It was getting late but the snow on top of Uludag was still shining with the little sun light that was left.
Jamil lit a cigarette. Ethem was complaining about the High Command, they were
not taking the Anzavour threat seriously. He wanted to discuss the matter with
Bekir Sami when he saw him. Ethem had an important letter to show to the
Commander, he would ask the Commander to read the letter then he would send it
to Ankara. Anzavour attacked Nationalist
Forces’ Commander Riza’s Batallion and Riza lost all of his ammunition. If
Anzavour indeed had killed any Officers, then the situation was indeed very
serious. That meant he had burnt all his bridges. It was suspicious that the second Anzavour
attack coincided with the occupation of Istanbul. There were rumours of another
Greek offensive being prepared. Jamil was wondering why the Colonel Bekir Sami
summoned him when the country was in a dangerous situation like this. This was
not the time to leave the fronts. He prayed for the best.
Bursa Uludag
The muddy road was stretching in the middle of the plains
like a river bed curving towards the blue hills ahead and disappearing between
them.
They didn’t see anyone who was walking on that road. No
horsemen, no horse drawn carriages. There was no one on the fields either. It
seemed the people deserted their land, took their animals and went to hide
behind the hills. The road side was deserted. The wind was carrying dark clouds
from the sea. Those clouds seemed like an enemy army coming towards them. They
felt suffocated.
Jamil all of a sudden felt like his horse was stepping on a
giant’s dead body. That giant was the Ottoman Empire. The naked body was
wounded from head to toe, laying on his back. The Pontus Greek gangs were in
Samsun; the Armenian Army in Caucasia; the British Army in Mosul, the French
were in Adana, the Italians were in Antalya and the Greeks were in Manisa. The
Giant’s dead body was being picked on by the beasts in every corner. There were
eagles with iron claws on its head.
Anzavour and his supporters were the worms on his gangrenous wounds. The
body still looked like it was in one piece but inside it was falling apart.
That’s why the people were deserting their towns. For most people, the death of
the giant was certain, but only a few were still hopeful. Nationalist were the
ones who were still looking for a pulse.
Jamil threw away his cigarette. He felt sick like he was
walking through a war zone in the middle of the desert, where the dead were not
yet buried. He touched Neriman’s letter
in his pocket. That was a habit for him now. Neriman had sent him a picture of
his son, Omer. Jamil thought; I was
happy when I received the news that I was a dad. What kind of future will my
son have? He felt a deep sadness because his son was only two months old and
Istanbul was occupied for the second time.
He kicked his horse angrily. Shaban smiled thinking Jamil
was picking up speed because he too wanted to get to Bursa before it got
late. They came to Bursa in time for
night prayers. There was no one in the streets. The rain was turning to snow.
The people were hiding in the houses and the city looked deserted.
They asked an old guard where the 56th Division
was. The guy looked at them for a long time. He appeared for some time to not
understand Turkish or to not want to answer. Then, reluctantly, he showed them the way.
As Jamil was talking to the guards at the entrance of the
army base, he saw Lieutenant Farouk coming down the stairs in a hurry.
“You are already here, Captain! I thought you would come
tomorrow!”
“Hello, Farouk! Here we are! Where is the Commander?”
“Sir, stay on your horse.
We have to go to the telegram office first!”
“ Why? Is Colonel Bekir Sami over there?”
“No! We have to talk to Captain Selahaddin first.”
“Is the Telegram
Office far away? The horses are tired.”
“That’s right. You can leave your horse here and we can
walk.”
Shaban saluted Farouk.
“Oh! Shaban! I didn’t
recognize you. Now you are a member of the gang”, Farouk teased him.
Jamil got off his horse and threw the blanket on the saddle.
He asked, “Where will the horses go?”
“There are staples in the back; Shaban will take care of
them. There is enough barley and hay. Shaban, carry the saddles and weapons to
my room upstairs; the guards will help you. Let’s go Captain! Selahaddin will
be very happy to see you…”
“What is all
this? Have you sent me a telegram
without the knowledge of the Commander?”Jamil wondered out loud.
