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The Action Army (Turkish: Ḥareket Ordusu), also translated as the Army of Action or Operation army, was a rebellion force formed by elements of the Ottoman Army sympathetic to the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) during the 31 March Incident, sometimes referred to as the 1909 countercoup. Mobilised in Selanik (modern Thessaloniki) by Mahmud Shevket Pasha,[1] it occupied Istanbul and successfully suppressed the uprising in the 31 March Incident.[2]
Background
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The 1908 Young Turk Revolution, led by the CUP, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore a system of constitutional monarchy, ushering in the Second Constitutional Era. The 1909 countercoup was instigated by a mutiny of dissatisfied troops in Istanbul, who were joined by reactionary religious protestors demanding a return to autocracy under Abdul Hamid and sharia (sacred law).[3] With the resignation of Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha's cabinet the mutiny developed into a wider political crisis.[4]
Composition
editThe Action Army was organised by Mahmud Shevket Pasha, commander of the Third Army based in Selanik. A number of staff officers opposed to the countercoup gathered in Selanik to join the force.[5] It was also supported by divisions from the Second Army stationed in Adrianople (modern Edirne).[5]
The force numbered around 20,000–25,000 Ottoman soldiers and was supplemented by 15,000 volunteers, including 4,000 Bulgarians, 2,000 Greeks and 700 Jews. Çerçiz Topulli and Bajram Curri brought 8,000 Albanians troops, while Major Ahmed Niyazi Bey arrived with 1,800 men from Resne.[6]
Legacy
editSome have compared the Action Army to a band of marauders (çapulcu in Turkish).[7] One such example is Shaykh Nazim in some of his discourses. Mustafa Kemal Bey was involved as a captain.[8]
March of the Action Army
edit| Turkish | English |
|---|---|
Selanık'tan çıktılar, İstanbul'u tuttular, |
They left Thessaloniki, they captured Istanbul, |
References
edit- ^ Süssheim, Karl; Flemming, Barbara; Schmidt, Jan (2002). The Diary of Karl Süssheim (1878-1947): Orientalist Between Munich and Istanbul. Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN 9783515075732.
- ^ Baykal, Erol A. F. (2019). The Ottoman Press (1908-1923). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. p. 1. doi:10.1163/9789004394889_002. ISBN 978-90-04-39488-9.
- ^ Der Matossian, Bedross (August 2011). "From Bloodless Revolution to Bloody Counterrevolution: The Adana Massacres of 1909 Adana Massacres of 1909". Genocide Studies and Prevention. 6 (2): 153. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ Swenson, Victor R. (1970). "The Military Rising in Istanbul 1909". Journal of Contemporary History. 5 (4): 171–184. doi:10.1177/002200947000500410. ISSN 0022-0094. JSTOR 259871. S2CID 162348476.
- ^ a b Ahmad, Feroz; Şenses, Bülent (2017). "Hareket Ordusu" [Action Army]. In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Denis, Matringe; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_30322. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ Gawrych, George (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913. London: IB Tauris. pp. 167–168. ISBN 9781845112875.
- ^ "AKP'li Eroğlu, Hareket Ordusu'na 'çapulcu ordusu' dedi". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
- ^ Büyük Larousse Ansiklopedisi, "Hareket Ordusu" maddesi, cilt 8, sayfa 5031
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