518 Chapter 5
Participants: 640 Turkey/200 United Kingdom
Outcome (and Settlement): Yield by side A (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Turkish forces occupied Taba, an Egyptian port on the Sinai Peninsula.
Britain made a show of force and demanded that Turkey withdraw. On May 3, backed
by Russia and France, Britain handed the Sultan an ultimatum: withdraw from Taba
or face dire consequences. The Sultan ordered the troop withdrawal on May 14. Egypt
remained de jure part of the Ottoman Empire but was under de facto British control.
Coding changes: End Date changed from May 12, 1906.
MID#257
Started in July 1914. See the narrative in the 300 Austria-Hungary/345 Yugoslavia
dyad dispute list.
MID#327
Dispute Number: 327
Date(s): March 16, 1920 to September 16, 1920
Participants: 200 United Kingdom, 220 France, 325 Italy/640 Turkey
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: After the fall of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, Turkey
was struggling for its independence. The most popular candidate for the leadership,
Mustafa Kemal, traveled around the country in 1919 garnering popular support and
his followers were able to win a majority in the nationalist congress that he had
helped to create. It became clear rather quickly that the allied powers had other plans
for Turkey when they entered Constantinople on March 16, 1920, in order to check
Kemal’s growing power and ensure that the Dardanelles remained free and open. In
response to this, Kemal summoned the Grand National Assembly away from Constan-
tinople, in the city of Ankara, and, on April 23, they denounced the puppet regime in
Constantinople and established a provisional government with Kemal as president,
leaving the allies to occupy Constantinople.
Coding changes: End Date changed from August 23, 1920.
MID#328
Dispute Number: 328
Date(s): September 16, 1922 to July 23, 1923
Participants: 200 United Kingdom, 220 France, 325 Italy/640 Turkey
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Following World War I the Ottoman Empire was the “Sick Old Man
of Europe.” The Italians were in Adalia and the French were in Cilicia; the British
largely controlled the straits. In addition, Greek troops controlled the port of Smyrna
and had pushed far into Anatolia. In January 1920 Kemal Ataturk led to the creation