Occupation of Istanbul

Occupation of Istanbul
Part of the partition of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish War of Independence

Louis Franchet d'Espèrey marching in Beyoğlu, 8 February 1919
Date12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923
(4 years, 10 months, 3 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Istanbul
Result

Military occupation by the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and Greece

Turkish capture of Constantinople

Territorial
changes		 Recognition of Turkey with Treaty of Lausanne
Belligerents

 United Kingdom

 France

 Italy
 Greece
 United States[2]
 Japan[2]		  Ottoman Empire Turkish National Movement
Commanders and leaders

United Kingdom Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe
United Kingdom George Milne
French Third Republic Louis Franchet d'Esperey
Kingdom of Italy Carlo Sforza[3]
Kingdom of Greece Efthimios Kanellopoulos [de; el] (1918–1921)

Kingdom of Greece Charalambos Simopoulos (1921–1923)		 Ottoman Empire Ali Sait Pasha¹ Selâhattin Âdil Pasha2
Strength

Land forces on 13 November 1918:[4]
2,616 British, 540 French, 470 Italian (Total: 3,626 soldiers)

Land forces by 5 November 1919:[5]
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: 27,419 soldiers (27 artillery batteries, 160 machine guns)
French Third Republic: 19,069 soldiers (30 cannons, 91 machine guns)
Kingdom of Italy: 3,992 soldiers
Kingdom of Greece: 795 soldiers (160 machine guns)
Total: ~51,300 soldiers (411 machine guns, 57 artillery pieces)

Naval forces:
13 November 1918: 50[6]–61[7] warships

15 November 1918: 167 warships+auxiliary ships[8][9]
1: Commander of the XXV Corps and the Istanbul Guard (6 October 1919 – 16 March 1920[10])
2: Commander of the Istanbul Command (10 December 1922 – 29 September 1923[11])

The occupation of Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul'un işgali) or occupation of Constantinople (12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by British, French, Italian, and Greek forces, took place in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros, which ended Ottoman participation in the First World War. The first French troops entered the city on 12 November 1918, followed by British troops the next day. The Italian troops landed in Galata on 7 February 1919.[3]

Allied troops occupied zones based on the existing divisions of Istanbul and set up an Allied military administration early in December 1918. The occupation had two stages: the initial phase in accordance with the Armistice gave way in 1920 to a more formal arrangement under the Treaty of Sèvres.[12] Ultimately, the Treaty of Lausanne, signed on 24 July 1923, led to the end of the occupation. The last troops of the Allies departed from the city on 4 October 1923, and the first troops of the Ankara government, commanded by Şükrü Naili Pasha (3rd Corps), entered the city with a ceremony on 6 October 1923, which has been marked as the Liberation Day of Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul'un Kurtuluşu, Ottoman Turkish: استانبولڭ قورتولوشی) and is commemorated every year on its anniversary.[13]

1918 was the first time the city had changed hands since the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Along with the occupation of Smyrna, it spurred the establishment of the Turkish National Movement, leading to the Turkish War of Independence.[14]

  1. ^ "Constantinople occupied by British and Indian troops". British Pathé. 30–31 October 1918. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Occupation during and after the War (Ottoman Empire) | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)". encyclopedia.1914–1918-online.net.
  3. ^ a b "Missioni all'estero:1918–1923. In Turchia: da Costantinopoli all'Anatolia" (in Italian). Arma dei Carabinieri. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  4. ^ Hülya Toker Mütareke döneminde İstanbul Rumları, Genelkurmay Basımevi, 2006, ISBN 9754093555, p. 29. (in Turkish)
  5. ^ Zekeriya Türkmen, (2002), İstanbul'un işgali ve İşgal Dönemindeki Uygulamalar (13 Kasım 1918 – 16 Mart 1920), Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi, XVIII (53): pp. 338–39. (in Turkish)
  6. ^ Paul G. Halpern: The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2011, ISBN 1409427560, p. 3.
  7. ^ Metin Ataç: İstiklal Harbi'nde Bahriyemiz, Genelkurmay Başkanlığı, 2003, ISBN 9754092397, p. 20. (in Turkish)
  8. ^ Mustafa Budak: İdealden gerçeğe: Misâk-ı Millî'den Lozan'a dış politika, Küre Yayınları, 2002, p. 21. (in Turkish)
  9. ^ Ertan Eğribel, Ufuk Özcan: Türk sosyologları ve eserleri, Kitabevi, 2010, ISBN 6054208624, p. 352. (in Turkish)
  10. ^ T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, Genelkurmay Basımevi, 1972, p. 51.
  11. ^ T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, Genelkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 118. (in Turkish)
  12. ^ Network, Hellenic Resources (25 September 1997). "The Peace Treaty of Sèvres". Hellenic Resources Network. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  13. ^ "6 Ekim İstanbul'un Kurtuluşu". Sözcü. 6 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Turkey". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 12 July 2018.