Colonial and World War I · 1922

Battle of Dumlupinar

The decisive battle of the Turkish War of Independence. Within weeks the Turks took Izmir, and the war ended with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

The site of the battle on the 1923 map. Shaded: Republic of Turkey, 1923, French mandate, British mandate or occupation, British protection or influence.

Key facts

When: 1922
Where: Near Kutahya, Turkey
Sides: Turkish nationalists vs Greek army
Commanders: Mustafa Kemal vs Georgios Hatzianestis
Result: Turkish victory
Type: Colonial and World War I
Chapter: 5. The Ottomans

Who led it

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk1881 to 1938
An Ottoman officer who made his name at Gallipoli and led the Turkish War of Independence.

The wider picture: The end of the caliphate

The Ottomans entered the First World War on Germany's side and lost. Britain and France divided the Arab lands under the Sykes-Picot agreement and the mandates that followed, and British troops entered Jerusalem in December 1917. In Anatolia, Mustafa Kemal won the war of independence and declared a republic in October 1923.

See the 1923 map Read chapter 5

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