Halil Kut
Ottoman general / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Halil Kut (1881 – 20 August 1957)[1] was an Ottoman Turkish military commander and politician. He served in the Ottoman army during World War I, notably taking part in the military campaigns against Russia in the Caucasus and the British in Mesopotamia. His greatest achievement was surrounding the British expeditionary force in Kut, for 163 days until they surrendered.[citation needed]
Halil Kut | |
|---|---|
 Kut before the end of WW1 | |
| Nickname(s) | The Hero of Kut Kutülamare Kahramanı |
| Born | 1881 Yenimahalle, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 20 August 1957 (aged 75–76) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Allegiance |  Ottoman Empire Turkey |
| Rank | Major general |
| Unit | Sixth Army |
| Battles/wars | Balkan Wars Italo-Turkish War World War I |
Halil was responsible for numerous atrocities committed against Armenian and Assyrian civilians during the war, overseeing the massacres of Armenian men, women and children in Bitlis, Mush, and Beyazit. Many of the victims were buried alive in specially prepared ditches.[2] He also crossed into neighboring Persia and massacred Armenians, Assyrians and Persians.[3]
Kut claimed in his memoirs that he personally killed "more or less" 300,000 Armenians.[4] During a meeting at Yerevan in the summer of 1918, he declared to a group of Armenians that he had "endeavored to wipe out the Armenian nation to the last individual."[4]