The liberation of Istanbul, led by commanders Refet Pasha and Selahattin Adil Pasha, restored Türkiye’s territorial integrity and honoured the efforts of Turkish soldiers and administrators — the fulfilment of Mustafa Kemal Pasha’s dream of national independence.
After the end of World War I, under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros, Allied forces anchored their fleet off Haydarpaşa station on 13 November 1918 and occupied Istanbul. After four years, ten months and 23 days, the city was liberated on 6 October 1923. The occupation began when the Ottoman Empire — on the side of the Central Powers — accepted defeat and withdrew from the war.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Allies entered Istanbul on 13 November 1918 and, under the Mudros Armistice, anchored off Haydarpaşa. When the Turkish War of Independence began under Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the Allies expanded their actions, and on 16 March 1920 the de facto occupation became official. When Mustafa Kemal Pasha stepped off the Adana train at Haydarpaşa station and saw the enemy fleet entering Istanbul’s harbour with victory flags while some of the city’s minorities cheered, he uttered his historic words: “As they came, so they shall go.”
