Why did The Ottoman Empire Destroy Itself ? – Turkish War of Independence Part 1

Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:

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As the Central Powers saw their hopes of winning the Great War disintegrating, the Ottoman Empire began scrambling to save itself from a subsequent collapse. Grand Vizier Talat Pasha saw himself as a hindrance to the Empire coming to agreeable terms with the Triple Entente and thus stepped down from his position on October 8, 1918, opening the door for the Armistice of Mudros, signed on October 30, 1918. The deal would see the Ottoman Empire humbled to an extreme degree; this was the start of its end.

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The Armistice of Mudros would entail the Ottomans relinquishing gains made during the war, demobilizing their armed forces, handing over garrisons to the Entente, and ceding control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits. It furthermore gave permission for the Triple Entente powers to occupy any lands under Ottoman possession in case of disorder, a broad description holding the door wide open for occupation and partition, both of which were to come as an almost invitation for the enemy to enter the Empire.

The single party, the Committee of Union and Progress, said its final goodbyes, and its core members, including former Grand Vizier Talat, fled the country. This shook the already fragile foundations of the Ottoman structure and gave the Western Powers further motivation to step in. The French were the first to cross the threshold when they entered Constantinople on November 13, 1918, followed the next day by the British, Italians, Greeks, and more. French troops arriving by ship numbered roughly 50,000 foreign soldiers stepping foot on the soil of Constantinople as its occupation began. The claim was that this invasion had been necessitated by the aftermath of the war and the power vacuum created by the collapse of the CUP, and that the Entente and their allies were simply there to protect the Ottoman monarchy.

This was just the start of the Western nations’ spree, as the coming weeks and months saw the Entente further call upon Article 7 to seize more Ottoman lands after the war’s end. This continued takeover, however, was souring the opinion of the Ottoman commanders in charge of demobilization. They began mulling the idea of simply not complying and were ready for war again. Thoughts of resistance were on the rise, and one by one, military leaders were denying Entente requests to abandon lands and armies. There was a growing level of disapproval concerning the Empire’s stance to surrender and appease their wartime enemies.

Sultan Mehmed VI was aware of the opposition and looked to secure his own sovereignty by rearranging the Ottoman leadership, bringing in the leader of the Freedom and Accord Party, Damat Ferid Pasha, to reform a trustworthy government. Mehmed VI ushered in strong condemnation and persecution of former CUP members, which further aggravated the increasing number of nationalists. Ethnic and refugee crises were complicating the Sultan’s job as the Entente wouldn’t let up their expansion.

It was at this time that the pillar of Turkey’s move toward independence would be put into focus. Aware of the shoddy nature of his military’s loyalty, Mehmed VI handpicked Army Commander Mustafa Kemal Pasha to serve as Inspector of the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate, beginning in May 1919. Mustafa Kemal was the hero of the Battle of Gallipoli and an honorary aide-de-camp to his majesty the Sultan, but he was also a nationalist. It’s quite possible that his appointment was a strategic move by the Sultan to pacify some of his nationalist critics, but Mustafa himself could be categorized as one of them. It was a risky move on the part of Mehmed VI, and one he would soon regret.

On May 16, 1919, Mustafa Kemal departed Constantinople on the SS Bandırma, headed for Samsun and the start of a revolution. There are two events commonly referred to as the kickoff of the Turkish War of Independence: the Greek landing at Smyrna and Mustafa Kemal’s landing at Samsun on May 15. The day before Mustafa’s departure marked the landing of Greek troops at Smyrna. Their arrival sparked a brawl in the streets, resulting in hundreds of casualties, both Greek and Turkish, as the Greeks looked to push further into Ottoman territory. The resistance movement grew in response, with Turkish guerrilla troops battering the invading forces. The Greeks claimed to be in the region for a peacekeeping mission, but instead, their presence had only created bloodshed and sent ethnic relations between the Turks and Greeks into a downward spiral.

The Ottoman leadership was in disarray, with some members of the Empire standing by the Entente while others were in heavy opposition alongside much of the population. For days after the Greeks touched down at Smyrna, Mustafa Kemal and his Ottoman forces reached the shores of Samsun. They immediately got to work secretly spreading the word and rallying support for the resistance movement, all the while Mustafa was sending news back to Constantinople with reassurance of his and his men’s continued loyalty. The coming days would follow this pattern as the nationalists wanted to ensure proper backing from the people before they publicly acted on their plans.

Some officials involved in the occupation of Samsun, such as British High Commissioner Admiral Calthorpe and Captain Hurst, were growing suspicious of the Ottoman activity within the city, but repeated warnings to the foreign office were dismissed, leaving Mustafa Kemal unchecked. After arriving in Havza and Amasya, Mustafa and his men began receiving warnings from both Calthorpe himself and the Sultan, cautioning him against his suspicious activity. Demands were made for Kemal’s return to Constantinople, which he denied. He instead opted to resign and warned his co-conspirators across the Empire not to back down. An arrest order was issued for Mustafa Kemal, but Kâzım Pasha, the man to follow through, flat out refused to do so. This allowed Mustafa to soon stand as chairman of the Committee of Representation established after the Congress of Erzurum and Congress of Sivas, which finally put on paper the foundations of the Turkish resistance movement and called for freedom.

Mustafa Kemal would also serve as the chairman for the newly founded Anatolian Defense Association. All of this, coupled with the swift evaporation of support for the Sultan and the CUP across the Empire, led to the position of Grand Vizier shifting into the hands of General Ali Rıza Pasha, a man more sympathetic to the nationalist cause and one willing to quickly engage in negotiations with the rebels. The Amasya Protocol would be the fruit of these labors and was signed on October 22, 1919, by representatives of the Ottoman government and nationalist resistance. The goal was national unity, and the plan was for new Ottoman elections to be held by the end of the year to reset the Chamber of Deputies. This new chamber would pass the Misak-ı Millî and show support for the decisions made by the nationalist congresses, prompting the occupying British to put an end to the Chamber of Deputies and reassert their forced authority now held over Constantinople.

It was clear now more than ever, even to the CUP, that the Turkish nationalists were not going anywhere and that the Ottoman government was only inching ever closer to giving in to their demands. Reacting before they felt it was too late, the British launched a series of raids and arrests against the rebels. This only surged the resistance efforts and led to catastrophic consequences for the Western powers. The Ottoman government was shutting itself down; the constitutional monarchy was thrown out the window, and Grand Vizier Salih Hulusi Pasha resigned in support of Mustafa Kemal, forcing former Vizier Damat Ferid Pasha to retake his old position as Mehmed VI scrambled to keep the slivers of his Empire alive.

Mustafa Kemal aimed to set up a legitimate government in Ankara to rival the Entente-controlled one in Constantinople. Meanwhile, the Western powers still stood in direct opposition to the nationalists, who stood in their way of partitioning the Ottoman Empire for their own benefit. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey would nevertheless be formed, predictably with Mustafa Kemal as its prime minister and speaker. The Sultan was still determined to hold strong, despite the nationalists now claiming that their intentions were, in fact, to support and free the Sultan, also known as the Caliph, from the oppressive grip of the Western nations. Thus, Sultan Mehmed VI issued a fatwa declaring all rebels to be infidels and calling for the execution of those at the helm of the movement. The Ankara government, or more specifically the nationalist movement, responded with a fatwa of their own, accusing the Sultanate and Caliphate of being hegemonized by the Triple Entente.

It was clear now that the clashes between the Western nations and the nationalists had only been the prelude; Turkey was going to war with itself and more officially with Greece.

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This version removes any inappropriate language and maintains a neutral tone while preserving the essential information from the original transcript.