Crisis Phase (July 3, 1908-December 31, 1909): Members of the Committee of Union and Progress (Young Turks) led by Major Enver Bey and Major Ahmed Niyazi Bey proclaimed a revolution against the government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II on July 3, 1908. Lt. General Shemsi Pasha, commander of Ottoman government troops sent to suppress the rebellion in Macedonia, was assassinated by members of the Young Turks in Monastir on July 7, 1908. Mehmed Ferid Pasha was replaced by Mehmed Said Pasha as prime minister (Grand Vizier) on July 22, 1908. The Sultan was forced to restore the 1876 constitution on July 24, 1908. Mehmed Said Pasha was replaced by Mehmed Kamil Pasha on August 5, 1908. The Turkish parliament convened with a Young Turk majority on December 17, 1908. Prime Minister Mehmed Kamil Pasha was forced to resign on February 14, 1909, and Huseyin Hilmi Pasha formed a government as prime minister on February 14, 1909. Hasan Fehmi, the editor of an anti-Young Turk newspaper, was assassinated on April 6, 1909. Government troops commanded by General Mahmud Shevket Pasha suppressed a military rebellion in Istanbul on April 12-24, 1909, resulting in the deaths of some 100 individuals. Several individuals were executed for their involvement in the military rebellion. Ahmed Tevfik Pasha served as prime minister from April 14 to May 5, 1909, when Huseyin Hilmi Pasha formed a government as prime minister. Sultan Abdul Hamid II was deposed by the parliament on April 26, 1909, and he was succeeded by his brother, Mohammad V (Sultan Mehmet V), on April 27, 1909. The Young Turks formed a government under a new constitution in August 1909. Prime Minister Huseyin Hilmi Pasha was replaced by Ibrahim Hakki Pasha on January 12, 1910. Some 31,000 individuals, mostly ethnic Armenians, were killed during the crisis.
Post-Crisis Phase (January 13, 1910-August 4, 1912): Prime Minister Ibrahim Hakki Pasha resigned, and Mehmed Sait Pasha formed a government as prime minister on September 30, 1911. The Liberal Union (Hurriyet ve Itilaf Firkasi – HIF) was established in opposition to the Young Turks in Constantinople on November 21, 1911. Sultan Mehmet V dissolved the parliament on January 17, 1912. Parliamentary elections were held in April 1912, and the Young Turks won a majority of the seats in the parliament. Prime Minister Mehmed Sait Pasha resigned on July 21, 1912, and Ghazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasha formed a government as prime minister on July 22, 1912.
Crisis Phase (August 5, 1912-May 18, 1919): Prime Minister Ghazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasha dissolved parliament and proclaimed martial law on August 5, 1912. Prime Minister Muhtar Pasha was replaced by Kibrisli Medmed Kamil Pasha on October 29, 1912. Prime Minister Kamil Pasha was overthrown in a rebellion led by Enver Bey, and General Mahmud Sevket Pasha formed a government as prime minister on January 23, 1913. Prime Minister Sevket Pasha was assassinated on June 15, 1913. Enver Bey, Talat Pasha, and Cemal Pasha assumed control of the government following the assassination of Prime Minister Sevket Pasha, and Said Halim Pasha was appointed as prime minister on June 16, 1913. Government troops attacked ethnic-Armenians in eastern Turkey beginning on April 8, 1915. On May 24, 1915, Britain, France, and Russia jointly condemned the government for atrocities against ethnic-Armenians. Some 600,000 Armenians were massacred in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1918, and another 400,000 Armenian died as a result of deportations during this period. Sultan Mehmet V died on July 3, 1918, and he was succeeded by Mohammad VI (Sultan Mehmet VI) on July 4, 1918. Tevfik Pasha served as prime minister from November 11, 1918 to March 3, 1919. Allied troops (British and French) occupied Constantinople on December 8, 1918, and Damad Ferit Pasha formed a government as prime minister in Constantinople on March 4, 1919. Italian troops landed in Adalia on April 29, 1919, and Greek troops landed in Smyrna on May 14, 1919. Some one million individuals, mostly ethnic Armenians, were killed during the crisis.
