_A BLOODLESS VICTORY_
And now the hour was drawing near when Niazi was to be called upon to
do the deed that would bring the insurrection to a head and send the
Despotism tumbling down like a house of cards. Leaving Istarova on July
17, Niazi and his band of _fedais_ set out for Resna. After a fatiguing
march across the mountains (in the course of which the provisional
administration was introduced into several friendly Moslem and
Christian villages, and some _détours_ had to be made in order to avoid
collision with a battalion of _chasseurs_, whose officers and men,
being strangers to the country and not members of the Committee, were
likely to be dangerous) the band entered Labcha, the first village, it
will be remembered, that Niazi had visited and organised on the day of
his setting out from Resna. Here, as in Istarova, the _fedais_ were
among staunch friends and were enabled to sleep in security; there was
no necessity for sending out patrols or for posting sentries, for these
duties were performed by the villagers themselves, who were proud to
guard the saviours of the nation as they rested. The village was also
protected by a detachment of troops which, like many another little
garrison in the three Vilayets, had mutinied, its officers and men
becoming the sworn associates of the Committee.
On the following day, July 19, there was a great gathering of people
in Labcha, wild hillmen, shepherds, deserters from the army, and
others, who had come in to see Niazi and his band and to declare their
readiness to take up arms for the Committee. Niazi addressed the
people, told them how successful had been the mission of his own and
of the other bands, and assured them that the sand had all but run out
of the glass, and the day was very near when the Despotism would fall
and liberty prevail. That glad day was indeed nearer than Niazi himself
imagined; for that very evening there came a messenger into the village
with a letter for Niazi from the Ochrida Centre of the Committee of
Union and Progress. In this letter the Committee informed him that very
important and grave intelligence had been received from Monastir, and
ordered him to set out at once for Ochrida. He was to leave his band
outside that town and come in alone to confer with the Committee and
receive his instructions.
So soon as Niazi had read this letter he collected his men and made
a forced march throughout the night, for all were eager to learn the
nature of the duty which they were to be called upon to perform. Before
dawn—July 20—the outskirts of Ochrida were reached, and Niazi, leaving
his band, entered the town and went to the house of his brother, where
the members of the Committee came to meet him. It was then explained
to him that he and Eyoub Bey were to collect two thousand men from
Ochrida and Resna, form them into two bands, and march on Monastir
without delay. The detailed instructions as to what he was to do would
be delivered to him before he reached that town.
As Niazi learnt later, the Committee of Union and Progress had decided
that the time had arrived for it to make its great _coup_. The plan
was simultaneously to proclaim the Constitution at Monastir and
send an ultimatum to the Sultan, who would have to choose between
constitutional government, abdication, and a bloody civil war. In the
first place it was necessary for the Committee to secure the possession
of Monastir, the head-quarters of the Government’s military strength
in Macedonia, where General Osman Pasha, an able man who exercised
a greater moral influence over his troops than did his predecessor,
Shemshi Pasha, was still in command. The bulk of the troops in Monastir
were adherents of the Committee, but there were also many ready to
obey the orders of the General. It was realised that if Osman Pasha
could be got out of the way the supporters of the Government would be
demoralised, and the Committee might then be able to establish its
authority without bloodshed. The killing of each other by Turkey’s
Moslem soldiers was a calamity to be avoided. It was therefore decided
to entrust to Niazi and Eyoub Beys the special duty of removing Osman
Pasha from Monastir as suddenly and quietly as possible, so as to allow
no time for the organisation of opposition.
To collect the necessary two thousand men was no difficult matter.
