Sakarya, Turkish soldiers wounded on the battlefield were
taken prisoner. But unlike the able-bodied ones, these
soldiers were kept for a short while and then abandoned by
their captors.
Soldier prisoners who could be transported were sent to
POW camps in Greece - see TNT's recent 29-part "Turks
in Greek Hands" series for those details.
TNT has transcribed/translated reports about the wounded
Turkish prisoners, published by the Ankara government
in October 1921, a month after the Battle of Sakarya.//
Atrocities committed by the Greeks against wounded Turkish
prisoners,
in violation of international laws and the laws of humanity.
Some of our soldiers were wounded during the first assault
in various
location on the front and were taken prisoner by the enemy. As the
Greek Army retreated, they were purposely
abandoned in rocky,
desolate places and subsequently rescued half-dead,
half-alive by
Turkish forces. Some of
their statements are provided below:
Expert Rifleman Hüsn Efendi, son of Ali. Statement taken and verified
at Polatlı
Hospital
“My named is Alioğlu Hüsn of the sons of Zaviye from Şa’ban
village
in Sivas. I was born in 277
(1861). When I was taken prisoner I was
in
an injured condition. At first, an
enemy officer came to me and said
‘don’t be afraid, we won’t kill you!’ Later, they brought me to a Greek
captain who
asked me some questions about our army, including the
facial features and
description of Mustafa Kemâl Paşa. They
also
cursed at me in Turkish. I told them that I had never seen the Paşa so
I
couldn’t give them any such information.”
The Greeks pressed this prisoner for a description
of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), in the days before
Instagram.
“I asked the captain who was interrogating me for some bread
and his
response was ‘Maybe Mustafa Kemâl Paşa will hear you. But we have
nothing for you to eat.’ I said ‘if that’s the case, let me write a
letter to
my battalion so they can have some food brought to me here.’ The
captain mumbled some words in Greek and
then an officer and four
soldiers took me to the river, where I saw the dead
bodies of my
comrades. They said to me
‘tell the truth, otherwise we’ll kill you like
these.’ I swore on the four Holy Books, saying ‘I
have absolutely no
accurate information about our army.’ Upon saying this, the officer
and the four
soldiers talked in Greek. Then, the four
soldiers jumped
me and took my epilet, my knife, a silver watch, an English
knife, eight
packets of cigarettes and 45 liras in a purse.”
“Even though I asked them to give back a few of the liras
they would
not. Two of the soldiers hit
me with their rifle butts, saying ‘take this
rascal, but don’t kill him.’ I was dragged to an enemy battalion and
told
to ‘walk fast’, prodded by bayonets. At
this battalion I was guarded
by a bayonet-carrying soldier and given not even a
drop of water.
Niether did they bandage my wounds. It was only thanks to a medic
named Ali, who
was wounded and captured like me, who used his
bandages to help me.”
“I heard from a Greek from Bursa that an enemy division
commander
would be coming. When he came
he asked me ‘have the Greek soldiers
insulted you?’ In response I said ‘they won’t give me
anything to eat or
drink. On top of
that, they stole all my money and belongings.
Please
command them to give these things back to me.’ The commander cursed
at me and said ‘pray
they don’t kill you.’ Then he left. I was held
captive for 18 days, during which
time 30 of us were burned by the son
at the base of a tree in Katrancı
village. They would give each of us a
ladel-full of meat water and a piece of break.
Some of the 30 would
empty out the chamber pots of sick or rich enemy
soldiers and get a bit
more bread in return.
I was able to eat a few bites of bread each day.”
This statement is contained in the report, dated 20
September 1921, of
the ** Army Corps Command and was taken at Polatlı Hospital.
.jpg)
Greek soldiers at Haymana İnler Katrancı village (today's
Polatlı İnler village) in August or September 1921.
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