be considered equals. the Among top-ranking generals particular, Istanbul-Fevzi Ismet[In6nil], from only latearrivals the [Qakmak], withKemalin the Cevad[9obanlh]-sided and,withsome hesitation,
I924

dispute.85

84 Atatiirk, in was to query, Nutuk,II, p. 26i. GeneralCebesoy, response thewriter's 3, February in kind enoughto comment some detailon thisepisode (personalletter, in took that 1959). He confirms the conversation place (probably earlyAugust1923) of thata divergence viewson the selection cabof by as reported Kemal,and explains background. formed immediate the officers and inetministers parliamentary 85 Of theother withKemal in Anatolia, who commanders fought WorldWar I army in informal opposition the Assembly Cemal [Mersinli]had joined an even earlier, untilafterAtatirk's frompolitics knownas the Second Group,and laterwithdrew as was his superior death.Ali Ihsan [Sabis] had fallenout withtnonilwhilethe latter

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of Kemalwas aboutto embark his resolute on program sweeping and Westernization, including closing religious the of schools orders, thesubstitutionEuropean of codesfortraditional precepts Muslim of law,and thereplacement Arabic Latinletters.86 tactic of by His was to announce these measures somecarefully at chosen moment susof pense, and to carry them through rapidly without giving potenthe In tially overwhelming opposition chance crystallize. preparing a to for rapid this reform effort, preferred surround he to himself folwith to lowers junior himin prestige experience, werewilling to and who of givehimunquestioning loyalty. suppression the Progressive The Alin the Party early I925 confirmed breakwithhis old associates. the between was though dispute Kemaland this early opposition not, on either a military forpower, had theeffect removing bid side, it of from political all the scene nearly themilitary leaders whose personal couldhaveenabled them stand to Kemal. to and political stature up
VI.
DEVELOPMENTS UNDER THE REPUBLIC

of on The exclusion officers active rolein dutyfrom anyformal which laiddownin theearly of movepolitics was years theKemalist has ment beenmaintained thepresent. to KemalAtatiirk Ismet and tn6nii chose administer country civilian to the as rather as military than the rulers. Theywerenotseenin uniform after end of theWar of from Republican Independence. drewtheir They political support the People's Party, GrandNational the Assembly, increasingly, and, the bureaucracy. of On theother and hand,theseparation military civilian spheres has beencomplete watertight. under Republic never the or Kemal's and was Ismet's military prestige thebestguarantee thearmed that forces with role wouldbe content thenon-political these leaders assigned to In Fevzi?akmak, them. return, Ankara Chief Staff a quarterof for in Ismet enjoyed great autonomy hishandling military of affairs. Milito in shaping the considerationsknown have are loomed of tary large the in economic Republic's development program theI930's. Although no a of the longer cabinet minister, Chief Staff regularly appears have to
commander thewestern of he in front; was electedto theAssembly 1950 on a DemoNihad [Anilmis]became a Republican craticticket. People's Partydeputyafterhis in retirement thearmy 1942. Yakub Sevki [Siibasi]appearsto have takenno part from in the politics the Republican of period. 86 For systematic accounts theKemalist of see reforms, Lewis V. Thomas,"Turkey," in Thomasand Frye, and Geoffrey Lewis,Turkey, op.cit.; L. London,1955.

century (I92I-I944),

of byvirtue hisearly association Kemal with and

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of attended cabinet meetings which at supreme matters warandpeace and werediscussed, it maywellbe that were military spokesmen consulted other on occasions well.At theregional as level,division or

