Grey Wolf

Mustafa Kemal

by

H.C. Armstrong

Date         4/ 25/ 1995  
To            M. Mendenhall, Ph.D  
From        C. Tolunay  
Subject     Book review

Mustafa Kemal gained some qualities of  his leadership skills in his childhood years. When he was a little kid, his father had died. With his mother, they moved his uncle who lived in the country side. Mustafa raised there and became reserved, solitary and independent because of that rough life. He developed a very different personality. When he went back to city to study he could not adjust that life and kicked against the discipline. He refused to join in other boys' games. Most of the time he fought them. He was very unpopular. He refused to go to school.

          His mom and her brother decided to send him to military school. Mustafa liked this idea: to be an officer, wear a uniform and give orders to men. At Cadet School he was very successful, but also unpopular. He kept to himself, made no friends but always wanted to be noticed and to be pointed to as somebody extraordinary. He had the first qualification of leadership;   a desire to lead. This was his personal goal and it always gave him  strength. So he worked hard and always made his own way.

          He succeeded in his work. He had an uncommon flair for mathematics and all military subjects. His strength was that he liked to study and work. He was very task oriented and he liked to achieve.

          He became jealous when there was another boy who was more successful than him. He must be the outstanding figure or he would not be in the picture at all. We have studied that the "crisis help" is a big opportunity for leaders. Good leaders know how to take advantage of it. He was young and in manastir. At that time the Ottoman Empire was in a big crisis. He was a revolutionary and this was a good opportunity. He pictured himself leading the revolt, overthrowing the despot, saving  the country.

          He was very successful in his class, so he was selected for the General Staff College which is in Istanbul. There he mixed in politics and joined political groups. There was already a revolutionary society known as the "Vatan" or fatherland. It worked against the Sultan's inefficient officials.

          The Sultan's spies also knew of Vatan's existence and reported to palace. With pressure from the school no more meetings were held inside of the college. Then Mustafa took over the running of Vatan. He rented a room as an office and he arranged the meetings. He began to learn the technique of revolutionary organization, the method of forming cells.

          Because of his  activities he was caught and like Martin Luther King he was put in a jail. Then he was sent to Syria as  punishment. However still he was not scared. Fundamentally he was a revolutionary with no respect for God, man or institution.

          The organization against Sultan grew rapidly and the Balkans were the center. So he was determined to go to Salonika, Greece  with or without permission. He wanted to control this organization. There  was another very large organization in Salonika. It was called "The Union and Progress". This organization had been wanting Mustafa Kemal and invited him to join.

          Mustafa Kemal was very critical. He did not like the organization. His criticisms were always bitter, with no humor to sweeten them. So people mistrusted him. This was his the biggest weakness. Since his childhood he could never get alone with anybody. He was never cooperating.

          He studied military history: Moltke and the campaigns of Napoleon. He learned from them and improved his leadership and commanding skills.

          In 1908 Union and Progress was the new government but Mustafa Kemal was left out because of his attitude against the organizations members at the beginning. At that time the leader of the Vatan, Enver was ruling the government.

          For a while Mustafa worked in Sofia,  as an attaché. His job was very boring for him. He always hated  to sit and do nothing. He liked challenging work  and  to achieve his goals. In the meantime Turkey joined Germany in The First World War. Mustafa Kemal immediately asked for a commander position in the army. Since he had a good military record he was sent to Gallipoli to work with the German general Liman Von Senders.

          Von Senders was the head commander and had sixty thousand men. He did not know where the English troop would land. He placed his men in three groups in separate places. One of them was Mustafa Kemal's group.

          Accidentally a whole English troop landed at the place that Mustafa Kemal was responsible to protect. This was very unexpected. He had ignored his orders to be cautious. On his own responsibility he had thrown into  direct action the whole of the army reserves: not a man remained in reserve. He was convinced that he was facing the main attack. If he was wrong and the main attack was elsewhere his mistake would be disastrous. This was his another strength that he was a risk taking man.  He made no error. His instincts  were right. He never doubted his instincts.

          The next few weeks were filled with the strain and drudgery of trench-warfare and the digging of trenches. Water was short and the sun burnt down on the hills. The power of resistance on both sides came near to the breaking-point.

