Armistice of Mudros

The Armistice of Mudros (Turkish: Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe, on board HMS Agamemnon in Moudros harbor on the Greek island of Lemnos,^[1] and it took effect at noon the next day. The table it was signed on is now on board the HMS Belfast in London Bridge, though it is not accessible to the public.

Among its conditions, the Ottomans surrendered their remaining garrisons outside Anatolia, granted the Allies the right to occupy forts controlling the Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, and to occupy any Ottoman territory "in case of disorder" threatening their security. The Ottoman Army (including the Ottoman Air Force) was demobilized; and all ports, railways and other strategic points were made available for use by the Allies. In the Caucasus, the Ottomans had to retreat to within the pre-war borders between the Ottoman and the Russian Empires.

The armistice was followed by the occupation of Istanbul and the subsequent partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sèvres (10 August 1920), which was signed in the aftermath of World War I, imposed harsh terms on the Ottoman Empire, but it was never ratified by the Ottoman Parliament in Istanbul. The Ottoman Parliament was officially disbanded by the Allies on 11 April 1920 due to the overwhelming opposition of the Turkish MPs to the provisions discussed in Sèvres. This was followed by the Turkish War of Independence which continued until 1923. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, established in Ankara on 23 April 1920 by Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his followers (including former MPs of the closed Ottoman Parliament), became the new de facto government of Turkey. The Armistice of Mudros was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne, signed on 24 July 1923, following the Turkish victory in the War of Independence.