Hüseyin Avni Bey

Hüseyin Avni Bey (1875 - 13 August 1915) was the commander of the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Ottoman Army at the Battle of Gallipoli during which he led a counterattack that successfully stabilized the right flank of the Ottoman defences on 25 April 1915.

Early life Hüseyin Avni Bey was born in Manastir, Ottoman Empire (in the present day Bitola, North Macedonia) in 1875. At the time of his birth his father Ali Bey, was a District Governor. The family’s ancestors had originally settled at the beginning of the 15th century in what is today Alanya in southern Turkey. In the 1420s they joined the conquest of the Balkans led by Sultan Murad II and for their service were given land in Serbia. The regiment was training at Rodosto when in response to the perceived threats to the Dardanelles the III Corps of which the 19th Division was part was assigned the task of reinforcing the Gallipoli Peninsula. As a result the 57th regiment received orders on the 21 February 1915 to transfer to Gallipoli. On 25 February the regiment arrived at Maydos by steamship.

In Kemal's subsequent war report on the battle he describes Avni as a kind-hearted, faithful and highly esteemed commander. Greatly distressed upon hearing about Avni’s death, Mustafa Kemal ordered that his uniform and personal belongings to be sent to his family. His uniform, sword and some relics were later donated by his family to the Military Museum in Istanbul.