Anton Pasha

Antonis Hatzieleftheriou (Greek: Αντώνης Χατζηελευθερίου; Turkish: Antonis Hacilefteryu; 1888 – August 1917), commonly known as Anton Pasha (Turkish: Anton Paşa; Greek: Άντων Πασάς), was an important Turkish-speaking Pontic Greek guerrilla and armed leader. He emerged as one of the leading organizers of the Pontic Greek self-defense militia in the Bafra/Samsun area, fighting against the Ottoman Army and Topal Osman during World War I and the Pontic Greek genocide.

He was one of the most important Pontic Greek guerrillas and the first to organize an armed resistance against the Turks in response to the Greek genocide.

Early life Antonis Hatzieleftheriou, commonly known as "Anton Pasha" was born in 1888 in the village of in today's Atakum, Samsun. After the Young Turk Revolution and the forced conscription of Christians in the Ottoman Army Anton Pasha was conscripted in 1912. Due to his family suffering from derebey terrorism in the past, he was reluctant to do so. He finally accepted due to fears of reprisals against his village's population.

Anton was sent to Amasya for training. He went through discrimination from his Muslim officer who referred to him, and to other conscripted Christians, as giaour. He stayed there for ten months; afterwards he escaped with one of his friends to the mountains of Bafra near his native village, where he worked as a horse dealer.

World War I At the outbreak of World War I, Anton Pasha did not join the Ottoman Army, but stayed in the mountains. During the outbreak of World War I, violence began ensuing in the region. As such, Anton realized the necessity of self-defense and took steps to protect the native Pontic Greek population from the Turks. Anton Pasha's nephew, Konstantinos Hacitheodoridis noted the direness of the situation:

The Turks were not punishing those responsible for desertion or failure to enlist in the army, but rather their relatives, the priests and the community's representatives. This marked the beginning of the large-scale Pontic Greek genocide.

Beginning of Anton Pasha's guerrilla warfare Anton established his headquarters in and surrounded himself with other like-minded guerrillas. According to historian Thomas Alexiadis:

In 1915, he met his future wife, Pelagia Oxouzoglou (Greek: Πελαγία Οξούζογλου), also from Bafra. She had fled Turkish persecution alongside her family and she decided to join Anton's struggle. He cared a lot for the lives of his people, especially women and children but also of his fellow freedom fighters, stating that: In early 1916, after the Russian takeover of Trabzon in April, the Pontic Greek genocide intensified, especially in Western Pontus. As such, more insurgents began to emerge and join the ranks of Anton Pasha. Consequently, a united front and a collective leader had to arise. Anton was chosen. As reported by other Pontic Greek notable guerrillas: The Russian Imperial Army promised weapons and ammunitions to the Pontic Greek self-defense militia led by Anton, which would be used to shield the native Greek population of the region. The guerrillas mainly carried out defensive operations against attacks from the Turks and rarely attacked the Turkish Army, particularly when they needed food and supplies.

Battle of Lykastos River Using guerrilla warfare, Anton Pasha's guerrillas led various victorious battles against the Turkish army in the villages of Kalınıkdağ, Palıkgöl, Çiftliktepesi, Görukökçe, , Çasur, Kestane Sayvanı, Eğribel, Taflanköy, Peklik and others.

The Battle of Lykastos River is considered one of Anton's greatest achievements. His fellow Pontic Greek freedom fighter, (also known as Vasil Aga), had acquired 1,000 Russian rifles from Trabzon. These weapons, which were being transported through sea, subsequently landed near the Lykastos River and were meant to arm local Greek insurgents and guerrillas. However, Ottoman forces rapidly encircled the landing site with two infantry battalions. Vasil Aga sent a call for help to Anton Pasha, as he quickly realized the direness of the situation. As Vasil Aga's 400 men were fighting desperately, Ottoman forces kept tightening their encirclement. However, suddenly, gunshots and whistles were heard. Anton Pasha had arrived. Vasil Aga described the battle as such:

Clash with Topal Osman Out of fear, Topal Osman and his men avoided fighting directly against Anton Pasha and his men, leaving others to fight them instead. In March 1917, however, they abducted his wife and took her hostage, in hopes that Anton surrenders. Instead of surrendering, Anton stormed the Turkish gendarmerie station in Bafra with 400 Pontic Greek guerrillas and took the Turkish soldiers hostage. He threatened to kill the soldiers and then burn Bafra to the ground if his wife was not freed. After this event, his wife was released from captivity in April.

Following this humiliation, in May 1917, 200 Turks from Samsun approached Germanos Karavangelis and told him to go Mount Nebyan, where Anton had established his headquarters, to propose peace with the guerrillas. The Turks guaranteed "full amnesty for all the guerrillas and their captains, as well as compensation for everyone who had suffered losses during the fighting between the guerrillas and the Turkish troops". Anton did not consider these guarantees unreasonable, but he declined the offer because he did not trust the Ottoman authorities to honor any of their agreements.

Death Anton Pasha was betrayed by two or three of his own men, who had been bribed by the Turks, and was ultimately killed in August 1917. Germanos Karavangelis sent a body of guerrillas to try and find the people who killed Anton, but found nothing.

His death immensely harmed the movement, but did not completely destroy it. As a leader, he was succeeded by . Meanwhile, Anton's wife, Captain Pelagia, kept fighting until 1923. She became known as the "Amazon of Pontus".

Legacy Historian Thomas Alexiadis considers Anton Pasha to have been "the preeminent figure of the armed struggle in Pontus," and calls him "a historical figure of unparalleled stature, who became immortalized through the lips of the tormented people of Bafra and Amisos". Tamer Çilingir titles him as Kaptanların Kaptanı ("Captain of Captains"). He has also been referred to as "the Kolokotronis of Pontus". Dimitris Psathas wrote that very little has been written about him, but that he was known by his contemporaries as extremely fearless even against superior Turkish detachments.

Song of Anton Pasha

The "Song of Anton Pasha" is a threnody, lamenting Anton's death. It was, and still is, sang by Pontic Greeks, both Turkish-speakers and Greek-speakers, in the entirety of Western Pontus. There are various versions of the song in both languages.

One of the Turkish versions goes as such:

One of the Greek versions has a few extra lines which might have been forgotten in the Turkish version over the years. Those extra lines reveal that one of the men who betrayed Anton Pasha was his groomsman: