37°51′N27°41′E / 37.850°N 27.683°E /37.850; 27.683
| Raid on Erbeyli | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theGreco-Turkish War (1919–1922) andGreek genocide | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Greece |  Kuva-yi Milliye | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Lieutenant Kadri Bey | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20Evzones at the station[1] Reinforcements: 1Evzonescompany (200+ soldiers)[2] | 70militias with 1machine gun[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 30[1]–80[3] killed and 40 wounded[1] | 7 killed[4] and 12 wounded[3] | ||||||
| 72 civilians massacred by Hellenic Army[1][5] | |||||||
TheRaid onErbeyli was a raid conducted by theKuva-yi Milliye. After invadingAydın andNazilli, the Greek army was concerned about resistance movements raising in the area. The raid against the Malgaç bridge a few days ago was a good example for their feeling of unease.
TurkishLieutenant Kadri Bey of theMuğla volunteerplatoon had been observing Greek troops in the area for several days. He determined their movements,barracks and guard replacement times. After precise surveillance, he concluded that the best target for a raid was the Erbeyli train station. The Erbeyli train station was located 1-2 kilometers away from theErbeyli village. Therefore, the villagers were far away from gunfires.[6] The train station was guarded by 20 Greek soldiers equipped withmachine guns situated in a small hangar next to the station.
OneEvzonecompany was sent to the Erbeyli village one night before the attack.[2] The Turkish forces, unaware about this circumstance, attacked the train station in the night of 20–21 June 1919. At the beginning, the attacked looked like a success but with the Greek reinforcements arriving from the Erbeyli village the situation got worse. TheGreek guards of the station fired with theirmachine guns from the top floor of thehangar. The clash lasted about three hours.[1] Caught in the fire from two sides and having lost their machine gunner, Kadri Bey decided to retreat under the veil of darkness before the sun would rise. He divided the remaining men into two groups. The first group retreated to the mountainous area in the north, crossing theBüyük Menderes River with the small ship named Osmanbükü and finally arriving in the village ofÇakmar. The second group retreated to theplain in the south.
The attack had cost the Turks 7 killed and 12 wounded.[3][4] The Greeks had suffered 30[4]-80 killed[3] and 40 wounded.[4] The Greek troops angered about the attack and their casualties, brought their casualties toAydın and showed them to the local Turkish population. Later they abducted 72 Turkish civilians fromErbeyli,Germencik andİncirliova and executed them by shooting as a warning for future raids.[1]