Cevat Çobanlı

Cevat Çobanlı (14 September 1870[2] or 1871 – 13 March 1938[1]) was a military commander of the Ottoman Army, War Minister (Harbiye Nazırı) of the Ottoman Empire and a general of the Turkish Army who was notable for causing major Naval losses to the Allies during their Dardanelles campaign in World War I.

Cevat Çobanlı
1307 (1891)-P. 4[1]
Nickname(s)18 Mart Kahramanı
(Hero of 18 March)
Born(1870-09-14)14 September 1870
Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died13 March 1938(1938-03-13) (aged 67)
Istanbul, Turkey
Buried
Erenköy Mezarlığı
Allegiance Ottoman Empire
 Turkey
Service/branch Ottoman Army
 Turkish Land Forces
Years of serviceOttoman Empire: 1891–1920
Turkey: 15 January 1922 – 14 September 1935
RankGeneral
Commands heldDardanelles Fortified Area Command, XIV Corps, XV Corps, XIV Corps, VIII Corps, Second Army (deputy), Eighth Army, War Minister, Chief of the General Staff, El-Cezire Front, Third Army, member of the Supreme Military Council
Battles/warsItalo-Turkish War
Balkan Wars
First World War
War of Independence

Family
Cevat Pasha and Mustafa Kemal Bey on the daily Tasvîr-i Efkâr dated 29 October 1915.

Cevat was born on 14 September 1870 or in 1871 in Sultanahmet (Istanbul, Ottoman Empire) His mother was Emine Hanım and his father was Müşir Şakir Pasha, Chief of Staff of the Ottoman Army. His family is originally from Malatya.

Education and military career

After graduating from the Galatasaray High School, he enrolled in the Ottoman Military Academy (Mekteb-i Fünûn-u Harbiyye-i Şâhâne) in 1888. He graduated from the school as the fourth of his class in 1891 and joined the Ottoman military as an Infantry Second Lieutenant (Mülâzım-ı Sani).[3] He continued his education in the Ottoman Military College (Mekteb-i Erkân-ı Harbiye-i Şâhâne). In 1892, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant (Mülâzım-ı Evvel).[3] In 1894, he graduated from the military college as a Staff Captain (Erkân-ı Harp Yüzbaşısı) and began his service in the General Staff of the Palace (Maiyet-i Seniyye Erkân-ı Harbiyesi) as an aide-de-camp of Sultan.[3]

He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1900 and one-star general in 1901. He was put in charge of improving the defences of Edirne after some deployments abroad. He became a two-star general in 1906. In 1909, as a result of reorganization of military ranks (Tasfiye-i Rütbe Kanunu) he was demoted by two ranks.

Balkan Wars

He was the chief of staff of the artillery of the Çatalca Army when the Second Balkan War broke out in 1913. He was appointed as the inspector at the Bulgarian border. He received a medal of merit due to his excellent service.

World War I

He was appointed as the Commander of the Çanakkale Fortified Area on November 29, 1914. He is considered as a hero for causing immense casualties to the Allied forces during the Dardanelles Campaign. He was appointed as the commander of the 14th Army towards the end of 1915 and was involved in the trench warfare that dominated the last phase of that conflict. After the successful defense of Galipoli and defeat of the Allies, he was appointed as the Group Commander of the region. He served in the Battle of Galicia as Commander of the 15th Army also. At the end of the war, he was serving at the Palestine front.

Exile in Malta

After the occupation of Constantinople by Allied forces, he was arrested by the British in March of 1920 and exiled to Malta. After he was released, he returned to Turkey in 1922 and joined Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the Turkish War of Independence. He commanded the Cizre front against Anglo-French forces. For his services in the war, he earned the Medal of Independence.

Republic Period

He was elected to the parliament in 1923 from Elazığ while he was still part of the military. He represented Turkey during the 1925 international negotiations regarding Mosul. He eventually retired in 1934 due to age limit.

Later life

After his retirement, he lived in his mansion at Göztepe. He died on March 13, 1938. He was laid to rest in Sahrayı Cedit Cemetery, in 1988, he was moved to the Ankara State Cemetery.

Author Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı and the painters Aliye Berger and Fahrelnissa Zeid were his nephew and nieces.

Medals and decorations

Sources
  1. T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 22. (in Turkish)
  2. Mesut Aydın, Türkiye ve Irak Hudûdu Mes'elesi, Avrasya Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi Yayınları, 2001, p. 53.
  3. Genelkurmay, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, p. 23.

See also
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