“Rasim, Jamil over here!” When Bekir Sami called his name,
Jamil put his letter in his pocket. They kicked their horses and approached.
The Colonel let them ride on both sides and asked, “Rasim, tell us what
happened in Manisa?”
“We couldn’t get the people to support us, Sir. There was a
time when they would rise up but we couldn’t take advantage of that moment. We
didn’t handle it well. At first the people of Manisa were not that discouraged
and down. They had protested the Greek Army’s invasion of Izmir. They sent
telegrams to the Sultan and the Prime Minister. They also let the Parliament
and the Foreign Army Commanders in Istanbul know their opposition. The Governor
Husnu and The British Representative tried to prevent these actions but the
people were determined. They had sworn that the enemy wouldn’t leave Izmir and
there was no intent to invade Manisa. They said there was no reason to worry.
But as the days past, people got more discouraged. They didn’t want to take the
matter in their own hands and decided to wait and see. The Liberation Party
took advantage of this situation. The Mufti of Manisa was supporting the
resistance but he couldn’t do much. There was a man by the name of Bahri who tried
to organize the resistance. However, the others were almost going to lynch him.
Major Ahmet, the local Commander, didn’t know what to do. When I reached Manisa
there was nothing to do. In fact we were busy trying to dissuade two hundred
men from leaving their positions. We didn’t have time to save the ammunition.
Today around noon the news arrived suddenly that the Greek Army was on its way.
Vasif and I tried to encourage people but it didn’t work. Some people took
refuge in their Christian neighbors' homes and some went to welcome the enemy
with huge flags.
Then we received two
more pieces of news; one from Halit that he was on his way with a thousand
horsemen and another fifteen hundred men. Second, the enemy was coming from the
direction of Menemen and they were almost close enough to be seen from Manisa.
I talked to Mufti. We instructed the
men who are ready to fight, to take position in various points of the city. In
case Halit reached the town in time we were determined to fight and retreat
however, the time passed and they didn’t arrive and it was clear that the enemy
was approaching. We were able to learn from the people who went to welcome the
enemy into the city that the enemy was coming. They let us know of all the
details like how many men the enemy troops consisted of, their ranks, and even
their Commander’s name.”
“How many men did they have?”
“The Greek Commander’s name was Colonel Constantine
Chakolos. He had two infantry regiments
and one division of machine guns, as well as a Cavalry unit. They also had an Artillery Battalion. When
the enemy approached the city we retreated. They took their time entering the
city.”
“Why is that?”
“I was informed in Akhisar that they were waiting for the
people to welcome them to their city.”
“I see. What else do you have?”
Rasim pretended not to hear the question and busied himself
with his horse. The animal was sneezing and shaking his head.
“Did you contact Bergama?”
“Yes, Sir! I talked to them; Lieutenant Nuri was in charge
in Bergama. He distributed the guns to the people and destroyed the remaining
ones.”
“Any news from Ayvalik?”
“The Regiment Commander Ali has sent three cables to you,
Sir.”
“Where did he send the telegrams to?”
“To Akhisar. Telegrapher Yusuf gave the telegram to Rashad.
I have the telegrams with me.”
“Did you read them?”
“Yes.”
“What do they say?”
“They say that English and Greek Torpedo boats came to
Ayvalik full of troops. The British Commander wanted to talk to the District
Governor. He said, ‘There is nothing to
worry about. Everyone should attend to their business as usual.’ Then he wanted to talk to Ali. However,
Ali refused to go see the British Commander. Then the British insisted and he
had to send a Major to talk to them. Ali said in the first telegram that the
Major had not returned yet. He was not worried because the British Commander
didn’t want any armed battle. He didn’t think that the situation was
dangerous. Then we received the second
cable, which stated that the Greek ship turned around and went away with its
troops. The Major returned from talking to the British Commander. The British
Commander said that the Greek ship came to Ayvalik by mistake. The Greeks
didn’t have a right to a military landing at Ayvalik under the Truce Agreement.
For this reason the British asked them to leave. The British Commander said he
wanted to talk to Ali because he knew that Ali was a reliable person. He asked
for another meeting for the day after.”
“This is all nonsense. They are trying to deceive us!”
“Yes, Sir! The Commander Ali said the same thing. He said, ‘they are trying to ambush us, but they
can’t. I am ready for anything!’ ”
“What about the third cable?”
“It says there was combat.”
“Thank God!”
“Yes, Sir! Next day the Greeks returned with two ships and
informed the Commander that they have orders to invade Ayvalik. Ali thought
about retreating to Kozan, if necessary. They had fought until noon. Our troops
fought till the end. Then they retreated to the olive groves, and the enemy
didn’t pursue them.”
“Long Live Ali! If he was at Manisa, he would have done the
same. Any other news?”
“Other news? A
sergeant came to Manisa from Denizli. He gave us good news, if we can believe
him.”
“What good news?”
“The news about the people of Denizli. When the news of
Izmir’s invasion came, people panicked and some of them got ready to leave the
city. Upon seeing this, the Mufti got the flag of the Big Mosque. He marched
the streets saying ‘Allahu Ekber’. The people gathered in front of
the City Hall. He gave an impressive speech. The sergeant said that the Mufti’s
speech brought everyone to tears. He
said, “The day for the Muslims to be on
duty has come. When Muslim land is invaded; no Muslim can refuse to fight. It
is God’s orders to us that we have to defend our country. If you don’t fight
you are no longer Muslims. You should fight and the people from other cities
who are not under occupation should help the ones that are under occupation.
This is my Fatwa and anybody who is not obeying the orders will not be
considered Muslim from now on. You will sin if you don’t obey the orders upon
hearing them and you will sin if you don’t spread the word! You will end up in
Hell. Don’t even mention that you don’t have guns or ammunition. If you don’t
have firearms then use your axes, your knives and your sticks! Even if you are
too old to hold a stick you get three stones and throw it to the enemy. If you
run away don’t call yourselves Muslims! Remember, God knows all. Be careful.
There is no way of escaping the enemy. The only way to get rid of them is to
fight. You have to fight like men!’ He talked like this for some time.”
“Look at that, Mufti! Remember Major Ahmet Zeki. What a
shame for Ahmet Zeki. Do you know the name of the Mufti?”
“Ahmet Hulusi.”
Lieutenant Sevki and Jamil were riding together. Shevki
asked, “Did you hear that, Sir? He is not only a Mufti; he is the sword of the
God!”
Jamil remembered the Muderris of Akhisar, he was like a
snake. “You know the Hodja kind;
sometimes there are real good strong men among them. Remember AIi Suavi? He used to wear a turban as
well.” He offered a cigarette to Sevki. “What is Maksood doing these days?”
“Same old, same old. He is struggling with everything.”
“Have you all thought of something to get Patriot out of
Bekiraga Jail?”
“We are planning something. He is going to get out soon.”
“Who is going to help him?”
“The officers at the Bekiraga Guard Unit will help him. All the Unionists are joining to Karakol
Sentinel Association. The Unionists really want to get Halil Pasha, Patriot and
Atif out of prison. There are also some other men we would like to help.”
They reached the fork two hours before the break of dawn.
Bekir Sami and three others continued on their way. Jamil
and the others went in the direction of Kusch-Bashi Ranch. The Colonel wanted Lieutenant Farouk to go
with Jamil.
Jamil saluted the 17th Army Commander Bekir Sami
with utmost respect by kissing his hand. Normally, he wouldn’t have done that
but he respected the Colonel’s sorrow facing these tremendous difficulties. He
also hugged Selahaddin, Rasim and Shevki.
The Reluctant Warrior
by Kemal Tahir
Translated by Elif Mat
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