Battle of Urfa
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Urfa was an uprising in the spring of 1920 against the French
army occupying the city of Urfa (modern Şanlıurfa) by the Turkish National Forces. The French garrison of Urfa held out for two months until it sued for negotiations with the Turks for safe conduct out of the city. The Turks reneged on their promises, however, and the French unit was massacred in an ambush staged by the Turkish Nationalists during its retreat from Urfa.
into the French Mandate of Syria
. The designs of the French over the region of Cilicia
were denounced by Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the leader of the newly formed Turkish National Movement
. In the later part of 1919 Kemal and his supporters began to prepare to launch major insurrections against the thinly spread French units garrisoned in Marash, Aintab and Urfa to force the French to give up their territorial pretensions in the region. In January 1920, Ali Saip Bey, the deputy from Urfa to the Turkish National Congress, called on the Kurdish tribes of Urfa to close ranks against the French and resist. His actions were coordinated with Kılıç Ali Bey (Kuluj Ali), a Kurdish army captain.
s, and Armenians
, put up a stiff resistance against thousands of Turkish and Kurdish Nationalists for sixty-one days. On April 7, with supplies of ammunition and food almost depleted, Major Hauger, commander of the beleaguered detachment, asked the Turkish Nationalists that his men be provided with safe conduct and that the Christian population to remain unharmed in exchange for the garrison's evacuation from the city.
Ali Bey accepted Hauger's request and met him at a bridge near the American Mission hospital. In the presence of Major Hauger's subordinate, Captain Sajous, and the Armenian physician Dr. Bechlian, the two commanders discussed terms and agreed that the French would be able to leave with their arms. Ali Bey assured Hauger that the French would be provided with security as far as Arab Punar. Hauger also requested that Ali Bey give ten Turkish notables to accompany his men as hostages, but Ali Bey rejected this and gave him ten of his gendarmes instead. At an hour past midnight, the remaining 300 troops under Hauger's command began their withdrawal from Urfa.
At a little before dawn, as the column approached a defile
called Ferish Pasha Ravine, it was fusillade
d by Kurds who had taken up positions on the ridges overlooking the ravine. The soldiers that Ali Bey had given to Hauger professed their ignorance of the ambush. Hauger attempted in vain to organize a surrender. Some of the French soldiers were able to break through the encirclement but most of them were captured or slain. Hauger himself was killed. Only a handful of the original 473 men and officers of the Urfa garrison were able to reach safety at Arab Punar. Ali Bey later justified the slaughter by claiming that the French force was engaged only after it had attacked neighboring Turkish villages.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
army occupying the city of Urfa (modern Şanlıurfa) by the Turkish National Forces. The French garrison of Urfa held out for two months until it sued for negotiations with the Turks for safe conduct out of the city. The Turks reneged on their promises, however, and the French unit was massacred in an ambush staged by the Turkish Nationalists during its retreat from Urfa.
Background
The city of Urfa was occupied by the French army in the autumn of 1919 with the aim of incorporating this portion of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman 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...
into the French Mandate of Syria
French Mandate of Syria
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
. The designs of the French over the region of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
were denounced by Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the leader of the newly formed Turkish National Movement
Turkish National Movement
The Turkish National Movement encompasses the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries which resulted in the creation and shaping of the Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I....
. In the later part of 1919 Kemal and his supporters began to prepare to launch major insurrections against the thinly spread French units garrisoned in Marash, Aintab and Urfa to force the French to give up their territorial pretensions in the region. In January 1920, Ali Saip Bey, the deputy from Urfa to the Turkish National Congress, called on the Kurdish tribes of Urfa to close ranks against the French and resist. His actions were coordinated with Kılıç Ali Bey (Kuluj Ali), a Kurdish army captain.
Battle
On February 7, 1920 Ali Saip Bey issued a demand that French forces evacuate Urfa in 24 hours. When the French refused this ultimatum, the Turkish forces rose up on February 9 and placed the French garrison under siege. The insurrection of Urfa was launched at the very moment the Turkish National forces were facing imminent defeat in Marash. The garrison, made up of 473 Frenchmen, Senegalese, AlgerianAlgerian
Algerian may refer to:* Something of, or related to Algeria* A person or people from Algeria, or of Algerian descent. For information about the Algerian people, see Demographics of Algeria and Culture of Algeria. For specific Algerians, see List of Algerians....
s, and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, put up a stiff resistance against thousands of Turkish and Kurdish Nationalists for sixty-one days. On April 7, with supplies of ammunition and food almost depleted, Major Hauger, commander of the beleaguered detachment, asked the Turkish Nationalists that his men be provided with safe conduct and that the Christian population to remain unharmed in exchange for the garrison's evacuation from the city.
Ali Bey accepted Hauger's request and met him at a bridge near the American Mission hospital. In the presence of Major Hauger's subordinate, Captain Sajous, and the Armenian physician Dr. Bechlian, the two commanders discussed terms and agreed that the French would be able to leave with their arms. Ali Bey assured Hauger that the French would be provided with security as far as Arab Punar. Hauger also requested that Ali Bey give ten Turkish notables to accompany his men as hostages, but Ali Bey rejected this and gave him ten of his gendarmes instead. At an hour past midnight, the remaining 300 troops under Hauger's command began their withdrawal from Urfa.
At a little before dawn, as the column approached a defile
Defile
Defile has several meanings:*Wiktionary:defile for dictionary definitions.*defile is a geographic term for a narrow pass or gorge between mountains. It has its origins as a military description of a pass through which troops can march only in a narrow column or with a narrow front....
called Ferish Pasha Ravine, it was fusillade
Fusillade
A fusillade is the simultaneous and continuous firing of a group of firearms on command. It stems from the French word fusil, meaning firearm, and fusiller meaning to shoot....
d by Kurds who had taken up positions on the ridges overlooking the ravine. The soldiers that Ali Bey had given to Hauger professed their ignorance of the ambush. Hauger attempted in vain to organize a surrender. Some of the French soldiers were able to break through the encirclement but most of them were captured or slain. Hauger himself was killed. Only a handful of the original 473 men and officers of the Urfa garrison were able to reach safety at Arab Punar. Ali Bey later justified the slaughter by claiming that the French force was engaged only after it had attacked neighboring Turkish villages.
Further reading
Du Véou, Paul. La passion de la Cilicie, 1919-1922. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1938.- Kerr, Stanley EStanley KerrStanley Elphinstone Kerr was an American humanitarian, clinical biochemist and educator. He was the father of Malcolm Kerr, former president of the American University of Beirut and the grandfather of NBA player Steve Kerr....
. The Lions of Marash: Personal Experiences with American Near East Relief, 1919-1922. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1973