          Through it all, Mustafa Kemal never relaxed. He was tense but happy. Difficulty of task was very high but so was his skill level.  This kind of challenging tasks were motivating for him not frustrating. He slept little, but he did not seem he needed to rest. He made his decision with mathematical care and gave his orders decisively. A German general Herr Kannengeiser said "Mustafa Kemal knows exactly what he wants".

          He was always in the line talking with his soldiers. Constantly he was under fire. He never spared himself, he shared the dangers with the troops. This was  another strength: he was very brave. He acted with a studied recklessness which inspired his men and he knew it.

          During the whole war he remained cool. His manner, his steady courage and his determination inspired those around him. He was a rock of strength. There was no fear in his heart. He motivated the simple Turkish soldiers with a new courage. They were ready to follow him to anywhere.

          At the end of the Gallipoli war he was promoted because of his success. Mustafa Kemal's driving personality saved Istanbul.

          When he went back to Istanbul the newspapers had called him " The Savior of the Dardanells and of the Capitol". He had a military reputation. He would not be ignored as before. He would have a hand in ruling.

          However after a while he was pushed away again because of his personality. No one wanted him. He was so different that he did not fit into any picture. He was always haughty and  dignified. He would associate with no one; he expected everyone to come him, and agree with him.

          During World War I, he fought almost everywhere and he always organized the dismoraled troops. He won most of the battles. In spite of the lack of equipment, food, and other needs. His soldiers with his energy fought against Russians, French and English.

          When he was in Istanbul, Vahdettin became the new Sultan. He was a very weak and thin man. Mustafa Kemal felt that he must establish his influence over Vahdettin. Then he could manipulate the Sultan. He would climb to the top and gain the power he wanted.

          Mustafa Kemal's willpower was stronger than anything else. Once, when he was in Syria fighting against English troops, kidney trouble because of heavy drinking attacked him again. When every report showed that the English were about to attack, he was forced to lie helpless in bed. He was still in great pain and had a fever, but his willpower was stronger even than the disease. His nervous energy carried him along.

          The fight was severe and he realized that he must have time to reorganize. He must retreat at once and give up all Syria to regroup on a new line in the north. At that time his commander Liman Von Senders found this plan logical, but he could not take this responsibility of giving up a great slice of the Ottoman Empire to the enemy. However Mustafa Kemal did and issued the orders to retreat. He never ran away from any responsibility.

          Meanwhile the Ottoman Government signed an armistice with the English at Mudros. Turkey was defeated. The Ottoman Empire had been smashed into little pieces. Turkey itself was held helpless in the iron grip of the victorious enemy. The machinery of government had broken down.

          Mustafa Kemal was ready to resist the enemy, but he obtained no support. The Turks of every class were worn-out. Crushed morally and physically, they wanted  the victorious Allies to decide their fate.

          This was the "crisis help" that could help  to show himself and gain the leadership position in front of people. The politicians listened to him. He was in a unique position. Enver had gone, and he had no rival. He was known as the only successful general in Turkey. He had driven the English back on Gallipoli. He was believed to be a friend of the Sultan. He had consistently opposed the Germans and Committee of Union and Progress which caused  all of this.

          He spent long hours in the Parliament House in Istanbul arguing with politicians. However, again he was refused. The deputies were afraid of him and his ideas. They were afraid of the domineering general. They suspected his ambitions.

          As the weeks went by, the grip of the enemy on the country began to slacken. In Italy, France and England there were serious internal troubles so they left Turkey alone. They believed it will break up automatically.

          In Istanbul the English still had a severe grip but away in Anatolia there was a chance to group the people against the enemies.

          Liman Von Senders said for Mustafa Kemal that he had that essential qualification of a great commander: luck and more luck. He had another qualification which is the power to seize his luck and use it well.

          The Sultan and the English had decided that the first movements of resistance in Anatolia must be checked at once. Someone must go as the Sultan's representative to enforce the delivery of arms, the disbanding of troops and stop the meeting of the local committee of Union and Progress.

          The Sultan wanted Mustafa Kemal, but the English military authorities objected.  After long discussions they accepted. They believed that he was opponent of Committee of Union and Progress. He has a great reputation in the country. He could be trusted.

