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

//Ed. Note: Herewith three reports from wounded Turkish
soldiers taken by the Greeks at Sakarya.//


   Greek push toward Sakarya and Ankara in August 1921.

Abdullah, son of Osman, of Sinop

“I was wounded on the other side of the (Sakarya) river.  Since my 

injury was in my leg, I was taken prisoner by the enemy.  Initially, 

they bandaged my wound, saying ‘we will take you to our capital city.’

  

Many of them spoke Turkish.  A Greek major said to me: ‘don’t be 

afraid. They won’t do anything to you. They won’t rob you.’  They 

gave me some meat but soon afterwards they robbed me of all my 

clothes, leaving me stark naked. They even took my pants.  I had 40 

lira and they took that, as well.  I pleaded ‘at least leave me 5 lira.’  

They pressed their bayonets against my chest and ridiculed my 

religion, saying ‘you shot at us, you Turkish pig!’  Because they 

couldn’t get me to move they put me on a saddle-less donkey.  Along

the way they kept saying to me ‘so you think you can shoot at us, 

infidel Turk!’  When I wanted bread they told me ‘let Mustafa Kemâl 

give you some.’  

I remained in a place, the name of which I don’t know, for 3 days, 

naked and hungry.  Finally they left me there and (Turkish) soldiers 

from one of our battalions found me.  Since I didn’t pass through any 

villages, I don’t know what they (Greeks) did to them.”

Mustafa, son of Ali Osman

“I was wounded on the other side of the Sakarya and taken prisoner.  

At first, they bandaged my wound and gave me some tea.  In the first 

days they threw some of their meat leftovers in front of us but 

subsequently they began to treat us badly and wouldn’t give us 

anything.  We got one loaf of bread for 30 of us.  They put their own 

wounded in tents, and left us out in the open.  Some of our fellows 

pleaded for help and some of them got their wounds attended to.  

                                      Sivrihisar (red dot)

Finally, we began to head toward Sivrihisar.  I am from Sivrihisar’s 

Oğlakcı village and the village is along the road but while passing by 

I saw that my village was no longer there.  The Greeks had burned it.  

We were taken to Sivrihisar, from where they (Greeks) fled and our 

soldiers came and saved us.  My father came from the village and 

said that all the villagers had fled to the mountains.  He added that 

before the village was burned to the ground, the Greeks robbed the 

people of everything, taking all the womens’ gold and jewelry.  From 

my father alone they took 150 liras and took my brother İsmail with 

them.  

Watchman Mahmud was told by the Greeks  as the village burned to 

‘go save your house!’  But they pushed him into  the flames and the 

poor fellow died.  My father saw that the entire village and the fields 

were burned.  We are a family of 8 and we lost everything.  They took 

all our belongings except two old blankets.  The villagers are currently 

in the mountains, eating squash and grass.”

Halil, son of Halil, from İlginli

I was injured during the fighting at Haymana and taken prisoner.  The 

Greek soldiers robbed me of all my belongings.  A Greek doctor took 

some bandages from our dead soldiers and bandanged my wound.  

There were 40 of us who were injured.  They gave us just a little water 

and bread and brought us all to Katrancı, stuffing us into a building 

there.  Along the way I saw the body of a villager.  At the front of the 

building where we were imprisoned in Katrancı, I saw the Greeks 

taking the villagers’ money and beating them unmercifully.  Eight 

of my friends died from hunger.”

 

          The Turkish counteroffensive in September 1921.

//END of PART II//