Turkish-Syrian Border Clashes (1938)

Turkish-Syrian Border Clashes (1938)
	Part of Syrian–Turkish Border Conflict (1936–1939)
Date	1938
Location	Turco-Syrian Border
Result	Turkish political and strategic victory[full citation needed] Establishment of a Semi-Autonomous Hatay State;
Belligerents
Turkey Hatay State;	France First Syrian Republic;
Commanders and leaders
Tayfur Sökmen Atatürk #	Hashim al-Atassi

The Turkish-Syrian Border Clashes of 1938 were a series of military skirmishes and diplomatic tensions that took place between Turkey and the French Mandate of Syria. The clashes occurred in the context of the ongoing dispute over the Sanjak of Alexandretta (today's Hatay Province), a region with a significant Turkish-speaking population that both Turkey and Syria claimed.

Background

The Sanjak of Alexandretta was a region that had been part of the Ottoman Empire until its collapse after World War I. Following the end of the war and the partition of the Ottoman Empire, the Sanjak came under French control as part of the French Mandate over Syria.

Turkey, however, considered the region to be historically part of its territory, particularly due to the significant Turkish-speaking population there, as well as its strategic and cultural importance.

Throughout the 1930s, tensions between Turkey and France (which controlled Syria) increased over the future of Alexandretta. Many ethnic Turks in the Sanjak desired to join Turkey, while Syria, which had gained some independence from France in the 1930s, viewed the region as part of its future national territory.

In 1936, Turkey began to apply diplomatic and military pressure to gain control over the region, fearing that the Sanjak might become fully incorporated into Syria, and that the French would not support Turkish interests.

The 1938 Clashes

In response to increasing tensions and the growing Syrian nationalist movement, Turkey began to position troops along the border, particularly in areas near the Sanjak. This military build-up was not an outright declaration of war but a way of signaling Turkey's determination to assert control over the area.

Turkey also encouraged Turkish-speaking populations in the Sanjak to demand more autonomy or even integration with Turkey.

In 1938, as tensions reached a peak, skirmishes and violent clashes broke out between Turkish and Arab residents in the Sanjak. The Turkish government deployed forces to stabilize the region and protect Turkish civilians and interests. These clashes were often localized but were indicative of the ethnic and nationalist divisions within the region.

The French, who controlled Syria at the time, intervened to try to manage the situation, but their authority was increasingly undermined by Turkey's influence.

References

^ Bowen, Jeremy (30 August 2022). The Making of the Modern Middle East: A Personal History. Pan Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-1-76126-355-2. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
^ "The Question of Alexandretta (Hatay): Syria and Turkey" by Robert Olson, in Orient (1983).
^ Khoury, Philip Shukry (14 July 2014). Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920-1945. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-5839-2. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

[1] Bowen, Jeremy (30 August 2022). The Making of the Modern Middle East: A Personal History. Pan Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-1-76126-355-2. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

[2] "The Question of Alexandretta (Hatay): Syria and Turkey" by Robert Olson, in Orient (1983).

[3] Khoury, Philip Shukry (14 July 2014). Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920-1945. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-5839-2. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

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