From Samsun to the Republic: 1919–1923
A nation's hope for sovereignty: The War of Independence
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# The World The game begins on May 19, 1919, with the landing at Samsun. The map encompasses the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, Thrace, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia from 1919 to 1923. Map areas are tracked at the city and regional level; foreign occupation, national control, local resistance, and front movements dynamically update their status. ## Initial Map Situation - Istanbul and the Straits: Under Allied control. - Smyrna (İzmir) and the Western Anatolian advance zone: Under Greek military control, with pressure to expand further inland. - Cilicia and surrounding regions: Under French occupation and sphere of influence. - Antalya and Southwestern Anatolia: Under Italian occupation and sphere of influence. - Mosul and its environs: Under British military control and influence. - The Anatolian Heartland: Where Ottoman administrative control is crumbling, and grassroots resistance and national organization are rising. - Samsun: Landing site of Mustafa Kemal Pasha on May 19, 1919, and the cradle of the National Movement. The occupying powers do not act as a monolithic bloc. The military pressure, diplomatic posture, and political decisions of British, French, Italian, and Greek actors evolve over time. As the National Movement organizes a region and secures military and political control, the map updates accordingly. ## Map Color Key - **National Movement:** Deep Crimson (#8B1E2D) - **Greece:** Blue (#2455A4) - **United Kingdom:** Dark Red (#7A1F2B) - **France:** Slate Blue (#587A9E) - **Italy:** Green (#4F7F52) - **Ottoman Government:** Sand/Stone (#B8A98A) - **Soviet Russia:** Red (#A52A2A) - **Neutral / Contested:** Gray (#A7A7A7) These colors are not merely decorative; they reflect the initial control defined by each territory's cell_control_faction value. When control changes due to battle, occupation, withdrawal, treaty, or national organizing, the map color shifts to match. ## Map Mechanics The map is far more than a visual backdrop. Control over each region is evaluated alongside military presence, local popular support, supply access, diplomatic standing, and the outcomes of previous events. Consequently, the liberation of İzmir, the French withdrawal from Cilicia, shifts on the Eastern Front, the handover of Thrace, and the final evacuation of Istanbul unfold step by step across the map. ## The Player's Role Mustafa Kemal Pasha is the central protagonist. As the player, you make critical choices regarding travels, congresses, telegrams, appointments, military reorganizations, relations with local defense societies, the establishment of the Grand National Assembly, logistics, and frontline command. ## Main Historical Periods - Samsun and Havza: May 19 – June 1919 - The Amasya Circular and Early Organization: June 1919 - The Erzurum and Sivas Congresses: July – September 1919 - The Representative Committee and the Move to Ankara: Late 1919 – 1920 - The Grand National Assembly and the Regular Army: 1920 - İnönü, Sakarya, and the Great Offensive: 1921–1922 - The Peace Process and State Building: 1922–1923 Historical events provide the initial context; player choices can alter history's course. ## Beyond Thrace: Peace and State Building Once the Eastern Thrace question is settled, the game does not simply railroad toward a fixed Lausanne treaty. The player may await the peace conference, ramp up military and political pressure on Istanbul and the Straits, stage limited incursions near the Dardanelles or Istanbul, exploit diplomatic rifts between Britain, France, Italy, Soviet Russia, and the Balkan states, or prepare for renewed war. The civil administration handover of Istanbul, the evacuation of Allied troops, and the entry of the Turkish army into Istanbul represent distinct outcomes. Historically, the Armistice of Mudanya permitted Allied garrisons in Istanbul and the Straits to remain until the final peace treaty, even while Turkish civil administration resumed. ### The Lausanne Delegation The player may select the chief negotiator: - İsmet Pasha - Mustafa Kemal Pasha - İsmet Pasha under direct political guidance from Mustafa Kemal Pasha - A collective delegation - Delay the conference while keeping up military pressure Historically, İsmet Pasha was appointed Foreign Minister and chief delegate on October 27, 1922; the game treats this as one choice among several. ### Dynamic Negotiation Model at Lausanne Lausanne is not a single binary victory screen. The **Peace Leverage Balance** is calculated from the magnitude of the Great Offensive's victory, the collapse of the Greek army, the Turkish army's manpower, supply, ammunition, and fatigue levels, de facto control over