MSB | T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı

Albay Reşat ÇİYİLTEPE 1879 yılında İstanbul’da doğdu. Harp Okulundan 1896 yılında teğmen rütbesiyle mezun oldu. 20 Mayıs 1899’da üsteğmenliğe, 14 Ağustos 1904’te yüzbaşılığa terfi etti. 1911 yılına kadar ordunun çeşitli kademelerinde görev aldı. Trablusgarp Savaşı’na katıldı. 29 Mart 1912’de kıdemli yüzbaşılığa yükseldi. 22 Temmuz 1913’te İşkodra Tümeni 70’inci Alay 3’üncü Tabur komutan yardımcılığına getirildi, bu görevde iken Balkan Savaşı’na katıldı. 1 Mart 1914’te binbaşı oldu ve 6 Nisan 1914’te İşkodra Tümeni 70’inci Alay 3’üncü Tabur komutanı olarak atandı. Bu görevinde iken Birinci Dünya Savaşı’na girildi. 29 Mart 1916’da 17’nci Alay komutanı oldu. 8 Aralık 1916’da yarbaylığa yükseldi. 5 Mart 1917’de 8’inci Tümen komutan vekili, 3 Eylül 1917’de tekrar 17’nci Alay komutanı olarak atandı. 8 Ocak 1918’de 17’nci Alay komutanı iken uhdesine Üsküdar Bölge Komutanlığı da verildi. Daha sonra Yıldırım Ordular Grubu emrine atandı, ardından 53’üncü Tümen komutanı olarak tayin edildi. 22 Eylül 1918 tarihinde Şeria’da karargâhıyla birlikte İngilizlere esir düştü ve 23 Kasım 1919’da esaretten döndü. 14 Aralık 1919’da İstanbul’da 2’nci Divanıharbi Örfi Askerî üyeliğine atandıysa da Millî Mücadele’ye katılmak üzere Anadolu’ya geçti. Millî Mücadele’de 6 Ocak 1920 tarihinde 20’nci Kolordu emrine, 1921 yılında Doğu Cephesi’nde Mürettep Tümen ve daha sonra 11’inci Kafkas Tümeni komutanı olarak atandı. (Bu Tümen, 1922 yılı ilkbaharında Batı Cephesi’ne nakledilmiş ve adı 21’inci Tümen olmuştur.) 1 Mart 1922’de albay oldu. Haziran 1922’de 57’nci Tümen komutanı olarak tayin edildi. Osmanlı Devleti, Alman İmparatorluğu ve Avusturya-Macaristan İmparatorluğu tarafından verilen çeşitli nişan ve madalyalar ile TBMM tarafından verilen İstiklal Madalyası sahibi olan Albay Reşat ÇİYİLTEPE, 27 Ağustos 1922 tarihinde Büyük Taarruz’da Çiğiltepe bölgesinin alınmasında, birliğinin emredilen saatte hedefine varamaması dolayısıyla hayatına son vermiştir.

Colonel Reşat ÇİĞİLTEPE was born in İstanbul in 1879. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1896 with the rank of lieutenant. He was promoted to first lieutenant on May 20, 1899, and to captain on August 14, 1904. He served in various echelons in the army until 1911. He participated in the Turco Italian War. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on March 29, 1912. On July 22, 1913, he was appointed as the deputy commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 70th Regiment of the Shkodra Division, and while on this duty, he participated in the Balkan War. He became a major on March 1, 1914, and was appointed as the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 70th Regiment of the Shkodra Division on April 6, 1914. While he was on this duty, the First World War was entered. He became the commander of the 17th Regiment on March 29, 1916. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 8, 1916. He was appointed as the acting commander of the 8th Division on March 5, 1917, and again as the commander of the 17th Regiment on September 3, 1917. On January 8, 1918, while he was the commander of the 17th Regiment, he was also appointed as the commander of the Üsküdar Region. He was later appointed to the command of the Lightning Armies Group, and then as the commander of the 53rd Division. He was captured by the British with his headquarters in Sheria on September 22, 1918 and returned from captivity on November 23, 1919. Although he was appointed as a member of the 2nd Court-Martial in İstanbul on December 14, 1919, he went to Anatolia to participate in the War of Independence. During the War of Independence, he was appointed to the command of the 20th Corps on January 6, 1920, and in 1921 as the commander of the Dispositional Division and later the 11th Caucasian Division on the Eastern Front. (This Division was transferred to the Western Front in the spring of 1922 and was named the 21st Division.) He became a colonel on March 1, 1922. He was appointed as the commander of the 57th Division in June 1922. Colonel Reşat ÇİĞİLTEPE, who was the owner of various decorations and medals given by the Ottoman Empire, the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Medal of Independence given by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), ended his life during the capture of the Çiğiltepe region during the Great Offensive on August 27, 1922, because his unit could not reach its target at the ordered time.