Southern Asia 1922: Turkish Great Offensive

Political map of South & Southwest Asia on 08 Sep 1922 (Anglo-French Overreach: Turkish Great Offensive), showing the following events: Outbreak of Sheikh Khazal rebellion; Ikhwan raids on Transjordan; Defeat of the Basmachi movement; Battle of Dumlupinar; Kingdom of Kurdistan.

After their 1921 defeat of the Greek invasion at Sakarya, the Turks slowly gathered their forces for their counterattack. In late August 1922 they were ready, smashing the Greeks at Dumlupinar and driving them back to the sea in just a few weeks. On 8 September, the Greeks evacuated Smyrna, leaving the city for the Turks to capture the following day.

Notes

Changes to the map 5 May 1922–8 September 1922

Greco-Turkish War: The Turks have mounted their Great Offensive on Greek lines, recapturing their inland cities and driving the Greeks back to Smyrna.

Russian Civil War: The Soviets have suppressed the Turkmens and crushed the Basmachi in Central Asia.

Persia: Sheikh Khazal of Khuzestan and his Bakhtiari allies have risen against the Persian government of Reza Khan.

Iraq: The Kingdom of Kurdistan has declared independence in Sulaymaniyah.

Transjordan: Transjordan has been earmarked to become a formal British protectorate, but in the meantime its Arab government is supervised from Palestine.

British Protectorates in the Persian Gulf

The British Residency of the Persian Gulf maintained British India's influence in a number of Gulf states from the 19th Century until 1947. These states were nominally independent - and shown as such in most atlases from the period - but all signed treaties guaranteeing British control over their foreign affairs.

The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman was the only one of these states with significant international relations, having obtained trade agreements with the US and France before it signed its treaty with Britain. Maps of the time often show Trucial Oman and even Qatar as regions of Oman.

Trucial Oman was the region to the west of Oman which collectively signed treaties with Britain. The sheikhdoms of this region were often called the Trucial States, and later became the United Arab Emirates. However at this time they had little unity, with no regional council until 1952.

Indian Empire

The British Indian Empire, also known as the British Raj, was comprised of a complex of presidencies, provinces, protectorates, and agencies. Only the top level subdivisions are shown here.

The area under direct British rule was known as British India and made up of presidencies and provinces - a presidency simply being the name for an older province.

Outside British India, but often included within the sphere of the presidencies/provinces, were the hundreds of protectorates or 'princely states'. These were indirectly ruled states, the largest being Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Mysore. The others were either collected into agencies - which might in turn contain other smaller agencies - or fell under the sway of the provinces.

Main Events

? Jul 1922 Outbreak of Sheikh Khazal rebellion

The Sheikh of Mohammerah Khaz’al al-Ka’bi leads a rebellion in Khuzestan against Reza Khan of Persia. He is joined by the Bakhtiari Sheikhdoms, who attack the Persian government forces as they pass through their territory to Khuzestan.in wikipedia

? Aug 1922–27 Dec 1924 Ikhwan raids on Transjordan

Ikhwan based in the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd make a number of raids on the British-dependent Emirate of Transjordan, send several thousand men to attack villages to the south of Amman and massacre the villagers. The raids threaten the position of Emir Abdullah, but are dispatched with the aid of British armored cars and aircraft.in wikipedia

4 Aug 1922–? ?? 1923 Defeat of the Basmachi movement

Enver Pasha, leader of the rebel Basmachi movement (Bek) in the Ferghana Valley (in what will become Tajikistan), is killed in a cavalry charge against the invading Red Army of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. His successor, Selim Pasha, attempts to continue the struggle but is finally forced to flee to Afghanistan in 1923.in wikipedia

26–30 Aug 1922 Battle of Dumlupinar

The Turkish First and Second Armies mount simultaneous attacks on the Greek front line in central Anatolia. Facing a Turkish breakthrough, the Greeks retreat towards Dumlupinar and Alioren, but are forced to evacuate on 30 August in response to further Turkish assaults. The result is a rapid Greek abandonment of the interior as they flee to the coast.in wikipedia

? Sep 1922 Kingdom of Kurdistan

After several revolts against British control of Iraq, the Kurds of Sulaymaniyah declare the independence of the Kingdom of Kurdistan under King Mahmud Barzanji.in wikipedia