23 August to 13 September 1921
The battle on the Sakarya
The Greek army reaches the Turkish positions east of the Sakarya on 23 August, and from 26 August it attacks along a front of about a hundred kilometres. Mustafa Kemal, who has broken a rib in a fall from his horse, commands from the village of Alagöz. His order sets the method: "There is no line of defence, there is a surface of defence, and that surface is the whole country."
At Duatepe, an observation hill near Polatlı, during the Battle of Sakarya, 10 September 1921. ColourisedWikimedia Commons, Sfisek, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Battle of Sakarya 1921.jpg)
Hills are taken and retaken for days. Çal Dağı falls to the Greeks on 2 September, and on 8 September Mustafa Kemal takes personal command of a counterattack. On the night of 12 to 13 September the Greek army, short of reserves and supplies, withdraws west across the river. The Greek attack at the Sakarya is the last Greek offensive of the war.
Mustafa Kemal with his aide Salih Bozok during the Battle of Sakarya, 1921Wikimedia Commons, NA, Public domain (Mustafa Kemal & Salih.jpg)
Greek infantry advancing towards Polatlı, August 1921Wikimedia Commons, Greek Army, Public domain (GreekAdvancePolatli.jpg)
Greek evzones of the 1/38 Regiment advancing on Turkish positions, August 1921Wikimedia Commons, Greek Army, Public domain (Greek Evzones of the 1-38 Evzones Regiment advance towards Turkish positions, 1921.jpg)
Sources
- Andrew Mango, Atatürk (1999).
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Nutuk (1927).
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