(Redirected from Maresal)
''Mareşal'' insignia
'Mareşal' (
Marshal) is the highest rank in the
Army of
Turkey, the
Turkish Armed Forces. It is the equivalent of a
Field Marshal in other countries.
The rank of ''Mareşal'' can trace its origins to the
Ottoman Empire and to the military of
Persia, where the rank was bestowed upon senior commanders upon order of the ruling
Sultan.
The rank of ''Mareşal'' can only be bestowed by the
National Assembly, and only given to a
General who leads an army successfully into and out of a war, a criteria tougher than those for equivalent ranks.
The corresponding rank in the Turkish
Navy is known as ''
Büyükamiral''.
Only two persons were bestowed the rank ''Mareşal'' up to date:
Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey and his
chief of staff Fevzi Çakmak, both for their successes in the
Turkish War of Independence.