Özet:

The Great Offensive is one of the most important outcomes of Turkey's recent history. It heralded the victory of the National Struggle and became the pioneer of the establishment of the new Turkish state. On the other hand, the Great Offensive has been defined as the "Asia Minor Catastrophe" in Greek history. The Greek Government suffered from consecutive defeats in that war and had to leave the occupied Western Anatolian lands. While the Greek soldiers were escaping, they almost destroyed the Western Anatolia, which they evacuated. They persecuted many Muslims with different kinds of methods and left behind blood and tears in the regions where they had to withdraw. One of the cruel methods they followed was to start fires. They burned many cities, towns, and villages. They killed some captured Muslims by burning them. The Greeks used this method from their first defeat in the Great Offensive until they completely left Western Anatolia. The Great Fire that broke out in Izmir after the Great Offensive can also be considered a part of this method. Although the Greek army was completely expelled from Western Anatolia during the Great Fire, the military remnants of the Greek Army remaining in Izmir and its local and foreign collaborators had the potential to start it. In this study, by using primary sources such as the archival sources and the press of the period, the fires that the Greeks started during the Great Offensive and their results will be discussed and evaluated.

Anahtar Kelimeler: