Mark W. Clark vs Mehmed Rushdi Pasha

Clark was promoted to lieutenant general at age 46, becoming the youngest officer to hold that rank in the US Army at the time. This promotion placed him in command of the US Fifth Army for the invasion of Italy.

Clark commanded the US Fifth Army during the Allied invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno. The landings faced strong German resistance but succeeded in establishing a beachhead, leading to the eventual Allied advance up the Italian peninsula.

Clark's Fifth Army captured Rome on June 4, 1944, two days before the D-Day landings. The capture was a strategic victory, though Clark's decision to prioritize entering Rome over cutting off German retreat routes has been criticized.

Clark's 15th Army Group, including the US Third Army under Patton, relieved the besieged town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. This action helped halt the German offensive in the Ardennes.

As Serasker, Mehmed Rushdi Pasha commanded Ottoman forces that suppressed a Christian uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The rebellion was part of the wider Eastern Crisis and led to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

Mehmed Rushdi Pasha, as Serasker (Commander-in-Chief), led the military coup that deposed Sultan Abdulaziz. The coup was supported by reformist ministers who opposed the sultan's autocratic rule and financial mismanagement.

Following the deposition of Abdulaziz, Mehmed Rushdi Pasha was appointed Grand Vizier. He oversaw the proclamation of the first Ottoman constitution and the accession of Murad V, though his tenure was brief due to political instability.

Mehmed Rushdi Pasha was dismissed from his position as Grand Vizier by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He was exiled to his estate and played no further role in politics, dying in obscurity.