Yahya Çavuş was born in 1887 in the village now known as Koçali, located in the Ezine district of Çanakkale Province, Türkiye. Yahya Çavuş began his military career by participating in the Balkan Wars. When World War I broke out, he was recalled to active duty under the general mobilization decree to defend his homeland.

He was assigned as the commander of the First Squad within the 10th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 26th Regiment, part of the 9th Division. In anticipation of the Allied Powers’ planned amphibious landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Yahya Çavuş’s 26th Regiment was tasked with defending the strategically vital area of Seddülbahir.

The Ertuğrul Cove Landing and Changes in the Command Chain

On the morning of 25 April 1915, the Allied Powers launched amphibious operations at five separate points along the Gallipoli Peninsula. At one of these landing sites, Ertuğrul Cove, intense close-quarters combat erupted between Turkish and enemy forces. During this critical engagement, the commander of the 10th Company, Captain Hüseyin Hüsnü Bey, was seriously wounded and rendered unfit for duty. As the most senior non-commissioned officer in the company, Yahya Çavuş assumed command.

Yahya Çavuş demonstrated the military experience he had gained during the Balkan Wars, clearly defining objectives for his men and ordering them to hold their positions under heavy fire. Under his leadership, the Turkish soldiers, despite being vastly outnumbered, established an extraordinary defensive line along a five-kilometer stretch of coastline against the British 29th Division. Turkish forces inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, successfully thwarting the landing at Ertuğrul Cove and preventing the British from reaching their target of Alçıtepe. This determined resistance shifted the momentum of the battle in favor of the Turkish forces and significantly hindered the advance of the Allied Powers, buying crucial time for Turkish units in subsequent phases of the campaign. Yahya Çavuş has since been remembered as one of the symbolic heroes of this fierce resistance.

Yahya Çavuş Martyrdom Site (Gelibolu Historical Areas Directorate)

Martyrdom and Legacy

On 26 April 1915, the second day of the Ertuğrul Cove operation, Yahya Çavuş was wounded in the leg but survived and reached the 26th Regiment Headquarters near the village of Kirte. After receiving medical treatment, he returned to the battlefield. On 4 June 1915, during the Third Battle of Kirte, he was severely wounded while leading a bayonet charge and was taken to a hospital. He died the following day from his injuries.

In memory of Yahya Çavuş and the other soldiers who fell at Ertuğrul Cove, the Ministry of Culture constructed a martyrdom site opposite the Ertuğrul Monument in 1992. This memorial cemetery, named the "Yahya Çavuş Martyrdom Site," bears the names of 148 martyrs on a large inscription plaque. Additionally, 67 symbolic tombstones, arranged in a pattern reflecting the Turkish national motif, honor other fallen soldiers. Within the boundaries of the martyrdom site, the front-line Turkish trenches, preserved to this day, are also accessible to visitors.

The Documentary "Yahya Çavuş of Ezine"

This documentary, produced for TRT Belgesel, recounts how Yahya Çavuş, with only 67 soldiers, halted a British force of 3,000 for 32 hours along the shore, inflicted heavy casualties on the invading troops, and ultimately thwarted their landing attempt.

The documentary was produced by Nihal Ağırbaş, directed by Muhammet Erkam Bülbül, and written by Ömer Erbil, with support from the General Directorate of Cinema under Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ezine Municipality, and the Village Headman of Yahyaçavuş Village.

During its preparation, the production team drew upon oral histories from Yahya Çavuş’s grandchildren and children, as well as local testimonies from Yahya Çavuş Village. The documentary was created to raise awareness of Yahya Çavuş’s heroism across Türkiye and to preserve his memory. Other initiatives include the restoration of his childhood home into a museum and the establishment of a dedicated section along the Troas Cultural Route in his honor.