During the war, enemies of the Ottoman Empire could supply their soldiers
and resources from their colonies. So, military losses seriously affected
the Ottoman Empire. For example; in the Gallipoli Campaign, according to the
Turkish sources, the Allies' total casualties are 187.000 soldiers. The
Turkish causality is 57.084 soldiers in the land attacks and 179.000
soldiers in the naval attack and totally 211.000 soldiers. In these wars,
many educated, intellectual Turkish people had died. Their loss had
negatively effected Turkey in coming years.
Because of the geographic situation of the Ottoman Empire, army had to
fight in a large number of fronts. Some of them were for the empire's
protection, some of them were for helping their allies. Also the Arabic
people in Hicaz region were provoked by Lawrence T.E. (an English spy) who
is known as Lawrence of Arabia. These places were important because they
have petroleum resources. So, the Ottoman Empire had to use an army for
Hicaz region.
Because of the war, the Ottoman Empire's economic relations with the other
countries stopped. The empire had to create its resources from itself.
Most of the commodity which are imported before the war, now had to be
supplied from Anatolia.
During the war, because of the mobilization, most of the economical
processes were under the control of government. To supply the army's
necessities, the empire sometimes bought, sometimes confiscated. Most of the
commodity and services were used for army so the economic level of the
people in Anatolia decreased.
As a result; not only the Ottoman Empire was in war but also the economy
was weak so the people of Anatolia could not survive easily.
On October 30,1918 The Ottoman Empire signed the Mudros Armistice which had
heavy terms that spelled, in brief, unconditional surrender. On the 13th of
November, allied battleships and cruisers anchored in the İstanbul harbor.
The city was unofficially occupied. That same day, Mustafa Kemal, a
full-general at the age of 37, the brilliant tactician of the Dardanelles
and other fronts, disembarked from the train which brought him back home
from the southern front. He said to his adjutant: "Don't worry young man.
They shall go the way they came."
After the world war I, Mudros and Sevres treaties damaged the Ottoman
Empire's "sick" economy. By the help of these treaties a lot of new
countries gained advantage from capitulations and had authorization to
occupy every place they want in the empire.
According to Sevres Treaty, the Ottoman Empire's economy will be adjusted
by a commision whose members are England, France, Italy and the Ottoman
Empire. This means the empire will not have a freedom economically. Hicaz
region will be independent. This means there will be no petroleum resources
in the country. Bosphorus will be governed by a special government
consisting of members from Europe. This special region will have its own
flag, economic structure and army. So it will not be useful for the empire
any more. The Ottoman country was only the middle Anatolia so it was very
hard to industrialize for the empire.
Fortunately, by the help of the Independence War, these treaties were
cancelled: The views expressed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 were
that Turkey would be divided up. Meanwhile in the Aegean region the Greek
Army was advancing swiftly, equipped by Great Britain with the most modern
weapons of the day, the French were rapidly occupying in southeastern
Anatolia and in the east the Army of the Armenian Republic was advancing.
The Ottoman government, implementing the terms of the armistice, was against
any form of resistance on the grounds that it would "anger" the enemies. The
Ottoman governments have no power or decisiveness. Therefore the Turkish
nation must decide its own fate and map its own future. The only path to
this goal is the founding of a new state based on the sovereignty of the
nation. On his return from the front to İstanbul, Mustafa Kemal Pasha
realized the hopelessness of the situation, and that the time had come to
put into action the plans he had nourished since his youth. He decided to go
into Anatolia and pursue the struggle from there. In the early months of
1919 Anatolia was a hotbed of troubles, and Mustafa Kemal requested that the
government assign him to go and deal with them. This request was accepted,
and he left İstanbul with this understanding.
On May 19, 1919 he set foot in Samsun. Mustafa Kemal Pasha was now in
Anatolia, to unite it and reconcile antagonistic factions. His first step
would be to bring about the congresses he had planned, one by one. An
association known as the Legal Society for the Defense of Anatolia and
Rumelia wanted the Ottoman Parliament to convene and establish peace
conditions, but in this matter Mustafa Kemal was not hopeful. Nevertheless
the Parliament, in the National Oath of January 28,1920, asked for a peace
in which all borders were removed that threatened the territorial integrity
of Turkey. Only if this condition were met could peace talks be held. The
Entente Powers, who had thought the Eastern Question was resolved, were
greatly disturbed by this action taken under the influence of the Anatolian
National Movement, and in their anger occupied İstanbul on March 16,1920.
Thus for the first time in 467 years the city no longer had the status of
Ottoman capital. Not long before this, on December 27, 1919, Ankara had been
made the center of national resistance, and it was now time to found a
National Parliament. The Entente Powers dictated the final peace of the
World War I, the Peace of Sevres (August 10,1920), which the Ottoman
government was forced to sign. Under the terms of this peace, all of eastern
Thrace, plus İzmir and the Aegean region, were ceded to Greece. The straits
were to be managed jointly, without the participation of the Turks. In
addition, a large part of the country's eastern territory was ceded to
Armenia, which had been established in Russia. Southern Anatolia was to be
settled by French, Italian and British populations, so that only a small
Ottoman State was left in Anatolia.
