Years of invasion and armisticeAfter the First World War, Ottoman Empire was defeated with its allies. After Mondros Armistice was signed, the navy fleet of 55 ships anchored in the banks of Haydarpaşa Port in November 13, 1918 and therefore the invasion of Istanbul began.
The Parliamental Assembly which was annulled in 1918, convened again in January 12, 1920 and ratified Misak-ı Milli (National Contract) on January 28. On March 4, 1920, the invasion of Istanbul was approved at London Conference. In March 4, postal administration office was invaded. And in the night of March 15, the action of general invasion was triggered. In the morning, a large number of soldiers were launched to Istanbul and important parts of the city were taken under control. In late morning, the city was completely invaded. In the afternoon English soldiers raided the Parliament Assembly building. And in April 11, Parliament Assembly was closed. And about 150 politicians were exiled to Malta. In this period, some secret organizations were formed in Istanbul and started activating for freedom. Patrolling Society, Mim Group and National Defense organization were the most influential secret organizations in Istanbul in that period. They organized demonstrations and carried out activities like handover of arms, soldiers and munitions and exchanging secret information.
In October 9, 1920, Turkish soldiers entered Izmir boundaries led by supreme national leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This event started the independence process for Istanbul. With Mudanya Agreement signed in October 11, it was agreed that the invading parties leave Thrace gradually. Turkish Grand National Assembly which convened in Ankara declared the dynasty be abolished in November 1, 1922. Therefore, even though Istanbul maintained being the legal capital until October 1923, it was no longer the actual capital. On November 16 Sultan Vahdettin left Istanbul.
In November 4, 1923, Istanbul was completely free of invading forces. Therefore, the second invasion of Istanbul by Europeans after Latin invasion terminated. |
