TNT History Archives: "Bergama Raid" Aftermath (1919)/Part II

//Ed. note: Following the successful 'liberation' 

of Bergama by Turkish forces on 16 June 1919,

the retreating Greek troops massacred the

Moslem population of Menemen, near Izmir, in

revenge.

Bergama's short-lived 'liberation' ended with the

advance of Greek forces from Dikili, west of 

Bergama on the Aegean coast on 19 June 1919.//

4) Enciphered telegram dated 19 June 1919 received from the 14th

Army Corps Command: 

Today (6/18/19) in the afternoon a massacre was inflicted upon the 

Moslem populace of Menemen and all of the officials of the town

were murdered.  This massacre was performed by Greek soldiers

retreating from Bergama and Reşadiye (today's Zeytindağ).  This 

information was provided by railroad travelers coming from Izmir

(to Balıkesir and/or Bandırma) and from other sources.

5) Enciphered telegram dated 19 June 1919 received from the 14th

Army Corps: 

The current situation in Bergama is unknown.  It is estimated that

the size of the enemy force advancing from Dikili to Bergama is

two battalions.  Greek forces have completely burned villages they

have entered and behaved barbarically.  As a consequence of this

terror, the entire population around Bergama is on the move.

I submit that Istanbul (Ottoman government) must make an

impassioned political proposal to stop the Greek advance and its

troops' brutal behavior.

 

6) Enciphered telegram dated 21 June 1919 received from the 14th

Army Corps Command: 

Friday 19 June 1919: in the course of the day I (Yusuf İzzet Paşa)

spent in Bergama, I had contact with the Jewish and Armenian 

communities, but not the Greek community.  I met with these

communities and their leaders at their churches and synagogue 

where they had gathered but their unguarded homes were looted

in the meantime.  

In addition to the massacre perpetrated by the Greeks in Menemen,

this time they have also torched the homes and fields in Bergama

town and the surrounding villages.

7) Enciphered telegram dated 20-21 June 1919 received from the

14th Army Corps Command:

The entire populations of Bergama and Soma are on the move. This

movement is not confined to the people of perimeter rural villages

but also includes the people in all the quarters within both towns.  

This population movement has been primarily instigated by the 

Menemen massacre and it is not possible to stop it.

                                               Menemen

//END of PART TWO//