The Kurds and World War One

A Troop of Kurdish Tribesmen During the War

The Rise of Kurdish Nationalism

The idea that Kurds deserve their own independent homeland started to flourish during the late 19th century. "The Kurdish nation is a nation apart," one Kurdish sheikh wrote in 1880. "We want to take matters into our own hands." However, as the site Kurdish/ Kurdistan History states: "Before WWI, Kurdish society was divided between tribal authority, religious sheikhs, Ottoman loyalists, autonomists and separatists. After World War I, the Kurdish nationalist movement would experience a brief peak of hope followed by deep fragmentation."

War and the Sick Man of Europe

During World War I, several Kurdish rebellions erupted across the Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1918, driven by forced conscription, heavy taxation, wartime famine, and a growing desire for regional autonomy. These uprisings severely threatened the Ottoman rear, forcing the empire to divert troops from the front lines to suppress internal unrest. In 1916, under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Britain and France secretly agreed to divide much of the Ottoman Middle East into future spheres of influence. 

President Woodrow Wilson, however, argued during the Paris conference that the Kurds deserved a sovereign state and the Allied powers (primarily Great Britain, alongside France) agreed in principle. It was even specified by the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, one of the spin-off agreements of the Treaty of Versailles. But when the dust settled and the borders of the Middle East had been redrawn, the Kurds were to be left out. 

Atatürk Meeting with Kurdish Tribesmen

 

Kurdish aspirations were ultimately defeated by the new post-Ottoman government of Turkey, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which forcefully rejected any Kurdish claims on Anatolia where the most of the Kurds lands lay. This position was buttressed by memories of the Kurds open rebellions and passive resistance during the war, as well as their treasonous aid to the Russian enemy. These activities included:

Rebellions

• 1914 (Bitlis Uprising): Orchestrated by Kurdish tribal leaders just before the outbreak of global hostilities, this early revolt was quickly suppressed by Ottoman authorities. 

• 1915–1916 (Botan and Dersim): Widespread armed resistance broke out in the Botan and Dersim regions. The Ottomans retaliated harshly, burning villages and initiating mass deportations of Kurdish populations. 

• 1917 (Summer Waves): Twin waves of rebellion hit the regions of Kharput, Mardin, Diyarbekir, and Bitlis. The August uprising notably received tactical military support from advancing Russian forces. 

• 1918  (Barzanji Autonomy): Just before the Armistice of Mudros in October, Kurdish leader Mahmud Barzanji broke away from Ottoman rule in Sulaymaniyah. He established a short-lived, quasi-independent Kurdish state under British supervision. 

Indirect Opposition

Beyond direct military confrontations, many Kurdish civilians engaged in subversion against the Ottoman war effort. Thousands of Kurds, for instance, actively resisted Ottoman military drafts, choosing to flee or join rebel factions rather than fight on the front lines.

Some Kurdish tribal units became entangled in the Ottoman destruction and displacement of Armenian populations. Disapproving of state actions, other Kurdish communities hid and adopted Armenian refugees to protect them during the Armenian Genocide. 

[Note: The war was also devastating for Kurdish civilians. Nearly 700,000 Kurds were forcibly removed from their homes by Turkish forces; as many as 400,000 are believed to have died.]

Aid for Russian Forces 

Many Kurdish tribal leaders and irregular cavalry initially supported the Ottoman war effort against Russia and Britain, expecting regional autonomy or protection in return.  In the eastern theater, some Kurdish tribes provided intelligence and logistical support to the advancing Imperial Russian Army. This was not easily forgotten by the Turks.

The Treaty of Sèvres Would Have Resulted in a Large Kurdish Nation

 

Summing Up

The chaos of the war initially opened doors for Kurdish self-determination. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres—signed by the defeated Ottoman Empire—included concrete provisions for an autonomous or independent Kurdish state.  The Treaty was  signed by Sultan  Mehmet VI on 20 August 1920 between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire. It was, however, never ratified—primarily because of intense internal, nationalist opposition led by Kemal.  Following the Turkish War of Independence, the new nationalist government demanded renegotiated terms. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne fully replaced Sèvres, entirely omitting any mention of a Kurdish homeland and partitioning traditional Kurdish lands among Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran.  The erasure of  Kurdistan from the final war settlement laid the groundwork for decades of subsequent interwar revolts.  

Much of  what was to be Kurdistan remained in Turkey, which was now ruled by a nationalist movement. President Atatürk announced, "The state which we have just created is a Turkish state." The Turkish government—promoting a policy of assimilation—initially insisted that the Kurds were "mountain Turks" and banned Kurdish schools, publications and religious bodies. Later, open resistance and  heavy handed responses from the government became regular.

Since World War I, the relationship between the Turkish government and its Kurdish population has been defined by forced assimilation, state-led denial of a distinct Kurdish identity, major tribal and political uprisings, and a decades-long bloody armed conflict.

Sources: "Kurds at the Crossroads", Frontline World; Kurdish History; History Guild; The Council on Foreign Relations. The map is a 1992 product of the  the CIA.