Türkiye celebrates 101st anniversary of Victory Day
Ankara, The Gulf Observer: Türkiye is celebrating the 101st anniversary of Victory Day, which commemorates the decisive defeat of the occupying Greek army in the Battle of Dumlupinar in 1922.
The Great Offensive was launched by the Turkish Armed Forces on August 26, 1922, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Türkiye, and ended on September 18 that same year.
The victors of World War I — also known as the Entente Powers — landed in present-day Türkiye in 1919, occupying large areas based on the provisions of the Armistice of Mudros.
French troops took over the region around Adana, now in southern Türkiye, while British soldiers entered Urfa, now Sanliurfa, and Maras, now Kahramanmaras, further to the east, as well as Samsun and the town of Merzifon, Amasya in the Black Sea region.
The Italians, meanwhile, occupied large tracts of the Mediterranean coastline, including Antalya and other southwestern Anatolian cities.
On May 15, 1919, the Greek army landed in Izmir with the permission of the Entente Powers, triggering what would become a full-fledged uprising and campaign against the rule of occupying forces in the country.