          When he landed in Anatolia he decided that a congress of delegates to represent all Turkey be called as quickly as possible. This way he had the army leaders with him. At that moment his power was coming from his position. People viewed him as a Sultan's general who was representing him, so they listened  and followed his orders.

          He took advantage of this power and he toured the villages, collected up the officers who had become unemployed. Everywhere he preached resistance to the accursed English. He was very effective speaker and was good in "ideological related goals". As a leader he could link his goals to the people's general values. The enemy had decided to destroy Turkey, their Turkey. He also always mentioned that they were planning to make a Greek state on the people's land. He said that the people  they had to save were themselves, there was no one to save them. A new national army had to be established so they could save themselves from destruction and protect their wives and homes from dishonor. These were the general values of people and he knew how to use them to motivate the people.

          The people were worn-out. They had given up all hope. The idea of any resistance or even protest was gone. All they wanted was peace and time to live their quiet lives.

          However as they listened to him they woke slowly. News was coming in from Smyrna that the Greeks were burning the villages and massacring Turks. A flame of hatred ran through the villages stirring the people into a new energy.

          In East, the work was easier. Since the English had created an Armenian Republic which included the Northern East of the Turkey, Turks already swore to fight or be wiped out before they would be ruled by Armenians. They listened to Mustafa Kemal eagerly. Everywhere he electrified the people to hope and action. Men started coming from everywhere.

           He was called back to Istanbul because of all his activities. But he refused it and as a result he was dismissed from  command by the Sultan. Mustafa Kemal resigned his commission in the army.

          At that time he called his supporters and the army commanders. He made a speech and explained the situation. The central government was against them. Their fight would mean a civil war. He asked them to decide and choose their leader. For success one thing was vital; they must have one man at the head, one man to lead this movement and one man only. They chose Mustafa Kemal as their leader. This time he did not have any position power, but he had power because of his supporters. He achieved his first personal goal; he was a real leader.

          His other goal was to make Turkey a enemy-free country. He sent out invitations for the congress which would be hold in Sivas. That time he was an ordinary civilian and did not have an official standing. The commander of the only regular force in Turkey was his friend and he was under Mustafa Kemal's command.

          In the conference delegates made him chairman. In Sivas in the beginning process they had no clear aims. Mustafa Kemal worked among them continuously with a patience that was not part of his character. Actually he was an integrative leader but as the situation required he changed his style and act like a participating leader. He knew that all depended on his success here. He would sit among the delegates, argue and talk with them for hours. I do not think he was very strong in applying other leadership methods, especially the participative one. His style was directive leadership.  Naturally he was refused most of the time because of his wrong behaviors but this time he managed it. 

          Gradually, as in the next congress in Erzurum, he established his personal leadership. Relentlessly he won his way. He knew what he wanted and he went straight for it. Even those who distrusted him fell under his spell. His personality dominated the congress.

          In the congress they drafted out and passed the terms of peace for which they would fight and named it "National pact". They swore never to make peace until the National Pact was accepted to link everything together to reach this goal.

          He knew that the nation was not dead, but alive. This faith in the nation filled him, vibrated through him, pulsed through his every word, his orders, and his speeches. As we studied faith issue, his faith influence his followers and rouse the nationalist to a new enthusiasm.

          During this time in Istanbul the Ottoman Government had accepted a peace treaty called Treaty of Sevres. This was the death sentence of Turkey. At once every Turk became a Nationalist. For five hundred years had been a ruling people: they would never be slaves. They forgot their old jealousies and fell in behind Mustafa Kemal. What he preached had become true  and this built a trust to him. They proclaimed him as  leader. They swore vengeance on the sultan and his advisers who would not oppose the treaty. Mustafa Kemal became the symbol of the Turkish Nationalism and people called themselves' Kemalists" instead of Nationalists. They set out to beat  the Greeks and the Allies who were behind them.

          He formed a war  cabinet. In the South the local Turks had attacked and forced the French to retire and to sign on armistice. In the East the frontier of Armenians had been cleared and were made all safe.

          Except for the Greeks in Smyrna and the Allied forces in and around Istanbul, there were no enemy forces left in Turkey.

          The allied countries' leaders realized that the Turks led by Mustafa Kemal were about to chase them out of Turkey. They started helping the Greek troops which were already in Turkey. English and French gave their surplus war stores to the Greeks and equipped them with arms, guns and the best transport and medical organizations.