corpscommanders duringthe I920's at timescombined theirmilitary postswiththegovernorship frontier of provinces, muchas they had in of Ottomandays.87 The proclamation statesof siege for important afterthe regionsand prolonged periods(e.g., the Kurdishprovinces of uprisings the I920's and I930's and Istanbulduring the Second in World War) similarly regionalarmycommanders chargeof put To civil administration. this day chargesof high treason, including are triedin cameraby military Communist conspiracy, generally tribunals. or officers after theirresignation retirement fromthe Furthermore, to intoparliament, cabinet, the and armyhave continued be recruited otherhigh civilianoffices-although proportion themin public the of sincetheWar of Independence. The ratio lifehas diminished steadily in of former armyofficers the Grand NationalAssembly, which was in aboutone-sixth I920, stillstoodat aboutone-eighth I943, butwent in after landslideof i950. Of the down to one-twentieth the Democratic inin commanders the War of Independence nationalist twenty-five cludedin our earlier statistical profile, manyas twenty as entered parliamentsubsequently, all retirement.88 I923 Since nearly of themafter have servedas President the Republic of men of military background (7 years),Prime Minister(i6V2 years),Minister Defense (i6?2 of years),ofPublicWorks(i5 years),of Communications years),and (9 in othercabinet in posts.The first ministry which no ex-officers paralso was thatof Hasan Saka in I948. Formerofficers were ticipated prominent amongtheAnkaragovernment's diplomats.89 early Marshal to forcedinto retirement early in I944, was returned the Qakmak, as Assembly an independent Democratin I946, and a few yearslater becamethe leaderof the newlyformedreligious-conservative Nation In who had served with colonelsand generals Party. the I954 elections,
87 For an instructive functions, see and of accountof thisblending military political op.cit., passim. Karaman, 88 Similarly, leasthalfof theeighteen who officers wentwithKemal to Samsunin at the one waitinguntil retirement, remainder i919 later joined the legislature-only among Most prominent career. to froma military a political Kemal's switch imitating of Dr. RefikSaydam,later Minister Health and surgeons, thesewere two military and diplomat. For a listof organizer party Premier;and Dr. IbrahimTali Ongbren, I340 [i.e., I924], p. 26; cf. AnadoluInkildbz, Istanbul, see the eighteen, MehmedArif, pp. 9f. I952), Dergisi,i, No. i (September Harp Tarihi Vesikart 89 Cf. Gotthard der Mitteilungen "Die Diplomatieder Ankara-Regierung," Jischke, XLI Berlin, (1938), Partii, pp. i6I-70. an Ausland-Hochschule der Universiteit

FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

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party on prominently several in Brigade Koreafigured theTurkish tickets. and into of this recruitmentex-officers legislative Despite continued arm of the positions, supremacy thecivilian overthemilitary cabinet years in to hasnever datebeenchallenged thethirty-six oftheTurkish Moreparticularly, Turkey been sparedthe recurrent has Republic. to of so military coups familiar therest theNearEast. and War ofInof Empire oftheTurkish The history theOttoman role both explaining thedecisive goes dependence a longwaytoward and of in corps which officer played theformation theRepublic its the From activity. from or political disengagement direct overt subsequent the of of theorigins IslamtotheYoungTurkdictatorshipEnver Papa, Empire rose mounted The of military steadily. Ottoman importancethe from the ailment Bothitschronic and bythesword fellbythesword. onward and its mortal crisis i9i8 were of late seventeenth century level, were at on defeat. Both, themostobvious brought bymilitary became Ottoman natural Hencethearmy society's military problems. out, it The a regeneration. remedy, turned was for instrument effecting of creation theTurkish Republic. the extinction whichKemal and his The imminent threat national of in without parallel previous i9i8 was a situation after faced associates from in and departure bothOttoTurkish history, itresulted a radical of target theYoung The Turkprecedents. immediate manandYoung of antagonistsof Turk revolutionariesi908 was a series internal the and of with Abdiilhamid, hisnetwork spies palaceretainers, counin own of i909, andvarious dissidents theYoungTurks' terrevolution beOn was in ranks. all sides movement caught thecontradictions the anditsperformance. CUP'sTurkish nationalism its The tween program brotheridealof Ottoman the to contributed decisively eroding earlier to of ring itsprofessions gave partisanship a hollow hood;itsruthless such external involvements as the Meanwhile constitutionalism. liberal to and Warswere opposiBalkan World exploited suppress deliberately and like the of leaders ofofficers tionandto enhance power Unionist to adventures served Yet Enver. theUnionists' only foreign grandiose and weakness the the contrast between Empire's the patent underline romanticism itsleaders. of Panturanian-Panislamic of of under impact thedefeat i9i8, resolutely the Mustafa Kemal, of Panof castasideall dreams imperial glory-whether theOttoman, failures propelled had Whiledomestic or variety. turkish, Panislamic conand intoill-calculated foreign military theYoungTurks gambles,

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and policy prompted Kemalists the to siderations military foreign of and civilian organization the of strengthen domestic the cohesion The hastened colthe Turkish body politic. YoungTurksmeasurably which had lapseof theEmpire they setoutto savewithsuchswashof material resources buckling bravado. Kemal,disposing farslimmer moral Turkish political aims,tappedlatent butrealistically limiting an himto erect enduring structure. political energies whichenabled the of The YoungTurks, civilian proclaiming restorationtheEmpire's dictatorship. Kemal's constitution, rapidly converted intoa military it born defense a moment at of movement, of the need formilitary a institutions towhich national fashionedsetofcivilian supreme crisis, subordinated. themilitary increasingly were