The Entry of Turkey into World War II

Year 1967, Volume: 31 Issue: 122, 221 - 276, 20.04.1967

Harry N. Howard

Abstract

During World War II the Turkish Republic, as was natural in view of its strategic position at the international crossroads, was of great interest to both the Axis powers and the nations against them, including the United States. A nonbelligerent ally of Great Britain and France, based on the preliminary agreements of May-June 1939 and the treaty of October 19, 1939, as the war moved down through the Balkan Peninsula during 1940-1941, there was much with the attitude of Turkey, particularly after Italian entry into the struggle in June 1940 and the attack on Greece on October 28, 1940, and the advance of German forces into Rumania and then Bulgaria, with the ultimate Nazi aggression against Yugoslavia and Greece on April 5-6, 1941. During January-February 1941 President Roosevelt sent Col. William J. Donovan to this troubled region to stimulate resistance to the Nazis, and Turkey and the United States seemed in basic agreement to the outlook toward the war. But Turkey remained a nonbelligerent substantially until the end of the war, although American entry into the conflict on December 7, 1941, without doubt, had a very positive influence in Ankara, and the defense of Turkey was declared vital to that of the United States under the Lend-Lease Act.

Keywords

World War II, Turkish Republic, Entry of Turkey into World War II, Nazi Germany, Italy