The Armistice of Moudros , concluded on 30 October 1918, ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre

Middle Eastern theatre of World War I

The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I was the scene of action between 29 October 1914, and 30 October 1918. The combatants were the Ottoman Empire, with some assistance from the other Central Powers, and primarily the British and the Russians among the Allies of World War I...

 between the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and the Allies of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. It was signed by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey

Rauf Orbay

Hüseyin Rauf Orbay was a Turkish naval officer and statesman, born in Istanbul.As an officer in the Ottoman Navy, he achieved fame for his actions as the captain of the cruiser Hamidiye during the First Balkan War...

 and the British Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe

Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe GCB, GCMG, CVO , sometimes known as Sir Somerset Calthorpe, was a British Royal Navy admiral and a member of the Gough-Calthorpe family.-Naval career:...

, on board HMS Agamemnon

HMS Agamemnon (1906)

HMS Agamemnon was one of two pre-dreadnought battleships launched in 1906 and completed in 1908. She was the Royal Navy's second-to-last pre-dreadnought battleship to be built, followed by her sister ship, . She was assigned to the Channel Fleet when World War I began in 1914...

 in Moudros

Moudros

Moudros is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eastern peninsula of the island, with a land area of 185.127 km²,...

 harbor on the Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 island of Lemnos

Lemnos

Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...

.

As part of several conditions to the armistice, the Ottomans surrendered their remaining garrisons outside Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

, as well as granted the Allies the right to occupy forts controlling the Straits of the Dardanelles

Dardanelles

The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

 and the Bosporus

Bosporus

The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...

; and the right to occupy "in case of disorder" any Ottoman territory in case of a threat to security. The Ottoman army was demobilized, and all ports, railways, and other strategic points were made available for use by the Allies. In the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, the Ottomans had to retreat to within the pre-war borders between the Ottoman and the Russian Empires.

The armistice was followed with occupation of Constantinople and subsequent partitioning of the Ottoman Empire

Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire

The Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples formerly ruled by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new nations.The partitioning was planned from the early days of the war,...

. The Treaty of Sèvres

Treaty of Sèvres

The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...

 (10 August 1920) followed the armistice, but this treaty was not enacted due to the outbreak of the Turkish War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

.

Literature

• Laura M. Adkisson Great Britain and the Kemalist Movement for Turkish Independence, 1919-1923, Michigan 1958
• Paul C. Helmreich From Paris to Sèvres. The Partition of the Ottoman Empire at the Peace Conference of 1919-1920, Ohio 1974, S. 3-5, der gesamte Vereinbarungstext befindet sich auf S. 341f.
• Patrick Balfour Kinross Atatürk : a biography of Mustafa Kemal, father of modern Turkey, New York 1965
• Sir Frederick B. Maurice The Armistices of 1918, London 1943
• The text of the Armistice of Mudros, Türk Tarih Kurumu