Late at night Hafiz Hasan came to let them know that Rashid
Bey was sick. When he heard the news Bekir Sami left the dinner table and went
back to the Military Office at once. Hafiz Hasan was Rashid’s brother- in- law.
He looked like a trustworthy person and he spoke well. He had a short beard and
a serious look.
“Rashid is sorry that he couldn’t come personally. He
apologizes,” Hasan explained.
“Has Rashid read former Minister of Navy Rauf’s letter?”
Bekir Sami inquired.
“Yes, he read the letter. Rashid, Tewfik, Ethem, all the
Emre village and surrounding areas are waiting for your orders, Sir. Whatever
the military needs, you can tell me, we will provide it. If you will be in the
area in the next couple of days, Rashid will visit you.”
“We have to leave soon. We are going to Balikesir tomorrow.
I talked to Gendarmerie Captain Abdullah and Governor Seyfeddin. We are going
to give you arms from the Military Depot. How many horsemen can you provide for
the beginning?”
“You have to talk to Rashid for that!”
“Yes, but you might have an idea…”
“Initially we can gather 250 men…”
“How long will it take for you to gather 250 horsemen?”
“We have to ask Rashid.”
“Well, he is not here. Tell me your estimate. How many days
will you take?”
“I don’t know, it is hard to tell.”
“That’s important though. We have to know! Time is of the
essence. Two days?”
“We can’t be certain. How about every day we provide 30-40
men and as they gather…”
“Yes! If they can’t be rounded up immediately then we have
to wait for them to join. We don’t have any other option under the
circumstances. We can’t wait for 250 men
to come here. We don’t have time to
lose. I have an idea. What about if we ask for the help of the armed militia
around Bandirma? Tell Rashid it would be better if we took the militia on our
side rather than leave them behind so we could be sure there is no danger
behind us.”
“Yes. That’s important.”
“I know what you are thinking. You are worried that the
militia won’t listen to the army orders and maybe they won’t trust Rashid. We
have to forget about past former disagreements. Let’s try to recruit as many
men as possible. The day after tomorrow at least 200 horsemen should reach
Balikesir. Would you tell him all this or do you want me to write a note for you?”
“I will tell him what you said.”
“I need 200 horsemen for the day after tomorrow. I don’t
want any excuses. Even if it is the last
day on earth I want them still to come. I am making my plans based on them.
Tell him the situation is very grave and every hour, every minute, is
important. Do you think you can go back tonight?
“Yes, of course.”
“Your horses must be tired.”
“I will change the horses.”
“Good.” Bekir Sami told Selahaddin to write an order to
Bandirma to give Rashid and his representatives all the arms and ammunition
that they need. Then he asked. “Is Farouk still trying Manisa?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“You take turns all night and keep trying. When you reach
them, wake me up.” Then he stood up and shook Hasan’s hand. “Thank you, Sir.
Give my regards to Rashid, Tewfik and Ethem. I will write to Istanbul about
this meeting. General Rauf will be so
happy. Have a safe trip home.”
Bekir Sami woke up before dawn; even though he went to bed
very late the night before. He learned that Captain Selahaddin and Lieutenant
Farouk tried to call Manisa all night. There was still no news. He decided to
go Manisa at once so he sent a man to the Train Station.
As the time passed he
felt sadness. He didn’t eat anything. There was no news from the train station
but he left for the station anyway. No one knew at the Station when the next
train was leaving; or when it would reach Balikesir. Bekir Sami went to the
Station Chief’s office. His eyebrows were knitted and he was angry. The Chief
was Italian. He understood that it was a serious situation. He ordered another
car to be attached to the Locomotive.
The 17th Army Deputy Commander was on his way to
Balikesir on May 23rd. He was going there to make contact with the
Army Base in Manisa. That car was carrying a Colonel, two Captains and one
Lieutenant. Not only that, in effect that railway car was carrying the 17th
Army!
The trains were still running on wood burning steam engines;
that’s why they could only reach Balikesir in the evening. The personnel were
local Greeks and they already put on Greek Uniforms. The Station was full of
Greek flags of different sizes. When the train came to a stop, a tall stout
black bearded man who was wearing a black colpack approached the window
excitedly, “Is Bekir Sami Bey in the train…Deputy Commander of 17th
Army Corps? I am a journalist. The newspaper is ‘Izmir’e Dogru’. My name is Haji Muhiddin. I have important news for
you!”
“Is that right? Were you able to connect to Manisa by
telegram?”
“My news is about Manisa”
“We are listening!”
Haji Muhiddin gave them the worst of the news: The Greeks
invaded Manisa two hours ago!
Colonel Bekir Sami Bey was picking at his moustache as he
was thinking. They weren’t able to connect with Manisa since yesterday. The
distance between Izmir and Manisa was about sixty kilometers and it meant a
three hour long train ride. “Did you hear about any battles around Izmir?”
