After the fall of Greece to the Axis powers in April–May 1941, elements of the Greek Armed Forces managed to escape to the British-controlled Middle East. There they were placed under the Greek government in exile , and continued the fight alongside the Allies until the liberation of Greece in October 1944. These are known in Greek history as the Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East (Ελληνικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις Μέσης Ανατολής).
137-613: In the face of the overwhelming German advance into Greece, several thousand Greek officers and soldiers were either evacuated, along with the Greek government, to Crete and then Egypt, in April–May 1941, or managed to flee, mainly via neutral Turkey , to the British-controlled Middle East . There a Greek army in exile started being formed, under British command and re-equipped with British arms. The core of this new military force
274-696: A charter member of the United Nations. In 1950 Turkey became a member of the Council of Europe . After fighting as part of the UN forces in the Korean War , Turkey joined NATO in 1952, becoming a bulwark against Soviet expansion into the Mediterranean . Military coups or memorandums, which happened in 1960 , 1971 , 1980 , and 1997 , complicated Turkey's transition to a democratic multiparty system . Between 1960 and
411-1010: A civilian alternative to military service. Italian Campaign (World War II) Allied victory Sicily: 24,900 casualties Italian mainland: [REDACTED] 119,200 [REDACTED] 89,440 [REDACTED] 35,000 [REDACTED] 32,171 [REDACTED] 25,890 [REDACTED] 20,000 [REDACTED] 11,000 [REDACTED] 8,668 [REDACTED] 5,927 [REDACTED] 3,860 [REDACTED] 2,300 [REDACTED] 452 Total : 358,295–376,637 casualties Sicily: [REDACTED] 150,000 [REDACTED] 27,940 Italian mainland: [REDACTED] 336,650–580,630 [REDACTED] 35,000 (dead only) Surrender at Caserta : 1,000,000 captured Total : 1,549,590–1,793,570 casualties Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive The Italian campaign of World War II , also called
548-415: A 2nd Artillery Battalion. By January 1943 it numbered 5,583 men, raising hopes that a full infantry division could be formed. This did not take place, as the men for a third brigade were not available. In early 1943, 500 Metaxist officers under Colonel Vagenas founded the "Nemesis" secret organisation. Their goal was to overthrow the Greek government in exile and replace it with politicians sympathetic to
685-698: A Code with principles similar to the German Penal Code and German law generally. Administrative law is based on the French equivalent and procedural law generally shows the influence of the Swiss, German and French legal systems. Islamic principles do not play a part in the legal system. Law enforcement in Turkey is carried out by several agencies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs . These agencies are
822-567: A final attack when better weather and ground conditions arrived in the spring. In late February-early March 1945, Operation Encore saw elements of the U.S. IV Corps ( 1st Brazilian Division and the newly arrived U.S. 10th Mountain Division ) battling forward across minefields in the Apennines to align their front with that of the U.S. II Corps on their right. They pushed the German defenders from
959-525: A fruit or "in the prime of life, young, and vigorous" for a person. As an ethnonym , the etymology is still unknown. In addition to usage in languages such as Chinese in the 6th century, the earliest mention of Turk ( 𐱅𐰇𐰺𐰜 , türü̲k̲ ; or 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚 , türk/tẄrk ) in Turkic languages comes from the Second Turkic Khaganate . In Byzantine sources in the 10th century, the name Tourkia
1096-729: A guide for developing "orthodox expressions of basic Christian teachings". The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centered in Constantinople during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages . The eastern half of the Empire survived the conditions that caused the fall of the West in the 5th century AD, and continued to exist until
1233-580: A hope that, with the surrender of the Italian government, the Germans would withdraw to the north, since at the time Adolf Hitler had been persuaded that Southern Italy was strategically unimportant. However, this was not to be; although, for a while, the Eighth Army was able to make relatively easy progress up the eastern coast, capturing the port of Bari and the important airfields around Foggia . Despite none of
1370-742: A mixture of " Turkish, Persian and Islamic influences ". In the latter half of the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks began penetrating into medieval Armenia and Anatolia. At the time, Anatolia was a diverse and largely Greek-speaking region after previously being Hellenized . The Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and later established the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum . During this period, there were also Turkish principalities such as Danishmendids . Seljuk arrival started
1507-678: A month-long battle , succeeded in capturing it on 18 July. During Operation Olive , which commenced on 25 August, the Gothic Line defences were penetrated on both the Fifth and Eighth Army fronts; but, there was no decisive breakthrough. Churchill, the British Prime Minister, had hoped that a major advance in late 1944 would open the way for the Allied armies to advance northeast through the "Ljubljana Gap" (the area between Venice and Vienna , which
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#17330856023041644-522: A more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in northwestern Europe . The ability to launch such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic . The strategic disagreement was fierce, with the U.S. service chiefs arguing for an invasion of France as early as possible, while their British counterparts advocated a policy centred on operations in the Mediterranean . There
1781-633: A reassertion of the ancient, indigenous culture of the Hattian cities of Anatolia". Before 1200 BC, there were four Greek-speaking settlements in Anatolia, including Miletus . Around 1000 BC, Greeks started migrating to the west coast of Anatolia. These eastern Greek settlements played a vital role in shaping the Archaic Greek civilization; important cities included Miletus , Ephesus , Halicarnassus , Smyrna (now İzmir ) and Byzantium (now Istanbul ),
1918-692: A reshuffle of the government. ASO members reacted by arresting the officers who resigned. Minister of Defence Panagiotis Kanellopoulos ordered the 1st Brigade to restore order in the 2nd Brigade by force, authorising the arrest of 28 ASO affiliated officers. Encouraged by this move Metaxist officers began resigning in all units of the military except the navy which was out at sea. ASO members arrested and disarmed Metaxist officers in their units while Katsotas refused to intervene. This prompted Kanellopoulos to telegraph his resignation to London and depart for Cairo. British 9th Army commander General William Holmes likewise refused to suppress ASO by force, instead sending
2055-484: A series of amphibious landings on the northern coast that propelled Patton's troops into Messina shortly before the first units of the Eighth Army. The defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but they succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, with the last leaving on 17 August 1943. The Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare, and large airborne drops. Forces of
