Private Shaban

Jamil found the Military Recruitment Office without difficulty. He didn’t have to ask anyone. The door was closed, but, thank God, there was no lock on it. He knocked on the door and waited. He thought no one liked answering doors around here and then someone opened the window upstairs, “There is no one at the office,” and he closed the window.

“Open the door, Son! I am talking to you! Open it! How come there is no one in? You are there.”

“The Chief went to Istanbul and he ordered me not to open the door while he was not there.”

“You haven’t left the office since he left?”

“Of course I did.”

“How did you get out without opening the door?”

The one eyed private who had a black beard was stunned and he looked at him with an open mouth. Jamil took advantage of this and said, “If you opened the door you are guilty! Come and open the door for me right now! Or else I will come upstairs and break your bones!”

“Who are you, Sir?”

“I am the new Chief of the Recruitment Office. I have come from Istanbul. Open the door!”

Jamil heard the hesitant footsteps. The private stopped; maybe he was planning something. He cracked the door, “Are you the new Chief? What happened to the former chief? Is he not coming back? Why aren’t you wearing a Major’s Uniform?”

Jamil pushed him aside and went in. “Bring the whip that the former chief had. He told me that without a good whipping you don’t obey the orders. Bring it!”

“I am sorry, Sir! I was just….I don’t know you.”

“Where are the others?”

“Soon after the Major left for Istanbul, they fled. They left me all alone here. They ran away at one o’clock in the morning!”

“I understand! It is just like the Governor wrote to me. Did they get the rifles as well? I should hang you in front of the coffee house at the town center.”

“No! No! Major, the rifles are all here. Nobody took them! Don’t hang me without checking the books first. If there is one missing then you can hang me, poor Shaban.”

“Then show me the rifles, Shaban!” Jamil put his hands on his hips and inspected the building. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. There were spider webs hanging from the ceiling. The windows were so dirty you couldn’t see outside. “Bring me the rifles. Quick!”

“Sir, I guess the Major won’t be returning here. I understood that when he left, he got discouraged. I am blind in one eye, the others were sick or crippled. He didn’t know what to do so he went away! That’s too bad! I begged him not to leave me here. Where are you from, Major? Are you from Istanbul as well?”

Chankiri Museum

“No, I am from your hometown as well!”

“Really? From Chankiri? Where in Chankiri?”

“I am from the city center.”

“Have you ever been to Kurshunlu?”

“Of course, my grandma was from Kurshunlu!”

“Really?”

“Bring me the guns! Give me the keys to the depot. Where are they?”

“They are here!  I keep them on me. Here they are!”

Jamil pushed the keys aside. “Don’t you know how to take an order? Stand at attention and show me the way!”

The guns were in an upstairs room which hadn’t been swept for years. The wooden building was so dry that the guns were well preserved. Jamil chose two cavalry rifles and two German Mausers amongst the fifty rifles in the attic. “Where are the bullets? Don’t tell me they are missing! Open the boxes. Where are the bandoliers in this God damn depot? Get the bandoliers quickly. No, not the cartridge belt, the other one. I will check the records now. Clean the guns and load the bandoliers in five minutes. Quick… don’t take long.”

The chief’s room had no furniture other than a desk and two wooden chairs. The plaster on the wall was chipped and there were cracks on the wooden floors. The desk was dusty. The cigarette holder was full of cigarette butts. Jamil thought; ‘Maybe he thought about whether it was right to leave his post like this on his final night at the office and chain smoked. He must have calculated the risks of this for himself. That must have troubled him a lot. Poor fellow.’

“Here, Sir!”

“There must be four hundred in there. Did you count them all?

“Yes, Sir! They are all in packages.”

“Good for you, Shaban! The Major already told me that you are a smart guy! Go get a rope and make a nice bundle. Did you already oil the rifles? I hope there are not bugs in them.”