“Yes. In fact,
Captain Selahaddin wanted to see you. The Commander doesn’t even know that you
were on your way. Things are really getting complicated around here. Have you
heard about Anzavour?”
“Yes, I heard about the attack on Riza’s Batallion.”
“Yes, he attacked Riza and this time it looks like he was
better prepared. We should have been more careful after Hamdi’s incident. Hamdi
was killed as you might have heard.”
“What is the situation here?”
“Whatever we tried, we were not successful in recruiting
soldiers. I don’t know if it was because of our own incompetence or there is
something wrong with the people of Bursa. We tried hard for months, but we
couldn’t even find three hundred men. Even when we recruited some soldiers,
half of them would flee at night. Not only would they flee, they would take
arms with them. The Defence Association also tried hard but they are not successful
as well. Most importantly, we don’t seem
to get along with the Division Commander Yusuf Izzed!”
“What is his problem? What does he want?”
“I don’t think he knows what he wants. He can’t choose
between Istanbul and Mustafa Kemal’s leadership. Yusuf Izzed resigned from his
post as Commander of the Army Corps on March 18th, because we didn’t
let him communicate with Istanbul.”
“Is that right? You really didn’t let him? Where is he now?
”
“He is Bandirma, but there are strict orders from Ankara
that without the permission of the Representatives Assembly no one is allowed
to communicate with Istanbul.”
“Well if he had resigned that means you got rid of him. What
else do you want?”
“No. We couldn’t exactly get rid of him. He received orders
from the War Ministry in Istanbul which were delivered to him by a British
torpedo ship on March 19th.”
Harbiye- War Ministry Istanbul
“Three days after the occupation of Istanbul the British
torpedo boat brought orders to the Commander of 14th Army Corps from
our War Ministry! What were the orders?”
“The British occupied Istanbul; raided the Parliament and
arrested some members. After hearing this Mustafa Kemal invited all the Members
of the Parliament to Ankara to join the National Assembly.”
“Then what happened?”
“The Commander of British Invasion Armies, Admiral
Galthorpe, who is responsible for the Black Sea region, didn’t like this and he
gave an ultimatum to the War Ministry. The War Minister sent an order to the
Commander: ‘The occupation of Istanbul is
legal under the Peace Agreement of Mudros. Some warlords in Anatolia are acting
against our national interests. You are the highest ranking Commander in the
Bursa region. As War Minister, I order you to make sure all the troops in
Anatolia obey only the orders of the Government in Istanbul.’”
“What was General Yusuf Izzed expected to do?”
“He was supposed to send telegrams to all the Commanders and
try to convince them.”
“What did he do?”
“He sent telegrams to the Commanders: ‘Today we received orders from Istanbul. I am dictating the orders of
the War Ministry which you should all obey. If you think you can’t for any
reason, you should find a replacement and resign from your post immediately.’
He didn’t mention the fact that the order was delivered to him by a British
torpedo boat.”
“What was Colonel Bekir Sami’s reaction to that?”
“He said, ‘I can’t
accept this order and I am not in a position to resign as I wish. You should
contact the Representative Committee and ask for direction as we had received
previous orders from the Representative Commitee saying, ‘The Commanders are
not allowed to leave their positions and delegate their duties under any
circumstances.’…That’s why General Ali Fuad refused to give up his post to
another Commander sent from Istanbul and told him to go back while he was on his
way.”
“That’s good news.”
The guard in front of the telegram office saluted them.
“Is Bekir Sami upstairs?”
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
“Here we go, Captain. Once we go upstairs you will see how
complicated the situation is! Yusuf Izzet Pasha is not the only one who is
taking orders from Istanbul.”
“Who else is?”
“The 12th Army Corps Commander Colonel Fahri is
on their side as well.”
