Parabellum

Jamil went to Selahaddin’s room. He removed his gun from his belt.

“What are you doing, Jamil?”

“I am adjusting my belt.”

“Oh, what do you have there? Let me see that!” When Selahaddin saw the big Parabellum, he whistled, “Wow, it is a Parabellum. As big as a mountain cannon! Very nice. What are you doing?”

“I am thrusting the gun into my belt. Why are you surprised?”

“A gun like that should not be hidden under your jacket.”

“What should I do? Look at my attire.”

“Your attire is just fine. Half officer, half bashi-bozouk; the perfect uniform for these days! Don’t you have a bandolier?”

“No.”

“Wait a minute.”

Selahaddin went out. Then he came back with a used Bandolier. “Put this on. Yesterday I noticed this hanging on the wall. Don’t hide your gun under your jacket in a time like this. We will show off so that the enemy will turn green with envy.”

Jamil put the belt on and adjusted it the way he usually did by pulling the gun to the front. He felt relaxed for the first time after so many months. He didn’t feel like he didn’t belong anymore. Bekir Sami was dictating something in the next room. Jamil listened for a while, and then asked Selahaddin without fear of being heard, “What is this Colonel doing here, Selahaddin?”

Selahaddin knew that Jamil wouldn’t respect someone just because of his rank. He respected real values. “Damn it, Jamil, quiet.”

“Why should I be quiet? I am just asking.”

“The Colonel is a good man and he is very capable. Why do you think he was chosen to lead the Army Corps among so many other Generals?”

“I don’t know. Why did they choose him?”

“He might be able to take us out of the difficult situation that we are in. We are disbanded.  We have to start from scratch. We don’t have the means to start something up. It is a complicated and hopeless situation. You saw the desperation in Istanbul yourself. There is no government control anymore in the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The foreigners do as they please. Yet there are two things that give me hope; first, the Greek Army has landed on Izmir, thus they are trying to achieve something that they are not capable of. Second, Mustafa Kemal is going to Samsun as a Military inspector.”

“When there is no army what can Mustafa Kemal do?”

“I don’t know but if there is something to be done there is no other man better that Mustafa Kemal to do the job.”

“A lot of people agree with you in Istanbul but I am not so hopeful.”

“Why?”

“It looks peculiar to me to go to Samsun to save Izmir. If Mustafa Kamal thinks that’s the short cut, I think he is wrong. He should have stayed in Istanbul or come here like your Colonel.”  Then Jamil smiled. “I am telling you all this and you are listening to me seriously. We don’t know about the politics. Maybe the road to Izmir is really passing through Samsun. Never mind all this and tell me what we are going to do here.”

“The general situation here is not hopeful. The people don’t want to fight anymore. When we explain   to them that we have to fight they look at us like we are swearing at their mother. Half of the Reserve Officers are hiding in their homes, half are struggling to find ways to feed their families. Our guys are mostly sick or handicapped. The able-bodied ones are still dealing with the trauma of the defeat. What are left are a couple of Officers like you and me who are saying, ‘We don’t know about the politics’ and a couple of brave intellectuals. All the rest are deserters and bandits.”

“What about the Unionists?”

“Yes, you can still count on them. They feel responsible for the defeat. As soon as we came here we looked for Rashid the Circassian, you did the same. Because he is one of us! The down side is we can’t introduce ourselves to the people as Unionists anymore. We have to play games.  We have to deceive people when we need to and we have to be disciplined. Because we don’t have anyone to fight with us. All there are left are the bandits. If we are doing something we are doing it with them. At least initially. Now do you realize why I was so happy when I saw you?”

“What are you talking about? Am I a person who would deal with bandits? Am I trickster?”

“I wish you were. You are an honest guy. I know you are not a trickster, Jamil. We are going to get the help of the militia. How are we going to deal with them? How are we going to take them under our authority? We need someone authoritative like you. We are going to use the same tricks as Yacoub Jamil. But not as naively.Yacoub, may he rest in peace, was more like a bandit than an Officer. It was in him. It wasn’t just a temporary act for him. It suited him. You are born as an Officer. You are not intimidated by your superiors and you are friendly with your subordinates. These qualities show to me that you are a real War Officer. Yes, you need a rifle now. Use this for now. If we can find a better one, then you will upgrade it. And you need a horse, of course.”

