Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
* Something related to Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire
* The w ...
war hero from
Balıkesir
Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...
. He is known for playing the
Bugle
The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
which played a part when he, as a volunteer, defended the city of
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
against
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
forces on the western front of the
Turkish War of Independence
, strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...
, also known as the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a par ...
. He played an instrumental part in the defense of the coastal town against a large retreating Greek occupational force that was burning and destroying as they retreated.
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
. Ä°smail was his real name. He joined the army at the age of 20 and after 1 year of service, following the outbreak of WW1, is sent to the Suez front. Together with his unit, the 28'th Tumen, he fought against English and Arabs in the desert. Many of his brothers in arms fall casualty and his unit returns to
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.Tumen to become a
Bugle
The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
player and is promoted to the rank of Onbaşı. He had learned to play the
bugle
The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
during battles in
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.Turkish Liberation War voluntarily. Together with a small detachment of volunteers, a
Kuva-yi Milliye
The Kuva-yi Milliye (; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of the parts of Turkey by t ...
that he formed, he moved around the back of enemy units and severed their telephone communication lines and performed frequent raids on the enemy.
Saving Burhaniye
İsmail Çavuş prevented the destruction and burning of
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
by the
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
using his military experience. The Greeks were retreating from
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
which they had occupied in the beginning of the war, and as they retreated it was common for them to leave behind the defenseless towns burned and destroyed. They intended to do the same with the town center of
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
.
On 7 September 1922 the Greek occupying commander bans people from leaving their homes in the occupied town and threatens that those leaving their homes will be shot. They are preparing to burn and destroy the town. This was thwarted by İsmail Çavuş who with a few other men entered the occupied town undetected and positioned his men in different places of the town, alerting the townsfolk of the situation and explaining his plan. The plan is that when he plays his bugle everyone will create a yell and fire their guns at the same time. When it becomes dark he climbs up to the top of the
minaret
A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
of the Hanay Mosque and keeps a lookout over the town.
On 8 September 1922 in the early morning hours he spots the Greek enemy units approaching and he immediately starts playing the attack tune on his
bugle
The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
. The other soldiers who had secretly entered the town with him and are ready and waiting in their positions start to fire their weapons and the townsfolk, who wake up from all that noise, now understand that the enemy has arrived and also begin to fire weapons and yell alongside the soldiers who are already firing. They trick the approaching Greek forces into thinking that the town has a large Turkish military presence that is about to ambush them and the Greeks flee from the town and continue their retreat to the west coast and the town is saved.
Legacy
Having served valiantly at
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.war of independence
Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...
he is considered a hero by the people and is offered worldly goods such as houses, plantations, gardens and olive tree fields, however refuses them all. He did not do it for the reward, he sacrificed his life unconditionally for the love of his country and his people. He died in 1972 in
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
. Around this time the well known Turkish sculptor
Gürdal Duyar
Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish sculptor who is known for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and his Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized as having a Modern sculpture, ...
created a sculpture depicting İsmail Çavuş for Burhaniye. Around 1992 this sculpture was removed by the mayor at the time. Another monument in honor of Borazan İsmail can be found in front of the Atatürk statue in
Burhaniye
Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...
. The monument features a
bugle
The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
and a revolver sitting on a stone base next to a marble slab with black text on the front face explaining the meaning of the monument. He is remembered and honored as a hero for his service and heroic deeds in saving Burhaniye.
Kuva-yi Milliye
The Kuva-yi Milliye (; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of the parts of Turkey by t ...
References
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Nebil Özgentürk
Nebil Özgentürk (born 1959 in Adana) is a Turkish writer, journalist and director of documentaries.
Özgentürk, who is the brother of director Ali Özgentürk, graduated from the Ege Üniversitesi Faculty of Management in 1981. He started jo ...