Abstract

The story of the drafting of non-Muslim citizens during the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922) is one that has yet to receive sufficient research attention, and indeed to date no study of the subject has been published. In fact, the recruitment of non-Muslim soldiers had always been a controversial issue among Ottoman decision makers. The Ottoman Empire was a Muslim state, and its ruling elite had always doubted the loyalty of its non-Muslim citizens. It feared that they would find it difficult to fight for the empire on the battlefield, and accordingly preferred that they pay tax in lieu of military service. This article finds that throughout the Turkish War of Independence, non-Muslim soldiers were posted to labor battalions in a similar manner as during the First World War. The article argues that the Ankara government used the labor battalions as a means of displacement, ensuring that local non-Muslims would leave their regions of origin and not join the enemy forces.

摘要

土耳其独立战争（1919-1922）期间非穆斯林公民征兵的故事尚未受到足够的研究关注，事实上，迄今为止还没有发表过关于这一主题的研究。事实上，招募非穆斯林士兵一直是奥斯曼帝国决策者中颇具争议的问题。奥斯曼帝国是一个穆斯林国家，其统治精英一直怀疑非穆斯林公民的忠诚度。它担心他们很难在战场上为帝国作战，因此宁愿他们纳税来代替兵役。本文发现，在整个土耳其独立战争期间，非穆斯林士兵以与第一次世界大战期间类似的方式被派往劳工营。