Battle of Bergama

39°07′N 27°12′E / 39.117°N 27.200°E / 39.117; 27.200

The Battle of Bergama was fought at and near Bergama (ancient Pergamon, now a district center of İzmir Province, Turkey) between the Greek army and forces of the nascent Turkish National Movement (Kuva-yi Milliye) during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. The Turkish forces pushed the Greek army from Bergama on 15 June, but the town was recaptured on 22 June.

Following the decisions of the Allied Supreme War Council, on 14 May 1919 the city of Smyrna (İzmir) was occupied by the Greek army. Over the following weeks, the Greek army began expanding its zone of occupation around the city, The Greek occupation immediately faced armed resistance by irregular forces, and was hampered due to political considerations: as the Smyrna Zone was still officially Ottoman territory, Turkish officials remained in place in the civil administration, as well as in the telegraph and railways; censorship was not imposed and allowed the propaganda of the Turkish National Movement to be freely distributed; and the disarming of the civilian population (including demobilized Ottoman soldiers) was prohibited by the Allies. This allowed the Turks to freely recruit and gather arms and ammunition, creating armed groups often directed by discharged Ottoman Army officers.

Bergama (ancient Pergamon) is located some 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Smyrna, in the valley of the Bakırçay (ancient Kaïkos) river. On 12 June 1919, it was occupied by a Greek detachment of the 1st Battalion of the 8th Cretan Regiment, a mountain artillery platoon, and a half-company of cavalry, under Major Apostolos Sermakezis. The local kaymakam protested this, as the occupation of the city was not included in the terms agreed between the Ottoman government and the Allies. On the next day, part of the detachment (110 men with a machine-gun squad) was moved to the port town of Dikili, to ensure the supply of the Greek force. On the same day, Sermakezis notified his superior command in Smyrna (1st Infantry Division headquarters under Colonel Nikolaos Zafeiriou) that Turkish forces began assembling around Bergama to attack his position.

The Turkish forces around Bergama were commanded by Kemal Muratoğlu, the military commander of Soma. They comprised irregular and a few regular Turkish forces from Soma, Kınık, Balıkesir, Kaşıkçı, Turanlı, Ayvalık and Kozak.

The Greek forces in the town comprised two and a half infantry companies, three machine-gun squads, two mountain guns and the cavalry half-company. They occupied the heights around the town, and particularly the ancient acropolis hill to the northeast ("Old Bergama") and the bridge and aqueduct over the Bakırçay river.

The Turkish attack on the town started at 10:00 of 15 June, with attacks on the entire defensive perimeter of the Greek detachment. On the same morning, the guard on the river bridge and a supply column heading to Dikili were also attacked by irregulars; the men of the latter were almost all killed. At the same time, the telegraph lines were cut. Once this became known in Smyrna, Colonel Zafeiriou ordered the 6th Archipelago Regiment (Col. Charalambos Tseroulis) to board ship to Dikili to come to the assistance of the garrison at Bergama. The regiment was embarked at midnight, and arrived at Dikili on the next morning.

In the meantime, however, the Turkish forces attacking Bergama had been steadily gaining ground, using the hills and woods of the area as cover. By 11:00, sizeable Turkish forces had approached the town in strength some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south, and down to a few hundred meter to the north. At c. 11:30, the northern advance had been contained, but the Greek positions were attacked in the rear by armed locals; in the town, a Greek patrol was shot at from civilian buildings. As a result, Sermakezis left only a few second-line men to guard the barracks and deployed his entire remaining force to defend the perimeter around the town. Most importantly he sent his cavalry force to reinforce the small bridge garrison, and a detachment of 45 men to block the road towards Menemen. The capture of Old Bergama towards the afternoon placed the Greek detachment in jeopardy, and its commander decided to withdraw under cover of night.