Russians called him "Kara Avni" Mizrak, Black Avni, because of the ferocity of his cavalry charges in the First World War. Later, high amoung the icy forest and rills of a land that had seen nine invasions come from the east, Black Avni's men rode out into blizzards which they welcomed. Each store reassured them of an ally long considered vital to the country's defense.

President Truman probably wrecked plans of the Soviet Union to dominate all of Europe, when he launched the Marshall Aid Plan for Turkey an Greece. It surely gave all other war ravaged lands cause for hope, too.

In Turkey, Harry Truman was teamed with President Inonu who rebuffed Churchill and Roosevelt during World War II, with a refusal to declare war against Germany or to send troops to the eastern front. He was sure the Red Army would have moved, as in the Balkans to occupy both the Dardanelles and Bosphorus - historic dream of Russians for five hundred years.

That winter, as weapons of modern armies poured in, Black Avni's cavalry columns appeared headed toward the pages of history - where they would feel more at home.