Karboğazı ambush
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The Karboğazı ambush ( tr, Karboğazı Baskını), also known as Battle of Karboğazı ( tr, Karboğazı Savaşı) was an engagement recorded in Turkish historiography, fought between the Turkish nationalists and the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
battalion on Toros Mountains during the Turkish War of Independence. ''Karboğazı'' literally means "Snow Pass".


Background

Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, the Ottoman army was disarmed according to the Armistice of Mudros. Although the Ottoman Empire had to agree to give up vast territories including most of Middle East, the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
further retained the power of controlling what was left of the Ottoman Empire, namely Turkey. In this context, Allies occupied
Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
on 17 December 1918, just 47 days after the armistice. Soon, France occupied most of south Anatolia. Since the southwest was under Italian control and west Anatolia was under Greek control, Turkey lost the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea.


French plan to control the mountains

France tried to control the sea coast and the alluvial plains like
Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...
(
Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...
of the antiquity). But the control of the small settlements on Toros Mountains was difficult. Moreover, because of the nationalistic opposition, which would ultimately end up in Turkish Republic, the
Gülek Pass The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m. The Cilician Gates hav ...
, Cilician Gates of the antiquity, which is the main pass from Mediterranean coast to Central Anatolia, was under continuous threat from the Turkish nationalist forces Kuva-yi Milliye. A battalion under Major Mesnil was commissioned for the task of securing French presence around Gülek Pass. The headquarters of the battalion was in the village of Pozantı, now a ilçe (district) center, and a small hospital in the nearby village of
Belemedik Belemedik is a small village in Adana Province, Turkey. But it was one of the important settlements on Toros Mountains during the early years of the 20th century and especially the World War I years. Geography Belemedik at is in Pozantı dist ...
was established under the supervision of Mesnil's wife. Mesmil's assistant was
Georges Journois Georges Henri Journois (13 November 1896 – 26 September 1944) was a French resistance fighter and Brigadier General who died in a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Early life Journois was born on 13 Nov ...
, who would fight against Germany as a brigadier general in the Second World War. Mesnil also had a group of guides, who were actually local Armenians. However, in the spring of 1920, Turkish nationalists began controlling the railroad from Pozantı to the south, and Pozantı was effectively blocked from Çukurova.


The clash

After receiving approval from General Duffieux through messages dropped by warplanes, local commander Mesnil decided to evacuate Pozantı, and to return to French lines by a surprise retreat during the night of the 26–27 May. According to official reports, the unit consisted of 9 officers, 696 soldiers, 4 cavalrymen, 19 wounded officers and soldiers, 44 civilian Greeks and Armenians as well as 39 Turkish prisoners of war. Mesnil also left some wounded soldiers back with a letter written to Turkish commanders asking for fair treatment for them. In Mesnil's letter to Turkish commanders, he said:
''I am leaving from Pozantı on the order given. I leave the wounded who cannot stand the trouble of the road to you.''
By that, he attempted to save his life and break away by leaving his wounded behind. Following this retreat, a group of 44 soldiers of Turkish nationalists followed the Mesnil’s troops and had a small fight in Tekir province. Mesnil, having casualties in this engagement, run towards Karboğazı and stayed here on 26 May 1920. Meanwhile, they came across two local Yörük villagers, a woman named Hatice and a man named Kumcu Veli, from the village of Yaylaçukuru, now called
Gülek Gülek is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Gülek is situated along a valley on the Taurus Mountains. The main pass of these mountains, which is known as Gülek Pass (ancient ''Cilician Gates''), is just east of the town. The aver ...
. French asked them if they saw any Nationalist Forces around, and they asked for food supplies. Hatice said she did not see any Nationalists and she went back to report them to the Turkish army with the disguise of finding the supplies. Hatice informed Kemal Bey, later Kemal Ekin, the local militia chief of Kuvai Milliye. Kemal Bey with some members of Aydınlı tribe and villagers waited for the battalion in ambush. They had taken up positions on the two opposite sides of the valley called
Karboğazı Karboğazı is a mountain pass in Mersin Province, Turkey. The pass at is in the rural area of Tarsus ilçe (district). Situated in Toros Mountains and to the north of Gülek. It is north west of the Turkish state highway . Its distance to Tars ...
. The French had the advantage in numbers and superior artillery, but the nationalists had the advantage of cover. French hired Kumcu Veli as their guide but he misguided French forces to Karboğazı, a valley where the Turkish Resistance volunteers had set up an ambush. Early on 27 May, the shootings began from both sides of the valley. French soldiers tried to escape to open space towards Pozantı. But they ran into the third group of nationalists. Towards the evening, after heavy casualties, the battalion surrendered. They were led to Yaylaçukuru, where they signed the protocol of surrender with Lieutenant Hasan Fehmi, later Hasan Akıncı, nicknamed Kara Afet. The prisoners of war received bulgur, a cereal food, with meat and ayran, a cold yogurt beverage. They were held captive until 25 September 1921. This victory of the Turkish Resistance forced the French to completely withdraw from Middle Taurus Mountains and to make peace negotiation requests.


POW and other casualties

The total number of prisoners of war was 650, including 23 officers(1 Major), two of them being Mesnil and Journois. Also, 2 cannons, 8 machine guns, 40 automatic rifles, swords, 1000+ various weapons, and more than 90 mules were seized by the nationalists. The death casualty of the French side was heavy. The exact figures are found in the official letter of the Turkish Commander of Western Cilician Front Tekelioğlu Sinan to President
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...
.


Consequences

The battle in Karboğazı was relatively small, but effectively ended French plans to seize the Toros Mountains. In 1921, France agreed to withdraw from Turkey by the
Cilicia Peace Treaty The Cilicia Peace Treaty (March 9, 1921) was signed in London between France and the Turkish National Movement based in Angora to end the fighting in the Franco-Turkish War. The signatories were French foreign minister Aristide Briand Aristi ...
and
Accord of Ankara The Ankara Agreement (1921) (or the Accord of Ankara; Franklin-Bouillon Agreement; Franco-Turkish Agreement of Ankara, Turkish language, Turkish: ''Ankara Anlaşması'' French language, French: Traité d'Ankara) was signed on 20 October 1921"Anka ...
.


References

{{Turkish War of Independence Ambushes Battles of the Franco-Turkish War 1920 in the Ottoman Empire 1920 in France Conflicts in 1920 History of Mersin Province May 1920 events Tarsus District Kuva-yi Milliye