The occupation of Constantinople (now Istanbul, 12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by British, French, Italian, and Greek forces, took place in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros, which ended Ottoman participation in the First World War. The first French troops entered the city on 12 November 1918, followed by British troops the next day. The Italian troops landed in Galata on 7 February 1919.
Allied troops occupied zones based on the existing divisions of Constantinople (Istanbul) and set up an Allied military administration early in December 1918. The occupation had two stages: the initial phase in accordance with the Armistice gave way in 1920 to a more formal arrangement on the eve of the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres. Ultimately, the Treaty of Lausanne, signed on 24 July 1923, led to the end of the occupation. The last troops of the Allies departed from the city on 4 October 1923, and the first troops of the Ankara government, commanded by Şükrü Naili Pasha (3rd Corps), entered the city with a ceremony on 6 October 1923, which has been marked as the Liberation Day of Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul'un Kurtuluşu) and is commemorated every year on its anniversary.
1918 was the first time the city had changed hands since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Along with the occupation of Smyrna, it spurred the establishment of the Turkish National Movement, leading to the Turkish War of Independence.
Background
Demographics
The Ottomans estimated that the population of Constantinople in 1920 was between 800,000 and 1,200,000 inhabitants, having collected population statistics from various religious bodies. The uncertainty in the figure reflects the uncounted population of war refugees and disagreements as to the boundaries of the city. Half or less were Muslim, with the rest being largely Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Jewish; there had been a substantial Western European population before the war.
Legal basis
The Armistice of Mudros of 30 October 1918, which ended Ottoman involvement in World War I, mentions the occupation of the Bosporus fort and the Dardanelles fort. That day, Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe, the British signatory, stated the Triple Entente's position that they had no intention to dismantle the government or to place it under military occupation by "occupying Constantinople". This verbal promise and lack of mention of the occupation of Constantinople in the armistice proper did not change the realities for the Ottoman Empire. Calthorpe put the British position as "No kind of favour whatsoever to any Turk and to hold out no hope for them". The Ottoman side returned to the capital with a personal letter from Calthorpe, intended for Rauf Orbay, in which he promised on behalf of the British government that only British and French troops would be used in the occupation of the Straits fortifications. A small number of Ottoman troops could be allowed to stay on in the occupied areas as a symbol of sovereignty.
Calculations
Unlike Berlin, Vienna, or Sofia, Constantinople was to be the only Central Powers capital to be occupied. Lord Curzon ordered the city occupied. Motivations included anti-Communism (securing a life line of support for the White Russians), settling the score of the Gallipoli campaign, and weakening the morale of Islamist movements in India.
Military administration
The Allies began to occupy Ottoman territory soon after the Armistice of Mudros; on 12 November 1918, a French brigade entered Constantinople. The first British troops entered the city on the following day. Early in December 1918, Allied troops occupied sections of Constantinople and set up an Allied military administration. The Military Command of the Allied Forces of Occupation dispensed the following services: passport control, police), inter-Allied tribunals and courts martial (1920), and prisons.
On 7 February 1919, an Italian battalion with 19 officers and 740 soldiers landed at the Galata pier; one day later they were joined by 283 Carabinieri, commanded by Colonel Balduino Caprini. The Carabinieri assumed police tasks.
On 10 February 1919, the commission divided the city into three zones for police matters: Stambul (the old city) was assigned to the French, Pera-Galata to the British and Kadıköy and Scutari to the Italians. French had one prison in Kumkapı and the British had five: Galata Tower, Arabian Han, Sansarian Han, Hotel Kroecker and Shahin Pasha Hotel. High Commissioner Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe was assigned as the military adviser to Constantinople.
The British rounded up a number of members of the old establishment and interned them in Malta, awaiting their trial for alleged crimes during World War I. Calthorpe included only Turkish members of the Government of Ahmet Tevfik Pasha and the military/political personalities. He wanted to send a message that a military occupation was in effect and failure to comply would end with harsh punishment. His position was not shared with other partners. The French Government's response to those accused was "distinction to disadvantage of Muslim-Turks while Bulgarian, Austrian and German offenders were as yet neither arrested nor molested". However, the government and the Sultan understood the message. In February 1919, Allies were informed that the Ottoman Empire was in compliance with its full apparatus to the occupation forces. Any source of conflict (including Armenian questions) would be investigated by a commission, to which neutral governments could attach two legal superintendents. Calthorpe's correspondence to Foreign Office was "The action undertaken for the arrests was very satisfactory, and has, I think, intimidated the Committee of Union and Progress of Constantinople".