2192-719: Is Syria, with which Turkey had cut its relations after the start of the Syrian civil war . There are disputes with Greece over maritime boundaries and with Cyprus . In 2018, the Turkish military and the Turkish-backed forces began an operation in Syria aimed at ousting US-backed YPG (which Turkey considers to be an offshoot of the outlawed PKK ) from the enclave of Afrin . Turkey has also conducted airstrikes in Iraqi Kurdistan , which
2329-511: Is Turkey's capital and second-largest city , while Istanbul is its largest city and economic and financial center. Other major cities include İzmir , Bursa , and Antalya . Turkey was first inhabited by modern humans during the Late Paleolithic . Home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe and some of the earliest farming areas , present-day Turkey was inhabited by various ancient peoples . The Hattians were assimilated by
2466-648: Is a leading TV content exporter. With 21 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 30 UNESCO intangible cultural heritage inscriptions, and a rich and diverse cuisine , Turkey is the fifth most visited country in the world. Turchia , meaning "the land of the Turks", had begun to be used in European texts for Anatolia by the end of the 12th century. As a word in Turkic languages , Turk may mean "strong, strength, ripe" or "flourishing, in full strength". It may also mean ripe as in for
2603-620: Is divided into districts ( ilçe ), for a total of 973 districts. Turkey is also subdivided into 7 regions ( bölge ) and 21 subregions for geographic, demographic and economic measurements, surveys and classifications; this does not refer to an administrative division. Turkey is a presidential republic within a multi-party system . The current constitution was adopted in 1982 . In the Turkish unitary system, citizens are subject to three levels of government : national, provincial, and local. The local government 's duties are commonly split between municipal governments and districts, in which
2740-617: Is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, 60,000–70,000 Allied and 38,805–50,660 German soldiers died in Italy. The number of Allied casualties was about 330,000 and the German figure (excluding those involved in the final surrender) was over 330,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties, mostly prisoners-of-war taken in the invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing. Over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 35,828 anti-Nazi and anti-fascist partisans and some 35,000 troops of
2877-707: Is found in The Book of the Duchess (written in 1369–1372) to refer to Anatolia or the Ottoman Empire . The modern spelling Turkey dates back to at least 1719. The bird called turkey was named as such due to trade of guineafowl from Turkey to England. The name Turkey has been used in international treaties referring to the Ottoman Empire. With the Treaty of Alexandropol , the name Türkiye entered international documents for
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#17330856023043014-526: Is part of the EU Customs Union , CoE , OIC , and TURKSOY . Turkey has coastal plains, a high central plateau , and various mountain ranges; its climate is temperate with harsher conditions in the interior. Home to three biodiversity hotspots , Turkey is prone to frequent earthquakes and is highly vulnerable to climate change . Turkey has a universal healthcare system , growing access to education , and increasing levels of innovativeness . It
3151-466: Is the Main Opposition Leader . The last parliamentary and presidential elections were in 2023. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or having ties to terrorism , or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold for political parties at national level is seven percent of the votes. Smaller parties can avoid
3288-489: Is today's Slovenia ) to Vienna and Hungary to forestall the Red Army from advancing into Eastern Europe . Churchill's proposal had been strongly opposed by the U.S. Chiefs of Staff, despite its importance to British postwar interests in the region, as they did not believe that it aligned with overall Allied war priorities. In October, Lieutenant General Sir Richard McCreery succeeded Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese as
3425-622: The Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks . Ottomans started annexing the nearby Turkish beyliks (principalities) in Anatolia and expanded into the Balkans . Mehmed II completed Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire by capturing its capital, Constantinople , on 29 May 1453. Selim I united Anatolia under Ottoman rule. Turkification continued as Ottomans mixed with various indigenous people in Anatolia and
3562-667: The 1913 coup d'état , the Three Pashas took control of the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated. During the war, the empire's Armenian subjects were deported to Syria as part of the Armenian genocide . As a result, an estimated 600,000 to more than 1 million, or up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed. The Turkish government has refused to acknowledge
3699-654: The 335th and 336th Fighter squadrons, operating under the Desert Air Force in North Africa and Italy, before being repatriated in late 1944. 13th Light Bomber Squadron was formed in June 1941 in Egypt as a naval cooperation unit, using the 5 surviving Avro Ansons of the former RHAF 13th Naval Cooperation Squadron. The Squadron was initially reequipped with Blenheims IV, later Blenheim V and finally with Baltimores . 335 Squadron
3836-646: The 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade under Col. Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos , on 4 June 1944. This unit was embarked for Italy in August and fought with distinction, particularly at the Battle of Rimini , where it earned the honorific Rimini Brigade . This battle-hardened unit would later be instrumental in the struggle between the British-backed government and the EAM- ELAS forces. In September 1942, an elite special forces unit,
3973-453: The 4th of August Regime , as well as ousting all non-monarchist officers from the military. In the middle of February, Metaxist officers demanded the removal of the commanders of the 2nd Brigade. Members of the pro- EAM Antifascist Military Organisation (ASO) immediately protested those demands. In a coordinated effort over 48 Metaxist officers submitted their resignations, demanding the removal of non-monarchist officers from their positions and
4110-639: The Allies in the aftermath of World War I initiated the Turkish National Movement . Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha , a military commander who had distinguished himself during the Battle of Gallipoli , the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923) was waged with the aim of revoking the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres (1920). The Turkish Provisional Government in Ankara , which had declared itself
4247-792: The Anatolian peoples , such as the Hittites . Classical Anatolia transitioned into cultural Hellenization following the conquests of Alexander the Great ; Hellenization continued during the Roman and Byzantine eras. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into Anatolia in the 11th century, starting the Turkification process. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into Turkish principalities . Beginning in 1299,
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4384-679: The Armistice of Mudanya on 11 October 1922. On 1 November 1922, the Turkish Parliament in Ankara formally abolished the Sultanate, thus ending 623 years of monarchical Ottoman rule. The Treaty of Lausanne of 24 July 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sèvres, led to the international recognition of the sovereignty of the new Turkish state as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire. On 4 October 1923,
