"Below the White Crescent" - A Turkey TFH AAR

[Firehound15]

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Hello folks, and welcome to my new Turkey AAR. I don't really have a particular goal in mind, other than keeping this an enjoyable experience for both myself and the readers and leading Turkey into pseudo-glory. Let's just hope things go well...


And yes, I know that HOI4 is right around the corner.

~UPDATES~​

 

[Firehound15]

1936
or,
"FATHER OF THE TURKS"
____________________________________________________

"Sovereignty is not given...
...it is taken."
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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The year is 1936. Atatürk continues to lead Turkey, as he has since the nation's founding in 1920. By this point, Atatürk's government had already brought Turkey through its formative years in the aftermath of the First World War and into a new era, and even to this day he is remembered as the father of the modern Turkish state. He had controlled the government since the 1920's, and his arguable proto-fascist policies shaped the way for Turkish politics, foreign policy, and bureaucracy for years to come.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's 1936 Cabinet
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By the mid 1930's, Atatürk had been halfway through his second major bout of modernization efforts, with a distinctive focus on education reform. His vision for the future of Turkish education would see a truly Western system implemented, albeit with a much more Turkish spin. He set the nation's best scholars out to study education and develop better systems for the new compulsory programs of the Turkish state, as well as for the military academies that had also been constructed and expanded under the supervision of Fevzi Cakmak, who was Chief of Staff at the time.

Improvements in education also contributed to an improved officer corps.
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Education, however, was just one of the many ways that Turkey had been a technological backwater of sorts. The Turkish military, descended from that of the "Old Man of Europe," was in desperate need of modern armaments, as made apparent by the army's continued usage of World War One-era armaments and the complete lack of any armor or modern aircraft in the entire army. Plans had been considered to purchase contracts for the construction of modern tactical bombers from the Nationalist Spanish, but given the nation's lack of industrial infrastructure, such plans were put on hold and all but completely neglected and forgotten. Franco was glad to have made quick cash during the Civil War regardless, although the Turkish cabinet found great displeasure when confronted with the small but not insignificant costs of purchasing such weapons from the Spanish.

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Atatürk's tactical approach to resolving the armaments issue involved improving diplomatic and economic relations with the Persians, Italians, and Germans while increasing defenses on the border with the Soviet Union. This involved the construction of numerous forts and the raising of two new mountain infantry brigades, with both projects expected to be completed sometime in 1937. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to many, the Turkish Army had been aggressively experimenting with the development of light armor by this time. The classified program was led by Armaments Minister Zekai Apaydin, whose background in resources had led to a number of underground deals in regard to the acquisition of necessary materials, with legends of stolen Great War-era tanks common among young historians even to this day.

Light tanks such as the Renault FT (Pictured here) were the basis for many experimental Turkish designs.
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Modernization was not the Turkish leader's sole concern, however. Much of his focus, as it had been since independence, was on increasing Turkish nationalism and unity. By the end of 1936, nationalist rhetoric and popular support for what many Western Europeans called "Atatürk's Regime" had reached an all-time high, if slightly marred by a minor parliamentary scandal that year involving questionable statements made toward ethnic minorities within Turkish borders. Atatürk made no statement officially on the issue, but history outside of Turkey widely remembers his policies as responsible for the scandal. Any discussion on the matter would be swept away in a matter of years, unbeknownst to those it had effected. Yes, not a single Turk had yet realized how Europe was to change...

 

[oxfordroyale]

Will be following

 

[TJDS]

Will be following

I second that

 

[Crilor]

I like this already. Subbed.

 

[Firehound15]

Don't be worried guys and think I might disappear. I'm just going away for a couple of weeks, but once I get back I'll make sure to get an update up for you guys.

(Also, I realized a little bit ago that it's actually TFH, not FTM... )

 

[Lucas24997]

Subbed