Turkey celebrates Battle of Dumlupinar Victory Day

Turkey is celebrating today the 100th anniversary of Victory Day, the day the Turks won the Battle of Dumlupinar.

The holiday commemorates the decisive victory in the Battle of Dumlupınar, the last battle in the Greco-Turkish War, on 30 August 1922. Following the battle, Greek presence in Anatolia ended. Victory Day has been celebrated as an official holiday since 1926, and was first celebrated on 30 August 1923.

The Battle of Dumlupınar ended with Türkiye’s decisive victory against occupying Greek forces in a campaign that took place between 1919 and 1922. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (then known as the Ottoman Pasha Mustafa Kemal) hit the road in 1919 to mobilize forces to fight for Turkish independence. In a brief period of time, he managed to organize a movement with the support of the public. After dealing a crushing blow to Greek forces in the Battle of Sakarya in 1921, Mustafa Kemal’s forces launched the Great Offensive one year later to push Greek forces further to the west and, eventually, force them to leave Anatolia.

Finally, the offensive began in the last week of August in 1922. Turkish forces, one by one, recaptured places invaded by Greek forces, forcing them to start retreating to western cities. On Aug. 30, the two sides confronted each other near the town of Dumlupınar, located in the present-day Kütahya province. The victory ensured the recapture of Kütahya while inflicting heavy losses on the Greek forces. It would take another two weeks before the Turkish army captured the last Greek stronghold in the western province of Izmir and cleared Anatolia of all Greek forces.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan marked the country’s 100th Victory Day. "2023, when we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our Republic, will hopefully be a new milestone in which we herald the building of a great and powerful Türkiye," he added.