Franco-Turkish War

The Franco-Turkish War or Cilicia War (French: La campagne de Cilicie, Turkish: Güney Cephesi - the southern front) was a series of conflicts fought between France (the French Colonial Forces and the French Armenian Legion) and Turkish National Forces directed by Turkish Grand National Assembly from May 1920-October 1921 in the aftermath of World War I. French interest in the region resulted from the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the subsequent Frenc... More

The Franco-Turkish War or Cilicia War (French: La campagne de Cilicie, Turkish: Güney Cephesi - the southern front) was a series of conflicts fought between France (the French Colonial Forces and the French Armenian Legion) and Turkish National Forces directed by Turkish Grand National Assembly from May 1920-October 1921 in the aftermath of World War I. French interest in the region resulted from the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the subsequent French-Armenian Agreement (1916) that led to the establishment of Armenian forces under the French Army. French interest in the Çukurova region (Cilicia) was apparent from Napoleon′s 1798-1801 campaign in Egypt and Syria and became more intense when French capitalists acquired Sultan Abdülhamid II′s Mercimek Farm as part payment of Ottoman debts. This large (1,100 km (420 sq mi)) farm occupied a strip from the ports of Yumurtalık and Karataş to the vicinity of Kozan and İmamoğlu. After the armistice of Mudros, the French Army had moved into...

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