4521-575: The Black Sea to the north; Georgia , Armenia , Azerbaijan , and Iran to the east; Iraq , Syria , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; and the Aegean Sea , Greece , and Bulgaria to the west. Turkey is home to over 85 million people; most are ethnic Turks , while ethnic Kurds are the largest ethnic minority . Officially a secular state , Turkey has a Muslim-majority population. Ankara
4658-717: The Cold War 's start. Following threats from the Soviet Union , Turkey sought to ally with the United States and joined NATO in 1952. Overall, Turkey aims for good relations with Central Asia , the Caucasus , Russia, the Middle East , and Iran. With the West, Turkey also aims to keep its arrangements. By trading with the east and joining the EU, Turkey pursues economic growth. Turkey joined
4795-581: The EEC in 1987, joined the European Union Customs Union in 1995 and started accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. Customs Union had an important impact on the Turkish manufacturing sector. In 2014, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won Turkey's first direct presidential election . On 15 July 2016, an unsuccessful coup attempt tried to oust the government. According to
4932-408: The European Union Customs Union in 1995, but its EU accession talks are frozen as of 2024. Turkey has been called an emerging power, a middle power , and a regional power . Turkey has sought closer relations with the Central Asian Turkic states after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Closer relations with Azerbaijan , a culturally close country, was achieved. Turkey is a founding member of
5069-678: The Fertile Crescent , an origin of agriculture . Other important Anatolian Neolithic sites include Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük . Neolithic Anatolian farmers differed genetically from farmers in Iran and Jordan Valley . These early Anatolian farmers also migrated into Europe , starting around 9,000 years ago. Troy's earliest layers go back to around 4500 BC. Anatolia's historical records start with clay tablets from approximately around 2000 BC that were found in modern-day Kültepe . These tablets belonged to an Assyrian trade colony . The languages in Anatolia at that time included Hattian, Hurrian, Hittite , Luwian , and Palaic . Hattian
5206-462: The Four days of Naples , holding out despite continuous German reprisals until the arrival of Allied forces. As the Allies advanced, they encountered increasingly difficult terrain: the Apennine Mountains form a spine along the Italian peninsula offset somewhat to the east. In the most mountainous areas of Abruzzo , more than half the width of the peninsula comprises crests and peaks over 900 metres (3,000 feet) that are relatively easy to defend; and
5343-402: The Galatians . When Pergamon requested assistance in its conflict with the Seleucids, Rome intervened in Anatolia in the second century BC. Without an heir, Pergamum's king left the kingdom to Rome, which was annexed as province of Asia . Roman influence grew in Anatolia afterwards. Following Asiatic Vespers massacre, and Mithridatic Wars with Pontus , Rome emerged victorious. Around
5480-426: The General Directorate of Security , the Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command . In the years of government by the Justice and Development Party and Erdoğan, particularly since 2013, the independence and integrity of the Turkish judiciary has increasingly been said to be in doubt by institutions, parliamentarians and journalists both within and outside of Turkey, because of political interference in
5617-488: The Hellenic Army General Staff and Army Inspectorates. Already in late June 1941, the 1st Greek Brigade began being formed. By June 1942 it numbered 6,018 men. It comprised three infantry battalions, an artillery regiment (of battalion size), and support units. An independent armoured car regiment (of battalion size) was also formed, but later incorporated in the Brigade's artillery regiment. The Brigade remained in training camps in Palestine until May 1942, where its command
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5754-426: The Indian Ocean , the Mediterranean (where it succeeded in destroying a few enemy submarines), the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. RHN ships also participated in the landing operations in Sicily , Anzio and Normandy , as well as at the ill-fated Dodecanese Campaign . A significant moment in the RHN's history was the acceptance of the Italian Fleet 's surrender in September 1943, alongside the British Royal Navy. Two of
5891-428: The International Organization of Turkic Culture and Organization of Turkic States . It is also a member of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , Council of Europe , and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . Following the Arab Spring , Turkey had problems with countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Relations with these countries have improved since then. The exception
6028-422: The Ionian School of philosophy , thereby laying the foundations of rationalism and Western philosophy . Cyrus attacked eastern Anatolia in 547 BC, and Achaemenid Empire eventually expanded into western Anatolia . In the east, the Armenian province was part of the Achaemenid Empire. Following the Greco-Persian Wars , the Greek city-states of the Anatolian Aegean coast regained independence, but most of
6165-402: The Liberation of Italy following the German occupation in September 1943, consisted of Allied and Axis operations in and around Italy , from 1943 to 1945. The joint Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre and it planned and led the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, followed in September by the invasion of
6302-401: The Ottomans united the principalities and expanded ; Mehmed II conquered Istanbul in 1453 . During the reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent , the Ottoman Empire became a global power . From 1789 onwards, the empire saw a major transformation , reforms , and centralization while its territory declined . In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during
6439-410: The Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. Even with a large army, but greater naval power, the traditional British answer against a continental enemy was to fight as part of a coalition, blockading with their navy and mount small peripheral operations designed to gradually weaken the enemy. The United States, with the larger U.S. Army , favoured
6576-475: The Proto-Turkic language originated in Central-East Asia. Initially, Proto- Turkic speakers were potentially both hunter-gatherers and farmers; they later became nomadic pastoralists . Early and medieval Turkic groups exhibited a wide range of both East Asian and West-Eurasian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring peoples such as Iranic , Mongolic , Tocharian , Uralic , and Yeniseian peoples. During
6713-460: The River Po on 22 April; the 8th Indian Infantry Division , on the Eighth Army front, reached the river on 23 April. By 25 April, the Italian Partisans' Committee of Liberation declared a general uprising, and on the same day, having crossed the Po on the right flank, forces of the Eighth Army advanced north-northeast towards Venice and Trieste . On the front of the U.S. Fifth Army, divisions drove north toward Austria and northwest to Milan . On
