Çerkes Ethem
historyÇerkes Ethem (1886-1948) was a Turkish militia leader of Circassian origin who initially gained fame for fighting against the Allied powers invading Anatolia in the aftermath of the World War I and afterwards during the Turkish War of Independence.
His family, of the Adyghe clan, was originally from Şapsığ region of Caucuses who migrated to Turkey during The Great Circassian Migration and he was born in Emre village of BandirmaÇerkez Ethem, Hatıralarım, Berfin Yayınları. He is the son of Pşevu Ali Bey. He ran from home when he was 14 years old to join Bakırköy Cavalary Junior Officer School. He fought against Bulgarians in the Balkan War where he was wounded. He joined Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa organized by Eşref Kuşçubaşı and participated in operations in Afghanistan and Irak during World War I. He was again wounded and retired to his village. For a while he took up banditry in the mountains. He then founded Kuvva-yı Seyyare which was the only organized military force in Anatolia during 1919-1920, period between Armistice of Mudros and Treaty of Sèvres. He coordinated his military operations with Ali Fuat Paşa in Ankara and harassed the invading Greek armies with his fast cavalry. He was instrumental in putting down various rebellions against the authority of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Eventually he turned against the new central government in Ankara, refusing to join his forces with the regular army established under the command of İsmet Paşa. Newly reconstituted Turkish Army had to put down his rebellion while also fighting the Greeks at First Battle of InonuDoğan Avcıoğlu, Milli Kurtuluş Tarihi. His subsequent surrender to and cooperation with the Greek army resulted in his citizenship getting revoked on the grounds of treason and his being announced a persona non grata by the TBMM. From Greece, he went to Jordan with about 400 of his followers and settled there.