10 to 25 August 1921
Sakarya: the march round the flank
On 10 August King Constantine commits the army to an attack on the Sakarya line. The Greek divisions march east for nine days through country short of food and water, and swing round to the south to outflank the Turkish left. On 23 August they make contact with the advanced Turkish positions south of the Gök river.
The Greek 9th Division marches across the salt desert of central Anatolia during the August 1921 offensiveWikimedia Commons, Greek Army, Public domain (M.Asia-almyra-erimos.JPG)
The Turkish front follows the hills on the east bank of the Sakarya from near Polatlı south to the mouth of the Gök, then turns east along the Gök. The river loop in front of it has steep banks and only two bridges. The general staff has its headquarters at Polatlı, on the railway, and Mustafa Kemal his command post at Alagöz.
Sources
- Lord Kinross, Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation (1964).
- Andrew Mango, Atatürk (1999).
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