Vice President Fuat Oktay commemorated the 106th anniversary of a historic Ottoman army victory over British forces during World War I on Friday.
"I commemorate all our martyrs who have written their names in this heroic epic with grace and gratitude on the 106th anniversary of the Kut al-Amara victory, one of the glorious victories in our history," Fuat Oktay said on Twitter.
The historic siege of Kut al-Amara, a key World War I battle, ended on April 29, 1916, with the victory of Ottoman forces over British-Indian forces in the town of Kut, which is now in modern Iraq.
Over one hundred years ago, on April 29, 1916, a British-Indian garrison laid down its arms to the Ottoman forces they were fighting in the town of Kut al-Amara.
The city was a key step for a force of 13,000 British and Indian troops marching under Maj. Gen. Charles Townshend toward Baghdad, a target about 160 kilometers (99.4 miles) northwest along the Tigris River.
Ottoman forces surrounded them at Kut, and after a siege lasting around five months, Townshend capitulated.
It was the Ottoman Empire's second-biggest victory in World War I after the Battle of Gallipoli (Çanakkale).
The Ottoman forces were united under the 6th Army. Marshal Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz was appointed head of the Ottoman Iraqi Army on Oct. 5, 1915, and then, serving on the Russian front, Col. Halil Bey, right-wing group commander of the 3rd Army, was sent to the Iraqi front with two divisions under his command on Oct. 9, 1915.
Later on, Kut al-Amara was captured by British forces on Dec. 3, 1915, but the British forces' attempt to save Kut failed. They lost 4,000 soldiers in the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad on Jan. 6-8, 1916. Nurettin Pasha hands over command to Halil Pasha.
Soon after, the British Army was repulsed with the loss of 1,600 men at the Jan. 13 Battle of Wadi and losing another 2,700 men at the Jan. 21 Battle of Hannah.
The British attacked Halil Pasha's 13th Corps at Sabis but withdrew with 3,500 casualties on March 8, 1916. Next, Halil Pasha was appointed head of the Iraqi Army after Goltz Pasha died of typhus on April 19, 1916.
The Ottoman troops seized the British resupply paddle steamer, the Julnar, on April 24, 1916. Subsequently, the British surrendered on April 29, 1916.
Despite this crucial victory, however, later actions in the Mesopotamian Campaign saw the British troops succeeding in advancing north up until Mosul, while Ottoman troops also suffered heavy setbacks in the Palestinian Front.
