Hafiz Hakki Pasha

Hafiz Hakki Pasha (Turkish: Hafız Hakkı Paşa, 24 April 1878, Edirne, Ottoman Empire - 15 February 1915; Erzurum), was a general of the Ottoman Army.

Hafiz Hakki Pasha 1315 (1899) P.-2[1]
Born	24 April 1878 Edirne, Ottoman Empire
Died	15 February 1915 (aged 36) Erzurum, Ottoman Empire
Allegiance	Ottoman Empire
Service/branch	Ottoman Army
Years of service	1901–1915
Rank	Major general
Commands held	X Corps, Third Army
Battles/wars	Balkan Wars First World War
Spouse(s)	Behiye Sultan

Career

Hafiz Hakki was a classmate of Enver Pasha, Mahmud Kâmil Pasha, and Fahreddin Pasha. He graduated from the Ottoman Military Academy second in his class (Fahreddin was first, Enver was fourth, Mahmud Kâmil was eighth) and graduated from the Ottoman Military College first in his class (Enver was second, Mahmud Kâmil was fourth, Fahreddin was seventh) on 5 December 1902.[1] He was known as one of the "Freedom Heroes" in 1908.[2]

Hafiz Hakki fought in the Balkan wars in 1912 and then wrote books about how armies should be led.

General Hakkı was one of the Ottoman commanders at the Battle of Sarikamish. At this battle, the large Ottoman army was utterly defeated by a smaller Russian force. During the retreat, the Ottoman army was nearly annihilated, mostly due to bitterly cold temperatures.

Personal life

On 17 February 1910 he married the Ottoman Princess Behiye Sultan, eldest daughter of Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, son of Sultan Murad V.

Death

Hafız was appointed by Enver Pasha to take over the remnants of the Ottoman army in the Caucasus in early 1915. He died of typhus in Erzerum in 1915 just a few weeks later.

Sources

1. Harp Akademileri Komutanlığı, Harp Akademilerinin 120 Yılı, İstanbul, 1968, p. 27. (in Turkish)
2. Erik Jan Zürcher, The Unionist factor: the Role of the Committee of Union and Progress in the Turkish National Movement, 1905-1926, BRILL, 1984, p. 47.