December 1911 to October 1912
Tobruk and Derna
When Italy invades Ottoman Libya in 1911, the empire cannot send an army by sea. Young officers volunteer and travel there in disguise, through Egypt. Mustafa Kemal reaches Tobruk in December 1911 and commands at Derna from March 1912, organising local Arab fighters against the Italian beachheads. The Balkan War pulls him home in October 1912.
Staff Major Mustafa Kemal dictating orders in front of Bedouin fighters, Tripolitania, 1912Wikimedia Commons, Unknown author, Public domain (Kurmay Binbaşı Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), Mücahit Bedevi Kuvvetleri önünde emirlerini yazdırırken. Trablusgarp.png)
Mustafa Kemal with the Red Crescent delegation at Derna, 1912Wikimedia Commons, Unknown author, Public domain (Derne'de Kızılay Heyeti.png)
Mustafa Kemal in the Tripolitanian war, 1912Wikimedia Commons, Unknown author, Public domain (Atatürk Trablusgarp'ta.jpg)
Sources
- Andrew Mango, Atatürk (1999).
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