Gallipoli in the Period of National Struggle and Atatürk (1919-1938)

Gallipoli, which was exposed to the devastation of the war and witnessed to the Çanakkale victory, was occupied by the British troops on November 30, 1918 in accordance with the Mondros Armistice Agreement. Gallipoli remained in the British hand up to the Greek occupation on August 4, 1920. During this period Gallipoli Muslims was exposed to the humiliations and atrocities of the local Greek peoples. In addition, after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in October 1917, Gallipoli hosted the Tsarist Wrangel Army between November 22, 1920 and May 5, 1923. Greek occupation ended with handing over of Gallipoli to the Turkish National Assembly on November 26.Besides, according to the Lausanne agreement of 1923, Gallipoli became a demilitarized area. After the re-establishment of the Turkish rule, Gallipoli was promoted to the province status by the Turkish National Assembly in 1923. However, this period was not long-lived and Gallipoli once again became a district in 1926. In the meantime, numerous emigrants inhabited in Gallipoli as a result of the exchange of population agreement. Montreaux Agreement of 1936 abolished the demilitarised area status of Gallipoli and absolute rule of the Turkish Republic started in the region.