Conflict Phase (May 19, 1919-October 23, 1923): Mustafa Kemal Pasha began a nationalist rebellion against the government of Sultan Mehmet VI on May 19, 1919. Prime Minister Ferit Pasha resigned in September 1919, and Ali Riza formed a government as prime minister in Constantinople on October 5, 1919. Nationalist rebels attacked the French military garrison in Marash on January 21, 1920. Allied troops, including 30,000 British troops commanded by General George Milne, entered Constantinople on March 16, 1920. The Allies dissolved the Turkish parliament in Constantinople on April 11, 1920. Mustafa Kemal Pasha established a provisional nationalist government in Angora (Ankara) on April 23, 1920. The nationalist government negotiated an agreement with Russia to receive military assistance from the Russians. Greek troops launched a military offensive against the nationalist rebels on June 22, 1920, and defeated nationalist rebels near Alashehr on June 24, 1920. Greek troops captured Adrianople on July 25, 1920. The Allied countries issued an ultimatum to the Turkish government in Constantinople on July 19, 1920, and representatives of the Turkish government signed the Treaty of Sevres on August 10, 1920. The Communist Party of Turkey (CPT) was established on September 10, 1920. Kemal Pasha and the Italian government signed an agreement on March 13, 1921, which provided for the withdrawal of Italian troops from Anatolia in June 1921. Greek troops launched a military offensive against nationalist rebels on March 23, 1921, and Greek troops captured Eski Shehir on July 19, 1921. Turkish nationalist rebels launched a military offensive against Greek troops on September 5, 1921. Nationalist rebels commanded by Kemal Pasha defeated Greek troops near the Sakarya river on September 16, 1921, resulting in the deaths of 3,897 Greek troops and 18,000 Turkish troops. Greek troops remained in Smyrna on the Aegean coast. Former Prime Minister Said Halim Pasha was assassinated by members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) on December 6, 1921. Greece requested permission from the Allied Supreme Council (ASC) to occupy Constantinople on July 29, 1922, but the ASC rejected the request on July 31, 1922. Turkish nationalist rebels launched a military offensive against Greek troops on August 18, 1922. Nationalist rebels captured Smyrna on September 11, 1922, resulting in the deaths of some 30,000 Armenians and other Christians. Some 1.2 million ethnic Greeks and Armenians fled as refugees to Greece during the following 15 months. British troops landed at Chanakkale (Chanaq) on September 16, 1922. Representatives of the Turkish nationalists and the Allied countries signed an armistice in Mudania on October 11, 1922, and Greece agreed to the armistice on October 14, 1922. Kemal Pasha proclaimed the abolition of the sultanate and Ottoman Empire on November 1, 1922, and Sultan Mehmet VI fled from Istanbul on a British ship on November 17, 1922. Abdul Mejid Efendi was elected as Caliph by the National Assembly on November 18, 1922. Kemal Pasha dissolved the National Assembly on April 16, 1923, and parliamentary elections were held in June-July 1923. Turkey and the Allied countries signed the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, which provided for the return of Thrace and Adrianople to Turkey. The National Assembly convened on August 9, 1923. Allied troops completed their withdrawal from Constantinople on October 5, 1923, and nationalist troops occupied Constantinople on October 6, 1923. The National Assembly formally proclaimed the Republic of Turkey on October 23, 1923. Some 440,000 Armenians, 30,000 Greek soldiers, and 20,000 Turkish government soldiers were killed during the conflict.
[Sources: Banks and Muller, 1998, 930-938; Clodfelter, 1992, 621-622, 1066; Degenhardt, 1988, 375-384; Foreign Relations of the US (FRUS), 1909, 562-584; Jessup, 1998, 759-764.]