Happy Victory Day, which made our nation independent and our homeland indivisible

The month of August holds a very significant place in our struggle for liberation…

The Great Offensive, which began with artillery fire at 05:30 on August 26, 1922, in Afyon Kocatepe, and the battle that continued for 5 days and 5 nights, is the symbol of the Turkish nation's rebirth from its ashes.

The Great Offensive, the final phase of our War of Independence, and the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief on August 30, 1922, were concluded with victory. The Turkish Army, under the command of our Eternal Commander-in-Chief Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, cleared our lands of invaders and led our nation to independence.

Let us recall once again that unforgettable historic order given by Commander-in-Chief Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha to the Turkish army when the calendar pages showed September 1, 1922: “In the great pitched battle of Afyonkarahisar-Dumlupınar, you destroyed the fundamental existence of a cruel and arrogant army in an unbelievably short time. I demand that all my comrades continue their advance, keeping in mind that other pitched battles will be fought in Anatolia, and that everyone should use their intelligence and the resources of their patriotism to continue the competition with all their might. ‘Armies, your first target is the Mediterranean. Forward!’. (Since the concept of the Aegean Sea did not exist at that time, the target indicated was essentially İzmir).

Gediz was liberated from enemy occupation on September 1, 1922, Emet and Tavşanlı on September 3, 1922, and İzmir on September 9, 1922.

Captain Şerafettin described their entry into İzmir with his cavalry as follows:

“We were covering distances with indescribable speed, flying towards İzmir. The fleeing enemy was burning villages and towns, taking their revenge on the civilian population. The heartbreaking scenes we encountered at every step only increased our speed.”

By September 16, the areas around İzmir were liberated from the Greeks. The pursuit of the Greek soldiers retreating towards Bursa continued. On September 18, 1922, the last Greek forces that could escape the Turkish army's pursuit fled by boarding ships from Bandırma.

The occupation, which began with the occupation of İzmir on May 15, 1919, and lasted for 3 years, 4 months, and 3 days, was ended on September 18, 1922, with the War of Independence.

British Prime Minister Lloyd George, who gave great support to the Greeks, resigned after our great victory and said: “Centuries rarely produce a genius. It is our misfortune that our century produced that great genius, the Turkish nation. What can we do against the genius of Mustafa Kemal.”

Happy 103rd anniversary of our Great Victory, the decisive blow dealt to imperialist powers and their collaborators.

We are in days when we need to understand more than ever the importance and value of this historic victory, which consigned the Armistice of Mudros dated October 30, 1918, and the Treaty of Sèvres dated August 10, 1920—which envisioned removing the Turkish nation from Anatolia and the partitioning of our lands by imperialist powers—to the trash heap, and paved the way for Mudanya and Lausanne.

In these days when we understand even more the importance of independence, freedom, unity, and integrity for our nation…