6850-400: The Sacred Band (Ιερός Λόχος), was formed, made up solely of officers and volunteers. Under its charismatic leader, Col. Christodoulos Tsigantes , it was attached to the 1st SAS Regiment, and participated in raids in Libya. In February 1943, the unit was placed under the orders of General Philippe Leclerc , and participated in the Tunisia Campaign . From May to October 1943, the Sacred Band
6987-431: The Second Balkan War (1913). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in estimated 5 million deaths, with more than 3 million in Balkans; the casualties included Turks. Five to seven or seven to nine million refugees migrated into modern-day Turkey from the Balkans , Caucasus , Crimea , and Mediterranean islands, shifting
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#17330856023047124-414: The Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925 and the Dersim rebellion in 1937. İsmet İnönü became the country's second president following Atatürk's death in 1938. In 1939, the Republic of Hatay voted in favor of joining Turkey with a referendum. Turkey remained neutral during almost all of World War II , but entered the war on the side of the Allies on 23 February 1945 . Later that year, Turkey became
7261-407: The Supreme Electoral Council lifted a rule that required each ballot to have an official stamp. The opposition parties claimed that as many as 2.5 million ballots without a stamp were accepted as valid. Turkey has a unitary structure in terms of public administration, and the provinces are subordinate to the central government in Ankara . In province centers the government is represented by
7398-406: The Turkification process in Anatolia; there were Turkic/Turkish migrations, intermarriages, and conversions into Islam. The shift took several centuries and happened gradually. Members of Islamic mysticism orders, such as Mevlevi Order , played a role in the Islamization of the diverse people of Anatolia. Seljuk expansion was one of the reasons for the Crusades . In 13th century, there
7535-408: The Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne . The Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, modelled on the reforms initiated by the country's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk . Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II , but was involved in the Korean War . Several military interventions interfered with
7672-407: The Yabgu Khaganate . In 1040, the Seljuks defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan and established the Seljuk Empire in Greater Khorasan . Baghdad , the Abbasid Caliphate 's capital and center of the Islamic world , was taken by Seljuks in 1055. Given the role Khurasani traditions played in art, culture, and political traditions in the empire, the Seljuk period is described as
7809-598: The adoption of Christianity as the state religion , and the predominance of Greek instead of Latin , modern historians continue to make a distinction between the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire . In the early Byzantine Empire period, the Anatolian coastal areas were Greek speaking. In addition to natives, interior Anatolia had diverse groups such as Goths , Celts , Persians and Jews . Interior Anatolia had been "heavily Hellenized". Anatolian languages eventually became extinct after Hellenization of Anatolia. According to historians and linguists,
7946-420: The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world . The term Byzantine Empire was only coined following the empire's demise; its citizens referred to the polity as the "Roman Empire" and to themselves as Romans . Due to the imperial seat's move from Rome to Byzantium ,
8083-405: The right to vote and stand as a candidate at elections. Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1934. In Turkey, turnout rates of both local and general elections are high compared to many other countries, which usually stands higher than 80%. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is currently serving as the head of state and head of government . Özgür Özel
8220-516: The 1st century BC, Rome expanded into parts of Pontus and Bithynia , while turning rest of Anatolian states into Roman satellites. Several conflicts with Parthians ensued , with peace and wars alternating. According to Acts of the Apostles , early Christian Church had significant growth in Anatolia because of St Paul's efforts. Letters from St. Paul in Anatolia comprise the oldest Christian literature . Under Roman authority, ecumenical councils such as Council of Nicaea (Iznik) in 325 served as
8357-415: The 9th and 10th centuries CE, the Oghuz were a Turkic group that lived in the Caspian and Aral steppes. Partly due to pressure from the Kipchaks , the Oghuz migrated into Iran and Transoxiana . They mixed with Iranic-speaking groups in the area and converted to Islam . Oghuz Turks were also known as Turkoman . The Seljuks originated from the Kınık branch of the Oghuz Turks who resided in
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#17330856023048494-462: The Allied invasion of Southern France . The sudden removal of these experienced units from the Italian front was only partially compensated for by the gradual arrival of three divisions, the Brazilian 1st Infantry Division , the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division , both in the second half of 1944, and the U.S. 10th Mountain Division in January 1945. In the period from June to August 1944, the Allies advanced beyond Rome, taking Florence and closing up on
8631-412: The Allied occupation of Turkey ended with the withdrawal of the last Allied troops from Istanbul . The Turkish Republic was officially proclaimed on 29 October 1923 in Ankara, the country's new capital. The Lausanne Convention stipulated a population exchange between Greece and Turkey . Mustafa Kemal became the republic's first president and introduced many reforms . The reforms aimed to transform
8768-400: The Allies against German troops and the collaborationist National Republican Army ; an aspect of this period is the Italian civil war . In the summer of 1944, after the Axis defeats at Cassino and Anzio , central Italy, including Rome, was liberated. Northern Italy was liberated following the final spring offensive and the general insurrection of Italian partisans on 25 April 1945. Mussolini
8905-511: The American commander, Major General John P. Lucas , had with the battle plan, and his insistence that his forces were not large enough to accomplish their mission. Lucas entrenched his forces, during which time Kesselring assembled sufficient forces to form a ring around the beachhead . After a month of hard fighting against German and RSI forces, Lucas was replaced by Major General Lucian Truscott , who eventually broke out in May. It took four major offensives between January and May 1944 before
9042-415: The Anatolian interior, which met resistance in some places. Following Alexander's death, the Seleucids ruled large parts of Anatolia, while native Anatolian states emerged in the Marmara and Black Sea areas. In eastern Anatolia, the kingdom of Armenia appeared. In third century BC, Celts invaded central Anatolia and continued as a major ethnic group in the area for around 200 years. They were known as
9179-419: The Axis. This was altered into a reduced number of landings but with more concentration of force. The Allied invasion of Sicily , Operation Husky, began on 9 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela . The land forces involved were the U.S. Seventh Army , under Lieutenant General George S. Patton , the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade under