Yakup Cemil

“What about the cannons? Is there any hope that we can get cannons?”

“We will worry about them later. What we are going to do now is just become guerillas. Don’t get depressed. I know you. You must have been bored out of your mind during the last few months! You are getting rusty. You are aching for action! It is your game. Here is the arena for it. Do what suits you.” He smiled as if he remembered something. “Do you remember you were showing off with your rifle at Edirne during the 2nd Army’s War Games?”

“Never Mind! We were kids then. When I think of that I get embarrassed. Remember what General Mahmud Shevket told me, ‘Good for you son! You are at the wrong address. You don’t belong to the Army Go to a circus!’ You lowlife! You laughed so much after pushing me forward like that!”

Selahaddin stroked his shoulder. “You are at the right place for the Circus Act.”

“I already forgot those circus tricks. If you are talking about cannons, that’s another story. Look at us now; we will be friends with Zaybeks and show them our skills at shooting!”

“It is a little more serious than you think. We have 48,000 Infantry rifles, more than a million mouser bullets, eight guns with sliding blocks, and seventy two regular guns, plus four machine guns.”

“We have those weapons?”

“They are stored at Manisa Depot. We need manpower. As we head towards Manisa we will need to recruit soldiers. We have to reach Manisa before the Greeks so that we get the weapons and use them against the enemy. It is a race against time.”

“While we are going there, why don’t our guys in Manisa carry the weapons to somewhere safe?”

“They can’t. The Regiment in Manisa is completely disbanded. The people of Manisa are afraid for their lives. They are not able to protect their belongings, let alone save the army weapons. We have to go there immediately. We have two days at the most.”

“How can we recruit enough soldiers in two days?”

“We will find a way. Look, we found you. It is hard to recruit an Officer like you. We put our hopes in the militia. At least it is easy to find them. All the mountains of our beloved country are full of outlaws now.”

As it was getting dark, the mood of Bekir Sami changed from nervous to downright angry. Selahaddin and Lieutenant Farouk were busy at the Telegram Office giving the news of Bekir Sami’s new post as deputy Commander of the 17^th Army Corps to the Military Offices in the surrounding areas. At the same time they were trying to contact Manisa to get the Commander of the Location, Ahmet Zeki to the telegram office there.”

Telegram operators were working diligently day and night but still it wasn’t easy. The connection was interrupted frequently. To talk to someone locally they sometimes had to go through the farthest offices. They were asking for help from all over the place. Even though there were neither any battles nor any violent incidents in any part of the country the communication was difficult. Everything else seemed to be in order. The enemy soldiers acted polite in the towns and the cities that they entered after landing on Izmir. They were saluting Turkish Officers and showing respect to the Turkish Flag; so that they could convince people that The Greek Army was friendly towards the local communities.

The Turkish communities, on the other hand were still in shock because of the news of the Greek invasion of Izmir. It was unbelievable. They were motionless. For that reason there was no panic yet. They were not immigrating to other cities nor were they going to the train stations en masses. People didn’t leave their homes yet. They hadn’t yet loaded their carriages and animals with all the possessions that they could carry along.

Manisa

Telegram Operators couldn’t contact Manisa; however, they were able to receive some important news. “Seferihisar and Chesme troops were disbanded upon hearing the news of Greek Occupation. Soldiers laid down their arms and fled. No news from Menemen since yesterday. The local Greek guerillas lead the way to the Greek Army while advancing to Menemen through two different roads on May 21^st. The Greek Army’s commander was Major Chakolos. I have just learned his name. We are being informed that there have not been any armed conflicts in Menemen yet. Local Greeks and prominent citizens of the town are jubilant. They welcomed the enemy army in the entrance of the town with a huge Greek flag The 17th Army Corps 5^th weapon depot which was located in Menemen was surrendered to the enemy and they have taken the possession of a sizable amount of ammunition and weapons. In recent news: the English offered the Greeks all the territory from Ayvalik to Kushadasi...50 -60 km of land...Another rumour:  The entire Province of Aydin will be given to the Greeks as well! God help us! An officer just came from Izmir. He said the Greek army is landing on Izmir for the last seven days nonstop. He is estimating that the total number of soldiers is one hundred thousand. He heard that one Gendarmerie regiment will also land at Izmir. I am sending this message for your information but we haven’t been able to get confirmation yet. I heard this from a friend in Kushadasi which is under Italian occupation: The Greek commanders ordered all the Turkish Officers out of the city with their families on May 20^th. We are worried about their safety, gang robberies or, God Forbid, something even worse could happen.”

