After the Greek landing at Smyrna, Ethem made the following declaration, effectively starting his resistance:[7]
Send a telegram immediately. Let the resistance to the occupation awaken in the mountains. Let the resistance uphold the flag, the rifle, and the Qur'an until the apocalypse. As Circassians, we fought in the name of God bravely against the Russians,[Note 1] and in the service of the Caliph we fought in the Balkans.[Note 2] Now the lands of Islam depends on us once again.
— Çerkes Ethem
He then declared a holy war against oppression, and invited all Circassians to fight for his cause. After that, he coordinated his military operations with Ali Fuat Pasha in Ankara and fought against the invading Greek armies with his cavalry. He was instrumental in putting down various rebellions against the authority of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Eventually, Çerkes Ethem had disagreements with İsmet İnönü, refusing to join his forces with the regular army established under his command, as he would be a regular soldier as well. Ethem claimed that his soldiers were made up of Circassians and mountain clans, so they would never obey anyone other than him, and he would have to be given the rank of commander in the army. Although Mustafa Kemal had a positive view of Ethem, İsmet Pasha disliked him, and so the newly reconstituted Turkish Army had to put down Ethem's forces whilst also fighting the Greeks at First Battle of İnönü. While Ethem's forces were clashing with Greeks, the Turkish army arrived, and Ethem, stuck between two hostile armies, made a non-aggression pact with the Greeks and fled Anatolia. İsmet İnönü later claimed that Ethem subsequently cooperated with the Greek Army,[8] which has been disputed and rejected by most historians. [9][10][11][12] This resulted in Ethem's citizenship getting revoked on the grounds of treason and his being declared persona non grata by the TBMM, amongst many others. From Greece, he went to Jordan and settled there. Ethem was later personally forgiven by Atatürk, but he rejected to return and died in Amman, Jordan.[9]