“Oh! Why are they all behaving like that?”
Farouk opened a door when they went upstairs and let Jamil
go in. “Here is Jamil, Captain!”
Selahaddin and Jamil hugged each other. “You came so
quickly! We were expecting you tomorrow!”
“We took a shortcut. We forced our horses to cover the
distance quickly. So, what is going on?”
“Didn’t Farouk tell you?”
“He told me what happened. It is complicated. I don’t know
what to think.”
“Just as we were getting on out feet we encounter one
problem after another.Please, take a seat. We are waiting for news from Ankara,
from Mustafa Kemal. When was the last time I saw you? A year ago? You look the
same. Military life suits you.”
Captain Selahaddin looked the same as well. Jamil asked, “Do
you still suffer from malaria?”
“I am OK, now. What about Ethem, how is he doing? Is there
any news from the Greeks?”
Jamil looked at the telegram officer. Selahaddin nodded as
if to say it is safe to talk in front of him.
“I think the Greeks are preparing to attack us.”
“It is a good time to attack us. If they don’t attack us
now, it would be foolish on their part. We are not even able to communicate
with one another. If I ever catch that Anzavour! Why am I getting mad at that
imbecile when the War Minister is acting like a mad man?”
“Who is the Minister of War now?”Jamil inquired.
“They change so often. You are right to ask. It is General
Fevzi.”
“Which General Fevzi is that?”
Fevzi Cakmak
“He was a Captain in the Greco Turkish War of 1897.Eight
years after that, he was promoted to Colonel. He was the 35th
Division Commander in 1908 and was the Governor of Taslica at the same time. He
was the Commander of Vardar Army in 1912. He was promoted to General in 1914.
He was the Army Corps Commander in Chanakkale…And he was the 7th
Army Commander in Syria.”
“He is the Dervish Fevzi, from Kavak, isn’t he?”
“That’s right! You can imagine how famous he is after being
in all those places! Think about all the things that happened from 1897 to
1920. He only became the War Minister after our country was invaded. Admiral
Galthorpe will issue orders and he will pass the orders to us! That’s how the
War Minister will direct the Army and save the country! He tried to arrest
Mustafa Kemal at the Sivas Congress last year.”
“What do you mean?” Jamil asked.
“Don’t you know? He wanted to arrest Mustafa Kamal in Sivas.
He was supposed to take him to Istanbul under arrest. Good thing Generals Kazim
Karabekir and Ali Fuad stopped him. Otherwise, it would be a scandal. He is
calling us thugs and the head of the gang is Mustafa Kamal. What would you say
to that? He thinks the enemy was within their rights to kill our soldiers while
they were sleeping. He calls Rahmi a thug as well. Rahmi was so brave, he was
too proud to say that he didn’t have enough soldiers and he went to his death
knowingly. Yusuf Izzed also promoted
Anzavour to the rank of General…”
Kazim Karabekir
The Telegram Officer motioned him. “It is all clear, Sir. Go
ahead.”
Captain Selahaddin took a note out of his pocket and started
dictating the telegram, “I am Captain Selahaddin from the 56th Division, Sir”
“I am Mustafa Kamal. What is it?”
“I am reading the communication between The Army Corps
Commander General Yusuf Izzed and 12th Army Corps Commander Fahri in Konya:
1- Fahri: ‘I was
unable to communicate with the War Ministry in Istanbul. Since you are my
immediate superior who is appointed by his Majesty the Sultan, and you are the
highest ranking Army corps Commander, I am at your service as of now.’
2 - 4th Army Commander General Yusuf Izzed: ‘I was most impressed by your message. You
are a soldier who truly loves the military service and you are a very valuable
Commander. Are your troops loyal to you? Are they obeying your orders?”
3-Fahreddin: ‘23rd and 57th Divisions are fighting against
the Greeks on the orders of National Forces Commander Rafet. 41st Division and
Mounted Troops are on our side.”
