Two thirds of the
19th Division were Syrians under Colonel
Mustafa Kemal (Kemal Atatürk). The struggle formed the basis for the
Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey eight years later. "Two thirds of the troops who made up his (colonel Mustafa Kemal) 19th Division that faced the first wave of the Allied invasion were Syrian Arabs, comprising the 72nd and 77th regiments of the Ottoman army", according to Bill Sellars, Australian writer and historian. ==Formation==