Fevzi Çakmak


Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak was a Turkish field marshal and politician. He served as the Chief of General Staff from 1918 and 1919 and later the Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire in 1920. He later joined the provisional Government of the Grand National Assembly and became the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense and later as the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1921 to 1922. He was the second Chief of the General Staff of the provisional Ankara Government and the first Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey.
Graduating from the War College as a Staff Captain and assigned to the 4th Department of the General Staff, Mustafa Fevzi participated in numerous battles during the prolonged downfall of the Ottoman Empire, such as the First Balkan War and the Battle of Monastir. He was engaged as the Commander of the V Corps throughout the defence of Gallipoli, during which his younger brother was killed in the Battle of Chunuk Bair. He became a Pasha and the Chief of General Staff of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War and was appointed as the commander of the First Army Troops Inspectorate in 1919 by Grand Vizier Ahmet Tevfik Pasha. After briefly serving as War Minister in 1920, Fevzi left to join the dissident Grand National Assembly in Ankara as a Member of Parliament for Kozan.
He was appointed as National Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister by Mustafa Kemal Paşa in 1920, commanding numerous military successes throughout the Turkish War of Independence, notably during the Battle of Sakarya. He succeeded Mustafa Kemal as Prime Minister in 1921, resigning in 1922 to engage in the successful Battle of Dumlupınar. He was appointed Field Marshal in 1922 at the recommendation of Mustafa Kemal. He had succeeded İsmet İnönü as the Chief of General Staff in August 1921 and continued serving after the Turkish Republic was declared in 1923. Adopting the surname 'Çakmak', he was a candidate to succeed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as the President of Turkey after Atatürk's death in 1938, but stood down in favour of İnönü. He continued to serve as Chief of General Staff until 1944, after which he became a Member of Parliament for Istanbul from the Democrat Party. He later resigned from the Democrats and co-founded the Nation Party headed by Osman Bölükbaşı.
Fevzi Çakmak remains, alongside Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as one of the two and only field marshals of Turkey.

Biography

Family and schools

Mustafa Fevzi was born on 24 January 1876 in Cihangir to mother Hesna Hanım, daughter of Varnalı Hacı Bekir Efendi, who is the youngest son of Ömer Ağa, and father Ali Sırrı Efendi, who is son of Çakmakoğlu Hüseyin Derviş Kaptan and served for Tophane as secretary. In 1879 his father Ali Sırrı Bey was appointed to Black Sea Artillery Regiment at Rumeli Kavağı, family move there. Thus Fevzi's name in the Army will become "Kavaklı Fevzi Pasha".
He studied at Sadık Hoca Mektebi in Rumeli Kavağı between 1882 and 1884. And he continued to study at Tedrisiye-i Haybiye Mektebi in Sarıyer between 1884 and 1886, at Salonica Military School between 1886 and 1887, at Soğukçeşme Askerî Rüşdiyesi between 1887 and 1890. And he learned Arabic and Persian languages from his grandfather Hacı Bekir Efendi, who had studied in Egypt and Baghdad and was one of the prominent intelligentsia at the time. He continued to Kuleli Military High School between 1890 and 1893. After graduating from Kuleli military highschool, he entered Harbiye Mektibi in Pangaltı, 29 April 1893. He completed the military school as the seventh of the class on 28 January 1896 and joined the Ottoman military as an Infantry Second Lieutenant.
On 28 January 1898, he entered the War Academy and on 16 March 1897, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. On 25 December 1898, he graduated from Academy as a Staff Captain and was assigned to the 4th department of the General Staff.

