Özet:

The military operations of the Southern front of the Turkish National Struggle, which was carried out under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha during the 1919-1922 period, was mainly executed by the intensive use of irregular forces. The operation known as the defense of Antep or the War of Antep in the South, was fulfilled with heroism and self sacrifice and achieved success. In many sources about the history of the defense of Gaziantep, it has been repeated that the preparations and the first organization of this war were initiated by the Antep Deputy Ali Cenani Bey, with the instructions given by the Army Commander Mustafa Kemal Pasha, even before the Mudros Armistice was signed. In this context, it has been observed that prestigious figures such as Uluğ İğdemir, Yusuf Hikmet Bayur and Andrew Mango also quoted the Ali Cenani-centered claim in their works without questioning it. The source of this claim is that Falih Rıfkı Atay wrote in the newspaper Hâkimiyet-i Milliye in 1926. Until today, this claim has survived in popular and academic publications without any objection. In this article, this common claim is examined together with the facts of the period by making a source criticism. As a result, it has been shown that this claim has no reliable basis, based on the facts and written primary sources. It was concluded that the narrative of Ali Cenani stems from his flattering to attribute farsightness to Turkey's founding leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, when there was no need for him yet. Apart from the fact that this baseless claim is not based on reality, it is also pointed out in this article how it was used in anti-Turkey Armenian circles.

Anahtar Kelimeler: