Tarsus during the period of the National Struggle for independence(1918-1922)

The last periods of the Ottoman State had passed with tough wars most of which ended in defeat. The Ottomans entered the I. World War within the Triple Alliance block, with the aims of repossessing the territories lost, the Touran Ideology and breaking away political isolation. The Allied Powers shared the territories of the Ottoman State through a series of secret agreements among each other as the I. World War continued, and they put their secret plans into practice by beginning to occupy Ottoman territories immediately after the Mountreux Truce. Part of the occupant troops of the Allied Powers that occupied Mersin in 17 December 1920 were assigned to seize Tarsus and Adana; and these troops started occupation as soon as they reached Tarsus in 19 December 1920. Çukurova, which was critical for the French regarding both its geopolitical location and raw material resources, and Tarsus, which was a part of this region, were occupied; and the people of Tarsus resisted to the occupation, as the people in other occupied Turkish lands did, and they succeeded in saving the City from the occupation of the enemies on 27 December 1921. Key words: Icel, Mersin, Tarsus, Nationalist Forces.