Today in History – 12/13 September

The Battle of Sakarya ends in victory

Gaining advantage against the Turkish army in the Battles of Kütahya-Eskişehir, the Greek army launched an attached on the Turkish emplacements behind the Sakarya River on August 23, 1921 in order to use this advantage. Self-confident in terms of its military power, the Greek army was primarily aiming to capture Ankara, the center of the National Struggle, and destroy the resistance power of the Turkish army.

Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who had been granted the title of commander in chief for three months by the Grand National Assembly, was commanding the army during this battle. After accepting the mission, Mustafa Kemal had mobilized all the resources of the public and the army and pulled all units to the east of Sakarya River to come out of the battle with a conclusive result.

Commencing on the morning of August 22nd, the battle transpired across a land of 100 km wide and 25 km deep. As the fighting continued, Mustafa Kemal gave the units his historic order on August 26th: “There is no line of defense, but a territory of defense and that territory is the entire homeland.”

With this strategy, which holds a unique place in the history of warfare and carries the battle outside of the classic line of the battlefront and across an entire area, the Greek army suffered great losses and began to retreat towards the Eskişehir-Afyon line. Continuing uninterruptedly for twenty-two days and nights, the Battle of Sakarya ended on September 13th with the absolute victory of the Turkish army.

A war of life or death for the National Struggle, the Battle of Sakarya culminated in a victory that the Turkish nation won by making great sacrifices. After the war, the Grand National Assembly honored Commander in Chief Mustafa Kemal with the titles marshal and “Gazi.”