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| casualties2 = From August 23 to September 16:〔''Σαγγάριος 1921, Η επική μάχη που σφράγησε την τύχη του Μικρασιατικού Ελληνισμού'', Εκδόσεις Περισκόπιο, Ιούλιος 2008, ISBN 978-960-6740-45-9, page 32〕 4,000 dead 19,000 wounded 354 missing Total: 22,900 | campaignbox = }} The Battle of Sakarya ((トルコ語:Sakarya Meydan Muharebesi)), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios ((ギリシア語:Μάχη του Σαγγάριου)), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and Turkish War of Independence. The battle went on for 21 days from August 23 to September 13, 1921, close to the banks of the Sakarya River in the immediate vicinity of Polatlı, which is today a district of the Ankara Province. The battle line stretched over 62 miles (100 km).〔Edmund Schopen: ''Die neue Türkei'', Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, 1938, (page 95 ). 〕 It is also known as the "Officers’ Battle"〔Sean McMeekin, ''The Berlin-Baghdad Express: The Ottoman Empire and Germany's Bid for World Power '', Harvard University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-674-05739-5, p. 302.〕 (''Subaylar Savaşı'') in Turkey because of the unusually high casualty rate (70-80%) among the officers.〔Osman Faruk Loğoğlu, ''İsmet İnönü and the Making of Modern Turkey'', İnönü Vakfı, 1997, ISBN 978-975-7951-01-8, p. 56.〕 The Battle of Sakarya is considered as the turning point of the Turkish War of Independence.〔(''Revue internationale d'histoire militaire Volumes 46-48'' ), International Committee of Historical Sciences. Commission of comparative military history, 1980, page 222〕〔(''International review of military history (Volume 50)'' ), International Committee of Historical Sciences. Commission d'histoire militaire comparée, 1981, page 25.〕〔Dominic Whiting, (''Turkey Handbook'' ), Footprint Travel Guides, 2000, ISBN 1-900949-85-7, page 445.〕〔(''Young Turk'' ), Moris Farhi, Arcade Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-55970-764-0, page 153.〕〔Kevin Fewster, Vecihi Başarin, Hatice Hürmüz Başarin, (''A Turkish view of Gallipoli: Çanakkale'' ), Hodja, 1985, ISBN 0-949575-38-0, page 118.〕〔William M. Hale (''Turkish foreign policy, 1774-2000'' ), Routledge, 2000, ISBN 0-7146-5071-4, page 52.〕〔Michael Dumper, Bruce E. Stanley: (''Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: a historical encyclopedia'' ), ABC-CLIO, 2007, ISBN 1-57607-919-8, page 38.〕 A Turkish observer, writer and literary critic İsmail Habip Sevük, later described the importance of the battle with the words, ''"the retreat that started in Vienna on 13 September 1683 stopped 238 years later"''.〔Kate Fleet, Suraiya Faroqhi, Reşat Kasaba: (''The Cambridge History of Turkey (Volume 4)'' ), Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 0-521-62096-1, page 138.〕 ==Operational theater== The Greek offensive under King Constantine as Supreme Commander of the Greek Forces in Asia was committed on July 16. 1921, and was skilfully executed. A feint towards the Turkish right flank at Eskişehir distracted Ismet Pasha just as the major assault fell on the left at Kara Hisar. The Greeks then wheeled their axis to the north and swept towards Eskişehir, rolling up the Turkish defence in a series of frontal assaults combined with flanking movements.〔Christopher Chant, pg.22〕 Eskişehir fell on July 17, despite a vigorous counter-attack by Ismet Pasha who was determined to fight to the finish. The saner counsels of Mustafa Kemal prevailed, however, and Ismet disengaged with great losses to reach the comparative safety of the Sakarya River, some 30 miles (48 km) to the north and only 50 miles (80 km) from Ankara.〔Christopher Chant, pg.22.〕 The determining feature of the terrain was the river itself, which flows eastward across the plateau, suddenly curves north and then turns back westwards describing a great loop that forms a natural barrier. The river banks are awkward and steep, and bridges were few, there being only two on the frontal section of the loop. East of the loop, the landscape rises before an invader in rocky, barren ridges and hills towards Ankara. It was here in these hills, east of the river that the Turks dug in their defensive positions. The front followed the hills east of the Sakarya River from a point near Polatlı southwards to where the Gök River joins the Sakarya, and then swung at rightangles eastwards following the line of the Gök River. It was an excellent defensive ground.〔Michael Llewellyn Smith, pg.227〕 For the Greeks, the question on whether to dig in and rest on their previous gains, or to advance towards Ankara in great effort and destroy the Army of the Grand National Assembly was difficult to resolve, posing the eternal problems that the Greek Staff had to deal since the beginning of the War. The dangers of extending the lines of communications still further in such an inhospitable terrain that killed horses, caused vehicles to break down and prevented the movement of heavy artillery were obvious. The present front that gave the Greeks the control of the essential strategic railway was tactically most favourable. But because the Army of the Grand National Assembly had escaped encirclement at Kütahya, nothing had been settled; therefore the temptation of achieving a “knock-out-blow” became irresistible.〔Michael Llewellyn Smith, pg.228〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Sakarya」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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