4- Yusuf Izzed: ‘I
accept your desire to be under my command, on principal. You have to consider
carefully all our responsibilities for our country and the Government. Send a
cable to all the Division Commanders and explain the situation. Send me their
answers word by word. They have to give a specific answer.’
After that the Commanders sent encrypted cables. The
telegram Officer didn’t think that receiving those encrypted messages would do
any good but upon my insistence he was able to get the last part of the
communication. Yusuf Izzed, in his final messages, mentioned the International
Truce Agreement had been signed and he thought Istanbul’s invasion was an
acceptable term of that agreement. That way of thinking is for the good of the
country. So he is saying that he gave his orders to the Army Corps with that
view in mind.’
Mustafa Kemal:
“Thank you. Tell me about 56th Division. Do you
still need more men?”
Captain Selahaddin answered, “We still need more soldiers
for our Division. It is very hard to convince men to fight. There are a lot of
people who are discouraging the National Forces. Even if we recruit some
soldiers they don’t last long. They
desert the army the first chance that they get. The Officers are not reliable
either. Some of the Officers have already joined the other side. Some imams are
going to all the villages and discouraging people from joining the National
Forces. They are accusing us of being Unionists.”
Mustafa Kemal asked; “Tell me about Bursa. What is the
atmosphere in the city?”
Selahaddin answered, “People are hiding from the Recruitment
Officers. The feeling is against the Army. Even the men we trusted before don’t
want to take part in the action. The Rights Association doesn’t have any
supporters here.”
“Don’t be discouraged. We are recruiting soldiers easily in
the Ankara region. We have already secured the railway tracks. All of the 24th
Regiment is going to Eskisehir by railway. Pretty soon our troops will reach
Bursa. Everything will be all right…”
Jamil finished reading the paper and fold it. He was
listening to the encrypted communication that Selahaddin was dictating the
telegram officer. They knew that the enemy was preparing for an attack. The
three commanders who were going to defend the region were Demirji, Mehmet and
Yoruk Ali. All of them were warlords. Demirji had robbed the Bank while the
Greeks were killing innocent civilians in Nazilli. Yoruk Ali was a former
soldier in Izmir and he deserted when he learned that his troops were being
sent to Caucasia. Ethem, as we already
know, kidnapped the son of Governor of Izmir for ransom.
Nazilli region
Jamil lit a cigarette. He thought how difficult all of this must be for the Commanders in Ankara.
Another message came:
“To Captain Selahaddin: “Don’t leave until the message is
decrypted!”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Has Captain Jamil arrived yet?”
“Yes, Sir! He is with me now.”
“Oh! Is that right? Tell him to talk to me.”
Jamil came closer to the instrument. “Yes Sir, this is Jamil
speaking.”
Mustafa Kemal asked; “Jamil, is there anything new in the
Salihli Front?”
“There was nothing new when I left, Sir. The Greek Army is
busy preparing for an attack. We have already dug out the trenches and our men
are attacking the enemy occasionally. We need barb wire.”
“How is the morale?”
“It is getting better. We have more discipline now. After
the congress in Balikesir and Alasehir the troops are encouraged. The Rights
Association is working hard. The troops are self sufficient now. We don’t need
much help from the villagers anymore.”
“How is the 61st Division in Balikesir region doing?”
Balikesir region
“I heard they are doing fine. I haven’t passed through
Balikesir. Ethem thinks the Anzavour situation is very dangerous. We can’t
trust the people in the Adapazari region. There is an ex army officer who was
dishonourably discharged from the military.
Molla gave him money to discourage people from joining our forces. Ethem
knows this man. We understand that he is in Bandirma now. Ethem also doesn’t
trust Demirji.”
Mustafa Kemal inquired, “What is the reason of his
distrust?”