Istanbul and Thrace, Britain's appetite for renewed warfare, French and Italian divergence from Britain, Soviet relations, domestic support, the Assembly's legitimacy, economic health, and the delegation's diplomatic, authoritative, and coordination ratings. Low leverage drives up the risk of resumed fighting and triggers fierce Allied resistance over border and economic clauses. Moderate leverage secures Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, but leaves Mosul, Western Thrace, Aegean islands, and economic concessions fiercely contested. High leverage unlocks broader territorial claims. Under exceptionally high leverage, negotiations may extend to Northern Thrace, key Aegean islands, advanced border demands around Syria and Hatay, and favorable terms on Mosul–Kirkuk. No claim is conceded automatically; pushing too hard may compel the Allied powers to resume hostilities. Historically at Lausanne, Eastern Thrace/the Maritsa, the Straits, the islands, and the capitulations were resolved under separate articles, culminating in the complete abolition of the capitulations. In the game, each issue is resolved dynamically as an independent variable. ### The Mosul–Kirkuk Second Accord The Mosul–Kirkuk dispute can be deferred beyond Lausanne as a separate crisis. Potential outcomes include: cession to Turkey; revenue-sharing agreements granting Britain a temporary share of oil revenues; partial compromise; preserving the status quo border; or referring the dispute to bilateral Turkish-British negotiations. This forces the player to weigh hard-won military gains against British petroleum interests to achieve peace. ### The Peace Map Each objective is resolved independently: Eastern Thrace / Maritsa, Western Thrace, Istanbul and the Straits, the Aegean Islands, Mosul–Kirkuk, Syria–Hatay borderlands, Cyprus, capitulations, Ottoman public debt, and economic sovereignty. Every item follows a **Demand → Negotiate → Secured / Deferred / Conceded** cycle. Even with immense military strength, no territory is yielded without negotiation. ### A Republic Is Not Inevitable Following peace, the state does not automatically become a republic. The institutions established during the war and the player's political decisions determine the outcome: a constitutional democratic Republic, a transitional parliamentary regime with a dominant assembly, Ottoman monarchical continuity, a socialist/communist model, an authoritarian/nationalist model, or an unstable, fragmented transition. These possibilities unlock dynamically based on player choices. Upon founding the new regime, a proclamation screen appears: - **End Here:** View the alternate-history epilogue. - **Continue:** Close the wartime chapter and enter the era of state-building and nation-state consolidation. Territorial boundaries, treaty terms, and political regimes are independent yet mutually influential outcomes shaped by your leadership. ## Dynamic Factions and Unfolding Internal Fronts **Armenia** and **Georgia** act as independent foreign powers. Initially, the Eastern Front is monitored under the jurisdiction of the 15th Corps and Kâzım Karabekir Pasha. Border clashes, armistices, and treaties with Armenia, as well as territorial questions over Artvin, Ardahan, and Batum alongside Soviet pressure, represent distinct military and diplomatic variables. Historically, the Eastern Front involved the 1920 campaign against Armenia, 1921 border operations with Georgia, and the subsequent treaties of Moscow and Kars. The **Pontic Greek Movement** does not begin as an open battlefront. Depending on Black Sea security conditions, local organization, the pace of the Greek advance, and Ankara's central authority, a **Pontic rebellion or security crisis** may erupt in later phases. Historical sources document that Pontic insurgent activities created a severe internal security crisis spreading from the Samsun–Trabzon coastline into the interior, prompting the deployment of the Central Army in 1921. In-game, the timing, intensity, and geographic scope of this crisis depend on prior player choices. **Kurdish Uprisings** also do not start as active fronts on the initial map. Ankara's relations with tribal leaders, central governance, taxation, conscription policies, regional security, and foreign instigation accumulate over time, potentially triggering rebellions of varying scales. Each event is modeled with distinct causes and local actors; none are predetermined or inevitable. These internal fronts do not necessarily halt operations on the Western Front, but diverting troops, reallocating supply, and managing public morale, parliamentary authority, diplomacy, and war weariness impose tangible strategic costs. The player may quell crises early through conciliation and regional governance or attempt to crush them through decisive military force.