Cevat Çobanlı (14 September 1870Mesut Aydın, ''Türkiye ve Irak Hudûdu Mes'elesi'', Avrasya Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi Yayınları, 2001
p. 53.
/ref> or 1871 – 13 March 1938) was a Turkish military commander of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

and a general of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

who was notable for causing major Naval losses to the Allies during their Dardanelles campaign in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Family

Cevat was born on 14 September 1870 or in 1871 in Sultanahmet (

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) 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 Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

Education and military career

After graduating from the

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

, 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 Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

Second Lieutenant (''Mülâzım-ı Sani''). He continued his education in the

Ottoman Military College The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College ( or ), was a two-year military staff college of the Ottoman Empire. It was located in İstanbul. Its mission was to educate staff officers for the Ott ...

(''Mekteb-i Erkân-ı Harbiye-i Şâhâne''). In 1892, he was promoted to the rank of

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

(''Mülâzım-ı Evvel''). In 1894, he graduated from the military college as a Staff

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(''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.Genelkurmay, ''Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri'', p. 23. 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 Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

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 The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

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 Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.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 XV Corps also. At the end of the war, he was serving at the

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

front.

Exile in Malta

After the occupation of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

by Allied forces, he was arrested by the British in March 1920 and exiled to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. After he was released, he returned to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in 1922 and joined

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

in the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

. He commanded the

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

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

during the 1925 international

negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

regarding

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. He eventually retired from military 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

* Order of the Medjidieh 1st Class with Sword *Gold Medal of Liyakat *Gold Medal of Imtiyaz *Bulgaria Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) *Bulgaria Order of St Alexander 2nd Class *Spain

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

2nd Class *Prussia

Order of the Crown (Prussia) The Royal Order of the Crown () was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers (or civilians of approximately equival ...

2nd Class *Prussia

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

1st and 2nd Class *Prussia

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

*Bavaria

Military Merit Order (Bavaria) The Bavarian Military Merit Order () was established on 19 July 1866 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was the kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for officers and higher-ranking officials. Civilians acting in support of the a ...

2nd Class with Sword *Bavaria

Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown The Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown () was an order of merit of the Kingdom of Bavaria established by King Maximilian Joseph I on 19 March 1808. The motto of the order is "Virtus et Honos" ('Courage and Honour'). The order was awarded in s ...

1st Class with Sword *Austria-Hungary Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary) 2nd Class *Austria-Hungary Red Cross 1st Class *Austria-Hungary Order of the Iron Crown (Austria) 1st Class *Austria-Hungary Order of the Iron Crown 2nd Class Military * Medal of Independence with Red Ribbon & Citation