“No, Colonel! There is neither any news of fighting nor any
news of Turks leaving the city.”
“How is the situation on the other Stations that we are
going to pass through?”
“What are you asking specifically?”
“I am asking about both the Turkish and Greek communities.
Is there any fights? We saw a lot of Greek Flags in all the Stations as we were
passing through, but we haven’t seen any fights between the communities.”
“It is the same here. The Turkish notables took refuge with
their Greek and Jewish friends. The others are just keeping silent.”
“Are there any preparations for resistance?”
“Not yet! Before they landed at Izmir we received a telegram
saying that this might happen soon and asking everyone from all corners of the
country to send protest telegrams. Upon hearing the news we have met at the
Library to discuss the matter. We have elected seven people to the board. The
Christians told us that they were not going to protest the invasion. So we
didn’t mention that we were going to be armed in case the enemy advances
inland. The next day we met at the Mosque for the Mawlid celebrations and we elected more members to the board. So we
have forty members now. Every one of those forty members promised to find at
least ten armed men. We hope to gather four hundred people for the next
meeting.”
“Then what happened?”
Haji Muhiddin’s eyes were downcast. “Not even four people
showed up! People are wary and the Government in Istanbul is discouraging
resistance. We only have twelve people with us from the original forty
members.”
“Didn’t they even try to gather people? What happened? Maybe
they tried but no one came.”
“There is some confusion.
Some say we have to gather people right away. Some say we need to wait
and see.”
“You shouldn’t have waited. Didn’t you know that the Greek
villages are armed?
“Yes, we heard that! Some are worried that if we gather
armed men here that would provoke the Greeks. We have sent three people to
Istanbul to let them know about the situation here and ask the Government what
to do.”
“Have they returned yet?”
“Yes, they have.”
“What did they say in Istanbul to them?”
“You know Istanbul better than me. They tried to avoid the representatives.
But the Minister of Interior Affairs Ali Kamal told them that even if the
Government sent orders to the people not to resist, still that shouldn’t be
obeyed. People will have to resist anyway. He said the Istanbul Government was
under pressure from the Occupied Forces. He said self defence is every nation’s
Holy right. If they ask then we should simply say that we were rebelling
against the Istanbul Government as well. On the other hand the Liberty Party
Officials are saying that we shouldn’t rebel. And the Government doesn’t want
resistance and they are saying that the Sultan doesn’t want conflict.”
“Do you know any trustworthy people in Manisa? Can you give
us their names?”
“Oh! It is dangerous for you to go to Manisa right now,
Sir!”
“What should we do then?”
“Stay in Akhisar. Don’t go any further. It seems Akhisar is
still safe for the time being. I just communicated with Halit Karaosmanoglu by
telegram.”
“Who is Halit?”
“He is a bashi-bozouk, he is the leader of irregular
soldiers and he is very brave. People listen to him. He won’t give up easily.
If you wish you can talk to him as well.”
“Who else can we talk to?”
“There is an Artillery Captain called Rasim at Akhisar.”
Bekir Sami looked at Jamil’s face as if to ask if he knew
the man. Jamil thought for a while squinting his eyes, “I can’t remember any
Rasim. Maybe I will remember him when I see him.”
“Yes…Who else?”
“I think Halit and Captain Rasim may help you find other
people.”
“Give me some information on the 18th Regiment
located here. They told me they only have 500 to 600 rifles.”
“I don’t think so, Sir! Not even that. I heard that most of
the soldiers fled. The ones who stayed are not so reliable either. They didn’t
have enough Officers to begin with. Some Officers with good connections in
Istanbul went there as soon as the Truce was declared.”
“Weapons?”
“Most of the weapons had been surrendered to the English and
French forces in Lapseki. I don’t think there are more that 4 machine guns and
two cannons.”
“Thank you, Muhiddin.
If I need to talk to you where can I find you?”
“Call the newspaper Izmir’e
Dogru whenever you need me. If I am not at the building there should be
another journalist on call.”
“All right then. We are continuing our trip now. Please keep
calling the base in Manisa and call Halit to tell him to meet us at Akhisar!”
Bekir Sami thought a while to make sure he didn’t forget
anything. “Do you know Rashid the Circassian? He is a former Captain and a
Unionist.”
“Yes I know him.”
“I talked to him before. He and his brother Ethem will send
some horsemen, units of thirty men. Tell your friends here to meet them on the
road and tell them to go to Akhisar to join us.”
“For sure. We will send out watchmen to wait for them right
away.”