          In reality Mustafa Kemal had only a few regular troops; he had only had time to reorganize a few regiments and these were poorly equipped. As a result in few weeks the Greeks advanced to very close point of headquarters. Beaten and driven back, the Turks were sadly discouraged. The Turks called out again for peace at any price.

          In the face of defeat, he remained cool and steady. At the Grand National Assembly he faced the deputies who were shouting for his blood.

          He was not impressive to look at, but as soon as he began to speak the noise stopped. The personality of the man asserted himself. His voice was strong and clear, full of passion and strength, full of his belief in his mission and himself.

          Again he supported his belief with the Turkish values and linked the goal to them well. He gave them a new hope. "You" he shout, "you are Turk! will you crawl to these Greeks who  yesterday were  your subjects. I cannot believe it. Combine, prepare and victory is ours". The new goal was a straight fight with the Greeks.

          The result was good. The opposition died away. The whole Assembly was with him.

          After few weeks the Turks had a big success at the battle of Eunu. This made the Turks be united and they grouped themselves under Mustafa Kemal. The faith in his vision became more powerful.

          To me Mustafa Kemal's the most important strength was his endless energy. He worked under tremendous pressure. He had a power of complete concentration, an ability to absorb details with speed and reproduce them at will and a clear judgment.  He would work for hours without rest or sleep until those with him were worn-out and still he was  not tried. His only power was his own ability and personality.

          As we have seen in management approach, he was completely forcing. One time he burst into a storm of abuse of politicians. He said I will have everyone to do as I wish, carry out what I command. I will have no criticism or advice. I will have my own way. All will do as I wish absolutely and without question. This sounds like a dictatorship but since the problem was not structured and maturity of people were low, I think  the "telling" style leadership was the most appropriate one in that situation to achieve the goal.

          As long as there was work, it absorbed his every minute. When work slackened he became irritable and began to interfere with his subordinates. He was very task oriented and I think in Blake & Moutons relationship-task matrix he is a 9/1 kind of leader. His weakness was that he did not value his friends.  His relationship side was very weak and he never cared about his subordinates' feelings. Sometimes he would pick one of  his friends and insult and embrace him in front of everybody. They were all his friends who stood by him in the  stressful early days of revolution.

          Many times he showed his amazing capacity of talking. Sometimes he would talk vaguely for hours and bore his listeners and then suddenly he would amaze them by genius decisions which showed a master-mind at work. When he wanted to convince his opponents, he would talk unceasingly until he had defeated the opposition and left them exhausted.

       In the war with the Greeks his energy made soldiers attack and his determination turned the fights to the victories. When he stopped the advancing Greeks the villages begged again to be left in peace and stop the war.  He did not, because his expectation was higher. He had a strong belief in his goal and victory. His faith never faded away.  He saw a free Turkey without any enemies. This was his vision and he knew he could achieve it.

              With a final attack, the Turkish army forced the enemy out of Anatolia in 1922. Turkey's land in Asia was enemy free, but in Europe in Istanbul the enemies were still waiting.

               Greeks were regrouping in Europe side under the English protection to attack again. Back in Angora, Mustafa Kemal was calculating, weighing every possibility before he made his decision. He thought he could beat the Greeks but the English army was the best army at that time. A war with British Empire would be the end of the Turks.

              He made up his mind. Some of his advisers wished him to make peace and not risk defeat. He was a risk taker and he decided against asking for peace.

              He ordered two thousand of his cavalries to advance towards the English lines. This was a gamble and he was bluffing. It worked and no shot was fired. Allies had decided to accept his terms to avoid even the threat of war. They agreed to turn the Greeks out of European part of the Turkey and themselves in due course to evacuate Istanbul and all of Turkey.

              This was the real victory and it was his. It was his courage, determination, skill and judgment that made his small, underfed, under-equipped army chase out the Greeks, and force the British Empire to give him his terms.

          Yet these were all his military success, but the politicians and his old enemies didn't accept him as their superior. Many of them hated him personally. They believed his work is over, the foreign enemy was defeated.

          The general opinion about him was that he would be the first prime minister under the Sultan. He was a transformational leader and his idea was different; revolution.