Selahaddin was giving these messages to Bekir Sami and trying to reach Manisa at the same time. The only answer he was getting from the operators was: “Sir, we can’t reach Manisa yet. Don’t worry, we are trying.”  Selahaddin asked the operators to send the deputy Commander Bekir Sami’s following announcement to all the centers that they could reach; “The Greeks are bragging that they have found the weapon depots and ammunition which were surrendered to them without any resistance. This is a shame for our nation. We don’t have a single bullet or a single gun that we can afford to give to the enemy. All the Officers, all the government employees, and the public have a responsibility to carry all the guns they can  further inland so that they can be used against the enemy whenever it is possible to do so. No Army personnel will surrender his weapons to the enemy and no one will allow themselves to be taken prisoner. Share this announcement with all the units.”

The Army corps is so badly disbanded that the operators can’t find anyone higher rank than a Captain to be summoned to the Telegram Office to talk to the deputy Commander.  Jamil was working as an aide de camp. When he entered the Office, Bekir Sami asked him, “Did you get in touch with Ahmet Zeki in Manisa?

“No, Sir. There is no news.”

“Tell the operators to call them until they can find them and let them know that if they are not reporting to duty they will be executed.”

“Yes, the operators are sending that message as well.”

“Good! I promise I will hang anyone who doesn’t take this seriously. Have you heard from Rashid?”

“He is not here yet.”

“Why is he taking so long? What do you think? Is it the messenger? Couldn’t the messanger find him? Or is it him? Is he not willing to come?”

“I don’t know.”

Bekir Sami gave Jamil the document that he just wrote. “Make five copies of this and have them posted   to various places in the town, please.” Jamil was smiling as he was reading the telegram. He felt relieved as soon as he learned about the Minister of War, Shevket Turgud’s orders. “Go to Manisa right away and gather the troops who are retreating to inland and form new units. Don’t engage in combat unless it is the last resort.” This order was clear to Jamil. It meant ‘fight if you have to’. The last line of the order read ‘I as well as Chief of Staff Jevded expecting this service from you.’ The only thing that those two Generals can be expecting from us is to fight and defend our country. Jamil preferred to interpret the message this way under the circumstances.

Bekir Sami was going to talk to the congregation after the prayers at the Bandirma Mosque. Jamil wrote the speech:

Greek troops loading artillery at the port of Izmir

Dear Bandirma Residents,

We have to fight with the infidels. It is the order of God. As you know, our Prophet fought against the infidels. He had his tooth removed at the Battle of Badr, because of an arrow. Since our country is under occupation, the Muslims should unite and resist! We have to forget about our own battles amongst us. It is time for brotherhood. There is no use in surrendering to fear. If we resist in the name of religion we can fight against seven kings, never mind the Greek King. Maybe the previous Government was guilty of entering the Great War, but the Greeks are invading Izmir now. They don’t have a right to do that. They are attacking us for no reason. We have a choice now; either to surrender; let the country be invaded and lose our honour, our belongings and even our lives, or we fight back. I know that the people of Bandirma are brave people. That’s why I accepted the position as the Deputy Commander of 17^th Army Corps in a difficult time like this. Today someone at the mosque stood up and asked, ‘There are no weapons, and there are no soldiers. How are we supposed to fight back? We heard the Greeks won’t go further than the Izmir borders’.  What does that mean? The person saying this must be either against us or he must be ignorant. Let me read you the latest news: ‘ The Greeks are advancing towards hinterland.  Right now they are about to invade Menemen.” We have been unable to reach Manisa for the last two hours. The enemy is advancing straight towards us. I will lead the Regiment tomorrow. I trust my men and my weapons. However; the Army can’t do this battle alone. The people have to support our troops. Everyone has to take up arms. The people who support our troops by carrying the food and the weapons to the fronts are equally blessed as the soldiers who are fighting. The telegrams that I am getting are giving us news that the local Greek militia are invading the towns and villages; they rape our woman and kill the innocent children with their bayonets. What are we supposed to do? Are we going to fight the Greek Army that is advancing towards us or are we going to fight with the guerilla? As you know the Greek Gerilla fighters are attacking our villages. We need your help to defend the villages against the guerilla. If you don’t want Bandirma to be invaded as well, we have to go to the enemy and stop them before they reach here. Let’s encourage one another. Let’s not make any discouraging comments. If you discourage the soldiers it will be a sin.”

