II.

Soldier and Revolutionary

Because of his activities in the secret Young Turk movement against the autocratic government of the Ottoman Empire, of which Turkey was the central part, Atatürk was posted to Syria, in virtual exile. There he founded the secret Fatherland and Freedom Society (1906). Transferred to Salonica the following year, he joined the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) that carried out the Young Turk revolution in July 1908. He was not, however, in the inner circle of the CUP and therefore played no role in the actual revolution.

Atatürk fought (1911-1912) in Libya against Italy and was promoted to major in November 1911. He organized the defence of the Dardanelles during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and was military attaché in Bulgaria in October 1913. During World War I, in which Turkey sided with Germany, Atatürk made his military reputation in the Gallipoli Campaign (1915), where he played a crucial role in repelling the Allied invasion. He then served in the Caucasus and Syria, where he was given command of a special army group just before the armistice was signed in October 1918. Returning to İstanbul, he watched in anxiety as the victorious Allied powers prepared to partition Anatolia.

A Greek army occupied İzmir on the Anatolian coast on May 15, 1919, conducting massacres of the local population. Atatürk, who had been appointed inspector of the Third Army in Anatolia, reached Samsun on May 19. He immediately set about uniting the Turkish national movement and creating an army for defence. First, however, the nationalists had to wage a struggle against the Ottoman sultan's regime in İstanbul, which seemed willing to allow the dismemberment of the national territory. By 1920 the İstanbul government had been discredited for acquiescing to the Allied occupation of the capital and signing the Treaty of Sèvres, which recognized Greek control over parts of Anatolia. Atatürk, meanwhile, had set up a provisional government in Ankara in April 1920. After initial setbacks, he won decisive battles against Greek forces at Sakarya (August 1921) and Dumlupinar (August 1922), reoccupying İzmir in September.