MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH GARRISON AT URFA
The facts of the massacre of the French garrison at Urfa, obtained from
original sources, took place under the following conditions:
The Nationalists had been besieging the small French force in Urfa
during the early days of April, 1920, and at length Commander Hauger was
compelled to capitulate. On the eighth of April he decided to evacuate
the city and did so under the following terms: That all Christians should
have ample protection; that the houses occupied by the garrison should
not be reoccupied by the Turks until the garrison had left the city; that
the graves of the fallen should be respected; that sufficient transport
should be supplied to convey their arms, ammunition, etc.[12] One officer
of the gendarmerie and ten men would accompany them for safe convoy.
These were agreed to by the Mutessarif of Urfa and the commander of the
Turkish Nationalist forces, but, notwithstanding this arrangement the
French were attacked shortly after they had left the town and nearly
annihilated.
[Illustration: Portion of the three hundred thousand persons who fled to
the water-front in the destruction of Smyrna. They were a human wall two
miles long, the blazing city behind and the Ægean Sea before them.]
A native-born American who chanced to be in Urfa on relief work and
who desired to proceed to Aleppo decided to accompany the ill-fated
expedition and was an eye-witness of what happened. The following account
may be interesting as a chapter of authentic history, never before
published:
“We left Urfa at one-thirty A. M. on Sunday the eleventh of
April, 1920, Captain Perraut being with the advance guard, four
gendarmes leading the way, in center of column the officer
of gendarmerie, Emir Effendi, who was to accompany us to our
destination.
“On passing the crest of the hill we observed several gendarmes
and we were informed that this was their post. The ascent was
very difficult as the horses were in bad condition owing to
lack of food and exercise. The camels delayed us as they were
well-laden and climbed very slowly. We halted as usual ten
minutes to the hour, the rear guard consisting of one hundred
and fifty to one hundred and sixty men, being two kilometers in
the rear.
“At six A. M., passing through a ravine on to a straight
stretch of road, we were suddenly attacked from the rear and
both flanks, the enemy having machine guns among them. The
firing commenced before the camels had passed out of the
ravine. They were in the bend and halted. Previous to the
attack, I had been marching with Commander Hauger and five
minutes before the firing commenced was riding on a Red Cross
wagon containing two wounded. When the firing commenced, two
wagons which preceded the others, having their horses and
mules wounded or killed, were forced to halt. I jumped down,
taking cover in a hollow at the roadside, and finding that I
was exposed to fire from the hilltops, decided to make my way
forward trusting to find the Commander who I knew was only two
yards in advance.
“By this time the attack had taken a formidable form. The
ground here formed a basin surrounded by hills and bare of any
cover so that the column was forced to go forward to find a
position of defence, which they did five hundred yards ahead.
The transport with the above exception, was thus cut off,
most of the horses by that time being killed. Firing by this
time had become extremely heavy, and going forward I joined
Commander Hauger and two other officers in a hole in the
hillside which had been left by some stone cutters and from
where he directed operations. We were afterward joined by two
other officers and the Turkish officer of gendarmerie, who was
then disarmed, and two interpreters.
“About nine A. M., the rear guard were heard and the firing
became very heavy. We were shortly joined by the officer who
had been in charge of them, who gave us a thrilling account of
what had happened; they had been ambushed in a gulley, very few
escaping.
“From a hill to the north, we observed the Turkish Nationalist
flag. Shortly after this several Kurds were seen coming over
the hills, apparently a tribe. At ten o’clock or thereabouts,
Commander Hauger held a conference and decided to surrender.
“At this time the line was broken to the east, the transport
was lost and the rear guard cut up and many wounded were coming
in. He then told the officer of the gendarmerie to go out with
a flag of truce.
“As we had several Armenians with us who needed protection,
I suggested that I might accompany him. To this he agreed,
and taking my interpreter carrying the American flag, myself
carrying the white flag with the gendarme in the center,
we proceeded toward the enemy’s position. We were fired on
continually. On reaching the destroyed transport column, we
came upon a large body of troops and asked for their commander.
We were informed that they were without one, being irregular
troops, ‘Chetas, etc.’
“I then instructed the officer of the gendarmerie to send off
messengers to stop the fire and this was accomplished about
ten twenty A. M. A few minutes afterward a mob of Kurds rushed
from the hills toward the French positions, and the battle
recommenced. Seeing that it was impossible to do anything _as
they refused the truce_, I told the officer of gendarmerie to
ride to Urfa, a distance of about nine miles, to inform the
Mustessarif of what had happened and to bring carriages for the
wounded and this he did.
“Here I witnessed the killing of wounded and the killing of
men, _who were surrendering their arms_. To this, there are
many witnesses, including Lieutenant Deloir, who at present is
a prisoner in Urfa. I demanded a guard of gendarmes who had
by this time arrived to accompany me to Urfa. We proceeded,
encircling a hill and striking the road at a natural cistern
where we were able to get water. The officer commanding the
gendarmes of Urfa arrived and gave me a further guard of six
men, instructing them to get to the city as soon as possible,
the tribesmen showing great hostility. We proceeded by a
circuitous route through a ravine, arriving in Urfa about two
thirty P. M., having walked for twelve hours, and bringing with
me a Syrian, Jacob, who had been working at the Swiss mission
at Urfa.
“I was unable to save any Armenians as they were not to be seen.
“Note: the prisoners, some fifty, are in hospital and perhaps
another fifty are in prison. There may be more, but at present
it is impossible to say as there is a possible chance that
some may still be with the Kurds. The official report of the
Mutessarif says that they buried one hundred and ninety, and
one hundred in hospital and prison brings the number to roughly
three hundred, whereas the garrison when en route numbered more
than four hundred.
“Sundry notes: Lieutenant Deloir, before mentioned, was
stripped by Turkish regular cavalry and rescued in a nude
condition by Kurds who found him some time afterward and who
fed him and brought him to Urfa.
“The Syrian Yakub, whom I brought back with me and who was
trying to escape to Aleppo is now in Urfa. The Armenians have
not been heard of.
“When crossing the battle-field, I observed a company of
Turkish infantry regulars and the machine section with mule
transport proceeding toward the French positions. They were,
perhaps, a little late unless there had been action in the
hilltops and were going forward to continue to fight.
“The attack took place in the hills west of Urfa about nine
miles from town and two miles from junction of Arab Punar, and
Seroudj roads.”
The above story is given precisely as received by me, without alteration,
even of punctuation. The characteristic features of this incident are:
The breaking of the agreement; the use of so-called “irregulars” by the
Turkish authorities to escape responsibility and the presence of regulars
in case of need; the killing of the wounded and of those giving up their
arms.
There were present in Urfa during the siege Mrs. Richard Mansfield, widow
of the famous actor; Mr. G. Woodward, accountant of the Near East Relief;
and Mary Caroline Holmes, a heroic American lady who wrote a book on her
experiences, entitled _Between the Lines in Asia Minor_, published by the
Fleming H. Revell Company.
The part played by Italy and France which so greatly contributed to the
extermination of the Christian population of Turkey, and the fearful
events at Smyrna, are well summed up by George Abbott in the work above
referred to, in the following words:
“France, who since the Armistice had displayed a keen jealousy
of England’s place in a part of the world in which she claims
special rights, presently concluded a separate agreement with
Turkey—an example in which she was followed by Italy—and gave
the Turks her moral and material support against the Greeks;
while England, while refusing to reverse her policy in favor of
their enemies, contented herself with giving the Greeks only a
Platonic encouragement, which they were unwise enough to take
for more than it was worth.”