Kuva-yi Seyyare

Summary

Kuvâ-yi Seyyâre, also known as the Green Army Society or the People's Branch was a force of Circassian and Abkhazian volunteers led by Çerkes Ethem against the Allied invasion forces during the Turkish War of Independence. The group saw themselves as a force to fight against "those who caused disturbance to the greater good of Anatolia". The forces put down several rebellions and played a big role in significantly slowing down the Greek army during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). In time, as Ethem's Islamic socialist views clashed with the Turkish nationalism of Mustafa Kemal's Turkish National movement, he eventually cut ties with them, and was declared a traitor due to clashes with İsmet İnönü.