Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Early lifeMain article: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's personal lifeMustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in the Ottoman city of Salonika (Turkish: Selânik; modern-day Thessaloniki in Greece) in the spring of 1881 to Ali Rıza Efendi, his father, and Zübeyde Hanım, his mother. Born as Mustafa, his second name Kemal (meaning Perfection or Maturity) was given to him by his mathematics teacher in recognition of his academic excellence.[3] In his early years, his mother encouraged Mustafa to attend a religious school (the Şemsi Efendi Mektebi), though a reluctant Mustafa completed only a brief stay there. Then he had a fight with one of his teachers and left home, to enroll into a military junior high school in Selânik (the Selânik Askerî Rüştiyesi) in 1893. In 1896 he enrolled into a military high school (the Manastır Askerî İdadisi) in the Ottoman city of Manastır (today's Bitola, in the Republic of Macedonia.) In 1899 he enrolled into the War College (the Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Şahane) in Istanbul and graduated in 1902. He later graduated from the War Academy (the Erkân-ı Harbiye Mektebi) on January 11, 1905.
Military careerMain article: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's military careerAfter his graduation in 1905, he was assigned to Damascus as a lieutenant. He joined a small secret revolutionary society of reformist officers called "Motherland and Liberty." In 1907, he was promoted to the rank of captain and assigned to Manastır. He joined the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). However, in later years he became known for his opposition to, and frequent criticism of, policies pursued by the CUP leadership. In 1908, the Young Turk Revolution seized power from Abdülhamid II. He played a role in this revolution. In 1910, he took part in the Picardie army maneuvers in France. In 1911, served at the Ministry of War for a short time. Later in 1911, he was posted to the Ottoman province of Trablusgarp (present-day Libya) to oppose the Italian invasion. He returned to capital in October 1912 following the outbreak of the Balkan Wars. During the First Balkan War, he fought against the Bulgarian army at Gallipoli and Bolayır on the coast of Thrace. In 1913, he was appointed military attaché to Sofia and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1914.
Mustafa Kemal in Gallipoli with his soldiers, 1915Ottoman Empire entered World War I and engaged with the Allies in the Middle Eastern theatre. Mustafa Kemal was given the task of organizing and commanding the 19th Division attached to the 5th Army during the Battle of Gallipoli. The Gallipoli campaign became a disastrous defeat for the Allies. Mustafa Kemal became the outstanding front-line commander and gained much respect from his former enemies for his chivalry in victory. Following the Battle of Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal served in Edirne until the January 14, 1916.
He was assigned to the command of the XVIth Corps of the 2nd Army and sent to the Caucasus Campaign. The massive Russian offensive had reached the Anatolian key cities. On 7 August, Mustafa Kemal rallied his troops and mounted a counteroffensive.[4] Two of his divisions captured not only Bitlis but the equally important town of Muş, greatly upsetting the calculations of the Russian Command.[5] On March 7, 1917, Mustafa Kemal was appointed from the command of the XVI Corps to the overall command of the 2nd Army. The Russian Revolution erupted and the Caucasus front of the Czar's armies disintegrated.[4] Mustafa Kemal had already left the region as was assigned to the command of the 7th Army at the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.
He returned to Aleppo on August 28, 1918, and resumed his command. Liman von Sanders had lost the Battle of Megiddo. Nothing stood between General Allenby's forces and Mustafa Kemal. Concluding that he didn't have enough men to engage the British forces, Mustafa Kemal retreated towards Jordan to establish a stronger defensive line. He was appointed to the command of Thunder Groups Command (Turkish:Yıldırım Orduları Gurubu), replacing Liman von Sanders. Mustafa Kemal's position became the base line for the Armistice of Mudros.