Italian occupation of Adalia

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The Italian occupation of Adalia, city of Turkey, occurred in the turbulent times after the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire that led to the Treaty of Sèvres (from 1919 to 1922).

History

Background

In 1915, the Treaty of London was signed, in which Italy agreed to intervene on the side of the Allied powers of France, Britain and Russia, in exchange for Italy acquirring, in the case of a dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, among other lands, the port of Antalya in Turkey and the contiguous territory, where a carboniferous basin was reported.

Map of the division of Turkish Anatolia after the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), where Adalia (Antalya) can be seen at the center of the Italian zone

With the Mudros Armistice (the 30th of October, 1918), the Ottoman Empire accepted the conditions unilaterally dictated by the winning powers; while in Italy, where the idea of a

Vittoria mutilata
was growing, it was feared that the clause of the Pact of London would be annulled.

Italian disembarkation in Anatolia

In these circumstances, the 9th of March 1919, the Italian government made an Italian expeditionary force in Anatolia disembark in Antalya, and in a brief time nearby localities were also occupied: Makri Budrun, Kuch-Adassi, Alanya, Konya, Ismidt and Eskişehir.

This show of force was met by a harsh opposition from the Greek government – not part of the Pact of London – who also aspired to occupy a large territory of Anatolia. In the absence of the Italian delegation headed by the prime minister

Aydin
, Magnesia, Kassaba, Ayalik and Edemieh.

A bitter dispute arose between the Italian and Greek governments, which was later resolved with a secret agreement signed on 29 July 1919 by Tittoni and Venizelos in which Italy renounced Adalia and the islands of Dodecanese except for Rhodes, in exchange for Greek support for an Italian “mandate” over Albania. This agreement, however, was denounced by the subsequent Italian foreign minister Carlo Sforza (June 1920).

The

Smyrna
and its surroundings.

As the Greco-Turkish War spread, the Turkish revolutionaries obtained significant military assistance from Italy, which used the Antalya base to arm and train the troops of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk against the Greeks.[1]

Withdrawal

Italy began the withdrawal of its expeditionary force in the autumn of 1922.[2]

After the victorious war against the Greeks and the establishment of Mustafa Kemal's

Treaty of Lausanne (1923). In this last act, Turkey confirmed to Italy the possession of the Dodecanese and recognized for the first time the Italian sovereignty over Libya, but did not grant it any area subject to economic influence or military occupation in Anatolia.[3]

Commanders of the Italian troops in Adalia

Notes

Bibliography

See also