The Great Offensive () was the largest and final military operation of the Turkish War of Independence, fought between the Turkish Armed Forces loyal to the government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and the Kingdom of Greece, ending the Greco-Turkish War. The offensive began on 26 August 1922 with the Battle of Dumlupınar. The Turks amassed around 98,000 men, the largest number since the beginning of the war, to begin the offensive against the Greek army of approximately 130,000 men.[Bruce Clark: Twice a Stranger: The Mass Expulsions That Forged Modern Greece And Turkey, Harvard University Press, 2006, , page 22.][International Committee of Historical Sciences, 1980, page 227.] From 31 August to 9 September, the front moved a distance of as the Greek troops retreated.[International Committee of Historical Sciences. 1980, page 227.] The Turkish army lacked motorized vehicles; its forces consisted of infantry and cavalry units, and logistical support was provided by a supply system based on Bullock cart.[International Committee of Historical Sciences, 1980, page 227.]
The Turkish troops reached the sea on 9 September with the capture of İzmir. The operation ended on 18 September 1922 with the capture of Erdek and Biga. The staggering defeat caused great dissent within the Greek army and a general loss of morale, which led to unwillingness to continue fighting. On top of this, numerous Greek divisions had been encircled and destroyed as effective fighting units, which meant that the Greek army had lost its offensive capabilities and was unable to organize a controlled retreat, leading to numerous Greek .
Advance
The offensive started with the Battle of Dumlupınar, where the Turkish army defeated the Greek army within four days, paving the way for a rapid offensive. After Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's order issued in the Forces of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the main part of the Turkish Army began moving toward İzmir and a secondary force began moving from Eskişehir toward
Bursa.
[International Committee of Historical Sciences. Commission of comparative military history, Revue internationale d'histoire militaire (Editions 46–48), University of Michigan, 1980, page 227.] The commander-in-chief of the Greek forces in Asia Minor, Nikolaos Trikoupis, surrendered on 29 August.
["Trikupis" veya "Trikopis", Büyük Larousse Sözlük ve Ansiklopedisi, 22. Cilt, Milliyet Yay., İstanbul.][Aggelomatis, Chr., "Chronicle of Great Tragedy" (The Epic of Asia Minor), Estia, 1963, pp. 194-5] On 7 September, Aydın,
Germencik and Kuşadası fell under Turkish control. On 16 September, the last Greek troops left Çeşme, and two days later the Greek III Corps left
Erdek. The British Chief of Staff expressed his admiration for the Turkish military operation.
[Elisabeth Özdalga: The Last Dragoman: The Swedish Orientalist Johannes Kolmodin as Scholar, Activist and Diplomat, Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, 2006, , page 62.]
Gallery
File:Turkish cavalry during mopping‐up operation 1922.jpg|alt=Cavalry galloping|Turkish cavalry during a mopping-up operation
File:Turkish infantry in trench.jpg|alt=Soldiers in a trench, with one looking in a different direction|Turkish infantry in a trench
File:Turkish V Cavalry Corps.jpg|alt=Large group photo, with a dog in front|Fahrettin Altay and V Cavalry Corps officers
File:Greek soldiers retreat, 1922.jpeg|alt=Soldiers marching down a road|Greek soldiers retreating
File:Turkish village burned down.jpg|alt=Burning buildings, with residents watching|A Turkish village burnt by retreating Greek troops
File:Turgutlu inspection of the burned town.JPG|Inspection of the burned town of Turgutlu by a group of dignitaries and journalists
File:Greek POW officers 1922.jpg|alt=Large group photo of men in uniform|Greek POW officers in Ankara
File:Atatürk in Kocatepe before the start of the Great Offensive, August 30, 1922.jpg|Mustafa Kemal Pasha at Kocatepe hill, Afyonkarahisar
See also
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List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence
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Occupation of Smyrna
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Great Fire of Smyrna
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Great Thessaloniki Fire
Footnotes
Bibliography
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Kemal Niş, Reşat Söker, Türk İstiklâl Harbi, Batı Cephesi, Büyük Taarruz’da Takip Harekâtı (31 Ağustos – 18 Eylül 1922), Cilt 2, Kısım. 6, 3. Kitap, Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1969.
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İsmet Görgülü, Büyük Taarruz: 70 nci Yıl Armağanı, Genelkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1992.
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Celal Erikan, Komutan Atatürk, Cilt I-II, Üçüncü Basım, Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, İstanbul, 2001, .
External links