“Demirji warned
Ethem: ‘The Government is using us now,
when things change in their favour they will kill both of us’…Demirji also
has a friend called Hafiz. We think he works for the Italians. We don’t
understand why Demirji trusts him. He is usually very careful. Hafiz came from
Antalya and we suspect he sends reports to the Italian Commander. Sir, did you
hear about the secret codes of the Circassians?
“What codes?”
“The Circassians are talking about some secret codes they
are planning to use in case they get into trouble with the Turks.”
“I know about that. It is a fake code.”
“Ethem is hiding the real code, Sir! He showed the Commander
a fake code. I don’t trust him. I want to say something, Sir. After the death of Hamdi, Ethem is really
worried about Anzavour, he is more on alert. He doesn’t get worried about the
Greeks as much. I also suspect Ethem is communicating with his men in Istanbul
secretly.”
“Did you learn anything about Hamdi? Why couldn’t he
persuade the people to join us?”
“Like Riza, Hamdi was known to be a very tough and violent
man. People are scared of them. They tried to recruit men but it didn’t work.
He tried to collect money from the rich but he asked too much.”
“How much were they able to collect?”
“They collected 140 thousand in Biga alone. He sent the
recruits back home after a couple of days of training. When the rich refused to
pay anymore; Hamdi and Riza started to threaten them. In the meantime Anzavour
was getting ready for his attack, Hamdi got defeated in the first attack. Riza
said that Hamdi brought a cannon in front of the depot and fired a couple of
shots, however his men fled. After that the Artillery men also ran away. Hamdi
went to a Pomac village to hide that night but the villagers recognized him and
he got killed. Anzavour was also
successful against Riza’s gang and they had killed a Lieutenant from Bagdad on
the battle. Ethem was able to confiscate a letter that had been written by
Anzavour. He will send it to you after showing the letter to Bekir Sami. “
Mustafa Kemal asked, “Jamil, do you have the letter with
you?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Summarize that for me now, then you can send the original
later.”
Jamil took out the letter and put it on the desk.
Biga Canakkale
“This letter is written to Kara Hasan, a warlord around Biga
region. Anzavour says the most important thing is law and order in a country.
He is saying that the Circassians are not attending the Friday Prayers. He
tells Kara Hasan that they should be on the Sultan’s side and support the
Muhammediye Party. He warns people against the Unionists and the Nationalists.
He says the Unionists caused all these wars and so on. This was the letter,
Sir. We learned that Anzavour is paying 150 Lira to his soldiers. The money is
coming from Istanbul.”
“Thank you, Jamil. Now I want you to write down a coded
message.” The message was short. Jamil gave it to Lieutenant Farouk, “Please
read this…It is not urgent.”
Jamil asked Mustafa Kemal if he had any other orders. There
was another question from Mustafa Kemal, “Did you hear from Rahmi’s 174
Division? Yusuf Izzed had sent them to fight against Anzavour.”
Selahaddin answered this question, “No Sir, we don’t have
any news.”
“How are you going to communicate with the troops?”
“Sir, our men are on duty in the telegram office 24 hours a
day.”
“Do you have secret codes?”
“We have the Regiment’s code, Sir. We will use that.”
“In case Rahmi needs additional support, can you send some
of your men?”
“Sir, I don’t think we can send soldiers to Bursa.”
“Is 172nd Division still in Kirmasti?”
“That Division has a lot of difficulty in terms of defense.
I think they should keep their location.”
“We need a militia unit of 80 men.”
“It looks impossible to send anyone to Bursa right now,
Sir.”
The communication stopped for a while. Then, “Captain
Jamil?”
“Yes Sir! I am still here.”
“First message is personal. After reading it you can decide
whether or not to send it to the Commander. Second message is for Bekir Sami,
he should send this telegram to Fahri, the Commander of the 10th
Army Corps.”
