Turkey commemorates “Victory Day” as national holiday on August 30th every year

VICTORY DAY is an official national holiday which Turkey celebrates on August 30th each year to commemorate the Great Battle Turkey (headed by Mustafa Kemal ATATURK) won against the Greek army in DUMLUPINAR on 30 August 1920.

Following the successful completion of the Great Offensive (battle), also known as the “Commander-in-Chief Battle”, the Greek army was followed up to Izmir and on September 9, 1922, with the liberation of Izmir, Turkish lands were liberated from the Greek occupation. It was later that the occupation troops (to include British) left the borders of the country, but August 30 symbolically represents the day when the territory was taken back by Turks.

The Great Offensive was a secret operation planned to make the final move against the occupying forces of the Turkish army during the War of Independence and to expel enemy troops from Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, took the decision to start an offensive against the enemy in June and started making preparations.

The Great Offensive started in Afyon on the night of the 26th of August and ended with the victory of the Turkish army and destruction of the enemy troops besieged around Aslıhan. in the Dumlupınar Battle.

The “independence war” fought by the Turkish forces against the enemy (at the time) was a fight between two disproportionate forces as the Greek Army was an organized military force whereas Turkish side was put together using disorderly forces made up of nationalists and it did not have enough weapons and other facilities, at the time. So it was not an even challenge, in the least. The Turkish side under the command of Atatürk won this war despite these very unfavorable conditions. (30.08.2019)