In the first place it was decided to employ the very troops who had
been the first to pursue Niazi and his band after the raising of the
standard of revolt at Resna. This was a battalion of _redifs_ of the
Ochrida district which had been disbanded after its fruitless chase of
the revolutionary leader, because the authorities rightly suspected
that most of the men were adherents of the Committee of Union and
Progress. So messengers were sent to the neighbouring villages to
summon these disbanded soldiers—who had not yet given up their arms to
the Government—to assemble at an appointed place outside Ochrida. Niazi
with his band marched into his own country to collect the men of Resna,
Persepe, and Labcha. Throughout the night of the 20th and throughout
the following day he traversed the mountainous countryside, his band
being ever increased by the accession of fresh volunteers who came
to him generally in threes and fours, but occasionally in bodies of
from forty to fifty men. Whenever the band passed through a village it
was received with extraordinary enthusiasm, and the villagers brought
presents of bread and cheese until each man was provided with two days’
rations, the supply which Niazi deemed to be necessary.
In the morning of July 21 Eyoub Effendi, with his Ochrida band of
disbanded _redifs_ and others, a thousand men in all, joined Niazi’s
band at Labcha, and now the column formed by the two united bands set
off in the direction of Monastir. After dark, as they were approaching
their appointed night’s halting place, an incident occurred which
is interesting as illustrating the manners and customs of the wild
Albanian hillmen. The stillness of the night was suddenly broken by
the sound of rifle-fire on the mountainside above the road; so Niazi
sent out scouts to ascertain what was happening. It turned out that the
Faragas and the Quapris, between which two tribes there had existed for
ages a deadly blood feud, had each sent a band of about one hundred men
to join Eyoub Bey’s battalion; these two bands met in the mountain,
and what happened may be best described in Niazi’s own words: “It was
indeed a sight worth witnessing—this meeting of the men of these two
tribes, between whom there had been so intense an enmity, but who were
now united, as with one heart, ready to die together for the sake of
the same ideal. These tribesmen, who for two centuries had hated to
see each other’s faces or to hear each other’s voices, and who had
ever pursued each other with rifle-shots, had now, on meeting on the
hillside, saluted each other with rifle-shots, and were eager, standing
together as comrades, to use rifle-shots against the traitors and
enemies of the fatherland.”
The column passed the night in the village of Gauchar, where many
volunteers from the surrounding country joined the battalions of Niazi
and Eyoub, bringing the force up to the strength of over two thousand
men. The people gathered from the countryside to crowd the village
streets throughout the night to honour and entertain the _fedais_ with
simple refreshments. All these people were prepared to risk everything
in the civil war, the immediate outbreak of which they considered as
inevitable.
On the following morning, July 22, the column marched under a blazing
sun by the steep zigzag tracks that cross the precipitous ranges of
Mount Pelista. At ten o’clock a halt was made, and the “National
Battalion of Ochrida” under Eyoub Bey, and the “National Battalion
of Resna” under Niazi Bey, were arranged in their roll-call order.
There were twenty companies or bands in all, under twenty commanders,
who included among them one lieutenant-colonel, several majors and
captains, one doctor of medicine, and leading Beys of the Macedonian
and Albanian land-owning class. Up to that moment these National
troops had not been informed of their destination or of the object of
the expedition. So now, while Eyoub enlightened his battalion, Niazi
addressed the men of his own command. He explained how, in order to
serve the beneficent Committee which was working for the salvation of
the country, the men of his band had cheerfully given up comfort, and
their wives and families, and had been ready to sacrifice their lives.
“But now,” he said, “these hardships and troubles will soon be a thing
of the past, and they have achieved their purpose well. Relying upon
the success which God gives and the inspiration of the Prophet, we are
now on our way to the head-quarters of the Vilayet of Monastir to carry
into execution a most important command of the Committee. Within a
few hours, if we are successful, we shall have delivered our country
from its afflictions. Without hurting a hair of his head we shall
take the Mushir (Field Marshal), Osman Pasha, from his residence so
as to prevent him from carrying into effect the injuries which it is
in his mind to inflict upon the Committee and the fatherland. May God
enable us to perform this duty with complete success. It is therefore
necessary, my comrades, that you should carry out the orders which
you will receive, literally and implicitly. The strictest order and
discipline must be maintained.”
