MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK IN DERNA TRIPOLI WAR EXTRA RARE 1911 OTTOMAN EMPIRE TURKEY
Item History & Price
Reference Number: Avaluer:533415 | Country/Region of Manufacture: Turkey |
Subject: Military & Political | Date of Creation: 1911 |
Original/Reprint: Original Print | Color: Black & White |
MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK
DIMENSIONS : 9 x 14 CM
TURKISH - ITALIAN WAR (1911-1912)
In 1911, he was assigned to the Ottoman Tripolitania Vilayet (present-day Libya) to fight in the Italian-Turkish War, mainly in the areas near Benghazi, Derna and Tobruk against a 150, 000-strong Italian amphibious assault force, which had to be countered by 20, 000 Bedouins and 8, 000 Turks A short time ...before Italy declared war, a large portion of the Ottoman troops in Libya were sent to the Ottoman province of Yemen in order to put down the rebellion there, so the Ottoman government was caught with inadequate resources to counter the Italians in Libya; and the British government, which controlled the Ottoman provinces of Egypt and Sudan, did not allow sending additional Ottoman troops to Libya through Egypt. Ottoman soldiers like Atatürk went to Libya either dressed as Arabs (risking imprisonment if noticed by the British authorities in Egypt) or through very few available ferries (the Italians, who had superior naval forces, effectively controlled the sea routes to Tripoli). However, despite all the hardships, Ataturk's forces in Libya managed to repel the Italians on a number of occasions, such as the Battle of Tobruk on 22 December 1911. During the Battle of Derna on 16–17 January 1912, while Ataturk was assaulting the Italian-controlled fortress of Kasr-ı Harun, two Italian planes dropped bombs on the Ottoman forces and a piece of limestone from a damaged building's rubble entered Ataturk's left eye; which caused a permanent damage on his left eye's tissue, but not total loss of sight. He received medical treatment for nearly a month; he attempted to leave the Red Crescent's health facilities after only two weeks, but when his eye's situation worsened, he had to return and resume treatment. On 6 March 1912 Ataturk became the Commander of the Ottoman forces in Derna. He managed to defend and retain the city and its surrounding region until the end of the Italian-Turkish War on 18 October 1912. Ataturk, Enver Bey, Fethi Bey and the other Ottoman military commanders in Libya had to return to Ottoman Europe following the outbreak of the Balkan Wars on 8 October 1912. Losing the war, the Ottoman government had to surrender Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica (3 provinces forming present-day Libya) to the Kingdom of Italy with the secret Treaty of Ouchy (the public version is the Treaty of Lausanne (1912)) signed ten days later, on 18 October.