Gen. Papoulas realized that without reinforcements the Greek
Army could not achieve victory. In this part of his story,
Gen. Papoulas presents telegrams that show him pleading
with his superiors for reinforcements.
Ultimately, Gen. Papoulas had the Greek Army retreat
on 19 March 1921 (According to modern calendars, the
battle was fought between 23 March and 1 April 1921.)//
Apart from these, the army, which was of the opinion that the fate and destiny of the
operation was dependent on the arrival of the reinforcement detachments, as was
proven subsequently, requested by telegram that the extra regiment, which although
promised had still not arrived, be sent.
The telegram in question was written this way:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor Bursa
General Staff Office 1 8 – 3 – 21
Number Cipher
2390 Most Urgent
To the Ministry of War in Athens
As I stated previously, in addition to the reinforcement soldiers comprised of 3
mobilized classes that will be sent to us, it is essential that the extra regiment and the
independent reinforcement detachments in the country be ordered to depart
immediately upon reciept of this telegram. They should be disembarked at
Mudanya. I request that the response be provided by telegram.
This will also be transmitted to the Ministry of War’s Central General Staff Office.
Army Commander
Papoulas
The army sent the telegram below the next day, as a continuation of the above
telegram.
Command of the Army of Asia Minor Bursa
General Staff Office 1 9 – 3 – 21
Number
26001
To the Ministry of War in Athens
To be transmitted at top priority.
I request that you communicate how the soliders who will be sent as
reinforcements are equipped with regard to garments, gear and weapons, and the
type of armaments they will be carrying.
Army Commander
Papoulas
On 10 March, the First Army Corps, in accordance with the army’s attack
order of 3 March, attacked the enemy at attack target Afyonkarahisar and captured it.
Meanwhile, the Third Army Corps, after a long and fierce battle in front of İnegöl,
began to drive the enemy to the ridges of Kovaliça and Kunduz (Avghinion) toward
Eskişehir; an approximately 30,000-man force, together with heavy cannon, were
settled into fortifications prepared on the aforementioned ridges.
Seeing that during this period the promised reinforcement soldiers had still not
come, the army sent the following telegram to the Ministry of War:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor 11 – 3 – 21
General Staff Office 1 Secret
Number
470
To the Ministry of War in Athens
To the Central General Staff Office
As a continuation to my report number 4062 of 8 – 3 – 21, in addition to the
reinforcement soldiers requested in this report for the reinforcement of military units,
I have the honor to request that the reinforcement soldiers required for health
services be sent to the below-mentioned disembarkation points:
To Izmir quartermasters 5
sergeants 20
corporals 37
regular army nurses 123
assistant nurses 54
stretcher-bearers 501
total 740
To Sakız quartermasters 5
quartermasters
(should be locally hired) 8
corporals 39
regular army nurses 161
assistant nurses 13
stretcher-bearers 423
total 650
To Izmit quartermasters 1
quartermasters
(locally hired) 2
corporals 9
regular army nurses 50
assistant nurses 30
stretcher-bearers 95
total 185
Method of transmission: Army Commander
To the Izmir Health Office Directorate Papoulas
To the Second Infantry Division
To the Third Army Corps
The army’s north group, which engaged in a battle in front of the Kovaliça and
Kunduz fortifications, was by 13 March driving the enemy back step by step and
advancing. On an aforementioned day the battle took on a more fierce nature.
The following telegram sent to the government reflects the predicament of the
army, which had entered the battle based on the promises of the Ministry that
reinforcements would be sent, but which, by 16 March, had received no
reinforcements whatsoever:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor Bursa
General Staff Office 1 16 – 3 – 21
To the Ministry of War in Athens
To the General Staff Office
Cipher
To be sent at top priority.
Because the need for reinforcements is urgent, I request that any available
officers and soldiers be sent as reinforcements.
Army Commander
Papoulas
With a separate telegram I requested replenishment of the animal stock:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor Bursa
General Staff Office 1 16 – 3 – 21
Number Secret Telegram
4379 Very Urgent
To the Ministry of War in Athens
To the General Staff Office
The transport of any available saddle horses to Mudanya at the first opportunity
(by the first available means) is absolutely necessary.
Will also be transmitted to the First Office.
Army Commander
Papoulas
As the battle gradually entered a more critical state, the Ministry of War ordered
the movement of the extra regiment only on 16 March. As the army sent more
desperate requests for other reinforcement detachments, the aforementioned Ministry,
on 17 March, kindly ordered the sending of new reinforcement detachments.
However, although the army requested that the aforementioned reinforcements be
disembarked at Mudanya in order to reinforce the army’s north group, they were
sent to Izmir instead.
As soon as the army received the telegram relating this, the following response was
sent:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor Bursa
General Staff Office 1 18 – 3 – 21
Secret registry number: 4389 To be sent at top priority
To the Ministry of War in Athens
The reinforcement detachments sent today should be transported to Mudanya,
not Izmir. In the event that the aformentioned reinforcements are en route, this
information should be sent by radio to the transport ships.
Army Commander
Papoulas
Also sent to the first and fourth offices.
The same day, the army explained the above telegram with the one below:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor 18 – 3 – 21
General Staff Office 1 Secret registry number 4391/1213
To the Ministry of War
To the Army General Staff Office
I request that the transport of regular army and reserve officers, as well as soldiers,
be directed to Mudanya until further notice. In this regard, I request that the saddle
horses and mules be sent quickly to Mudanya, as well.
Army Commander
Papoulas
To be sent also to the first, third and fourth offices.
Despite the utmost efforts shown by the detachments in the battle and the
remarkable self-sacrifice of the soldiers and officers, with a very few exceptions
among the officers, the delay in receiving reinforcements for this operation
doomed it to failure.
As can be seen above, each day the army kept renewing its requests to the
government for the fulfillment of its promises. On 18 March, at the moment the
army was demanding the greatest effort and resistance from the detachments, the
government was made aware of the gravity of the situation with the following
telegram:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor 18 – 3 – 21
Secret registry number: 4232 cipher
To the Ministry of War in Athens
To the General Staff Office
The battle which the north group entered into has become difficult because
of the enemy’s very fierce resistance. The reinforcement detachments from within
country should be sent as quickly as possible to Mudanya. I reiterate the urgent
need for the sending of transport automobiles.
Army Commander
Papoulas
As of 18 March, on the one hand, because of the enemy’s fierce resistance and,
on the other hand, as I informed the government with telegram number 4234,
because of our soldiers fighting with hand weapons at many points in the face of
repeated attacks, the battle took on an exceptional level of violence.
The next day, after the officers, in particular, were subjected to severe losses,
I repeated my request to the government regarding the urgent need for officer
reinforcements:
Command of the Army of Asia Minor
General Staff Office 1
Number
4334
To the Ministry of War in Athens
To the Army General Staff Office
I request that reserve and regular army officers be transported, along with
soldiers. There is an especially urgent need for junior grade infantry officers and
I again request that they be sent to Mudanya.
Army Commander
Papoulas
Retreat Order
On the morning of 19 March, however victoriously our side was prosecuting
their attacks, the result of the battle was already assured.
In any case, 3rd Army Corps Commander General Vlachopoulos and 10th
,Division Commander Linardopoulos came up against stiff enemy resistance and,
because their reserves were completely wiped out, none remained. So they first
stopped their advance and then withdrew, forced to take refuge at a fortified line
4 kilometers behind the positions they had first occupied. They reported this via
their chief of staff “Konstantinu”.
//END PART VIII//
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