20 Ağustos 2019 Salı

TNT History Archives: Battle of Sakarya's Aftermath (1921)/Part I

//Ed. Note:  As the Greek Army retreated from its defeat at
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.//

battle of sakarya ile ilgili görsel sonucu


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.” 

 battle of sakarya mustafa kemal ile ilgili görsel sonucu
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.

polatlı hastahanesi 1921 ile ilgili görsel sonucu
Greek soldiers at Haymana İnler Katrancı village (today's
Polatlı İnler village) in August or September 1921.


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