Bursa CityMuseum
They smoked as they were waiting for the messages to be
decrypted. Lieutenant Farouk gave the short message to Jamil. After reading it
Jamil smiled and passed it to Selahaddin. “General
Ali Fuad will come to Bursa, he will personally thank you and your team on
behalf of all of us. If we ever need to talk to you again I will ask you your
name. You will say, ‘DEMIR’. If for any reason you can’t talk to me, then
Selahaddin should contact me. I will ask his name, he will say ‘GOK’. ”
Lieutenant Farouk ripped the message off and Jamil burned the papers in the
ashtray.
Selahaddin asked Jamil, “Do Ethem and Demirji not like the
Army Officers?”
“No, they don’t like the military. They are all deserters.
We can’t really trust them.” He listened to the tapings of the telegram, and
then continued; “The people consider some of the gang members as heroes around
here. That means they don’t care about the kidnappings and plundering. What did
Ethem do in Bandirma?”
“He didn’t know what to do at first. It was a tough attack.
Our troops bombed the enemy at daybreak. The Greeks didn’t know how many men we
had, so they panicked and ran away. They didn’t even think about fighting back.
But once they realized we had circled them, they had no choice but to defend
themselves. The Greek soldiers were tough like ours, they were good at defence.
Ethem’s men looked handsome with their silver embroidered knives. But after a
while they too became tired. They started to complain about the lack of
ammunition and water. Some got wounded. Lieutenant Shevki teased them. He said
the Circassians were not as good as they used to be. Shevki used the machine
guns. While the irregulars were complaining, eighty soldiers were fighting. The
irregulars suggested that we retreated. We refused and said that we had already
won the battle. But they fight well as a gang. They have their own methods
which are completely different from what we have learned in the Academy. We
think they are doing wrong and we are certain they will lose the battle but
they win. They have experience, different experiences then the regular army.”
“Does Ethem talk in a similar way as Halit?”Selahaddin
asked.
“No! Halit was a
courageous man, but there was nothing he could do. At the end he understood
that he wouldn’t be able to run away. He went back to his ranch, fought and
died like a hero. After killing him, his enemies showed his dead body to the
people in Akhisar. Later some witnesses came to inform me. They said he looked
handsome and defiant even after his death.”
Jamil smiled after he said that. Lieutenant Farouk thought
that Jamil had a defiant look as well. Selahaddin asked Jamil to make a
comparison between Demirji and Ethem”
“Demirji is more merciless,” Jamil observed. “It is funny to
think of Ethem as less violent than others. One day we went to Alasehir
unexpectedly. Ethem didn’t say why we were going there. It turned out he had
some unfinished business with Mustafa, the Area Commander of the National
Forces. I was talking to the District
Governor when I heard a commotion. We quickly jumped to our feet. There was
gunfire as if two regiments were using machine guns. So much noise. You know
how the gang members use a lot of ammunition whether it is necessary or
not...Just for the heck of it. We asked them what was going on. Someone came
running and reported that Ethem’s Forces were fighting with Mustafa’s
Batallion. I went there immediately. When I reached the Army Base, Mustafa’s
troops were already retreating. The District Governor came to the base soon
after me. When asked, they didn’t want to tell us what the reason for the fight
was. It was because Mustafa didn’t want to obey Ethem’s orders. He had to obey
since Ethem Bey was the Commander of the Front. Mustafa’s troops confiscated
seven boxes of ammunition down at the Train Station which belong to Ethem.
That’s why they fought. Ethem hoped to intimidate him. Actually, both sides
were suspicious of each other from the beginning. They were waiting for
something to happen. Luckily no one got
hurt even though several shots were fired but it wasn’t enough for Ethem.”
“What did he do?”
“He said he wanted to hang a couple of people.”
“Who did he want to have executed?”
“It didn’t matter to him. He just wanted to hang a couple of
men from Alasehir. The District Governor begged him to stop this nonsense. Then
he agreed to give him three inmates from the local prison. They deserved to be
hanged anyway. The criminals had kidnapped a Greek girl a couple of months ago
and violated her. Because of that incident a Greek Gang attacked the town
earlier; they were almost going to burn the whole town. So Ethem got his way,
and those three criminals were executed. He wanted more but I was able to stop
him.”
