Field Marshal Ahmet İzzet Pasha, one of the Grand Viziers of Sultan Vahdettin

In the report sent to London on 27 April 1921 by Sir H. Rumbold, one of the British High Commissioners in Istanbul during the period of the National Struggle, describing the events of 1920, there is some biographical information about Sultan Vahdettin, Crown Prince Abdülmecit, Grand Vizier Tevfik Pasha, Ahmet İzzet Pasha and Damat Ferit Pasha, as well as Mustafa Kemal Pasha and Kazım (Karabekir) Pasha, the leaders of the National Struggle. In this article, what is written about Field Marshal Ahmet İzzet Pasha, who was the head (Grand Vizier) of the government that signed the Armistice of Mudros, will be mentioned.

The report gives very brief information about Ahmet İzzet Pasha. However, Ahmet İzzet Pasha was one of the most important figures of the late Ottoman army, perhaps the first. Ahmet İzzet Pasha, who originated from Ioannina, was a very successful military student who graduated from the War School at the top of his class. After the War School, he also successfully completed the War Academy. After his graduation, he gave tactics lectures at the War Academy and worked as an advisor to the famous Vonder Golz, the head of the German delegation tasked with reforming the Ottoman army. Ahmet İzzet Pasha was a brilliant officer who prepared the plans of the Turkish-Greek War of 1897 by modifying a plan previously prepared by Goltz and served as the head of the headquarters that directed and managed the battles. He also served in the German General Staff for a year and worked with Field Marshal Limon von Sanders.

He used his observations and experiences during his service in the German General Staff for the modernisation of the Ottoman army in the future and was quite successful. During the 2nd Constitutional Monarchy period, while serving as the Chief of General Staff, he made a great service to the Ottoman army by establishing the organisation of today's recruitment units. In addition, during his term as Chief of General Staff, training in the army reached a very good level, and for the first time, intensive field trips, command exercises and major exercises at the army-corps level were carried out.

One of his characteristics that is not well known by the public is that the Ottoman army, which was the first in the world to adopt a tripartite organisation, adopted this organisation thanks to him. The tripartite organisation, which was discussed and studied in the German General Staff while he was serving in Germany, was immediately applied to the Ottoman army when he became the Chief of General Staff. Although European armies switched to the corps organisation after the Napoleonic Wars, the Ottoman Army switched to this organisation only in his time.

The Ottoman army was using an organisation in the form of divisions attached to battalions, the number of which was not standardised, and divisions attached to armies, the number of which was also not standardised. When Ahmet İzzet Pasha became the Chief of General Staff, he organised the army as troops with 3 main subordinate units as standard. According to this organisation, infantry companies had three infantry platoons, infantry battalions had three infantry companies, and infantry regiments had three infantry battalions. And what is interesting is that at that time there was no other army in the world that had adopted this organisation. European armies adopted this organisation after the Ottoman army.

During his period, battalions were united under the organisation of regiments and divisions under the organisation of corps. Although the corps organisation was only fully adopted in 1911, he was the one who brought this organisation to the Ottoman army. Therefore, it was undoubtedly Ahmet İzzet Pasha who laid the foundations of the organisation of the army that fought World War I and later the War of Independence.

As can be understood from the fact that he resigned from his post without resistance when Enver Pasha wanted to take over, resigned immediately on 8 November 1918 when he could not withstand the pressure, and although he supported the struggle during the National Struggle, he did not actually participate in it, Ahmet İzzet Pasha, like most of the scholars, was a cautious, fragile person who was not very ambitious and did not have very high leadership skills. However, he devoted himself to the Ottoman army and considered himself an Ottoman despite his Albanian origin.

As a matter of fact, for this reason, when Albania was turned into a principality and a prince or king was discussed, he was offered the Albanian kingdom or principality because of his Albanian origin, but he did not accept this offer. It is said that when this offer was made to him, he said ‘I would rather be a pasha in the Ottoman army than a king in Albania’.

The assessments made by the British High Commissioner stationed in Istanbul during the National Struggle about Ahmet İzzet Pasha, about whom we have tried to give brief information, are presented below.

"İzzet Pasha, who is 60 years old, has his roots in Ioannina. He is originally Albanian. Although he had a good career as a staff officer during the reign of Abdul Hamid II, in 1897 he was appointed to Yemen, where he spent a total of 12 years. He returned to Istanbul after the revolution (referring to the 2nd Constitutional Monarchy) and was sent back to Yemen in 1911 to restore peace. He brought peace to the region by reconciling the Turkish government and the Imam of Yemen. While the Imam of Yemen gained some autonomy in the mountainous regions, İzzet Pasha gained a reputation as a successful military diplomat.

In 1913, he was appointed as the Minister of War in the cabinet of Sait Halim Pasha, but this position was later transferred to Enver Pasha. İzzet Pasha, who personally participated in most of the war (World War I), is said to have been in close contact with the German Emperor during a visit to the German headquarters in early 1918.

In October of the same year, after the fall of the Talat Pasha government, he was assigned to form a new cabinet, but this government, which bore the traces of the Committee of Union and Progress, had to resign a few days after the conclusion of the Armistice. In the following two years, although he served as a minister of state for a while, he mostly remained in the background.

During this period, he was recognised as a figure who was sympathetic to the national movement, although he denied any direct connection with it. After Ferit Pasha lost his seat in October 1920, he entered the Tevfik Pasha government as Minister of Interior in order to pave the way for mutual negotiations with the Ankara government and to bring Ankara in line with Istanbul.

İzzet Pasha had left for Ankara on 3 December at the head of the delegation sent to meet with the leaders of the National Struggle. Although subsequent developments proved otherwise, İzzet Pasha's reputation within the army and in the circles of the National Struggle was considered as an assurance of the success of the delegation.

As a matter of fact, he was not treated with much dignity in Ankara and there were signs that the young officers, who formed the backbone of the National Struggle movement in a sense, were not at all willing to act on his word. Nevertheless, İzzet Pasha received a great deal of attention from many wings of the National Struggle movement and it seems that he will still play a certain role in this movement.

An outspoken and honest man, İzzet Pasha, if not possessing a strong character and top command skills, was a man of good judgement and, if guided, could become the focal point of a relatively moderate nationalism. Pasha, who had an old and overweight appearance, was actually an outspoken and courageous soldier who later became a politician with the frock coat he wore.

Although the Sultan looks at him with prejudice, his relationship with the Crown Prince is quite warm. Rauf Bey (Rauf Orbay), the former Minister of Navy and one of the leaders of the National Struggle movement, who is still in exile on the island of Malta, and Nabi Bey, the current Turkish representative in Paris, are Izzet Pasha's closest political friends.‘’

Sir. H. Rumbold.

27 April 1921