“Yes, Sir. We have used machine oil from the original factory. The guns are new. They haven’t been used at all. They sent these to the 56^th Division towards the end of the war for the units responsible for protecting the coast” He smiled, “The Major opened the box and took a couple of them out and put a couple of old ones in their place. Those Flintlock rifles are excellent for guerilla warfare. You can shoot the target from two thousand meters. You don’t have to be a sharp shooter. The rifles…”

“What did I tell you?”

“You said get the rope and bundle them…”He rushed outside with the guns that he was holding and returned with a neat package. “Here you are, Sir!”

“Good job. Thank you. Now, listen to me. Listen to me closely. The Greek Army is coming here. They want our guns. They will count them. They will hang you if they find one rifle missing. We’ve got four rifles and ammunition. If they hear that, what will happen?”

“The pigs will hang me. They won’t listen to any explanation.”

“Good! Then don’t tell anyone. This is between you and me.”

“I promise.”

“Now, take that package and follow me. If anyone asks you who I am then tell him I am the new Chief of Staff. Don’t tell him I am the new Major who is on duty here. Will you remember that?”

“Yes, I will remember…Chief of Staff.”

“Good …Let’s go.”

Akhisar

He saw a few people on the road while going back to the Hotel. They didn’t want to make eye contact with him for some reason. No one even looked at the package that Shaban was carrying. When they came back, the innkeeper was gone. Jamil went upstairs and saw Selahaddin entering the Commander’s room. Selahaddin asked, “Where have you been?” Then he noticed Shaban and the package he was carrying, “What are all these?”

“Nothing….Any news?”

“Rashad is in the Commander’s room. How was the Military Branch?”

“It doesn’t look good.” He showed Shaban the room where he was sleeping, “Put them over there. Go back to the office right away. Don’t let anyone steal anything.” Shaban was quick on his feet. He went into the room and came out really quickly. He saluted them and said, “I am going right away, Sir.” Jamil stopped him. “Wait! Take this fifty kurushs.”

“Do you need tobacco?”

“Yes, but not for me, it is for you. I will return to the office, wait for me there.”

“Don’t worry, Major! I will be at the office day and night.”

“Go, then.”

“When he entered the room Lieutenant Farouk was checking the package. “What are they, Captain? Oh! Are they rifles?  Thank you, Captain!” He was just about to give Jamil a hug; he stopped and stood tall, “Is that right? Are they rifles?”

“Yes, they are. We each have one rifle and one hundred bullets.”

“May I look at them?”

“Sure.”

Lieutenant Farouk was happy as a kid on a Bayram morning. He pulled the ropes and when he realized he can’t break them he cut them with his pocket knife.

“Thank you, Sir. They are beautiful.”

“The Flintlocks are for you and the Commander. They are not heavy.”Actually Jamil had chosen one of the flintlocks for himself. When Farouk didn’t say anything he asked, “Didn’t you like them?”

“I am used to the German Mauser.”

“That’s OK. Get my Mouser then.”

“No. I will get used to this as well. I will practice.”

“No, you can pick one.” Farouk checked the Mauser and looked at its barrel. “Long live Captain! Thank you! May I oil this?”

“Yes please, oil all four of them. What did Rashad Bey say to our Commander?”

Farouk said, “Rashad heard that the Commander of the Army Corps had come by train the day before and he also heard that the Greeks were upset about this news.”

“I can see why the local Greeks are upset but I was wondering about the Liberty and Accord Party members.  Why are they upset? I heard they are holding meetings this morning. Rashad’s friend Kamil will gather the town notables and bring them here.”

“Is there any news from Manisa yet?”

“No news yet. Rashad told the Commander that the Telegram Office is trying to reach Manisa. They also sent a messenger to the leader of the militia.”

“No news is good news. I think the enemy is not there yet.”

“Yes. That’s what the Commander said.” He looked at the Mouser gun and said, “It is fresh from the factory.” He gave it to Selahaddin as he was entering the room. “This is yours, Captain. Careful. It is loaded.”

