He graduated from Mühendishâne-i Berrî-i Hümâyûn (Imperial School of Military Engineering) and joined the army in the rank of an artillery lieutenant in 1904.

He presented to Emir Habibullah Khan the Ottoman Sultan's declaration of jihad: a call to all Islamic peoples (including Afghanistan) to join the Central Powers and attack the Allies.

During the Turkish War of Independence, he held commanding positions in the Eastern Front Army between 1920 and 1922, fighting in the Caucasus.

Succeeding Fevzi Çakmak, he served as Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces from 12 January 1944 to 23 July 1946, when he resigned.

The investigation of the Ankara Murder turned into a political scandal involving the Republican People's Party apparatus.