5th Cavalry Corps in Turkish War of Independence

This thesis is the first one that holistically examines the 5th Cavalry Corps operation in the War of Independence. In this context, the study was carried out to reveal all aspects of the position, duty, operation, and function of the 5th Cavalry Corps on the western front. The tasks and activities of the 5th Cavalry Corps in the Kütahya-Eskişehir, Sakarya Pitched Battle, the Great Offensive, the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, and the Pursuit Operation were discussed in detail. The name of the 5th Cavalry Corps in the Kütahya-Eskişehir Battles is referred to as the 5th Group. The aforementioned Group performed a strategic task during the Kütahya-Eskişehir Battles when the Turkish Army retreated to the east of Sakarya against the Greek Army. While the Turkish Army was withdrawing, it wore out the Greek forces and ensured that the withdrawal was made without casualties. The most important task of the 5th Group in the Battle of Sakarya was to reach the Greek Command level and to carry out attrition operations against the Greek forces. In this context, with the Uzunbeyli Raid, the Greek Army Commander Anastasios Papulas and his command staff were tried to be captured, but the attempt was inconclusive. On the other hand, while the Turkish and Greek Armies were fighting in the Battle of Mangal Mountain, the Greek Army was destroyed by the attrition operation. After the Sakarya Pitched Battle, the name of the 5th Group was changed to the 5th Cavalry Corps as of September 13 1921. The activities of the 5th Cavalry Corps during the Great Offensive were extremely effective in winning the war. The aforementioned corps primarily carried out a containment operation by entering the Greek forces holding on to the Afyonkarahisar line from the south of Sinanpaşa and succeeded in stalling the Greek forces. Likewise, cutting the İzmir-Uşak-Afyonkarahisar railway line, it disrupted the balance of supply, subsistence, and power of the Greek Army. It also managed to prevent the unification of Greek troops by eliminating the coordination between the Greek corps during the Great Offensive. The corps evacuated the remains of Greek swords from Uşak, Manisa, and İzmir regions with the Pursuit Operation that started on September 1, 1922. This thesis has been prepared mainly from the sources of the General Staff (ATASE) Archive, the main sources in the Presidency State Archives, the Republic Archive, and the Parliamentary Library. In addition, copyrighted works are included. Keywords: 5th Cavalry Corps, Fahrettin Altay, Afyonkarahisar, Uşak, İzmir.