The general directorate of military factories during Atatürk era

The title of this research, which I prepared as part of the Master's program with thesis at Akdeniz University Institute of Social Sciences, where I am a student, is " The General Directorate of Military Factories during Atatürk Era" and covers the period of the institution between 1922-1938. The General Directorate of Military Factories is a government body that led the first important step in the establishment and development of the defense industry of the Republic of Türkiye. In addition to this, it is also the result of a war industry that stems from the history of the country until its era. Therefore, the war industry of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of the Turkish State on the same territory, constitutes an important stage of this research. The Ottoman military industry, which was originally established during the reign of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, started to develop in the XVth century and began to decline from the XVIth century onwards. In the following period, the reform attempts by the rulers could not stop this decline. In the final periods of the state, the city of Istanbul bore the weight of the Ottoman war industry, which was foreign-dependent and redeveloped with foreign loans. With the World War I, both the mistakes made during the war and the Istanbul administration under the pressure of the Entente States after the war and the confiscated military factories in the city, this breakthrough also came to an end. The burden of this situation fell on the shoulders of the supporters of the National Struggle, and the military power achieved by smuggling the necessary ammunition, military equipment and experts from Istanbul through various difficulties and means was the key factor in the success of the country's defense. Established by the efforts of the Ankara government during the battles of the War of Independence, the Military Manufacturing (aka İmalat-ı Harbiye) Institution constituted the first step of the new war industry that would ensure the management and development of this military power smuggled out of Istanbul and became operational in January 1922. Later, in 1930, the name of the institution was changed to the General Directorate of Military Factories and the establishment of military industrial organizations was largely realized in this period. The most important achievement of this institution, which also ensured the development of some military factories left over from the Ottoman Empire, was to initiate the establishment and development of the Turkish military industry, which moved from Istanbul to Anatolia. Ankara and Kırıkkale military industrial plants now constitute the two main hubs of the country's new military industry. In 1950, the General Directorate of Military Factories handed over its duties to the Machinery and Chemical Industry and made significant achievements in the fields of commerce, education and labor rights.