           His real goal and dream was that as soon as the foreign enemies were gone the Sultanate must go after them. He would proclaim a Republic and he would be its absolute ruler. After that he would reform Turkey in every detail. However he must move with caution and cover his intentions. All Turks were conservative and religious. The army was loyal to him, but even the soldiers might resist an attack against the Sultan. Without  an army he had no power. He saw that he must go slowly. He must wait or  create his opportunity. Opportunity came by itself.

          The English invited the Sultan to send a delegation to Lousanne to discuss peace terms and requested him to repeat the invitation to the National Assembly in Angora. It was a big mistake. This made every Turk hate the Sultan. He was the Traitor who had sided with enemies to destroy Turkey. Besides the government in Ankara worked on saving the Turkey, so they were the only one government in Turkey. This was another "crisis help".

          Mustafa Kemal saw the opportunity. It was his ability to use opportunities well so he persuaded the deputies to destroy the Sultanate.

           In order to have something more than military force, he decided to create a political fighting machine as his weapon. He turned his organization into a party.

          He always held the power and control in spite of the opposition to him. As a transformational leader he was determined to achieve his goal which was to establish a new, modern and advanced Turkey. The problems were very unstructured, so the situation required an powerful, autocratic leader to be able to solve the problems.

          He did not accept any different ideas. He was a dictator. He did not want to be questioned. Once when the opposition in the Assembly became very strong, he decided to resign with his part from government. He asked the Assembly to take over and form a government.

          Mustafa Kemal was very smart and he knew the people very well. His judgments and ideas were always right. It seemed he could see the future. He knew the Assembly could not decide and agree among themselves and he knew they would come back again to him. That time he could gain the power again without the opposition.

          It happened as he expected. There were no government, and deputies were split up into small groups. They called on him and  handed over to him the responsibility of forming a new cabinet. That day with the power he decided to make Turkey a Republic with a President and it was accepted by most of the deputies. Then Mustafa Kemal was elected the first President.

          He had his hands almost on the obsolete power at which he aimed. He needed this power to do what he wanted. He wanted to secularize the whole state.

          He again waited for the right time. He knew the whole country was very religious and there would be a great opposition to this.

          England had failed to destroy Turkey with fighting. Its new plan was to split the Turks into two camps by using religion. A person called Agha Khan who was supported by England, inspired religious, traditional people to bring back the old Sultanate system against the republic.

          Mustafa Kemal again took advantage of this opportunity and by using the saving Turkish nation excuse; he managed to persuade deputies. So in March 1924 the Assembly decided to secularize the whole state. Throughout Turkey there was no demonstration, protest or resistance. He acted in the right time and succeeded.

          He always faced opposition to his reforms. The people against him always wanted to keep the power away from him. They wanted to destroy him. They even tried to assassinate him. As an answer to this he said " I am Turkey; to destroy me is to destroy Turkey".

          This assassination attempt made him paranoid. As it happens to every leader he felt that his opponents could get his place and the power. So he became more aggressive. He was ruthless, he even have some of his opponents killed.

           He saw that to succeed in his mission he must train and drive the people. He must deal with his Turks as a schoolmaster deals with children. They were  simple an foolish like children.

          He set out to change the whole mentality of the people; their old ideas, their habits, their dress, manners customs, ways of talking, all the most intimate details of their lives which linked them  with the past. To do this, he  used all his force.

          He called in European experts and adopted almost totally the German Commercial, the Italian penal and Swiss Civil Codes.  They changed the whole legal structure. He believed that he should take the best from both Asia and Europe, but besides guard their own independence and identity.

          An ordinary man would have been worn-out by the continuous effort, bur he never slackened. As soon as work was over, he called for his intimates to drink and gambled.

          He encouraged Turkish women to shed their veils and come out into the open. He gave them the right to vote in the municipal election and promised them votes for the Assembly. He made them members of the People's Party on equal level to men.

          He had complete confidence in the Nation. He believed that the Nation needed a  start, then it could run by itself. He said "I will lead my people by the hand  along the road until their feet are sure and they know the way. They may choose for themselves and rule themselves. Then my work will be done".

          At the end Mustafa Kemal  achieved his goal. He established a new country with new rules and life style for Turks. His life was not long enough to reach his the highest goal which was to make Turkey a very rich, modern country but he initiated it and left a proper environment to  the Nation to grow in the way.  

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