“Does he have his own hangman?”
“Of course he has. He told me it was a necessity to have a
good executioner. Then he found a gypsy for the job; Sergeant Ibrahim.”
“Is he any good?”
“Yes, no one can do a better job. He is also very willing.
Even if he is sick, when he hears there is someone to be executed he comes
right away.”
Selahaddin asked Jamil: “How have you survived among people
like that?”
“They respect the Army Officers. They have a lot of respect
for Rauf as well. Ethem‘s brothers Rashid and Tewfik know me from Macedonia.
They think I am a good shot and they like watching me when I take my gun out
quickly and shoot something.”
“Do they hold shooting competitions?”
“No, not really but I just thought it was better to show
them a few shots to intimidate them. However, that’s not important because the
gangs never fight fairly. They backstab people if they think it is necessary.
Still I prefer Circassians to the Demirji’s gang. The Circassians are
respectful….The other’s have no manners. They are like animals…Demirji talks
disrespectfully even with the Colonel.
He invites the Officers to the Zeybek dance…They offer cigarettes to the
Officers and then when the Officer puts a cigarette in his mouth they shoot the
cigarette in half. That’s their idea of fun. When we went to see Demirji with
Ethem Bey; Demirji stared at me in an unfriendly way. His eyes were as cold as
a snake’s eyes. His face was colourless as if he was suffering from
tuberculoses. After staring at me, he smiled and ordered Hafiz to bring a fancy
box lined with a pink silk cloth. There was a Browning gun in it. He offered
that to me respectfully. He said; “Jamil, this is a gift from all of us to you,
since you are such a good marksman. Use it for a good cause.” I accepted the
gift and thanked him. There was the letters M.D. inscripted on the gun. The
inscription was made of gold and it also had the coat of arms of an Italian
Prince.”
Eskisehir
Jamil asked Selahaddin whether he had seen Captain Fahri
recently at Esme.
“No I haven’t seen him. Why are you asking?”
“He was ordered to join the Demirji Efe’s Troops. He wasn’t
impressed with them. He told me they were worse than the horse thieves. I saw
him when the Greeks were retreating from Nazilli. He said Efe’s men were
looting all the houses and loading the goods on their animals. When Fahri
attempted to interfere Demirji Efe’s men had to threaten him. They said they
didn’t want to leave the goods to the enemy. Fahri wrote a report to Shefik
Husnu, the Commander of the 57th Regiment. When Demirji Efe learned about this, their
relationship turned sour.”
“Did Fahri and Demirji get into a fight?” Selahaddin
inquired.
“No, it is worse than that! Fahri’s troops were supposed to
bomb the railway tracks. First, it went well, as planned; the dynamite exploded
at the correct time and the locomotive was derailed. The train was going slowly
so the cars were undamaged. The soldiers got off the train and immediately
fired back. Fahri’s troops didn’t expect that and they ran away. Their
commander, the Efe who planned the attack, deserted his troops and went hiding
in the dark. Later, when everyone gathered they noticed that the Commander and
some of his men were missing. They found Efe’s dead body two days later. He had
two gunshots on his back. One person said he saw Fahri going the same direction
as the Efe so they blamed him for shooting the Efe in the back. After that
Demirji’s men put Fahri in prison. Shefik tried saving him but he couldn’t.”
Selahaddin was surprised by all this. He asked, “How come
they blamed him just because of one witness seeing him going the same direction
as Efe?”
“I talked to a doctor who saw what happened. One afternoon
they took Fahri out of prison. In fact, the stables were the prison where they
kept him. He was in terrible condition since they were beating him every day.
He was starving and he didn’t get enough sleep. The men took Fahri to a hill.
As he was going up the hill the men were poking him with their gun barrels.
Then they started to fire.”
