20 - Lausanne

Summary

The two cards the British had held before the Mudanya Armistice were possession of Istanbul and control of the Dardanelles Strait. After Mudanya, the military situation at the Straits was much as it had been, with continuing dangers for the British. A breakdown in treaty deliberations might still lead to war at Chanak, which the new British Cabinet was completely against. Nevertheless, the British position at the Dardanelles could be used by the British at the upcoming peace conference, because the Turks also did not want war. What had been another British strong point before Mudanya, occupation of Istanbul, had in practice ceased to exist.

The Situation in Istanbul

The situation in Istanbul had turned decidedly against the British. General Harington reported

a considerable influx of Kemalist soldiers into Constantinople, and it was evident throughout that they had been preparing organizations, both in Eastern Thrace and in Constantinople, which, in the event of a rupture, would have carried out active operations against the Allies.

He estimated that the Nationalist forces he faced were ‘40,000 at Chanak, 50,000 on the Ismid Peninsula, 30,000 Central Reserve, 20,000 at Constantinople, and 20,000 in Eastern Thrace’.

Even before any decision at Lausanne, the Nationalists had begun to recover control of the Ottoman capital. If peace talks failed, the British could expect a well-planned revolt in Istanbul, supported by most of the populace. On 19 October 1922, immediately after the signing of the Mudanya Armistice, the representative of the Nationalist Government, Refet (Bele) Paşa, arrived in Istanbul with 100 Nationalist guardsmen. The Nationalists notified the British that the Ankara Government intended to take over the civil administration and gendarmerie of Istanbul. Refet effectively assumed control of the city administration, leaving most Ottoman officials in place, but demanding that they now answer to Ankara. He abolished the emergency courts that had been created by the Allies, set new customs fees and censored pro-Allied newspapers. Commissioner Rumbold told Refet that the Allies were still in charge, and the high commissioners complained to their governments that they had lost control. In fact, all the Allies had left to enforce their control of the city was their armed force, which they could not use without sparking an uprising, and was too small a force to resist one.