15. Today in 1920s Turkey: 30 August 1924 (Celebrating the Troops)
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The front page of Karagöz’s 30 August 1924 issue features an almost full-page illustration surrounded on three sides with poetry. This post includes the translation of the poem located below the image. The two poems flanking the illustration are related to one another as indicated by their respective titles. The poem on the right is called “Song of the Commanders” and the poem on the left is entitled “Song of the Soldier.”
The focus of the illustration is the central figure, a soldier. Weapon-in-hand, he stands elevated high above the crowd at his feet. It is unclear whether the crowd extending out into the distance is comprised of civilians or fellow soldiers but regardless, we can identify exactly the larger figures standing in the foreground, at the feet of the soldier. From right to left are the most significant military commanders of the War of Independence: Fevzi Çakmak, Mustafa Kemal, Kazım Karabekir, and İsmet İnönü. Finally, on the far left stands the fictional character and the journal’s namesake, Karagöz.
The pronounced hill in the landscape is also identifiable as Karahisar, the hill at which the major Battle of Dumlupınar was fought. The day after the date of this battle is “Soldier’s Day” according to the text below. The image celebrates the soldier by showing his superiors as paying their respects to him as the war’s true hero.
“Soldier’s Day” never became a popular national holiday. Published two years after the final battles of the War of Independence, this issue of Karagöz demonstrates how national holidays were tested and promoted during the earliest years of the Republic. Indeed, since 30 August officially became Victory Day in 1926 this plot of calendrical real estate became occupied with a greater unifying concept. Since those early years another Soldier’s Day was not established but instead March 18 has become Martyr’s Day (Şehitler Günü) and September 19 is now recognized as Veteran’s Day (Gaziler Günü).
English
31 August, Soldier’s Day, Dumlupınar
It was the past year today that our army marched,
The plains of Dumlupınar were filled with dark smoke,
The soldiers drove the Greeks out of the trenches,
They passed the wire fence lifting their legs.
Many of them drank the sweet syrup of martyrdom!
Five days later all was over on the battle front,
The glorious army had quickly captured Trikoupis,
The cavalry ran [them] out to the farthest [point],
In a week they threw the Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea,
They piled their arms at Izmir’s magnificent docks!
Sirs, nobody showed us mercy when we were weak,
Even when we were [تسابم] the torture did not end,
We told the countries to leave and not a single one did,
When [they, the soldiers] killed the Greeks they (the other “countries”) all set sail.
They said “pardon” to our army and retreated from the Marmara!
Türkçe
31 Ağustos, Mehmetçik Günü, Dumplupınar
Geçen sene bugün idi bizim ordu yürüdü,
Dumlupınar ovasını kara duman bürüdü,
Mehmetçikler Yunanlıyı siperlerden sürüdü,
Tel örgüyü bacakları kaldırarak geçtiler.
Birçokları şahadetin şerbetini içtiler!
Beş gün sonra cephelerde bütün işler bitmişti,
Şanlı ordu Trikopis’i hemen esir etmişti,
Süvariler sürgün edip en ileri gitmişti,
Haftasında Yunanlı’yı Akdeniz’e attılar,
Silahları şanlı İzmir rıhtımında çattılar!
Efendiler biz zayıfken kimse rahmet etmedi,
[تسابم] olduk öyle iken işkenceler bitmedi,
Devletlere gidin dedik biri olsun gitmedi
Yunanlı’yı gebertince hep yelkeni açtılar.
Ordumuza pardon deyip Marmara’dan kaçtılar!
Originally published at https://steemit.com on August 31, 2018.
