Siege of Aintab
1920–21 siege of the Franco-Turkish War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The siege of Aintab[8][9] (French: Les Quatres Sièges d'Aïntab;[10] Ottoman Turkish: عین تاب قوشاتماسى; Turkish: Antep Kuşatması) was a military engagement between the Turkish National Forces and the French Army of the Levant occupying the city of Aintab (present-day Gaziantep) during the Turkish War of Independence (specifically its southern front, known as the Franco-Turkish War).
| Siege of Aintab | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Franco-Turkish War | |||||||
 After the siege of Aïntab and the Turkish surrender of February 8, 1921, the Turkish authorities of the city presented themselves to General de Lamothe, commanding the 2nd division. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kuva-yi Milliye | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Mustafa Hilmi Bey "Kılıç" Ali Bey Şahin Bey † Şefik "Özdemir" Bey [tr] Colonel Kenan Bey |
 Henri Gouraud Louis Albert Quérette Fernand Goubeau Pierre Flye Sainte-Marie Maurice-Jean-Joseph Abadie C.J. E. Andréa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
Total force:[3][4][Note 1] 2,920 militia fighters, 6 machine guns,[5] 3 mountain guns[5] |
Total force:[3][4][Note 2] 12,000 French soldiers,[6] 1,500 Armenian soldiers,[Note 3] 4 tanks, 11 artillery batteries, 1,400 military animals,[5] 6 aircraft, 1 mobile hospital[5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
6,317 killed (mostly civilians)[7] over 2,000 prisoners 1,400 guns 10 machine guns | 1,600 French soldiers, including 4 high rank officers, killed according to French Army sources[5] | ||||||
Fighting began in April 1920, when French forces opened fire on the city. It ended with the Kemalist defeat and the city's surrender to the French military forces on 9 February 1921.[11] However, despite a victory, the French ultimately decided to retreat from the city leaving it to Kemalist forces on 20 October 1921 in accordance with the Treaty of Ankara.
Timeline
1920
- 1 - 16 April: 1st Turkish siege
- 30 April - 23 May: 2nd Turkish siege
- 30 May - 18 June: 1920 armistice
- 29 July - 10 August: 3rd Turkish siege
- 11 August: beginning of French siege
- 21 November - 18 December: Goubeau column participation
1921
- 7 February: last exit attempt
- 8 February: sending of a city parliamentary mission - cease fire
- 9 February: capitulation
Notes
- 2.070 armed and 850 unarmed fighters (=2.920)
- In April 1920 the French forces consisted of 4,500 soldiers. With the arrival of Goubeau 4th division on 20 November 1920 the French siege force increased to: 13 infantry battalions and 1.5 cavalry regiment (=12,000 soldiers). After Goubeau's departure on 18 December the french force decreased to: 9 infantry battalions (four of which with less than 300 fighters) and 2 cavalry squadrons (=6500 soldiers). There are still 6000 men at the end of the siege
- On 29 October 1919 the third battalion and the staff of the French Armenian legion (lieutenant-colonel Flye Sainte-Marie) were the bulk of the hastily assembled French force assigned to relieve Aintab British garrison. On 13 November, the third battalion (except 2 machine gun platoons) left the city. On 30 April 1920, Flye Sainte-Marie and French Armenian legion last soldiers went away. The French Armenian legion was dissolved on 1 September 1920.