9316-400: The Balkans. The Ottoman Empire was a global power during the reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent . In the 16th and 17th centuries, Sephardic Jews moved into Ottoman Empire following their expulsion from Spain. From the second half of the 18th century onwards, the Ottoman Empire began to decline . The Tanzimat reforms, initiated by Mahmud II in 1839, aimed to modernize
9453-454: The British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the 'toe' of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown , the day the Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. The armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and then by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio . Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite
9590-406: The Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Royal Italian Army . On 9 September, forces of the U.S. Fifth Army , under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark , expecting little resistance, landed against heavy German resistance at Salerno in Operation Avalanche ; in addition, British forces landed at Taranto in Operation Slapstick , which was almost unopposed. There had been
9727-511: The FEB; the Brazilian soldiers captured about 15,000 German and RSI soldiers, the end of these battles marked the end of the conflicts in Italy and the end of the Italian fascist army. As April 1945 came to an end, the German Army Group C, retreating on all fronts and having lost most of its fighting strength, was left with little option but surrender. General Heinrich von Vietinghoff , who had taken command of Army Group C after Albert Kesselring had been transferred to become Commander-in-Chief of
9864-541: The Fifth Army by now-Lieutenant General Truscott. In the winter and spring of 1944–45, extensive partisan activity in Northern Italy took place. As there were two Italian governments during this period, (one on each side of the war), the struggle took on some characteristics of a civil war . The poor winter weather, which made armoured manoeuvre and the exploitation of overwhelming air superiority impossible, coupled with
10001-628: The Fifth Army's left flank, the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division (the " Buffalo Soldiers Division") went along the coast to Genoa . A rapid advance towards Turin by the Brazilian division on their right took the Italo-German Army Liguria by surprise, causing its collapse. Between 26 April and 1 May there were the Battles of Collecchio-Fornovo di Taro , which resulted in the surrender of the 148th German Infantry Division to Brazilian soldiers of
10138-566: The German 10th Army retreating from the Gustav Line between them and the Canadians. But this opportunity was lost on the brink of success, when Clark disobeyed his orders and sent his U.S. forces to enter the vacant Rome instead. Rome had been declared an open city by the German Army so no resistance was encountered. The American forces took possession of Rome on 4 June 1944. The German 10th Army
10275-426: The German government found the number of victims of Nazi war crimes in Italy to be 22,000. The victims were primarily Italian civilians, sometimes in retaliation for partisan attacks, and Italian Jews . Approximately 14,000 Italian non-Jewish civilians, often women, children and elderly, have been documented to have died in over 5,300 individual instances of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany. The largest of those
10412-725: The German occupation and started the Italian resistance movement . Mussolini, who was rescued by German paratroopers, established a collaborationist puppet state , the Italian Social Republic (RSI), to administer the German-occupied territory. On 13 October 1943, the Allies recognized Italy as a co-belligerent in the war against Germany. Thereafter, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army and the Italian partisans fought alongside
10549-510: The Germans from the rugged terrain. The Americans had the important role of pushing Axis forces out of mainland Sicily on left flank. When the Eighth Army were held up by stubborn defences in the rugged hills south of Mount Etna , Patton amplified the American role with a wide advance northwest toward Palermo and then directly north to cut the northern coastal road. This was followed by an eastward advance north of Etna towards Messina, supported by
10686-556: The Germans would have to transfer troops from the Eastern Front to defend Italy and the entire southern coast of France, thus aiding the Soviet Union . The initial plan was for landings in the south-east, south and north-west areas of the island which would lead to the rapid capture of key Axis airfields and except for Messina , all the main ports on the island. This would allow a rapid Allied build-up, as well as denying their use to
10823-507: The Gothic Line. This last major defensive line ran from the coast some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Pisa , along the jagged Apennine Mountains chain between Florence and Bologna to the Adriatic coast , just south of Rimini . In order to shorten the Allied lines of communication for the advance into Northern Italy, the Polish II Corps advanced towards the port of Ancona and, after
10960-656: The Hittite kingdom was disintegrating, further waves of Indo-European peoples migrated from southeastern Europe, which was followed by warfare. The Thracians were also present in modern-day Turkish Thrace . It is not known if the Trojan war is based on historical events. Troy's Late Bronze Age layers matches most with Iliad 's story. Around 750 BC, Phrygia had been established, with its two centers in Gordium and modern-day Kayseri . Phrygians spoke an Indo-European language, which
11097-708: The Italian Social Republic. On the Western Front of World War II , Italy was the most costly campaign in terms of casualties suffered by infantry forces of both sides, during bitter small-scale fighting around strongpoints at the Winter Line , the Anzio beachhead and the Gothic Line . Casualties among infantry in Italy were proportionally higher than they were on the Western Front of WWI . The British, especially
11234-735: The Italian mainland and the campaign in Italy until the surrender of the Axis forces in Italy in May 1945. The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 led to the collapse of the Fascist Italian regime and the fall of Mussolini , who was deposed and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III on 25 July. The new government signed an armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943. However, German forces soon invaded northern and central Italy, committing several atrocities against Italian civilians and army units who opposed
11371-634: The Metaxist officers who had submitted a resignation to a special camp in Syria. Finally, on 6 July 1943 a pro-EAM mutiny in the 2nd Brigade was left with only one battalion of about 200–250 men, with the other two used to replenish the losses of 1st Brigade to 4,718 men. On 6 April 1944, 1st Brigade too suffered a widespread pro-EAM mutiny. Subsequently, both units were disbanded by the British, and their personnel interned in camps or used in non-combat duties. 3,500 politically reliable officers and men were formed into
11508-518: The Navy joined it. These ships were stormed by Greek officers loyal to the government-in-exile and recaptured. Eleven seamen were killed, others wounded, and many were subsequently interned. Thus, when the Navy returned to liberated Greece in October 1944, it was firmly behind the government of George Papandreou . The few Air Force personnel that managed to escape eventually constituted the 13th Light Bomber and