The men rejoiced to hear what they were called upon to do, and, despite
their fatigue, when the order to resume the march was given, they
proceeded along the rough roads at the double, eager to reach Monastir
as soon as possible. While the column was on its way, there came to
it a most acceptable mascot in the shape of a young roebuck. It was
accompanying a half-dozen or so of _bashi-bazouks_, who had with them
a letter from the Committee at Monastir ordering that they should be
admitted into Niazi’s band. They had found the roebuck in the hills,
and as all Turks, even if they be savage _bashi-bazouks_, are fond of
animals and are invariably kind to them, they caressed the creature and
gained its confidence so well that it had followed them along the road.
So this roebuck now became the pet of the column and marched at the
head of it, fulfilling, says Niazi, the function of a guide, “for by
some instinct it always ran on in the direction we had to go.” Niazi’s
description of this incident well illustrates the kindly and religious
sentiment of the Turks. “The soldiers,” he tells us, “caressed and
blessed it, and thanked God who had sent us this beautiful animal,
which fascinated all with its charming ways. We regarded its presence
as a propitious sign, a divine message of approval of our enterprise.”
In the evening, the column, after an extraordinary forced march,
reached a village which was within a few miles of Monastir. A halt was
called so that the men could have a meal and rest; and here, as had
been arranged, there arrived from Monastir Lieutenant Osman Effendi
with fifty men, bringing a sealed letter for Niazi which contained
the Committee’s detailed instructions for the execution of the plan.
Once more Niazi impressed the necessity of silence, steadiness, and
obedience on the men; the order was given to march, and the eager
_fedais_ hurried along the road, sandal-shod, and therefore almost
noiselessly, at the double, and covered the few miles that lay between
them and their destination in a very short time. It was about eleven
o’clock at night, and there were but few citizens in the streets,
when the column came to the outskirts of Monastir. Here the main body
remained while eight hundred men, divided into several detachments,
and guided by members of the Monastir Committee, passed into the town
by various routes and quickly and silently approached and surrounded
the group of buildings which contained the Government House, the
Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, and the official residence
of General Osman Pasha. At the same time agents of the Committee cut
the telegraph wires and so prevented the General from holding any
communication with the Yildiz or with his own staff. The sentries
guarding the General’s residence were quickly disarmed; only one man
offered resistance, but he was pinioned before he could fire his rifle
and give the alarm. Then two officers and some of the men of Niazi’s
band broke into the room where the General was in bed sleeping, and
he was awakened, not unnaturally furiously angry, to find himself the
prisoner of the revolutionaries. In the meanwhile other bodies of men
discovered and placed under arrest the Chief of the Staff, the Officer
in Command of the Zone, and some other officers who were known to be no
friends of the Committee of Union and Progress.
His captors assured Osman Pasha that his life was in no danger, but,
while addressing him with all the respect due to his high rank, they
courteously explained to him that their instructions were to escort
him with all marks of honour to Resna, where he was to remain for a
short time as the guest of the Committee of Union and Progress. Then
they handed him a letter which had been drawn up by the Committee.
It opened with the correct ceremonial salutations: “In the name of
the most merciful and compassionate God. To His Excellency, Mushir,
Osman Pasha. Peace be on you and the mercy of God. May God guide us
and you.” Then the letter proceeded—in terms so polite and flattering
that one wonders whether the Committee was indulging in sarcasm—to
point out that the courage and ability with which God had endowed His
Excellency ought to be used to direct armies to crush the enemies
of the fatherland, and not to attack the nation itself; but that,
unfortunately, His Excellency’s official appointment and the extensive
powers and instructions that had been given to him by the Yildiz were
calculated to induce him—no doubt against the dictates of his own
conscience—to commit acts that might be injurious to the fatherland and
cause the repetition of such regrettable events as occurred in Erzeroum
(the Armenian massacres). His Excellency’s life, the letter explained,
was precious to the country; when the Despotism had been changed for
constitutional government his services might be required for the reform
and reorganisation of the army. Consequently the Committee proposed to
rescue His Excellency from his present awkward situation, and ventured
to beg him to consent to become the Committee’s honoured guest; it
trusted that he would not regard this as in any way bringing disgrace
upon himself, and assured him that everything had been arranged that
could safeguard his dignity and contribute to his comfort. It reminded
him that opposition to the Committee’s will could not avail, for his
house was surrounded, all officers on whose obedience he could rely
were under arrest, while the troops in the town and all the inhabitants
were adherents of the Committee.
