Occupation Force (Turkey) ?

[Jim Gordon]

Is it reasonable to assume that there was an Allied military presence in Turkey after cessation of hostilities ?

If there was such a Force can anyone tell me what it's composition was and especially which Infantry Regiments were involved ?

Regards

Jim Gordon

[Guest stevebec]

Mate,

The Forces departed from Egypt/Palestine included the 7th ALHR and CMR (NZ) around the 27th November 1918.

A quick read in the 7th ALHR history mentions the 28th British Div being there but no mention of any other formations.

S.B

[Andrew P]

The Australian historian C.E.W Bean went to Gallipoli in 1919 and his book 'Gallipoli Mission' details the help he received from the British units in the vincinity of Gallipoli & Constantinople/Istanbul and also describes the small outposts of British & Indian soldiers along the train line along which the demobilised Turkish soldiers were travelling up from Syria.

If you can get hold of it, it may fill in some details for you. It was republished in the 1990's.

[christine liava'a]

Is Russian Armenia in Turkey? It sounds like it should be.

I have Victor Charles Witham, 2nd Lt East Lancashire Regt

serving there in 1919 at 25° below zero!

Not very pleasant for someone from Fiji!

[christine liava'a]

Having Googled for " Russian Armenia ww1" I found this site

History of WW1

which gives an overview of the whole war, including the Turkish area. Some interesting dead and wounded Figures at the end

[armourersergeant]

Christine,

I wonder the significance of the fact that only Turkey has more deaths than wounded. Would this be due to bad hospitalistion or the way their troops fought?

1,300,000 dead 700,000 wounded. All the others have more wounded than dead.

The British figures differ somewhat from those posted on our mother site by Chris and i suppose this shows how difficult it can be to evaluate this type of info.

Arm.

[Tim Bowler]

Jim,

I can't help you on which specific units were in Turkey, but there definitely was an occupation force in Turkey after the war. It was either all-British or largely British, and was derived in the main from the British Army of Salonika.

After the Bulgarian Armistice in September 1918, the French and Serbs went North, while several British units went East, into Turkey.

This tied in with Britain's political aims in the region. For the UK, control of Constantinople was seen as far more important than, say, Sofia, Budapest or Vienna. I assume that the occupation force stayed until the Chanak Incident of 1922. With the defeat of Greece in its war with Turkey of 1921-22, British ambitions in the region had to be curtailed.

In Alan Palmer's "The Gardners of Salonika" there is a post-war picture of a British honour guard somewhere in Constantinople.

I suspect 28th Division was one of the units there - but exactly which formations took part I don't know.

Tim

[Jim Gordon]

To All

Thank you for your helpful comments.

Regards

Jim Gordon

[Andrew P]

In Bean's 'Gallipoli Mission' is the following passage which may interest some.

'That week in Constantinople it snowed heavily, but we barely had time to heed this. On the day of our arrival we noticed a few British troops on guard along the sweeping, rather stately high street, evidently keeping the way clear for some expected grandee; and then up the hill from the direction of the quay came several motor cars, in the chief of which was General Allenby, whose army had conquered the Turks in Palestine & Syria. His entry to the Turkish capital attracted little more attention than would the humblest funeral, but despite his victorious march from Sinai to Syria, he was not the Allied Commander in Turkey itself. On the following day the same street was lined on both sides with blue coated French infantry. The paths and the windows of the houses were crowded with excited people. The wide sweep of the cobbled high road had been sanded, and up the curve came, this time, a procession of which the leading figure rode a stout, champing ambitious bay cob, with tautly arched neck and a french soldier on each side holding the horse's bit. On the cob-and rather like it-with broad back, square shoulders, and a huge square chin-and with one hand in his waistcoat and the other loose at his side, sat, like a conquerer of old, General Franchet d'Esperey, the French commonder in chief from Salonica'

Bean then goes on to mention the Greek excitement at this procession as they were hoping that Constantinople would be returned to them.

'There was no doubt of their excitement. But I wondered whom it was that Franchet d'Esperey was trying to impress; there could hardly be a greater contrast than between his entry and Allenby's'

Bean also mentions that the French had one division in Turkey while the British contingent was made up of the 27th & 28th Division.