Akbaş arms depot raid The Akbaş arms depot raid was one of the actions of the Kuva - yi Milliye during the Turkish War of Independence . Led by the militia leader Köprülü Hamdi Bey and Dramalı Rıza Bey , the raid was conducted on the night of 26 – 27 January 1920 . Background . Born in 1886 or 1888 in Köprülü ( now Veles ) , Macedonia , Köprülü Hamdi Bey served as an officer in the First Balkan War and was a Kaymakam during the First World War . After the Armistice of Mudros and the consequent Allied invasion of the Ottoman territories , Köprülü Hamdi Bey started to organize resistance movements in the Asian part of the Marmara Region . Dramalı Rıza Bey , born in 1890 in Drama , was also active in organizing the resistance in the same area with his friend Köprülü Hamdi Bey . The Akbaş arms depot was located at the Akbaş bay close to Eceabat . It housed 8 , 000 rifle s , 40 machine gun s and 20 , 000 cases of ammunition . These were captured by the Ottoman Army on the Caucasus Front from the Russian Army , after the Russian Revolution . The weapons and ammunition were brought to the Akbaş depot and after the Ottoman surender at the end of the First World War , the French troops took control of the depot . The British were planning to send these arms and ammunition to the White Army in Russia . Köprülü Hamdi Bey and Dramalı Rıza Bey , trying to preempt this , planned a raid against the depot . In case the raid would result in a success , the weapons would be used by the Kuva - yi Milliye . The mission was dangerous , because Allied ships were patrolling the Dardanelles and local Greeks were reporting every suspicious circumstance to the Allies . In order to gain information about the depot , the surroundings and the defence measurements , Köprülü Hamdi Bey ordered his friend Dramalı Rıza Bey , dressed as a local villager , to travel to the area and to gather information . Dramalı Rıza Bey managed to gather significant informations about the arms depot , he even managed to enter the depot disguised as a local egg and fruit vendor . Returning with useful information , Hamdi Bey and Rıza Bey started to plan the raid . The Raid . On the night of 26 – 27 January , Dramalı Rıza Bey along with 30 Turkish militias on barges and small boats crossed the Dardanelles from the Asian side . On arrival on the European side , some men were ordered to cut off the telephone lines . Most of soldiers of the depot garrison were sleeping . Therefore the whole garrison was quickly overwhelmed and taken prisoner without any casualties . The weapons and ammunition were rapidly loaded on the barges and boats . Köprülü Hamdi Bey was waiting in the steamboat , Bolayır , at Bergos , his task was to pull the barges and boats back to the Asian side . By setting up a small fire , Hamdi Bey was given the signal to come to the Akbaş bay . Once the barges and boats were pulled to the Asian side , the arms and ammunition were transported to the interior areas . The captured Ottoman ( Artillerymen : Major Bahri Bey , Mülazım Hulusi and Osman who were under the command of the French ) and French soldiers were later released and sent back to the depot on a small boat . Aftermath . On 28 January a telegraph was sent to Mustafa Kemal Pasha , informing him about the successful raid . He congratulated them in a telegraph sent on 29 January . The Allies , informed of the raid , protested it to the Ottoman government in Constantinople . On 1 February , the British dispatched 200 men to Bandırma to search for the raiders and weapons . Furthermore , the Allies strengthened their guards of several depots in the area . In Constantinople , people who were suspected to support the Kuva - yi Milliye , were put under tighter observation . The British arrested several officers and officials in Constantinople . Ahmet Anzavur was sent into the area , by the British , to capture Köprülü Hamdi Bey and his friends . Ahmet Anzavur was against the Turkish revolutionaries and had revolted previously against the Turkish National Movement . In his opinion , the arms and ammunition from the Akbaş depot would be useful for his men and a new revolt . On February 16 , he found out that Hamdi Bey was residing in Biga , subsequently he surrounded the town with 1 , 000 men . After a brief clash , he captured Köprülü Hamdi Bey and several friends who were accompanying him . Anzavur ' s men tortured them before they killed them on 17 February . Anzavur and his men continued to advance . Eventually , they reached Yeniceköy , the town where the arms and ammunition from Akbaş were stored . Dramalı Rıza Bey , having no other choice , destroyed the weapons and ammunition by setting them on fire on 21 February . Conscience - stricken by the death of his friends and the decision to destroy the arms and ammunition , which were aqcuired after so much hard work , he planned to assassinate Damad Ferid Pasha . Dramalı Rıza Bey , believing that Damad Ferid Pasha was the mastermind behind Anzavur ' s attack , travelled to Constantinople to assassinate him . But he was arrested by the police in Constantinople and sentenced to death by hanging . He was executed on 12 June 1920 .