Refet Bele (1881 – 3 October 1963), also known as Refet Bey or Refet Pasha was a Turkish military commander. He served in the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

and the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

, where he retired as a general.

Life

He was born to a Turkish family in

Selanik Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(modern Thessaloniki,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) in 1881. He took the surname Bele because of his grandfather who was originally from Byala/Bele,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Because of the troubles in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

his family moved first to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

but settled later back to Thessaloniki when he was an infant. He studied in the

Ottoman Military College The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College ( or ), was a two-year military staff college of the Ottoman Empire. It was located in İstanbul. Its mission was to educate staff officers for the Ott ...

, enrolled in the army and became a member of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

. He took part in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

(1911) and then in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

(1912–1913) in which his hometown was lost to the Greeks. He took part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

where he fought in the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel under the command of Kress von Kressenstein in the

Battle of Romani The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town o ...

where the Ottoman forces were defeated. In the Palestine front and during the

Second battle of Gaza The Second Battle of Gaza was fought on 17–19 April 1917, following the defeat of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) at the First Battle of Gaza in March, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Gaza was defended b ...

he served with distinction. First refusing a surrender and then successfully organizing the withdrawal of the Ottoman and German forces with their weaponry. Nevertheless, Bele was blamed together with Ismet (Inönü) for the defeat of the Ottomans by

Erich Von Falkenhayn Erich Georg Sebastian Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was a German general and Ottoman Field Marshal who served as Prussian Minister of War and Chief of the German General Staff during the First World War. Falkenha ...

.Uyar, Mesut (December 30, 2020), pp.324–325 After the British advance in 1918 he was cut off by his troops but managed to reach the Ottoman base at Tyre 75 miles north, after traveling one week through British lines. He did not speak English but because he moved at night and responded to questions with saluting and riding on a walk he avoided being captured. He returned to Istanbul after the

Armistice of Mudros The Armistice of Mudros () ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between Ottoman Turkey and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset ...

in 1918. While in Istanbul, most of Anatolia began to be occupied by foreign powers, the Greeks landed at

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in 1919. In response to the occupation he decided to join the Turkish nationalist movement and crossed over to Anatolia to organize resistance and join the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

which was being led by Atatürk. He took part in the Amasya Circular of 1919 and then also in the

Erzurum Congress Erzurum Congress () was an assembly of Turkish Revolutionaries held from 23 July to 4 August 1919 in the city of Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in accordance with the previously issued Amasya Circular. The congress united delegates from six easter ...

Alaşehir Congress The Alaşehir Congress () was a local assembly of the Turkish National Movement held in the town of Alaşehir from 16 to 25 September 1919. It was preceded by the Balıkesir Congress and was a continuation of the reactionary movement following the ...

and

Sivas Congress The Sivas Congress () was an assembly of the Turkish National Movement held for one week from 4 to 11 September 1919 in the city of Sivas, in central-eastern Turkey, which united delegates from all Anatolian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, defun ...

. He later served as minister and later as commander at the Western Front against the Greek armies. He put down several local revolts against the Ankara government. However he had several political disputes with Atatürk and became out of favor. He was tried in court but acquitted of the attempted assassination of Atatürk in 1926. In 1926 he retired from the army and parliament deputy. In his later life he took several different occupations including a second deputy time. He died in Istanbul in 1963.

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bele, Refet 1881 births 1963 deaths Military personnel from Thessaloniki People from Salonica vilayet Macedonian Turks Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Ministers of the interior of Turkey Ministers of national defence of Turkey Deputies of İzmir Deputies of Istanbul Ottoman Army officers Turkish Army generals Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars Ottoman military personnel of World War I Ottoman prisoners of war Turkish military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Military College alumni Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Red-Green Ribbon (Turkey) Burials at Turkish State Cemetery

Life

See also

Sources

External links