Jamil finished writing the speech and decided to give the bulletins to Hasan for distribution. He went to Hasan’s  when Hasan was about to close the coffee shop. He saw Jamil and noticed the gun on his holster. Hasan was happy. “I think Bekir Sami talked you out of doing business. That’s good. I thought you were going to stay to fight. That’s very good. It is not the right time to start a business. I was going to bring your suitcase.  About your sailboat… Do you want me to find someone to rent it?”

Jamil smiled, “I don’t really have a sailboat; I wasn’t here to do business but I didn’t tell you why I came to Bandirma at first.”

“Oh! I see! Let’s have some coffee.”

“Thank you.”

“Have you eaten?”

“We are going to dine with the Commander. We received a dinner invitation for tonight.”

“I know. I heard you were invited by Emin. I saw him walking past here with Hayri. They were going to meet Bekir Sami.

“Yes. They are with the Commander.”

“Good, then we will go to Emin’s party after we are finished here. Let’s have our coffee first.”

“The Commander asked for your help with something.”

“Anything he wants...”

Jamil showed him the papers. “These announcements… He wants them to be posted on various places around the town. Can you find someone to do that? If it is necessary we can pay.”

“No need to pay. I will find someone.”

Hasan put the papers in his pocket. He didn’t even read them. While he was preparing coffee he asked, “Did you hear from Rashid?”

“Not yet.”

“He will come. That’s if nothing happened to the messenger!”

“Was he in danger?”

“Yes, he was. But he is a smart guy, I am sure he avoids dangerous situations.”

“There is a rumour that Rashid won’t come.”

“Even if he can’t come, he will send someone that he trusts. He is not a man to hide in a situation like this.”

“Is there anyone else that we can trust around here?”

“Like who?”

“Sharp shooters, brave men anyone who can help.”

“Do you mean the honest people or the bandits?”

“The honest people are already on our side.”

“I see what you mean now.  Ahmet Anzavur, Shah Ismail, Hasan and Shevket, they are all Circassians. They don’t get along with Rashid, so they avoid running into him. There is also Kara Hasan with his friend Suphi at Biga.”

“Do they have a sizable force?”

“He has two hundred men.”

“Are they cavalry or infantry?

“They are bandits. If they find horses they ride them. Kara Hasan Gang...There is also a Kurdish Sergeant Mehmet who is with them. He is a violent man but he is smart. He is the brains of the operations.  One of his eyes is green the other black. It is not a good omen. Let me see who else is there. There is Jambaz Hakki at Karacabey, Tahir in Kayalar, Safer in Biga, and Riza in Balikesir. There are lots of Zaybeks as well. They are all deserters, robbers, dishonest men.” He shook his head. “What can we do with them?”

“We will have to cooperate with them until the honest citizens decide to fight as well.”

“That’s right,” Hasan poured the coffee, “Yes we need them.” He offered his cigarettes to Jamil. “Have you ever had any experience with those types?”

“No. There are some bad apples amongst the soldiers; but they can’t do any tricks when they are in the Army.”

“I am a Naval Officer. I was a deck Captain. In Abdulhamid era we weren’t allowed to do much training. There is only one way to deal with dishonest men: It is the sheer authority. They only respect you if you are strict. You should discipline them like an animal trainer. You need to kill the ring leader and the others will obey you upon seeing the whip.” 

Abdulhamit

From the book

The Reluctant Warrior

by Kemal Tahir

Translated by Elif Mat

New York times article May 17 1919