Battle of Marash

The Battle of Marash (Turkish: Maraş Muharebesi), also called the "Marash Affair", took place in the early winter of 1920 between the French forces occupying the city of Maraş in the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish National Forces linked to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. It was the first major battle of the Turkish War of Independence, and the three-week-long engagement in the city ultimately forced the French to abandon and retreat from Marash and resulted in a Turkish massacre of Armenian refugees who had just been repatriated to the city following the Armenian Genocide.

Battle of Marash
Part of the Franco-Turkish War
Date21 January – 12 February 1920
Location
Marash, Aleppo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Result

Turkish victory

  • French troops abandon Marash
Belligerents

Turkish National Movement

 France

Commanders and leaders

Arslan Bey

"Kılıç" Ali Bey

Henri Gouraud
General Louis Albert Quérette
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Normand
Major Jean-François-Henri Corneloup

Captain Pierre-Jean Daniel André
Strength

Varies throughout battle as numbers of supporters grow


French claim :
30,000 armed guerrilla fighters

Turkish claim :
2,500 Kuva-yi Milliye
Local support

Max. ~2,000 engaged in battle at one particular moment (as seen in order of battle)


Turkish claim:
3,000 French
2,000 Armenians (non-French Armenians were mostly unarmed civilians)
4 armored cars

Western estimates:
4,000+ total French-Senegalese troops
Casualties and losses
4,500 killed
500+ wounded
(Including civilians)
160 killed
280 wounded
170 missing
5,000–12,000 dead Armenian civilians
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