Happy 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
It has been 104 years since Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk took the first step that changed the destiny of the Turkish nation with his words, "I landed in Samsun on the 19th day of May 1919." Happy May 19 Youth and Sports Day to the Turkish nation. Exactly 104 years ago, Gazi Mustafa Kemal took the first step on the road to the National Struggle by going to Samsun on the Bandırma Ferry upon the orders of Sultan Vahdettin. Following the signing of the Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918, Izmir was occupied by the Greeks, Adana by the French, and Antalya and Konya by the Italians. British soldiers landed in Urfa, Maraş, Antep, Merzifon and Samsun, and the British Navy anchored in front of Istanbul on November 13, 1918. Mustafa Kemal, who returned to Istanbul from the Yıldırım Army Group Command on November 3, 1918, made plans for the liberation of Istanbul, where he stayed for six months. The Greeks in and around Samsun, with the support of the British who landed troops in Samsun on March 17-18, 1919, and by creating chaos with gang raids, wanted to open the region to the occupation of the Allied Powers in accordance with Article 7 of the Armistice of Mudros. When the Turkish people tried to organize themselves to defend themselves and to protect their lives and property against these tricks of the Greeks, the British High Commission and the Black Sea Army Command, concerned about this, sent a note to the Istanbul Government on April 21, 1919, requesting that the tension in the region be calmed and the alleged attacks against the Greeks be prevented. Mustafa Kemal set off Mustafa Kemal, who was assigned as the Inspector of the 9th Army to ensure public order in the region, set off on the Bandırma Steamer the day after the occupation of İzmir on May 15, 1919. Mustafa Kemal and his friends took their first steps in Samsun from the Reji Pier. During World War I, all the city's piers were bombed by the Russians, but only the French Reji (Tekel Administration) Pier remained intact. The French were producing cigarettes in a factory established in Samsun at the time, and that is why the name of the pier was also known as the Tobacco Pier. His arrival caused uneasiness The arrival of the Great Leader Atatürk in Samsun caused uneasiness in the British. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who stayed in Samsun for 6 days, went to Havza on May 25. Havza was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's second stop on the road to liberation. The first rally was also held in Havza. The occupation of İzmir was protested in the rally held upon Mustafa Kemal Pasha's instructions. Mustafa Kemal, whose next stop would be Amasya, took important steps for the National Struggle in Havza for 18 days. Under pressure from the British, who were aware of the activity in Havza, Atatürk was removed from his position as the Ninth Army Inspector. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk bid farewell to the people of Havza as a civilian. The torch of the National Struggle lit by Gazi Mustafa Kemal and his comrades in Samsun was lit in Amasya, Erzurum and Sivas, and spread throughout the country. The Republic of Turkey, founded on October 29, 1923, at the end of the National Struggle, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.