How did Ataturk win the Turkish War of Independence?

Ataturk's Grand National Assembly was fighting their own government, Britain, France and Greece. How did Ataturk's forces win against those kind of odds? Was it due to Ataturk himself or did other factors play in his favour?
 

BigBlueBox

Banned
France never really fought the Turks, they decided there was no point helping Greece and Perfidious Albion once they already got what they wanted - Syria and Lebanon. Britain didn’t commit deeply enough, due to both public opposition to more fighting and the refusal of the Dominions to assist. Ottoman loyalists who would collaborate with the occupiers were effectively non-existent.
 
I think a monkey biting the Greek pm was involved somehow, though I haven’t polished up my Turkish history in a while.

also, there was the fact that Turkey was fighting with short supply lines, while the allies needed to truck everything into the Anatolian interior
 
I think a monkey biting the Greek pm was involved somehow, though I haven’t polished up my Turkish history in a while.

also, there was the fact that Turkey was fighting with short supply lines, while the allies needed to truck everything into the Anatolian interior
A monkey bit the King of Greece, actually, and he died of sepsis from the bite, which brought his Pro-Central Powers father back to the throne, which rather killed any enthusiasm for continuing to support Greece.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
I think a monkey biting the Greek pm was involved somehow, though I haven’t polished up my Turkish history in a while.

also, there was the fact that Turkey was fighting with short supply lines, while the allies needed to truck everything into the Anatolian interior
Yes that damned monkey escaped. I still haven't been able to catch it. Who knows what mayhem she has caused over the century.
 
An impressive combination of Entente war-weariness, political disputes among the Entente forces, Greece getting massively overextended, zero public support for the Ottoman government, and it being a defensive war for Turkey which easily countered for post-Ottoman war exhaustion among the Turkish population.

Basically a perfect storm.
 
They also had support from the Bolsheviks, who saw common enemies in Armenia, which they conquered in 1920, and the Entente, whose meddling in the Civil War was kind of a sticking point. Even the Italians lent some aid because they'd fallen out with Greece over competing claims. Terrible diplomacy on the Entente side.
 
Top