Battle of Afyonkarahisar-Eskisehir
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Afyonkarahisar–Eskişehir was fought between June 27 and July 10, 1921 when the Greek army defeated the Turkish troops commanded by İsmet Pasha
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...

 in defence of the line of Kara Hisâr-ı Sahib (present day Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along the Akarçay River. Elevation...

)-Kütahya
Kütahya
Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...

-Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...

. It was also known in some Greek historiography as the Battle of Dorylaion and known in Turkish historiography as the Battle of Kütahya-Eskişehir ( or ). It was part of the Greek Asia Minor Campaign and 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...

 of 1919–1922.

This was the largest. confrontation between the two sides in terms of numbers of armed forces during the whole war, as the Greeks threw in the battle nine of their divisions against an unknown, but similar number of Turks. Strategically though, the battle was of little importance as the Greeks failed to grasp the opportunity to encircle the retreating Turkish troops. This proved later to be a major strategic error, when the two sides had to meet each other again during the much more fierce Battle of Sakarya
Battle of Sakarya
The Battle of Sakarya , also known as the Battle of the Sangarios , was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War and Turkish War of Independence....

 which turned the tide in favour of the Turks.

Outcome

The Greek Army managed to break through Turkish resistance and occupied the towns of Kara Hisâr-ı Sahib, Kütahya and Eskişehir, together with their inter-connecting rail-lines.

The Turks despite their defeat managed to avoid encirclement and made a strategic retreat on the east of Sakarya river. On August 5, 1921 İsmet Pasha
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...

 was replaced by Birinci Ferik
Birinci Ferik
Birinci Ferik or Ferik-i evvel was a military rank of the Ottoman Army. It is translated as Lieutenant General or General . The title means "first Ferik" and was superior to a Ferik and junior only to the Müşir .The title of Birinci Ferik was abolished with Act No...

 Fevzi Pasha
Fevzi Çakmak
Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak was a Turkish soldier , politician. Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire, National Defence Minister, Prime minister of Ankara government, the second Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Grand National Assembly and the first Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of...

 as the Minister of the General Staff (Erkân-ı Harbiye-i Umumiye Reis Vekili) of the Ankara government after his failure to check the Greek offensive.

This was the major decision point that sealed the Greek destiny in Anatolia. The state and Army leadership, including King Constantine
Constantine I of Greece
Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece won Thessaloniki and doubled in...

, Prime Minister Dimitrios Gounaris
Dimitrios Gounaris
Dimitrios Gounaris was the Prime Minister of Greece from March 10, 1915 to August 23, 1915 and April 8, 1921 to May 16, 1922...

, and General Anastasios Papoulas
Anastasios Papoulas
Anastasios Papoulas was a Greek general and commander-in-chief during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922.- Life :Born in Missolonghi in 1859, Anastasios Papoulas entered politics in his early twenties eventually becoming a close friend and confidant of King Constantine. He was appointed commander...

, met at Kütahya where they debated the future of the campaign. The Greeks with rejuvenated their faltering morale failed to appraise rationally the strategic situation that favoured the defending side; instead, in the overall climate of enthusiasm, the leadership was polarised into the risky decision to pursue an engagement with the Turks on their last line of defence, close to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

. Only few voices supported a defensive stance, but they were not heard.

After a delay of almost a month, that gave adequate time to the Turks to organise their defences, 7 of the Greek divisions crossed east of Sakarya River
Battle of Sakarya
The Battle of Sakarya , also known as the Battle of the Sangarios , was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War and Turkish War of Independence....

.
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