Want to learn more about the weapons used in Greek Turkish war of 1919? Read on for facts and info on the different kinds of weapons used by both parties during the war…
The Greco-Turkish war broke out between the two countries in 1919. Ever since the start of the battle it seemed as though the Turks had the odds set up against them as Greece had much larger detachments including French, British and Armenian support along with superior weapons. However, despite having outdated arms and ammunition and a military made up of revolutionaries and highly disorganized peasants, Turkey managed to win the war with an outcome that shocked the world.
The army equipment that Turkey had in its possession was of extremely poor quality. The bulk of the equipment was actually made up of the personal belongings of the peasant class of Anatolia. Even the guns that were used during the Greek Turkish war of 1919 were the personal property of the peasants and other working classes.
Poor equipment was not the only thing that set the odds up against Turkey. Rather, the old men and young boys that were going to fight the war had absolutely no professional training whatsoever. In fact they were given a few chances to practice on a target following which they would be sent to the front ranks to defend the trenches. It was but natural that a large number of these untrained soldiers perished during the warring years. However, the high nationalistic spirit ingrained in the Turkish masses because of the leadership role played in the preceding years by Ataturk, they were willing to forsake their lives for their mother country.
At the same time the Greek soldiers were not really well trained either. This was primarily because Greeks had always engaged in guerilla warfare in order to win previous battles. Accounts from the warring period actually narrate Greek soldiers turning their backs and running off the battlefield.
The loss to Turkey came as a shock to Greece as well as the Brits that were enthusiastically contemplating the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. The Brits had the living daylights knocked out of them when the news of the loss broke through because they were expecting the Greeks to win hands down. The loss was particularly hard on the Brits because they had invested time in training the Greek soldiers and equipping them with state of the art arms and ammunitions.
Some of the most popular weapons used during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919 are as follows:
The Greek Model 1903 was one of the most widely used rifles and carbines during the war. The particular model used was the Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Then there were the Bulgarian Models of 1895 and 1890, which included both rifles and carbines. The Turks had the famous 1890 and 1903 Mauser rifles in their possession. These rifles formed the bulk of Turkish arms. Also used during the war were French carbines, Lebels, Berthier, Gras rifles and special Gras rifles that were converted to 8×50 mmR.