11645-581: The Ottoman Empire led to a rise in nationalist sentiment among its various subject peoples , leading to increased ethnic tensions which occasionally burst into violence, such as the Hamidian massacres of Armenians , which claimed up to 300,000 lives. Ottoman territories in Europe ( Rumelia ) were lost in the First Balkan War (1912–1913). Ottomans managed to recover some territory in Europe, such as Edirne , in
11782-473: The Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in large-scale loss of life and mass migration into modern-day Turkey from the Balkans , Caucasus , and Crimea . Under the control of the Three Pashas , the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1914, during which the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian , Greek , and Assyrian subjects. Following Ottoman defeat,
11919-645: The Ottoman state in line with the progress that had been made in Western Europe. The Ottoman constitution of 1876 was the first among Muslim states, but was short-lived . As the empire gradually shrank in size, military power and wealth; especially after the Ottoman economic crisis and default in 1875 which led to uprisings in the Balkan provinces that culminated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) . The decline of
12056-650: The President, General Staff , Air Force , Naval Force , and Land Force usually report to the Minister of National Defence. The Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior . Military service is required for 6–12 months for men, which is reduced to one month after paying a fee. Turkey does not recognize conscientious objection and does not offer
12193-642: The Republic, Turkey adopted a civil law legal system, replacing Sharia -derived Ottoman law . The Civil Code , adopted in 1926, was based on the Swiss Civil Code of 1907 and the Swiss Code of Obligations of 1911. Although it underwent a number of changes in 2002, it retains much of the basis of the original Code. The Criminal Code , originally based on the Italian Criminal Code , was replaced in 2005 by
12330-453: The Senger Line by 23 May 1944). The Winter Line proved a major obstacle to the Allies at the end of 1943, halting the Fifth Army's advance on the western side of Italy. Although the Gustav Line was penetrated on the Eighth Army's Adriatic front, and Ortona was liberated with heavy casualties to Canadian troops, the blizzards, drifting snow and zero visibility at the end of December caused
12467-402: The Turkish government, there are 13,251 arrested or convicted people in jail as of 2024, related to the 2016 coup attempt. With a referendum in 2017 , the parliamentary republic was replaced by an executive presidential system . The office of the prime minister was abolished, and its powers and duties were transferred to the president. On the referendum day, while the voting was still underway,
12604-401: The U.S. and British political leadership reached a compromise in which both would commit most of their forces to an invasion of France in early 1944, but also launch a relatively small-scale Italian campaign. A contributing factor was Franklin D. Roosevelt 's desire to keep U.S. troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and his attraction to the idea of eliminating Italy from the war. It
12741-629: The Western Front ( OB West ) in March 1945, signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of the German and RSI forces in Italy on 29 April, formally bringing hostilities to an end on 2 May 1945. On 1 May, a day before the Axis forces in Italy capitulated, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani , the Minister of Defense of the Italian Social Republic ordered the Army Group Liguria to surrender. Research in 2016 funded by
12878-564: The advance to grind to a halt. The Allies' focus then turned to the western front, where an attack through the Liri valley was considered to have the best chance of a breakthrough towards the Italian capital. Landings behind the line at Anzio during Operation Shingle, advocated by Churchill, were intended to destabilise the German Gustav line defences, but the early thrust inland to cut off the German defences did not occur because of disagreements that
13015-491: The age of 65. Turkish politics have become increasingly associated with democratic backsliding , being described as a competitive authoritarian system. Elections in Turkey are held for six functions of government: presidential (national), parliamentary (national), municipality mayors (local), district mayors (local), provincial or municipal council members (local), and muhtars (local). Referendums are also held occasionally. Every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 has
13152-559: The best way". In May 2022, the Turkish government requested the United Nations and other international organizations to use Türkiye officially in English; the UN agreed. Present-day Turkey has been inhabited by modern humans since the late Paleolithic period and contains some of the world's oldest Neolithic sites. Göbekli Tepe is close to 12,000 years old. Parts of Anatolia include
13289-538: The center of the Ottoman Empire to Anatolia. In addition to a small number of Jews, the refugees were overwhelmingly Muslim; they were both Turkish and non-Turkish people, such as Circassians and Crimean Tatars . Paul Mojzes has called the Balkan Wars an "unrecognized genocide", where multiple sides were both victims and perpetrators. Circassian refugees included the survivors of the Circassian genocide . Following
13426-560: The command of Major-General Guy Simonds and the British Eighth Army , under General Bernard Montgomery . The original plan required a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina. The Canadians took the central position, with the British on their right and the Americans on the left. The Canadian War Cemetery in Agira is testament to the sacrifice made driving
13563-626: The commander of the Eighth Army. In December, Lieutenant General Mark Clark, the Fifth Army commander, was appointed to command the 15th Army Group , thereby succeeding the British General Sir Harold Alexander as commander of all Allied ground troops in Italy; Alexander succeeded Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson as the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Theatre. Clark was succeeded in command of
13700-871: The commanding high point of Monte Castello and the adjacent Monte Belvedere and Castelnuovo, depriving them of artillery positions that had been commanding the approaches to Bologna since the narrowly failed Allied attempt to take the city in the autumn. Meanwhile, damage to other transport infrastructure forced Axis forces to use sea, canal and river routes for re-supply, leading to Operation Bowler against shipping in Venice harbour on 21 March 1945. The Allies' final offensive commenced with massive aerial and artillery bombardments on 9 April 1945. The Allies had 1,500,000 men and women deployed in Italy in April 1945. The Axis on 7 April had 599,404 troops of which 439,224 were Germans and 160,180 were Italians. By 18 April, Eighth Army forces in
13837-580: The cruiser Averof , six destroyers, five submarines and several support ships, by evacuating them to Alexandria . The fleet was subsequently expanded by several destroyers, submarines, mine-sweepers and other vessels handed over by the British Royal Navy , until it became, with 44 ships and over 8,500 men, the second-largest Allied Navy in the Mediterranean after the RN, accounting for 80% of all non-RN operations. Greek ships served in convoy escort duties in
13974-749: The east had broken through the Argenta Gap and sent armour racing forward in an encircling move to meet the U.S. IV Corps advancing from the Apennines in Central Italy and to trap the remaining defenders of Bologna. On 21 April, Bologna was entered by the 3rd Carpathian Division , the Italian Friuli Group (both from the Eighth Army) and the U.S. 34th Infantry Division (from the Fifth Army). The U.S. 10th Mountain Division, which had bypassed Bologna, reached
