Eşref Sencer Kuşçubaşı

Eşref Sencer Kuşçubaşı, or as he is known, Kuşçubaşı Eşref (1883, Istanbul - 15 April 1964, Izmir), was a Turkish intelligence officer and warrior of Circassian origin.

Vital

[edit | change source] He is the son of Circassian Mustafa Nuri Bey. He is from the Ubykh branch of the Circassians. While in his last year at the military academy, he was exiled to the Hijaz by Abdulhamid II because of his relations with the Young Turks. He escaped from the dungeon where he was exiled and managed to kidnap the son of Abdulhamid II's chief aide from three battalions of guards. During the rebellion he initiated against Abdulhamid II in Arabia, he traveled all over Arabia and made friends with the local sheikhs. He was called sheikh of tuyyur (the lord of the flying) because he could appear anywhere at any time.

Abdulhamid II was forced to declare a constitutional monarchy and ended his rebellion by granting amnesty to many people, including Kuşçubaşı. He joined the intelligence organization called Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, which was established with the comrades he gathered around him during the rebellion.

In 1911, he organized resistance movements together with Enver Bey in Tripoli. During the Second Balkan War in 1912, Enver Bey, his brother Sami Kuşçubaşı, Cihangiroğlu İbrahim and Süleyman Askeri took part in the liberation of Çorlu, Tekirdağ, Malkara, Hayrabolu and Edirne. In the same year, together with Süleyman Askeri and the notables of the region, he played a role in the establishment of the first Turkish Republic in Western Thrace under the name of the Western Thrace Independent Government.

With the outbreak of World War I, he served in the Arabian Peninsula in the Special Organization between 1914 and 1915, and following the death of Süleyman Askeri Bey, he became the head of the Special Organization. He continued in this position between 1915 and 1918.

He commanded the vanguard in the Second Canal Operation against the British during World War I. In 1917, he fought for more than five hours with a 40-man Special Organization unit against the 20,000-man unit of Faisal (later the King of Iraq) in Khaybar, and was captured after being wounded. He was exiled to Malta, accompanied by a warship and a submarine. During his exile, he wrote a work that recounted his adventures in Arabia, the details of his capture and his life in exile.

After he was captured, he allegedly told Lawrence, "Lawrence, you think you have won. But nothing is finished yet. I will bring such calamities upon your government that you will not be able to finish it even if you try for two centuries."

He was released in accordance with the prisoner exchange agreement signed with the British. He returned to Anatolia by sea and immediately joined the Turkish War of Independence. Throughout 1920, he fought against the Greek occupation with his own trained Circassian Ethem in the Seyyare Kuva-yi ...

After the Treaty of Lausanne, he was included in the list of One Hundred and Fifty together with Circassian Ethem, on the grounds that he was a Greek and British collaborator, and his citizenship was revoked. He was banned from entering Turkey until 1936. Although he was allowed to enter the country with the 1936 amnesty, he said, "I never asked for forgiveness, I am not a traitor to be forgiven" and did not return to the country.

He returned to Turkey after the Democrat Party came to power in 1950. He resided in Alexandria, Egypt until his return home, and it is estimated that he did not participate in any intelligence activities during this time.

He lived in Turkey between 1950-1964 and visited the graves of his comrades with whom he fought. He died in 1964. His grave is next to Yaylaköy Caferli Granta Cemetery on the Söke-Kuşadası road in Aydın.

His works

[edit | change source] The Turkish Battle of Khaybar, ISBN 9753910355

Place in popular culture

[edit | edit source] He is played by Ali Ersan Duru in the Mahsusa: Tripoli series, which aired on Tabii in 2023.

Related Resources and Books

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1. Turkish Armed Forces General Staff Archives, Battles on the Southern Fronts in World War I
2. British Military History Archives, Battles in Arabia in World War I
3. Cemal Kutay, A Handful of Heroes in Tripoli
4. Cemal Kutay, The First Turkish Republic in Thrace
5. Cemal Kutay, Special Organization
6. Cemal Kutay, Kuşçubaşı Against Lawrence
7. Philip H. Stoddard, Special Organization: The Neverending Game East of Istanbul
8. Enver Pasha Magazine, "Eşref Sencer Kuşçubaşı", November 2008
9. Ahmet Efe, From Legend to Reality Kuşçubaşı Eşref ISBN 9750111433
10. Polat Safi, Eşref - Alternative Biography of Kuşçubaşı ISBN 9786057635709
11. Benjamin C. Fortna, Kuşçubaşı Eşref

Source

[edit | change source] ^

External links

[edit | change source]

• Biographies^{[dead/broken link]}
• Antoloji.com Archived January 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.

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