Author: Ali Satan

In the months following the Armistice, the Sultan, grand vizier and military-civilian bureaucrats in Istanbul could not achieve any positive outcomes from their meetings and negotiations with the Allied powers. The armistice was being interpreted to the detriment of the Ottoman Empire, and the occupations were expanding. Although it was claimed that the war had ended, military operations were still ongoing. While Turkey’s allies – Germany, Austria and Bulgaria – were not occupied, the Ottoman homeland was. The political intentions of the Allied powers had become clear. They sought to dismantle Türkiye’s physical and military capacity to resist a harsh…

The Ottoman Empire exited World War I with the Armistice of Mondros on Oct. 30, 1918. Following this, the occupation of Ottoman territories, particularly Istanbul, was initiated by the Entente powers. At the Paris Peace Conference, the peace treaty was postponed as the Ottoman Empire’s territories could not be shared. In this process, as a result of the occupations of the Entente powers in violation of the armistice, Turks in Anatolia and Thrace began resistance by establishing and organizing up to 400 defense societies. These organizations held more than 30 congresses across the country and formed the social infrastructure of…