“Where did you find these?”

Farouk said, “Oh I was so excited I didn’t think of asking that question.”

“I got them from the Recruitment Office.”

“Are there some more?”

“There are about fifty guns there but I don’t know how many are in good condition!”

“I mentioned this to the Commander. He laughed. He is so happy. He thinks no news is good news for Manisa. He wanted to see the guns.”

The 17^th Army Corps Deputy Commander Colonel Bekir Sami took the rifle with the same joy as Lieutenant Farouk. He held the gun the same way as Farouk. He pointed the barrel to the ceiling and played with the mechanism. “Where are the cartridges?”

“They are in the other room, Sir.”

“Bring the cartridges. I want to load it. Are there a lot of bullets?”

“There are one hundred bullets for each of us. We’ve got four rifles and four hundred bullets.”

“Did Jamil leave a signed paper that he took them?”

“No, I don’t think he thought about that, Sir.”

“He just brought them here then. That’s all right!”

“Jamil also brought some nice bandoliers, Sir”

“Is that right? Then all of us will put the bandoliers on and prop the guns against the wall! Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir! We need Circassian daggers and hand grenades as well!

“You are joking but I am serious. I order that everyone put on the bandoliers.”

“I will give your orders to Captain Jamil.”

When Selahaddin came back to talk to him, Jamil didn’t pay attention to the hand grenade story; he asked, “Where is the Colonel going to meet with the notables?”

“You said the Recruitment Office was not suitable so he is going to meet with them here.”

“You mean in his bedroom?”

“Jamil!  Are you kidding me? Is this a Vienna Hotel with a Ballroom? Of course, in his room. Where else?”

“That’s not a good idea for the Commander to sit on his bed cross-legged and hold a meeting with his bandolier on and holding his rifle. That’s ridiculous!”

“What do you propose?”

“Jamal Pasha used to be very diligent about these matters. When Enver Pasha visited they brought out the special armchair for him.”

Enver Pasha

“How is it special?”

“You know how Enver Pasha was short. Jamal ordered a special armchair for him. They put the armchair behind the desk so the people who came in the room would see him on the raised platform behind the desk. When he was inspecting the troops he always stayed in his car. I think the Commander of the Army Corps shouldn’t be seen in public holding a rifle like a new recruit.”

“You are right. But how are we going to tell this to the Commander. He liked the rifle. I am pretty sure he liked it more than Lieutenant Farouk!”

“I know. There are two groups of Officers in the army.  Most of us, even if we are promoted to General, always have the Lieutenant still inside, being a Commander is something else. They say Enver Pasha wanted to head the surveying team at Sarikamish; they say that as  proof of his bravery. I think it shows that he is not a good Commander.”

Jamil remembered how Dr. Munir made fun of Ali Fuad. Dr. Munir was wrong. Ali Fuad was only following the basic military rules of marching columns.

“Why are you silent?”

“I thought about something. Yes, we should plan something. We will put a table in front of the door. The Commander will be in the room. You and I will either stand by the table or get two chairs to sit in. Do you have any maps?

“Yes, but not a military map.”

“It doesn’t matter. We will spread the map on the table. Put some notebooks and pens as well.”

“Good. It is a good idea to put the desk here. He could prop his rifle here. Let’s move the chairs before they come.”

From Eyup Sultan Mosque in Istanbul

“Do you know how many will come?”

“No, I am not sure.”

“In that case, we shouldn’t move the chairs beforehand.” He thought of something else and smiled. “In situations like this the empty chairs will make everyone feel discouraged.”

“Who said that?”

“Dr. Munir.”

“Who is he? Why did you think of him just now?”

“Dr. Munir used to tell us the difficulties that our guys had when trying to encourage the Caucasians to form their own national Government. He would tease Halil Pasha about it. Dr. Munir calls it Ottoman tricks. Those guys are not eager to come here and if they see the empty chairs they will think that the other invitees didn’t come and they will feel that they are the only ones who accepted the invitation.”