This peace roused the patriotic fervor of the Turks even more, and the
youthful army of the new state began to win its first victories. The
Armenian army, which had occupied Eastern Anatolia at the end of World War
I, was expelled from these territories and signed a peace at Gümrü on
December 3, 1920, while the progress of the Greeks, who had set their sights
on Ankara, was brought to a halt. The first diplomatic contacts with the new
Turkish state now began to be made, as the Soviet Union, impressed by the
victories that Turkish National Assembly Army have cited, signed an aid
agreement at Moscow on March 16,1921. Meanwhile the French advance in the
southeast was put to a definitive halt by the Turkish militia. These
developments led Greece, at the instigation of Great Britain, to prepare a
major new offensive, and they advanced as far as the Sakarya River near
Ankara. Meanwhile the National Assembly was temporarily relieving Mustafa
Kemal of his powers so that he could devote his attentions to the war as
Commander in Chief. The Greeks renewed their offensive on August 23,1921,
and were repulsed on September 13 after 22 days and nights of fighting in
which no quarter was given. With this victory, a thousand years of the
Turkish presence in Anatolia were confirmed. After this victory won with the
meagerest of means, the French signed a peace with Ankara on October
20,1921, while the Italians also evacuated from the territory they had
occupied. This left the Greeks and British alone. The following year, in
September, 1922, the Greeks were expelled from Anatolia as the result of a
grand Turkish offensive. The British were determined to remain in eastern
Thrace and the straits at all costs, but thanks to the wise policies of the
Turkish government they found themselves isolated. They were thus compelled
to sign an armistice, at Mudanya on October 11,1922. There was all the
difference in the world between this armistice and that of Mudros signed
some four years previously.
After his victory at the Battle of the Sakarya, Mustafa Kemal was given the
rank of Marshal by the National Assembly and in addition was awarded the
title of Gazi. This title is reserved by the Islamic world for only its
greatest heroes.
Mustafa Kemal Pasha wanted to sign a peace which would confirm the
independence and freedom from conditions of the new Turkish state, while the
Allies, preparing to meet in Lausanne, aimed for an agreement which would
take the Treaty of Sevres as its model, even though the Turkish National
Assembly did not recognize this treaty. In order to divide the Turks at the
conference, the Entente Powers had also invited the İstanbul government.
This was taken as an outrage by the Turkish National Assembly, which had no
choice but to legally dissolve the Ottoman Sultanate. This they did on
November 1, 1922. Thus the Ottoman Sultanate, which had already expired in
fact, legally too became a thing of the past. So now, there was only one
government in Turkey, that founded by the Turkish National Assembly.
The Turkish state was represented at Lausanne by a national hero, İsmet
Pasha (İnönü). The Turkish delegation stood alone, for England, France and
their allies had formed a common front in order to preserve their interests.
There was no one to back Turkey's cause, so that İsmet İnönü and the rest of
the delegation were compelled to wage a diplomatic battle like that of the
Sakarya. The peace signed at Lausanne on July 24,1923, put an end to the
centuries-old Eastern Question, and gave the new Turkish State complete
independence. The forces of occupation in İstanbul, which had arrived on
November 13, 1918, departed on October 2, 1923, saluting the Turkish flag as
they left.
Turkey had no resources for the Independence War so Turkish National
Assembly tried to get resources from the people of Anatolia. The name of the
orders which are used for this purpose is Tekalif-i Milliye. Turkish people
gave 40% of their goods or riches to Turkish National Assembly for the
Independence War. They were guns, shoes, cables, cotton, cattle animals,
clothes, petroleum, diesel, tires, cells, sulfiric acid, straw, flour,
barley, rope, sugar, soap, salt, candles, horseshoes, nails... After the war
Turkish National Assembly gave back all these commodity to Turkish people.
After the Independence War most of the foreign businessmen and merchants
left Turkey. The number of qualified workers decreased. Because of that
Turkey had to educate its own workers again. The only economic process was
agriculture during these days.
Despite the unrecoverable situation of economy, Turkey could win the
Independence War. Turkish people did not fight with their guns only. They
also fought with their commodity and riches. This made the Independence War
special. Also it was special because Turkey was against imperialist
countries. This war affected the whole world. After the Independence War
most of the colonies of the imperialist countries tried to be independent.
This event changed the world's economic structure.
Conclusion: The Ottoman Empire was a "sick" man before the world war I. The
Kaynak: ReformTürk http://www.reformturk.com/showthread.php?p=95160
government thought that they could gain a lot of things by the help of the
war by choosing the right side. But Germany was the wrong choice. Although
they have a great army, they had disadvantages for the war: They have not
got so much colonies. Also USA entered the war. Because of these reasons
Germany lost the war. Although the Ottoman Army fighted bravely, the empire
lost too. Not only the war but also the Sebres Treaty damaged the economy.
The Ottoman economy became worse. Fortunately, Turkish National Assembly
could win the Independence War. By the help of this war, Sevres Treaty was
cancelled. Otherwise, it will be impossible to recover