Bekir Sami shook his hand. “I trust you Muhiddin. May God
protect you and our nation.” That was the farewell blessing that Suleiman Askeri used to say. Bekir
Sami’s generation used to say that. Haji Muhiddin was standing at attention and
saluting them. Jamil thought that was a trying period for everyone. The
soldiers turn to bashi bozouks and the bashi –bozouks turned to soldiers. “God
help us!”
Behind Haji Muhiddin there were Greek Flags with the huge
cross on them. When they left Balikesir they didn’t have any idea what tomorrow
would bring to them. The night fell. The locomotive was climbing uphill,
grumbling with fatigue. The sparks from the wood fire from the steam engine
were going in the wind. The passengers were even more depressed with the heat
and humidity inside the service car. No one had enough energy to talk; they
only had dark clouds ahead of them. They were hearing thunderstorms in the
distance. The lightning became more frequent as they approached their
destination. Lieutenant Farouk laid a napkin in front of the Commander and served
some cheese and cherries for dinner.
Bekir Sami was looking tired and spent, as if he was at a
funeral. His trousers needed ironing and his boots needed polishing. He had
shaved in the morning but still he didn’t look sharp. Enver Pasha insisted that
the Officers clothes had to be clean and repaired, even under fire after he had
rejuvenated the army by retiring old Generals. Bekir Sami didn’t have that look
anymore. He didn’t feel like eating after a couple of bites, he just drank some
water from his water bottle and retired for the night. Then he requested a
cigarette from Jamil and asked, “Don’t you have a rifle?”
“No sir! We couldn’t find a suitable one in Bandirma.”
“Yes. The first order
of business in Bandirma is to find rifles for each one of us. We need horses as
well.” He looked outside at the sparkles in the dark. “It looks like we are
turning into militia, Jamil.”
“We must do what we have to do!”
“Have you ever worked for The Special Organisation, TM?
“No.”
“I understand you have been together with Halil Pasha
recently. Have you visited him in Bekiraga Prison?”
“I haven’t visited him in Bekiraga; however I have been
receiving some news about him.”
“What is the accusation concerning him?”
“It is not clear yet. I think they accuse him of War Crimes.”
“It is nonsense. Can we help the prisoners in Bekiraga?”
Bekiraga Prison in Istanbul
“Yes, I think it is possible.” Jamil thought about adding
that help was on its way, because all the Officers at the Military Prison were
Unionists, but he decided against it. So he repeated, “Yes, I think it is
possible.”
“What for? They tried to get Dr.Rashid Bey out of prison but
to no avail.” He adjusted his astrakhan colpack with golden trim on the top as
if he was getting ready to inspect the troops. “Our generation had to deal with
a lot of difficulties. Have you met Governor Rashid?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“He was handsome. He was a smart Circassian man.” Bekir Sami
was about to say something. Then he noticed that the train had stopped so he
stayed silent. “Could you check to see if there are any foreign flags around
the Station?”
Jamil looked outside. He said, “Yes Sir, there are.”
“Please ask someone when we are going to reach Akhisar.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He asked a man approaching with a small lantern and came
back: “Sir! They don’t know for sure but it will take a couple of hours.”
“It will be midnight. We have lots of time. Is Farouk in the
Locomotive?”
“Yes.”
“He must be very hot in there. You and Selahaddin take turns
to give him a break. We don’t know what is waiting for us at Akhisar. He smiled
sadly. “It is very unfortunate that Manisa fell. That’s so sad. We shouldn’t
have wasted time in Bandirma. If the Army commander Ahmet Zeki couldn’t carry
the wedged cannons and machine guns inland; it is even worse.”
“I am sure they did carry them. They must not have waited
for the orders for that. If he didn’t save the weapons then we will find
something else. Don’t worry!”
Bekir Sami pulled his moustache and looked at Jamil’s face.
Then he turned to Selahaddin who jumped in the wagon. Selahaddin told them that
they were at Beyce, the one before Soma. They tried the conductor’s
telegram instrument but couldn’t reach Manisa. The Greek Station Master didn’t
know that Manisa had fallen. Maybe he didn’t want to tell them. The crossing
was closed so they had to wait for at least ten minutes.
“Why is it closed?”
“The workers wagon is passing, Sir.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I told them what will happen to them; if
they lied to us.”
“Good.”
Jamil went to the Locomotive to give Farouk a break. The
machinist was a foreigner so they thought they better keep an eye on him. The
Locomotive was ten times hotter than the other cars. It smelled of burned wood
and burned mechanical oils. The mechanic didn’t like to talk much and he wasn’t
friendly. After the workers wagon passed through the junction, they continued
their journey. They went through five stops and couldn’t hear any good news
from Manisa. Some confirmed the bad news; some looked at them as if they were
hearing about Manisa for the first time in their lives.
The temple of Artemis- Manisa
The Reluctant Warrior
by Kemal Tahir
Translated by Elif Mat
Salihli Train Station
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