On the roads : transportation and question of logistics during the National Struggle (1919-1922)

Abstract

This study presents a narrative on road and railway transportation in the years of the National Struggle regarding the transportation legacy from the Ottoman Empire to Anatolia. In addition to great technological revo lutions in the field of transportation in the 19th century, the state directly participated in road construction works during the Tanzimat period. Moreover, in this century, the transformation of the nature of war that necessitated the movement of more resources within the country in creased the importance of the transportation factor in the context of the war power. Financial and military difficulties in the last period of the Em pire prevented the formation of a developed transportation network within the country. Weapons and ammunition freight to the Western Front during the National Struggle took place under challenging condi tions and extraordinary measures.