TURKISH FRONTS (CAMPAİGNS) IN WORLD WAR I

With the participation of the Ottoman Empire in the war, the battlefield expanded. It will have to
fight on many fronts. The basis of the action plan of the Ottoman Empire is to alleviate the burden of
the Central Powers in Europe.

For this purpose, the following 3-stage plan will be implemented:

1- To mobilize Muslims in Central Asia and the Caucasus against the Russians with the call for jihad to
be declared by the caliph.
2- Mobilization of Muslims in Abyssinia, Sudan, Tripoli, with the call of the caliph for jihad, against
the British.
3- Joint defense of the Straits by Turkish and German forces.

With this plan; By keeping the Russians busy in the Caucasus and the British in the Suez, the burden
of Germany and Austria will be alleviated, the maritime connection of England with India will be
prevented, and the alliance states will benefit from the rich oil in the south.

For this purpose, the Turkish Army fought on the following fronts in the First World War.

1-Çanakkale Front: (Gallipoli Campaign, also called Dardanelles Campaign)

The battles that took place on this front(campaign daha sık kullanılmış hocam), which was fought
against the joint attacks of the British and the French, were the most important event of the war for
the Turks.

The British and French wanted to control Istanbul after crossing the Dardanelles. For this purpose,
they attacked the Dardanelles on March 18, 1915 with their powerful navy.

The reason for opening a front in Çanakkale is as follows for the Entente powers: to cross the
Dardanelles, to capture Istanbul, to collapse the Ottoman state in the war, and then to help their
allies, Russia.

According to the opinion of the Allied Powers officials; With the exclusion of the Ottoman Empire
from the war, the Ottoman pressure on the Suez Canal and the Indian Road will be lifted, and the
Balkan States will be prevented from taking part in the Allied Powers.

During the Dardanelles Wars, Division Commander Mustafa Kemal did not allow the enemy to
advance, and did not allow the enemy to pass through Çanakkale and occupy Istanbul.

The results of the Dardanelles War, which went down in history as an unprecedented victory, can
be listed as follows:

* It is one of the highest loss wars in world history in terms of human loss. It cost the lives of a total
of 504,000 people, approximately 254,000 Turks and 250,000 foreigners.

*The unaccounted combat power, determination to resist and success of the Turkish Army led to the
prolongation of the First World War.

*Istanbul and the Straits were saved from an absolute invasion.

* As Britain and France could not pass the straits and deliver aid to Russia, the troubles in Russia
increased. This situation led to the success of the Bolshevik Revolution and the withdrawal of Russia
from the war. Kars, Ardahan, provided the opportunity to take back Batum.

* It gave morale to the Turkish Nation.

* The first foundations of the new Turkish State were laid in Çanakkale, and the great talent of
Mustafa Kemal, the leader of the National Struggle movement, was revealed.

2-Caucasian Front: (Caucasus campaign)

It was fought against the Russians on this front. The Turkish army of 150,000 people under the
command of Enver Pasha started the Sarikamis Offensive, but the attack was unsuccessful, with
100,000 casualties due to severe winter conditions. Taking advantage of this failure, Russian troops
captured Erzurum, Muş, Bitlis, Trabzon and Erzincan.

Mustafa Kemal, who was appointed as the commander of the 16th Corps in Diyarbakir in 1916,
stopped the advance of the Russian troops in the direction of Diyarbakir, took back Muş and Bitlis
with a counterattack. With the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the operation in the Caucasus Front
(campaign) stopped.

3-Channel Front (The Raid on the Suez Canal, also known as Actions on the Suez Canal diye geçiyor
hocam)
The Canal Operation started with the aim of re-establishing Ottoman domination in Egypt and
intercepting England's way to India by seizing the Suez Canal. The operation ended in failure due to
the inability to provide the necessary means of transportation, and the British, who counterattacked,
forced the Turkish army to retreat.

4-Palestinian Front: (Sinai and Palestine campaign)

Due to the failure of the Canal Operation, the focus of the war in this region has shifted to Palestine
and Syria. In the meantime, the British made an agreement with the Emir of Mecca, Sharif Hussein,
and promised them to establish an independent Arab State that included Syria, Iraq and the Hejaz. At
the same time, he promised the Zionists to establish a state in Palestine.

He captured Jerusalem with the British in 1917. The army commanded by Mustafa Kemal successfully
defended its positions. Mustafa Kemal fought successful wars against the British and saved his army
from destruction.

5. Iraqi Front (Mesopotamian campaign)

The British, who landed troops in Basra in 1914, were thinking of protecting the Abadan oil and
moving northward, uniting with the Russians and encircling Anatolia. Advancing to Kütulamara and
from there to the north, the British retreated by the end of 1915, losing most of their forces. The
successes achieved against the British did not last long, and the British, who brought forces to Basra,
entered Baghdad in 1917. They captured Kirkuk in 1918.

6. Galicia and Macedonian Front:

Turkish forces also fought in Galicia and Macedonia outside the Ottoman borders to help the Allies.
The Turkish forces, which helped the German-Austrian forces on the Galician front, defeated the
Romanian forces. In Macedonia, Turkish soldiers helped the Bulgarian forces.