Osman Pasha read this document without making any comment upon its
contents, and asked whether he might go into the adjoining room to put
on his clothes; but the two officers, fearing lest he might attempt
suicide, were present while he dressed. Then the General left the house
and, mounting a horse, was escorted by Niazi and his National Battalion
of one thousand men to Resna, which was reached the following night,
and here Osman was confined as an honoured prisoner in the house of one
of the notables of the place.
On that day, July 23, Macedonia and Albania threw off the Despotism,
and even as Niazi’s men were marching to Resna with their prisoner
they heard behind them, far off, the sound of the cannon in Monastir
that were saluting the Constitution. Niazi and his _fedais_ had sworn
not to return to their homes until their country had won its freedom,
and now, having faithfully observed their oaths, he and many of his
followers rejoined their rejoicing wives and families in Resna.
Throughout the following day, July 24, Resna, like every other town and
village in Turkey, presented an extraordinary spectacle. The people
seemed to be mad with enthusiasm and delight. Turks, Bulgarians,
Greeks, Servians, Wallachs were all as brothers. Several Bulgarian
and Greek bands, one of the former led by the redoubtable Cherchis
himself, tramped into Resna that day to take part in the universal
jollification and fraternisation. Banners bearing the device, “Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity, Justice,” and national flags innumerable waved
in the breeze, and all day long the people were shouting themselves
hoarse with cries of “Long live the Nation!” “Long live the Army!”
“Long live the Committee!” After a twenty-four hours’ halt in Resna,
during which he was occupied in receiving the Christian band leaders
and administering the oath to them, and making arrangements in case of
a _levée en masse_ of the people (for it was uncertain yet whether the
Sultan would submit or plunge the country into civil war), Niazi, by
order of the Committee, marched back to Monastir with the two hundred
original _fedais_ of his band, accompanied by Cherchis and other
leaders of the Christian bands.
And here Niazi passes out of this story. I have given a somewhat
full account of his wanderings, as the narrative will make clear
the nature of the work that was done all over the country by those
whose mission it was to gain the adherence of the civil population
to the revolutionary cause; and I think that it also shows that
those virtues without which no people can be great or worthy of any
respect—patriotism, and the readiness to sacrifice self for a high
ideal—are possessed in a high degree by the Moslem Turks. Niazi was
the first young officer to take to the mountains, and it was to his
lot that the most important work fell; but it needed many others like
him to make the insurrection so universal as it was. Enver Bey and
dozens of other young officers were doing the same work as Niazi and
with like success in other parts of the country. The local Committees,
too, appear to have been wonderfully organised and to have been
directed by single-minded patriots of great ability who kept ever in
the background, their names unknown, and took no part in the public
rejoicings when the victory was won. Thus the Committees in Uskeb
and Janina, by their diligent propaganda, respectively won over the
allegiance of the Northern Albanians and the Southern Albanians at
the same time that Niazi was gaining that of the Western Albanians.
Niazi is essentially the soldier, simple and straightforward and not
a politician, and, now that his mission at the time of his country’s
peril has been successfully accomplished, he is back in his own
province quietly fulfilling his military duties in the midst of troops
who would follow him to hell, as our own private soldiers would put it.