capture by the Greeks near Gediz in the south of today's
Kütahya province (about where the 'T' is in the word
'Kütahya' on the map below.) After detention in Gediz,
he was marched from there to Uşak (middle of the map).
He was transported to Izmir and ultimately spent his
captivity on Lefkada Island. See Part II of this series
for more on Lefkada.//
In response to the general message number 13241-869 of the Interior
Ministry, dated 18 April 339 (1923), which was received from the
Ministry for National Defense, herewith the statement of Second
Lieutenant
Osman Efendi:
On 24 October 336 (1920) at the place called Yongalı Pass
where the
road to Gediz runs through steep slopes on the right and left, we
were
attacked by the Greeks and a battle ensued in which we had the chance
to
respond but I was taken prisoner as the result of a bayonet charge.
There were about 10 soldiers with me and a few
of them were slightly
wounded. One of my
soldiers named İsmail from Mudurnu town was
wounded in his foot and killed with
a bayonet by a Greek guard during
our transport. I was transported to Gediz town, where I was
made a
prisoner.
After staying in the
local jail, hungry and uncared for, for about 10 days
I was made to march to
Uşak on foot in a desperate condition.
At Uşak,
I remained confined for 30 days in a room in a grape juice
factory the
Greeks had turned into a Gendarmerie post, barefoot and without a cover
or a bed. Because when I was taken prisoner they stole
all of my clothes.
I had nothing. Later, I was transported in a sickly
condition to Izmir,
where I stayed in Balçova for 18 days, sick, uncared for
and desperate.
Next, I was transported
to Piraeus, where I stayed in a Number 26
Hospital for 6 days, after which I was
transported with 10 other officers,
who were in the hospital with me, to
Lefkada Island opposite Preveze.
The writer's repatriation from Lefkada Island coincided with
the repatriation of POWs from Corfu Island, both of which
are off Greece's west coast. A few of the Turkish POWs
decided to stay in Greece, surprising the writer and his
friends.
My life
as a prisoner passed in the fortress on Lefkada Island, otherwise
known as Agia Mavra. In the time of Sultan Beyazid, this island was
taken under our control. The camp at the
fortress, which is known for its
massive high walls, was allocated for captive
officers and soldiers. There
were 180
officers at the camp. Today, among our prisoners still remaining
in Greece are Cavalry
Second Lieutenant İsmail Hakkı of Dayı village in
Afyonkarahisar, Bağdadlı
Abdüllatif and customs & dues official and
officer candidate Burhan of
Kadıköy, Istanbul, who is the son of Fars Bey.
They remained in Greece at their own request. At the
beginning of our
repatriation when we were boarding the ship at Lefkada Island,
the neutral
Swiss officials asked them to board the ship Espriya with us. But when
we arrived in Pire, all of a sudden
a Greek Gendarmerie motorboat came
to our ship with a Gendarmerie officer and
some soldiers who then took
the three ashore at Piraeus. All of us young and honorable fellows were
outraged that these three had been taken away but subsequently Colonel
İsmail
Hakkı Bey, the senior-ranking officer at the Corfu camp and Major
Ali Rıza Bey,
the Lefkada camp commander, told us not to interfere and
that the (Turkish)
government would punish them appropriately.
So off
they went and there was no protest or initiative filed about
their departure.
Nevertheless, this
matter is well known by all the officers who returned
from captivity.
During our prison life in the camp on Lefkada Island only
Pharmacist
Captain İbrahim Efendi of Keşan Hospital died. The reason for his death
was lack of care and
treatment, which was confirmed with a report by a
Turkish delegation of doctors.
The writer was held at the fortress of Agia Mavra (top of
map) on Lefkada Island.
The entirety of mankind knows that our prisoners were confined under
conditions of terror and cruelty unrecognized by any
civilization.
Whether at the camp in
Athens, the dungeons at Hania, within the high
walls on Lefkada Island, in the
sweltering summer heat at Perveze and
the equally biting cold of winter
locations, where our soldiers were
sentenced to breaking rocks under dry tents
– in short, all of these were
testimony to the destructive program the Greeks
followed. All of the
cruelties mentioned
above were meted out to all of our countrymen and
fellow soldiers.
As I mentioned previously, our prison life was spent in the
Lefkada
fortress, which is situated at the end of a canal which connects the
Adriatic
Sea to the Greek Sea, so the fortress is surrounded on three sides by
water.
We had no contact with the outside
world. We lived in desperation one on
top of another in unhealthy shacks within the fortress, whose size was
insufficient to hold us. Every month we
were given 440 drahmas, whose
value is equal to 6-7 banknotes at the market, to
take care of all our needs.
With this
money all we could buy was dry bread and cheese. We never
saw anything resembling grain. The fact that all we had were these 440
drahmas to get everything we needed is the best testimony of our privation.
Our letters were ripped up at the post
office by camp officials and thrown
into the sea. We saw
them do this despicable thing many times with our
own eyes.
All of the tragedies and cruelties we were subjected to
during our life in
captivity have been partially presented above. At the same time, our
friends have written
their own memorandums and these are being
presented one by one. When I landed at Izmir, I submitted
information
and details to the proper authorities.
11th Division 127th Regiment 10th Company Second Lieutenant
Osman Fahri
//END of PART IV//
//END of PART IV//