Western Rumelia

On 11 April 1899, he became the staff officer of 18th Regular Division under the command of Şemsi Pasha at Metroviça of the 3rd Army. He studied Serbian, Bulgarian, Albanian languages to read their newspapers for collecting information. On 20 April 1900, he was promoted to the rank of Kolağası, on 20 April 1902, Major, on 19 July 1906, Lieutenant Colonel and on 17 December 1907, Miralay.
According to some researchers, he was in contact with Committee of Union and Progress and elected the member of the secret board of directors of the Metroviça blanch of the committee. On 3 July 1908, Senior Captain Ahmed Niyazi Bey stationed at Resne, an ethnic Albanian, took to the hills with 200 soldiers and a number of civilians, and issued a manifesto which demanded the restoration of constitutional government. Şemsi Pasha, an ethnic Albanian, was ordered to crush the rebel and went to Monastir with two battalions. But he was shot and killed by Second Lieutenant Bigalı Atıf Bey.
On 19 August 1909, he was demoted to Major, because of the Law for the Purge of Military Ranks.
On 29 December 1908 he was appointed to Governor and commander of Taşlıca, and at the same time, the commander of the 35th Brigade. On 15 January 1910, he was temporarily assigned to the headquarters of the Kosovo Provisional Corps, on 29 September, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and on 27 July, became the chief of staff of the same corps.
On 15 January 1911, he was assigned to the 4th department of the General Staff. On 2 October 1911, when he was staying in İşkodra, because Italo-Turkish War broke out, he was assigned to the Western Army that was formed for the defense of Western Rumelia under the command of Birinci Ferik Ali Rıza Pasha. On 6 October, he was appointed to the Governor of İpek Sancağı. On 19 October, he went back to Istanbul to continue his task at the 4th department of the General Staff. On 11 February 1912, he was appointed to the member of the committee that was formed under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Interior Hacı Adil Bey with the decision about reform of Albania and three vilayet. 9 May, he was appointed to a secretariat formed in the Sadaret and on 3 July, to the deputy commander of the 21th Infantry Division at Yakova, on 6 August, to the staff of the General Forces of Kosovo.

Balkan Wars

On 29 September 1912, he was appointed to the chief of the 1st department of the Vardar Army under the command of Ferik Halepli Zeki Pasha, formed within the Western Army. During the First Balkan War, after the defeat at the Battle of Kumanovo, Fevzi wrote that the distributions of the Ottoman forces over a wide area gave initiative to the enemy and that mobilization and concentration plan was poorly designed and flawed. He also noted that there were great deficiencies in artillery, wireless, and air units. But he wrote that he had put the idea of creating a six-corps army of one hundred thousand men operation on interior lines from the Monastir area. The Vardar Army retreated to Monastir.
On 16 November, during the Battle of Monastir, his younger brother Muhtar Efendi was killed in action at the heights of Oblakovo, northwest of Bitola. After the defeat at the Battle of Bitola, he wrote that the Vardar Army's effective strength for its 78 infantry battalions was 39,398 men. The Vardar Army retreated to Albania. On 10 May, because Miralay Ibrahim Halil Bey, who was the chief of staff of the Vardar Army, went to Istanbul, Fevzi deputized the chief of staff. On 19 June the headquarters of the Vardar Army, left pier at Seman with steamships named Karadeniz and Gülcemal and arrived at Istanbul on 22 June.
Fevzi wrote:
On 2 August 1913, he was appointed to the commander of the Ankara Reserve Division, on 6 November, to the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division and on 24 November, he was promoted to the rank of Miralay.

