Today in History – 15 January

Plans to mobilize Anatolia

Shortly after the signing of the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918 and the defeat of the Ottoman State in World War I, the leaders of the Committee of Union of Progress, which had led the country to war, had fled the country. As countless cities were being invaded, the 55-vessel fleet of the Entente States anchored at the Bosphorus. Abandoning his post as the commander of the Yıldırım (Lightning) Army Group and arriving in İstanbul on November 13th, Mustafa Kemal Pasha witnessed the grave danger the country was faced with and the impotence of the central administration in İstanbul vis-à-vis this threat. He was thus inviting various friends and colleagues to his house in Şişli to review the status quo of the nation. Mustafa Kemal was convinced that the only solution to save the nation from disintegration was to instigate a new movement from Anatolia.

Fiercely protecting the idea of crossing over to Anatolia, Mustafa Kemal had shared his vision with very few people. One of these was Colonel İsmet Bey (İnönü), whom he had invited to his home on January 15th. Spreading a map of Turkey in front of the colonel, Mustafa Kemal Pasha asked him the following question:

What might be the most suitable territory and the simplest way to take me there in order to reach Anatolia without any title or authority, and to arouse the public in seeking ways of salvation?

Immediately grasping Mustafa Kemal’s true intention, İsmet Bey perched on the chair near the table and ruminated over the question. After a long pause, the experienced commander rose to his feet, smiled at Mustafa Kemal, and gave him the following answer:

Ways are plenty, as are territories!