Ottoman courts-martial
Calthorpe's message was fully noted by the Sultan. There was an eastern tradition of presenting gifts to the authority during serious conflicts, sometimes "falling of heads". There was no higher goal than preserving the integrity of the Ottoman Institution. If Calthorpe's anger could be calmed down by foisting the blame on a few members of the Committee of Union and Progress, the Ottoman Empire could thereby receive more lenient treatment at the Paris peace conference. The trials began in Istanbul on 28 April 1919. The prosecution presented "forty-two authenticated documents substantiating the charges therein, many bearing dates, identification of senders of the cipher telegrams and letters, and names of recipients." On 22 July, the court-martial found several defendants guilty of subverting constitutionalism by force and found them responsible for massacres. During its whole existence from 28 April 1919, to 29 March 1920, Ottoman trials were performed very poorly and with increasing inefficiency, as presumed guilty people were already intended as a sacrifice to save the Empire. However, as an occupation authority, the historical rightfulness of the Allies was at stake. Calthorpe wrote to London that the trials were "proving to be a farce and injurious to our own prestige and to that of the Turkish government". The Allies considered Ottoman trials as a travesty of justice, so Ottoman justice had to be replaced with Western justice by moving the trials to Malta as "International" trials. The "International" trials declined to use any evidence developed by the Ottoman tribunals. When the International trials were staged, Calthorpe was replaced by John de Robeck. De Robeck said regarding the trials "that its findings cannot be held of any account at all." All of the Malta exiles were released.
A new movement
Calthorpe was alarmed when he learned that the victor of Gallipoli had become the inspector general for Anatolia, and Mustafa Kemal's behavior during this period did nothing to improve matters. Calthorpe urged that Kemal be recalled. Thanks to friends and sympathizers of Kemal in government circles, a 'compromise' was developed whereby the power of the inspector general was curbed, at least on paper. "Inspector General" became a title that had no power to command. On 23 June 1919, Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe began to understand Kemal and his role in the establishment of the Turkish national movement. He sent a report about Kemal to the Foreign Office. His remarks were downplayed by George Kidson of the Eastern Department. Captain Hurst (British army) in Samsun warned Calthorpe one more time about the Turkish national movement, but his units were replaced with a brigade of Gurkhas.
Calthorpe was assigned to another position on 5 August 1919, and left Constantinople.
John de Robeck, August 1919–1922
In August 1919 Vice-Admiral de Robeck replaced Calthorpe with the title of "Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, and High Commissioner at Constantinople". He was responsible for activities regarding Russia and Turkey (Ottoman Empire-Turkish national movement).
De Robeck was very worried by the defiant mood of the Ottoman parliament. When 1920 arrived, he was concerned by reports that substantial stocks of arms were reaching Turkish National Movement, some from French and Italian sources. In one of his letters to London, he asked: "Against whom would these sources be employed?"
In London, the Conference of London (February 1920) took place; it featured discussions about settling the treaty terms to be offered in San Remo. De Robeck reminded participants that Anatolia was moving into a resistance stage. There were arguments of "National Pact" (Misak-ı Milli) circulating, and if these were solidified, it would take a longer time and more resources to handle the case (partitioning of the Ottoman Empire). He tried to persuade the leaders to take quick action to control the Sultan and pressure the rebels from both directions. This request posed awkward problems at the highest level: promises for national sovereignty were on the table and the United States was fast withdrawing into isolation.
Treaty of Sèvres
Ottoman parliament of 1920
The newly elected Ottoman parliament in Constantinople did not recognize the occupation they developed a National Pact (Misak-ı Milli). They adopted six principles, which called for self-determination, the security of Constantinople, the opening of the Straits, and the abolition of the capitulations. While in Constantinople self-determination and protection of the Ottoman Empire were voiced, the Khilafat Movement in India tried to influence the British government to protect the caliphate of the Ottoman Empire, and though it was primarily a Muslim religious movement, the Khilafat struggle was becoming a part of the wider Indian independence movement. Both movements (Misak-ı Milli and the Khilafat Movement) shared similar notions on ideology; at the Conference of London (February 1920) Allies concentrated on these issues.
The Ottoman Empire lost World War I, but Misak-ı Milli with the local Khilafat Movement was still fighting the Allies.
Solidification of the partition, February 1920
The plans for partitioning of the Ottoman Empire needed to be solidified. At the Conference of London on 4 March 1920, the Triple Entente decided to implement its previous (secret) agreements and form what would be the Treaty of Sèvres. In doing so, all forms of resistance originating from the Ottoman Empire (rebellions, Sultan, etc.) were to be dismantled. The Allies' military forces in Constantinople ordered that the necessary actions be taken; while the political side increased efforts to put the Treaty of Sèvres into writing.
Negotiations for the Treaty of Sèvres presumed a Greek, French-Armenian, Wilsonian Armenia and Italian occupation region being Christian administrations, as opposed to the prior Muslim administration of the Ottoman Empire. Muslim citizens of the Ottoman Empire perceived this plan as depriving them of sovereignty. British intelligence registered the Turkish national movement as a movement of the Muslim citizens of Anatolia. The Muslim unrest in Anatolia brought two arguments to the British government regarding the new establishments: the Muslim administration was not safe for Christians; that the Treaty of Sèvres was the only way that Christians could be safe. Enforcing the Treaty of Sèvres could not happen without repressing Kemal's national movement.
The British claimed that if the Allies could not control Anatolia at that time, they could at least control Constantinople. The plan was to begin with methodically dismantling organizations within Constantinople and to then slowly advance into Anatolia. The British foreign department was asked to devise a plan to ease this path, and developed the same plan that they had used during the Arab revolt. The aim was to break down authority by separating the Sultan from his government, and working different millets against each other, such as the Christian millet against the Muslim millet, to use the minimum force to achieve their goals.