World War I

On 22 December 1913, he was appointed to the commander of the V Corps. His corps engaged in the defense of Gallipoli. On 2 March 1915, he was promoted to the rank of Mirliva. He arrived at the Gallipoli Front on 13 July and command his corps in battles of Achi Baba and Sari Bair. On 8 August, his younger brother, the commander of the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 64th Regiment, Lieutenant Mehmed Nazif Efendi was killed in action in the Battle of Chunuk Bair.
On 6 December 1915, he served concurrently as the commander of the Anafartalar Group. In April 1916, he was appointed to the 3rd military district of Eastern Front and on 7 September 1916, to the commander of II Caucasian Corps consisted of 5th, 11th and 37th Caucasian divisions. On 5 July 1917, he was appointed to the commander of the 2nd Army at Diyârbekir.
On 9 October 1917, he was assigned to the command of the 7th Army at the Sinai and Palestine Front and he remained in Aleppo until 18 October and began to move his headquarters forward to Halilürrahman and arrived there on 23 October. Erich von Falkenhayn gave Fevzi control of Beersheba and the eastern half of the Palestine Front on 28 October. But Falkenhayn gave alternating orders on the same day. According to these orders, gave the command of all units on the Sinai Front Kress von Kressenstein until the new command arrangements are functional
On 15 February 1918, he wrote to Erich von Falkenhayn, serious problems with the inefficient lines of communication and the supply and recruiting Zone proportionate with the strength and situation of the army. Moreover, he mentioned that here were combat skills proficiency problems caused by the inability of his under-strength army to withdraw front-line units for training in the rear area.
On 28 July 1918, he was promoted to the rank of Ferik. But in August 1918 he became ill and went to Istanbul to get medical treatment.
After World War I, on 24 December 1918, Fevzi Pasha was appointed to the Chief of the General Staff of the Ottoman Empire. In April 1919, he met with Şevket Turgut Pasha, Cevat Pasha secretly in Constantinople and prepared a report called "Trio Oath" to establish army inspectorate for the defense of homeland. In late April, Fevzi Pasha submitted this report to the Minister of War Şakir Pasha. On 30 April 1919, the War Ministry and Sultan Mehmed VI ratified the decision about the establishing of army inspectorates that had been accepted by the Chief of General Staff On 14 May 1919, he was appointed to the commander of the Inspector of the 1st Army Troops Inspectorate. On 3 November, he assigned to the task in Heyet-i Nasîha and on 31 December, he was appointed to the member of the Military Council. He became the Minister of War of Ali Rıza Pasha Cabinet and Salih Pasha Cabinet.

War of Independence

After the resignation of Salih Pasha Cabinet, he went to Anatolia to participate in the national movement arriving at Ankara on 27 April 1920. On 3 May, he was elected the Minister of Defense and Vice Prime Minister as a parliamentary deputy from Kozan.
The Ottoman Military Court declared a death sentence for him, in absentia. This sentence was published in Takvim-i Vakayi newspaper on 30 May 1920.
He became one of the founders of the "Official" Communist Party established on 18 October 1920.
On 9 November, in addition to his existing tasks, he was temporarily appointed Vice Minister of the Chief of the General Staff, because the Chief of the General Staff İsmet Bey was continuously at the front as the commander of Western Front. On 24 January 1921, in addition to his other tasks, he became Prime Minister and on 3 April, he was promoted to Birinci Ferik.

Battle of Kütahya-Eskişehir

Fevzi Çakmak took control of the Army after the Turkish loss in Kütahya-Altıntaş under İsmet Bey and was able to stop the retreat of the Army of Grand National Assembly afterward.

Battle of Sakarya

Before the Battle of Sakarya, on 5 August 1921, he resigned as the Minister of War and was appointed the Minister of the Chief of the General Staff.
The Army of Grand National Assembly defeated the Greek forces at the Battle of Sakarya on the outskirts of Ankara.
On 12 July 1922, he resigned as the Prime Minister.

Great Offensive

Fevzi Çakmak and Mustafa Kemal planned and commandeered the Battle of Dumlupınar. On 31 August 1922, he was promoted to rank of Müşir with the recommendation of Mustafa Kemal.
They were and still are the only field marshals that the Republic of Turkey has had up till now. So even today, an unspecified nickname Mareşal means Fevzi Çakmak.

Republican era

Musul offensive plan

On 14 August 1923, he was elected a deputy from Istanbul.
On 3 March 1924, he was appointed as the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey.
He quit politics by resigning from the parliament on 31 October 1924.

Member of the Reform Council in the East

In September 1925, after the suppression of the Sheikh Said rebellion, he was a member of the Reform Council of the East which delivered the Report for Reform in the East, which recommended the suppression of the Kurdish elite and establishment of Inspectorates-General that where governed by Martial Law Following this report, three of such Inspectorates–General were established in the Kurdish areas.

Candidate to be Atatürk's successor

He retired on 12 January 1944.

Death

He died on the morning of 10 April 1950 in his house in Teşvikiye. His funeral service was held at the Beyazıt and he was laid to rest in Eyüp Cemetery, Istanbul, on 12 April 1950. His family rejected an effort to exhume his body and effect a transfer to Turkish State Cemetery in Ankara.
He knew French, English, German, Russian, Persian, Arabic, Albanian, and Bosnian. He spoke French and translated English and German.

Medals and Decorations

Books