Battle of Karboğazı Battle of Karboğazı " ( Turkish : Karboğazı Savaşı ) " was a clash between Turkish nationalists and the French battalion on Toros Mountains during the Turkish war of independence . ( Karboğazı literally means " Snow passage " ) Background . The Ottoman Empire had been defeated in the First World War . According to the Armistice of Mudros the Ottoman army was disarmed . Although the Ottoman Empire had to agree to give up vast areas ( most of Middle East ) , the Allies further retained the power of controlling what was left of the Ottoman Empire , namely Turkey . In this context , Allies occupied Mersin on 17 December 1918 , just 47 days after the armistice . Soon France occupied most of South Turkey . Since the south west was under Italian occupation , Turkey had no access to the Mediterranean Sea . French plan to control the mountains . France tried to control the sea coast and the alluvial plains like Çukurova ( Cilicia of the antiquity ) . But the control of the small settlements on Toros Mountains was difficult . Moreover , because of the nationalistic opposition ( which would ultimately end up in Turkish republic ) the Gülek Pass ( Cicilian Gates of the antiquity ) which is the main pass from Mediterranean coast to Central Anatolia was under continuous threat from the Turkish nationalists forces , also called " Kemalist " or " Kuvvai Milliye " . A battalion under Major Mesnil was commissioned for the task of securing French presence around Gülek Pass . The headquarters of the battalion was in the village of ( now a district center ) Pozantı and a small hospital in the nearby village of Belemedik was established under the supervision of Mesnil ’ s wife . Mesmil ’ s assistant was Georges Journois who would fight against Germany as a brigadier general in the Second World War . Mesnil also had a group of guides who were actually local Armenians . However in the spring of 1920 , nationalists began controlling the railroad from Pozantı to south and Pozantı was effectively blocked from Çukurova . The clash . After receiving approval of General Duffieux , the general commander ( by airplane messages ) , Mesnil decided to evacuate Pozantı and return to French lines by a surprise retreat during the night of the 26 – 27 May . According to official report the unit consisted of 9 officiers , 696 soldiers 4 cavalry man , 19 wounded officiers and soldiers 44 civilian Greek and Armenians as well as 39 Turkish prisoners . Mesnil also left some wounded soldiers back with a letter written to Turkish commanders asking for fair treatment for the wounded soldiers . However the villagers from the village of Yaylaçukuru ( now called Gülek ) located the battalion and they informed Kemal Bey ( later Kemal Ekin ) , the local milita chief of Kuvai Milliye . Kemal Bey with some members of Aydınlı tribe and villagers waited for the battalion in ambush . They had taken up positions on the two opposite sides of the valley named Karboğazı . The French had the advantage in numbers and superior artillery , but the nationalists had the advantage of cover . Early on 27 May , the shootings began from both sides of the valley . French soldiers tried to escape to open space towards Pozantı . But they ran into a third group of nationalists . Towards the evening after heavy causality , all battalion surrendered . They were led to Yaylaçukuru where they signed the protocol of surrender with Lietunant Hasan ( Hasan Akıncı , nicknamed Kara Afet ) The prisoners received bulgur with meat and ayran after their surrender . They were held captive up to 25 September 1921 . POW and other casualties . The total number of prisoners was 530 ( including Mesnil and Journois ) . Also 2 cannons , 8 machine guns and more than 90 mules were seized by the nationalists . The death casualty of the French side was heavy . Although a website about Cicilian Campaign veterans gives the number as half the battalion ( about 400 ) , this figure seems to be somewhat exaggerative under the light of the figures given above . The exact figure is not known . Consequences . Karboğazı was a relatively small clash . But it effectively ended French plans to seize Toros Mountains . In 1921 , France agreed to withdraw from Turkey by the Cilicia Peace Treaty and Accord of Ankara .