26 August to 2 September 1921
Sakarya: the assault on the heights
On 26 August the Greeks attack all along the line. Their infantry cross the shallow Gök and climb onto the heights, where every ridge and hilltop is entrenched and has to be stormed under heavy fire. By 2 September they hold the commanding heights of Çal Dağı.
A Greek platoon of the 3rd Division waits in cover for the order to attack near Toydemir, about 29 August 1921Wikimedia Commons, Greek Army, Public domain (GreekInfantryWaitinginCover.jpg)
The move round the Turkish left fails, and the battle becomes a frontal struggle of infantry, machine guns and artillery. The Greek main effort in the centre advances about 16 km in ten days through the second Turkish line, and some units come within 50 km of Ankara. Turkish cavalry raids the Greek supply lines, and for days neither ammunition nor food reaches the Greek front.
Sources
- Lord Kinross, Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation (1964).
- Andrew Mango, Atatürk (1999).
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