The Story of August 30 Victory Day

Thousands of years of ancient Turkish history is full of countless heroes and heroic stories. However, everyone agrees that one of the greatest heroes of the Turks is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his greatest epic is the War of Independence. The last step of this struggle is The Great Offensive and the victory that follows. We continue to celebrate this blessed victory of our nation today as August 30 Victory Day and we will continue to celebrate it.

So what happened in this whole process? Most of the invaders in the country were cleared, but the Greek occupation in Western Anatolia still continued. The Greeks had come as far as Ankara. A final blow was needed to drive them out and therefore The Great Offensive and the Commander-in-Chief Battle took place. Let’s take a closer look at the story of this heroic epic, which we celebrate as August 30 Victory Day.

‘What are we waiting for pasha?’

It took place between August 23, 1921 and September 13, 1921 and resulted in the victory of the Turkish soldiers. As a result of the Sakarya Pitched Battle, the faith of the whole nation in salvation was renewed. However, there was great impatience in everyone. Both the public opinion and the deputies in the Turkish Grand National Assembly were putting pressure on the Commander-in-Chief Mustafa Kemal Pasha to eliminate the last enemy as soon as possible.

Mustafa Kemal was aware of all this. However As a soldier who has seen countless battles He also knew not to be hasty. On March 6, 1922, the assembly held a secret meeting. Mustafa Kemal explained the attack plan in his mind with these words;

“The decision of our army is an offensive. But we are delaying this offensive. The reason is, we need a little more time to complete our preparation completely. An attack with half preparation, half measures is much worse than no attack at all.”

Preparations for the Great Offensive begin:

Commander-in-Chief Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha decided to attack in June 1922. With this offensive A pitched battle would be fought and at the end of the war the enemy would be destroyed quickly and decisively. This last step, which would later be called the Great Offensive and the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, would result in the definitive victory of the Turkish nation.

The Greek army was well spread in Western Anatolia. There was a strong defense line east of Gemlik Bay, Bilecik, Eskişehir and Afyon. Especially Afyon and Eskişehir were extremely strong. For this reason, a perfect plan had to be prepared and all the troops had to follow the plan by paying attention to the minutes.

The highlight of the offensive was that it was an unannounced raid. The Greeks would not be allowed to prepare. When the first army attacked The second army would prevent the enemy from entering that area. With the cavalry crossing the Ahır Mountains, the communication of the Greeks with İzmir would be cut off and the whole army would be destroyed in this way.

Unfortunately, the weapons of the two armies were not equal. Greek army Because it was supported by all western colonists, especially the British. They had machine guns, cannons, and planes. The Turkish army had rifles made by the Turkish nation with their own hands. However, the Turkish cavalry, which shielded its chest even against the enemy machine gun, would have the biggest role in the attack.

The Great Offensive begins:

Mustafa Kemal Pasha went to Akşehir on 19 August 1922. On August 26, 1922, he started the Great Offensive. With the command of Mustafa Kemal, who was positioned in Kocatepe with the Chief of the General Staff Fevzi Pasha and the Western Front Commander İsmet Pasha, the artillery’s harassment fire started at 04.30 in the morning and at 05.00 the news that important enemy points had been hit.

At 06:00 Turkish infantry first captured Tınaztepe, then at 09:00 Belentepe and Kalecik – Sivrisi region. On the first day, from Büyük Kaleciktepe to Çiğiltepe, the fifteen-kilometer area was cleared of the enemy. Since this area was cleared, the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief and the Western Front Command Headquarters were moved to Afyon on the morning of 27 August.

This war, called the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, continued throughout August 28 and August 29. They were destroyed on the spot, cutting off the enemy’s escape routes. On August 30, 1922, the enemy had no choice but to flee. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha gave the order that went down in history in the courtyard of a ruined house in Çalköy; “Armies, your first target is the Mediterranean. Forward!”

After the victory, the last remnants of the enemy were expelled from the country:

After the decisive victory on 30 August 1922, by the order of the Commander-in-Chief Mustafa Kemal Pasha. The Turkish army went after the Greeks. In this pursuit that started on September 1, unfortunately, the Greek soldiers burned down every region they passed. After numerous clashes, on the morning of September 9, 1922, the Turkish army entered İzmir, which was occupied on May 21, 1919. The Commander of the Fourth Regiment, Reşat Bey, hoisted the Turkish flag to the Velvet Castle, announcing the end of the years of occupation.

Izmir on September 9, Bursa on September 11, and all Western Anatolia on September 18 were cleared of enemy occupation. With the Mudanya Armistice Agreement signed on October 11, 1922, the last Greek soldiers in Thrace withdrew from the region. With the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 24 July 1923 The independence of the Turkish nation has been announced to the whole world. and the Republic of Turkey was officially established on 29 October 1923.

Why is August 30 Victory Day?

We suffered a lot. The great Ottoman Empire, which ruled all over the world for hundreds of years, lost land and then came to our homeland, Anatolia. We have lost countless martyrs. It is terrible to even think about what would have happened if Mustafa Kemal had not started the War of Independence on May 19, 1919.

In such a situation, when the Greek soldiers came to Ankara; When the Turkish army had nothing but patriotism and a few old weapons Such a great victory is unprecedented in history. Two years after the victory, Mustafa Kemal Pasha went to Zafertepe, where he led the attack, and said the following;

“… There should be no doubt that the foundations of the new Turkish state, the young Turkish Republic, were laid here. His eternal life was crowned here. The Turkish blood shed in this field, the spirits of martyrs flying in this sky are the eternal guardians of our state and republic…

This is exactly why 30 August is a victory day. No matter how many years have passed since the blood of martyrs shed in those lands It will remind all of us what the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation are. Because we see the blood of those martyrs on our crescent-starred flag that flies proudly every day. Happy August 30 Victory Day, not just one day, but every day.