Today in History – 10 April

Field Marshal Fevzi Çakmak dies

The first Chief of the General Staff in the Turkish Republic and the first military member to carry the title field marshal after Mustafa Kemal, Fevzi Çakmak died on April 10, 1950.

Field Marshal Fevzi Çakmak was born in İstanbul on January 12, 1876. He graduated from the War College in 1896 and from the War Academy in 1898. He fought in the Balkans and the Dardanelles. He then served on the Caucus and Palestine fronts. He was promoted to Lieutenant General due to his achievements. After the Armistice of Mudros, he served as the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of War.

As it was impossible to serve in İstanbul after the occupation, he moved on to Anatolian in 1920 and joined the ranks of the Grand National Assembly as the deputy of Kozan. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed as the Minister of National Defense, a post he held until 1922. Meanwhile, he was also made Chief of the General Staff in 1921. Following the Battle of Dumplupınar on August 30, the Grand National Assembly promoted him to field marshal upon the advice of Mustafa Kemal Pasha.

After the War of Independence, he opted to serve in the military instead of politics and held his position as the Chief of the General Staff until 1944. He reentered the Grand National Assembly as an independent deputy of İstanbul from the Democrat Party list in 1946, but he resigned from DP in 1948 and became one of the cofounders of the Nation’s Party the same year.

After his death on April 10, 1950, hundreds of thousand of people were gathered at his funeral to pay him their respects.