14111-492: The electoral threshold by forming an alliance with other parties. Independent candidates are not subject to an electoral threshold. On the right side of the Turkish political spectrum , parties like the Democrat Party , Justice Party , Motherland Party , and Justice and Development Party became the most popular political parties in Turkey, winning numerous elections. Turkish right-wing parties are more likely to embrace
14248-538: The end of the 20th century, the prominent leaders in Turkish politics who achieved multiple election victories were Süleyman Demirel , Bülent Ecevit and Turgut Özal . PKK started a "campaign of terrorist attacks on civilian and military targets" in the 1980s. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Tansu Çiller became the first female prime minister of Turkey in 1993. Turkey applied for full membership of
14385-496: The events as genocide and states that Armenians were only "relocated " from the eastern war zone. Genocidal campaigns were also committed against the empire's other minority groups such as the Assyrians and Greeks . Following the Armistice of Mudros in 1918, the victorious Allied Powers sought the partition of the Ottoman Empire through the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres . The occupation of Istanbul (1918) and İzmir (1919) by
14522-650: The executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. The government comprises three branches: first is the legislative branch, which is Grand National Assembly of Turkey ; second is the executive branch, which is the President of Turkey ; and third is the judicial branch, which includes the Constitutional Court , the Court of Cassation and Court of Jurisdictional Disputes . The Parliament has 600 seats, distributed among
14659-401: The first time. In the treaty signed with Afghanistan in 1921, the expression Devlet-i Âliyye-i Türkiyye ("Sublime Turkish State") was used, likened to the Ottoman Empire's name . In December 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for expanded official usage of Türkiye , saying that Türkiye "represents and expresses the culture, civilization, and values of the Turkish nation in
14796-798: The interior stayed part of the Achaemenid Empire. Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus , were located in Anatolia. Following the victories of Alexander in 334 BC and 333 BC , the Achaemenid Empire collapsed and Anatolia became part of the Macedonian Empire . This led to increasing cultural homogeneity and Hellenization of
14933-495: The latter founded by colonists from Megara in the seventh century BCE. These settlements were grouped as Aeolis , Ionia , and Doris , after the specific Greek groups that settled them. Further Greek colonization in Anatolia was led by Miletus and Megara in 750–480 BC. The Greek cities along the Aegean prospered with trade, and saw remarkable scientific and scholarly accomplishments. Thales and Anaximander from Miletus founded
15070-521: The legitimate government of the country on 23 April 1920 , started to formalize the legal transition from the old Ottoman into the new Republican political system. The Ankara Government engaged in armed and diplomatic struggle. In 1921–1923, the Armenian, Greek, French, and British armies had been expelled. The military advance and diplomatic success of the Ankara Government resulted in the signing of
15207-408: The line was eventually broken by a combined assault of the Fifth and Eighth Armies (including British, American, French, Polish, and Canadian corps) concentrated along a 30-kilometre (20-mile) front between Monte Cassino and the western seaboard. In a concurrent action, Clark was ordered to break out of the stagnant position at Anzio and cash in on the opportunity to cut off and destroy a large part of
15344-450: The massive losses suffered to its ranks during the autumn fighting, the need to transfer some British troops to Greece (as well as the need to withdraw the British 5th Infantry Division and I Canadian Corps to northwestern Europe ) made it impractical for the Allies to continue their offensive in early 1945. Instead, the Allies adopted a strategy of "offensive defence" while preparing for
15481-402: The most notable Greek warships of the war were the destroyers Adrias and Vasilissa Olga . One destroyer and three submarines were RHN's casualties. The large Greek merchant navy, likewise, contributed enormously to the Allied war effort from the first day of the war, losing over 2,500 men and 60% of its ships in the process. When the pro- EAM April 1944 mutiny broke out, a large part of
15618-488: The most of the natural defensive geography of Central Italy , whilst denying the Allies the easy capture of a succession of airfields, each one being ever closer to Germany. Hitler was also convinced that yielding southern Italy would provide the Allies with a springboard for an invasion of the Balkans, with its vital resources of oil, bauxite, and copper. Kesselring was given command of the whole of Italy and immediately ordered
15755-515: The northern reserves having been made available to the German 10th Army , it nevertheless came close to repelling the Salerno landing. The main Allied effort in the west initially centred on the port of Naples : that city was selected because it was the northernmost port that could receive air cover by fighter planes flying from Sicily. In the city itself, anti-Fascist Forces began an uprising, later known as
15892-543: The old religion-based and multi-communal Ottoman monarchy into a Turkish nation state that would be governed as a parliamentary republic under a secular constitution . Women gained the right to vote nationally in 1934. With the Surname Law , the Turkish Parliament bestowed upon Kemal the honorific surname "Atatürk" ( Father Turk ). Atatürk's reforms caused discontent in some Kurdish and Zaza tribes leading to
16029-706: The preparation of a series of defensive lines across Italy, south of Rome . Two lines, the Volturno and the Barbara , were used to delay the Allied advance so as to buy time to prepare the most formidable defensive positions, which formed the Winter Line – the collective name for the Gustav Line and two associated defensive lines on the west of the Apennine Mountains, the Bernhardt and Hitler lines (the latter had been renamed
16166-409: The principles of political ideologies such as conservatism , nationalism or Islamism . On the left side of the spectrum, parties like the Republican People's Party , Social Democratic Populist Party and Democratic Left Party once enjoyed the largest electoral success. Left-wing parties are more likely to embrace the principles of socialism , Kemalism or secularism . With the founding of
16303-408: The promotion of judges and prosecutors and in their pursuit of public duty. Turkey's constant foreign policy goal is to pursue its national interests. These interests are mainly growing the economy, and maintaining security from internal terrorist and external threats. After the establishment of the Republic, Atatürk and İnönü followed the " peace at home, peace in the world " principle until
16440-453: The province governors ( vali ) and in towns by the governors ( kaymakam ). Other senior public officials are also appointed by the central government, except for the mayors ( belediye başkanı ) who are elected by the constituents. Turkish municipalities have local legislative bodies ( belediye meclisi ) for decision-making on municipal issues. Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces ( il or vilayet ) for administrative purposes. Each province
