THE TURKISH GREAT OFFENSIVE AS REPORTED IN AMERICAN ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS

OpenAlex · İngilizce

Turkish national struggle after World War I represented a major resistance movement against the colonial imperialism of the victors. The Turkish “Great Offensive” marked the closing chapter of this national struggle, and its activities were characterized by special attention and secrecy. Thus, the Turkish Great Offensive is known as a significant event in the post-WWI era. The Greek Army, which had British military, intelligence, and political support, could have occupied a line between the Turkish cities of Afyonkarahisar, Eskişehir, Bilecik, and Mudanya at the end of 1921. The Greek front at this line was powerful enough to block a strong army. The Turkish Army had lost almost of its all power during the wars of the previous decade, and it had only one opportunity to drive the enemy out of the heartland. That opportunity was called the Great Offensive, which was intended to expel from Anatolia all invaders in a period of less than three weeks. In addition to Turkish General Staff who had published battle reports, numerous Turkish sources have documented the events of the Great Offensive. Nevertheless, such an important historical event should be methodically analyzed by using various sources. United States archival documents provide information on the invaders’ plans, expectations, and conditions during the offensive staged by the Turkish Army. Although the US archival documents evaluate the events by focusing on the Greek perspective, the reports bear first-hand information on the Turkish Great Offensive. Therefore, the American archival documents are used in this study.