“Is that right? That’s terrible!”
“Fahri covered his face with his hands and he fell on his
head. Fahri, our friend…”
Selahaddin said, “Bastards!”
While Selahaddin and Jamil were talking, the telegram
machine was working nonstop. The clerk was so busy he didn’t even hear the
conversation.
Selahaddin shook his head. “We have to get rid of these
useless gangs. As soon as we can.”
Farouk was saddened
with this news. He pulled the basket full of code numbers in front of him to
occupy himself with something. He said, “Captain, can I start decoding?”
“Yes, sure, go ahead.”
Farouk went to another table to work. Selahaddin approached
Jamil and asked in a low voice: “Did you have any trouble with the
Circassians?”
“No.”
“Were they disrespectful? Did they say something nasty to
you?”
“No, but one day I went to rest. I have to say Ethem is a
very polite man. He comes from a wealthy family. He is a little spoiled. He and
his older brothers fight constantly over minor things. Actually, both Demirji
and Ethem always worry about the same thing; ‘The moment the Ottomans get out of trouble they will get rid of us.’
This really is a sad thing to say but it is true. When things get back to
normal after the war what will the Government do? For sure they will have to
deal with the gangs as a first order of the business. And the Gang members know
this. They know that there is no way out for them. They know they will die,
that’s why they are merciless. They are like wild animals.”
Farouk gave them the cable. The two Captains read together:
“The Commanders are forbidden to go to
Istanbul and forbidden to talk to the Istanbul Government Officials. Because
they know our defence plans. Any contact
with Istanbul should be prevented.”
Jamil and Selahaddin looked at each other and then bowed
their heads. Selahaddin ripped the paper and asked, “You were saying?”
“Yes, I was resting one afternoon and I was awakened by a
noise. I look out of the window. I saw people gathered around the tree which was
in the middle of the yard. Someone was shouting at the top of his lungs. They
had tied his hands with a rope and stretched his arms to the tree with the same
rope. He was shirtless and they were whipping him. I went there immediately.
Ethem’s older brother Tewfik was whipping the man. He was merciless. The people
let me go through and I asked them, ‘What
is his crime?’ Tewfik stopped and looked at me. I don’t remember what they
told me but it was some unimportant matter. It might be drinking, gambling or visiting
a prostitute…something like that. I said to Tewfik, ‘don’t beat him up anymore. It is enough!’ He said; ‘No, it is not enough Jamil, you don’t know
these people’. I lost my temper and
asked him, ‘How come I don’t know them?’
As I was talking to him I noticed the tone of my voice was bad. He said, ‘Jamil, you don’t know them because they are worthless
slaves.’”
The telegram Officer put his hand up to get Jamil’s
attention. He said to him: “It is Mustafa Kemal, he is asking for you.”
Jamil approached and answered; “Yes, Sir, Jamil speaking.”
Ali Fuat Cebesoy
“Jamil, make sure Bekir Sami sees the cable that General Ali
Fuad had sent to Fahri. Be careful! If something important happens, contact
me!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Mustafa Kemal ordered: “You should support the 174th Regiment
with all your power. I am expecting good news from Colonel Rahmi. Make sure he
is safe!”
“We will do everything in our power, Sir!”
“Jamil, Bursa is very important for us.”
“We won’t let anyone claim Bursa, Sir!”
“All the best. I wish good luck to all of you.”
“Thank you, Sir!”
Jamil took the papers full of coded numbers and thanked the
clerk. “You worked hard today. You did a good job. Thank you.”
Selahaddin was tired. He asked. “So, what happened with
Tewfik? What did you do when he called the guy a worthless slave?”
“I told him that was enough. I wasn’t a slave like the guy
he was beating.”
“You had your hand on your gun as you were talking to him?”
“Yes.”
“So he dropped his whip and came to talk to you in a
friendly way…”
“Yes.”
Jamil smiled.
Bursa Yesil Turbe at the distance
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