The "Nervous System" of the Turkish National Struggle: Telegraph lines and post offices in Anatolia

The Armistice of Mudros, signed between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire on October 30, 1918, was aimed at preventing a possible armed resistance in Anatolia, especially with its seventh and twenty-fourth articles. The demobilization of the Ottoman army, the control of the communication and transportation lines by the occupying forces, and the twelfth article of the 14 Principles published by the US President Woodrow Wilson pushed the Istanbul government and the public to surrender. In an environment where engaging in armed conflict against the invaders would lead to wider invasions, the first choice for the national movement, which is exposed to the labels of being partizans of Union and Progress Party and opposition to the caliphate, is propaganda; The most efficient method for this was to have telegraph lines and telegraph offices. Because the telegraph connected almost every province, sanjak and county in Anatolia like a nervous system in that period. In this respect, it was the most widely used mass media. Thus, the actors who carried out the National Struggle first seized the telegraph lines and telegraph offices in Central Anatolia in order to transform the already "reactive movement" of the Kuva-yı Millîye into a "joint movement"; they tried to recruit telegraph office officials who controlled the communications in a region. In a sense, the telegraph technology of the period and the location of the telegraph offices determined the aims and attitudes of the National Struggle actors with the opportunities they created. Therefore, the factors behind the laying of the lines in Anatolia, historical subjects and their concerns; It is important in terms of analyzing the communication infrastructure, which is one of the important reasons for the victory of the National Struggle.