Battle of the Gediz
| Battle of Gediz | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) | |||||||
 Greek soldiers charging against Turks in Gediz river | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Greece | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Konstantinos Manetas[1] |
Ali Fuat Pasha Çerkes Ethem | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 13th Infantry Division[2] |
61st Division 11th Division Kuva-yi Seyyare[2] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Initially 1 Division[3] (12,000–15,000 men) | 8,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 165 killed & wounded |
181 killed 135 wounded[4] | ||||||
The Battle of the Gediz was fought between the Turkish Kuva-yi Milliye forces and the Greek forces near the Gediz River in the city of Gediz. The Turkish forces attacked Gediz in order to find out if a force composed mainly of irregular forces could compete with the Greek army in a larger battle. The battle also showed that the irregular forces lacked discipline and experience; they had little chance in open field battles against the Greeks. The experiences gained in this battle led the Turkish provisional Government of the Grand National Assembly to the conclusion that it would be necessary hence forward to establish and fight with a regular army against the Greek army instead of irregular forces.
References
[edit]- ^ "Ιστορια Των Ελληνικων Ενοπλων Δυναμεων".
- ^ a b Ayfer Özçelik :Gediz Taarruzu, Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi (Number 21, Volume: VII, July 1991) (in Turkish)
- ^ Uluğ İğdemir: Atatürk, Turkish National Commission for Unesco, 1963, page 79.
- ^ Sabahattin Selek: Anadolu ihtilâli (Volume 1), Kastaş 1912-1922 Türk savaşları belgeseli , Kastaş A.Ş. Yayınları, 1987, page 114. (in Turkish)