Şerife Burcu KAYA

Ümit Ünsal KAYA

Yakup BULUT

As a result of the National Struggle, which can also be described as the struggle for the survival of Turkishness, the Turkish nation has shown the whole world what they can endure for the sake of an inch of land even under very difficult conditions. In the absence of a regular army during the period of the National Struggle, we see that a number of patriotic formations emerged to protect the unity of the homeland. These formations, called Kuvâ-yi Milliye, mean voluntary militia units that came together against the occupation forces for the independence of the homeland by taking strength from their national feelings. During the National Struggle, Turkish people supported the independence movement in all regions. In this process, Bayat district of Afyonkarahisar, known for its proximity to strategic cities in the National Struggle such as Eskişehir, Akşehir and Afyonkarahisar, was exposed to the occupation attempts of the Greek army in its struggle for independence. Although Bayat was not directly in the hot spot in the Battle of Sakarya and the Major Assault of Turkish Army due to its location, it was a settlement where the necessary military services and Tekâlif-i Milliye orders were implemented for the National Struggle. Lieutenant Colonel Arif Bey, who has not been sufficiently mentioned in the pages of history, came to his hometown Bayat as a result of the arrest warrant issued by the Istanbul Government against him, supported the Kuvâ-yi Milliye movement in the Central Anatolia region and played an active role in suppressing the rebellions that emerged in the immediate vicinity.  One of the important works of Lieutenant Colonel Arif Bey in this process is that he united the militia forces around him under his command and established the Karakeçili National Regiment and created an important support force for the National Struggle. In this study, which was created by making use of archival documents, memoirs, researches and information in periodicals, we aimed to make a historical contribution to the understanding of the local and national values of Turkish independence.

Keywords: Bayat, Turkish National Struggle Period, Lieutenant Colonel Arif Bey, Qaimaqam Arif Bey, Karakeçili National Regiment