“Good thinking! You never had much faith in Doctors, but apparently this guy was smart. We will bring the chairs later.”

“That’s right. Some of them may not find a place to sit at first but we can bring chairs when they come. We should let the District Governor sit at the Commanders right side.”

“The District Governor said he can’t come. He is sick.”

“That’s too bad. We should drag him here.”

“We can’t drag him here. He has a stomach virus.”

“That’s not good! He should be here to support the Commander. He would have helped just by being here. Dr. Munir advised. ‘Get the highest ranking person to sit by your side. In the heat of discussion he might get angry at the opponents and that might help your case.”

“I know, but he is sick and we can’t do anything about it.”

“Then we should think of someone else. We can call the Muftu.”

“The Muftu doesn’t support the resistance.”

“How about Major Husnu?”

“We looked for him already. He went to Manisa first thing in the morning to see what happened to Rasim.”

“We should have kept the train. We could have held the meeting in the car when we learned that Manisa was not occupied yet.”

“Yes. We should have just gone to the Recruitment Office and got the guns and gone back to the train to continue our journey to Manisa. It would have been very good. It would help with morale here a great deal if the people of Akhisar heard that the Commander of the Army corps went to Manisa by train.”

“That’s right! Why didn’t we think about this yesterday?”

“The Commander should have thought about this, not us. We could have gone to Manisa and found all the soldiers we could and formed a unit. We could have got the guns and asked the people to give us their horses and carriages. If they didn’t give them to us we could have used force. Try to imagine on the road side the cannons and sixty carriages, a couple hundred horses and surrounding them fully armed three hundred soldiers. We could have gone by the villages like that and talked to the people at the coffee houses and gathered some men and given them enough guns. People would jump on their horses and come after us.”

“Damn it, Jamil! Why didn’t you tell us your ideas yesterday?”

“We didn’t know that yesterday. We weren’t pressed enough. I told you something at Bandirma. Do you remember that?”

“What was that?”

“About Mustafa Kemal Pasha…”

“You said something but I can’t recall now.”

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk arriving at Samsun

“I asked you why Mustafa Kamal went to Samsun instead of coming to Bandirma. I asked you if that was a short-cut. Now I see how smart he is. He left Istanbul on May 16th; one day after the Greeks arrived in Izmir. Why didn’t he come to Bandirma and go to Samsun instead? Because real Commanders know that, in a situation like this, it is better to be thunder far away rather than lightning close by!”Jamil explained.

“I don’t know that much but I agree that we should have gone to Manisa yesterday. The Governor of Manisa is discouraging the resistance here. That’s why the Sub-governor here had a stomach ache tonight. He is also the reason why we are always unable to contact Manisa. You are right. We shouldn’t have stayed here. We should have gone to Manisa right away!” He thought about this for a while, “but what the commander said about not losing a locomotive to the enemy is also right.”

“The locomotives are not ours anyway. There is no point in being afraid of losing them to the enemy. If we can’t intimidate the enemy then we are going to lose the entire country. We couldn’t do anything here. We came to the hotel yesterday like thieves in the night. We couldn’t get the inn keeper to give us breakfast. We should have continued on to Manisa. We should have made the Sub Governor come here by dragging him if we had to! Dr. Munir says, ‘In every situation there is a right thing to do for the good of the people. You should poke it a little bit here and there and finally when you get it moved a bit, it means the balance is tipped in your favour. Then once you have created your own luck there will be a hope.’ We should either occupy the Governor’s Office here or go to Manisa.  We could have created a chance for us without changing the general conditions…Oh!  The Commander is calling you! Go see him. Tell him I am looking for hand grenades! It looks like we need them to find a piece of bread around here!”

Akhisar Museum

From the book the Reluctant Warrior

by Kemal Tahir

Translated by Elif Mat