16577-445: The provinces proportionally to the population . The Parliament and the president serve a five-year terms, with elections on the same day. The president is elected by direct vote and cannot run for re-election after two terms, unless the parliament calls early presidential elections during the second term. The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 members, elected for single 12-year terms. They are obliged to retire when they are over
16714-483: The spurs and re-entrants to the spine confronted the Allies with a succession of ridges and rivers across their line of advance. The rivers were subject to sudden and unexpected flooding, which had the potential to thwart the Allied commanders' plans. In early October 1943, Hitler was persuaded by his Army Group Commander in Southern Italy, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring , that the defence of Italy should be conducted as far away from Germany as possible. This would make
16851-456: The transition to a multi-party system. Turkey is an upper-middle-income and emerging country ; its economy is the world's 17th-largest by nominal and 12th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP . It is a unitary presidential republic . Turkey is a founding member of the OECD , G20 , and Organization of Turkic States . With a geopolitically significant location, Turkey is a regional power and an early member of NATO . An EU candidate , Turkey
16988-516: Was a language indigenous to Anatolia, with no known modern-day connections. Hurrian language was used in northern Syria . Hittite, Palaic, and Luwian languages were "the oldest written Indo-European languages ", forming the Anatolian sub-group . Hattian rulers were gradually replaced by Hittite rulers. The Hittite kingdom was a large kingdom in Central Anatolia, with its capital of Hattusa . It co-existed in Anatolia with Palaians and Luwians , approximately between 1700 and 1200 BC. As
17125-424: Was a second significant wave of Turkic migration, as people fled Mongol expansion. Seljuk sultanate was defeated by the Mongols at the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243 and disappeared by the beginning of the 14th century. It was replaced by various Turkish principalities. Based around Söğüt , Ottoman Beylik was founded by Osman I in the early 14th century. According to Ottoman chroniclers, Osman descended from
17262-423: Was allowed to get away and, in the next few weeks, may have been responsible for doubling the Allied casualties in the next few months. After the capture of Rome, and the Allied invasion of Normandy in June, the U.S. VI Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps (CEF), which together amounted to seven divisions, were pulled out of Italy during the summer of 1944 to participate in Operation Dragoon , codename for
17399-411: Was captured by the Italian resistance and summarily executed by firing squad. The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on 2 May 1945, one week before the formal German Instrument of Surrender . Both sides committed war crimes during the conflict, and the independent states of San Marino and Vatican City surrounded by Italian territory also suffered damage. It
17536-429: Was closer to Greek than Anatolian languages. Phrygians shared Anatolia with Neo-Hittites and Urartu . Luwian-speakers were probably the majority in various Anatolian Neo-Hittite states. Urartians spoke a non-Indo-European language and their capital was around Lake Van . Urartu and Phrygia fell in seventh century BC. They were replaced by Carians , Lycians and Lydians . These three cultures "can be considered
17673-400: Was criticized by Iraq for violating its sovereignty and killing civilians. Diplomatic relations with Israel were damaged after the Gaza flotilla raid , normalized in 2016, and cut again following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip . In 2024, Turkey stopped trading with Israel. Turkish Armed Forces is responsible for defense against foreign threats. While the Commander-in-Chief is
17810-413: Was even pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain, which, under Francisco Franco , was friendly to the Axis nations, although not a participant in the war. The American staff believed that a full-scale invasion of France at the earliest possible time was required to end the war in Europe, and that no operations should be undertaken that might delay that effort. Eventually
17947-425: Was formed on 10 October 1941, while 336 Squadron on 25 February 1943. Both were initially equipped with Hurricanes , mostly of the Mk. IIc type, until they were re-equipped with Spitfire Mk Vb and Vc in January 1944. Turkey Turkey , officially the Republic of Türkiye , is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia , with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe . It borders
18084-443: Was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on it and weaken it. The elimination of Italy would enable Allied naval forces , principally the Royal Navy , to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, securing the lines of communications with Egypt and thus Asia. Italian divisions on occupation and coastal defence duties in the Balkans and France would be withdrawn to defend Italy, while
18221-483: Was re-trained in airborne and amphibious operations, and for the remainder of the war it was employed in operations against the German garrisons of the Aegean islands. The unit was disbanded in Athens, on 7 August 1945. The Hellenic Royal Navy suffered enormous casualties during the German invasion, losing over 20 ships, mostly to German air attacks, within a few days in April 1941. Its chief, Vice Admiral Alexandros Sakellariou , managed to save some of its ships, including
18358-563: Was taken over by Colonel Pafsanias Katsotas . It was then transferred to Syria, before being deployed to Egypt in August. The 1st Brigade was placed under British 50th Division , under whose command it participated in the Second Battle of El Alamein , before being transferred to the British 44th Division . The brigade fought in the battle and the subsequent operations until 19 December, when it returned to Egypt. It suffered 89 dead and 228 wounded. A 2nd Greek Brigade also began being formed in Egypt in May 1942 along similar lines, along with
18495-411: Was the Marzabotto massacre , where in excess of 770 civilians were murdered. The Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre saw 560 civilians killed while the Ardeatine massacre saw 335 randomly selected people executed, among them 75 Italian Jews. In the Padule di Fucecchio massacre up to 184 civilians were executed. Allied war crimes during the conflict were reported, including killing of civilians (such as
18632-442: Was the "Phalanx of Egyptiote Greeks", from the Greek community in Egypt. On 15 June 1941, the "Headquarters of the Royal Hellenic Army in the Middle East" (Αρχηγείου Βασιλικού Ελληνικού Στρατού Μέσης Ανατολής, ΑΒΕΣΜΑ) was established. This provided the framework for the initial development of the Greek armed forces in exile until May 1942, when the Greek government-in-exile established a Ministry of National Defence, and began re-forming
18769-442: Was used for defining two medieval states: Hungary ( Western Tourkia ); and Khazaria ( Eastern Tourkia ). The Mamluk Sultanate , with its ruling elite of Turkic origin, was called the "State of the Turks" ( Dawlat at-Turk , or Dawlat al-Atrāk , or Dawlat-at-Turkiyya ). Turkestan, also meaning the "land of the Turks", was used for a historic region in Central Asia . Middle English usage of Turkye or Turkeye
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