Mehmet Vehip Kaçı

Wehib Pasha or Mehmet Vehip Kaçı Paşa (modern Turkish: Kaçı Vehip Paşa or Mehmet Vehip (Kaçı); 1877–1940), was an Ottoman general in the Ottoman Army. He fought in the Balkan Wars and in several theatres of World War I. In his later years, Vehib Pasha volunteered to serve as a military advisor to the Ethiopian Army against Fascist Italy during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. He served as the chief of staff to Nasibu Zeamanuel, the Ethiopian Commander-in-Chief on the southern front.

Biography

Vehib was born in 1877 in Yanya, Janina Vilayet (present day: Ioannina, Greece), then part of the Ottoman Empire. Coming from a prominent family of the city his father, Mehmet Emin Efendi, had served as its mayor. He was an Albanian or Turkish origin. His family roots are descended from Taşkentli Mehmet Veliyettin Kaçıhan, a Turkish commander who emigrated from present-day Tashkent, Uzbekistan, during the reign of Sultan Murad II. When the Surname Law was enacted in Türkiye, Vehip took the surname Kaçı, while his brothers took the surnames Bülkat and Taşkent.

In 1916, Vehib noticed that a labor battalion of 2,000 Turco-Armenian soldiers had gone missing. He later discovered that the entire battalion had been executed, with the men being tied together in fours and shot. Outraged, he ordered the arrests of Kör Nuri, the gendarmerie commander in charge of the labor battalions, and Çerkez Kadir, the brigand chief who carried out the killings. Vehib had both men court-martialed for the massacre and hanged, after which he warned his troops not to commit any atrocities. Vehib also attempted to have Bahaeddin Şakir and Provincial Governor Ahmet Müammer Bey, who had issued the orders to carry out the massacre, court-martialed. However, Şakir fled and Müammer was transferred out of Vehib's jurisdiction. Şakir was later assassinated by Armenian vigilantes.

War of Independence Vehib did not participate in the Turkish War of Independence. After his return to Constantinople at the end of World War I, he was prosecuted for misuse of his office and jailed in Bekirağa prison. He escaped to Italy. His citizenship was revoked by the new government of Turkey. He spent some time in Italy, Germany, Romania, Greece and Egypt. His dislike of Mustafa Kemal was well known and he never hid his contempt for the new leader of Turkey who had once fought under his command at Gallipoli. He did not return to Istanbul until 1940.

Abyssinia When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in Second Italo-Ethiopian War in the mid-1930s, Vehib volunteered to fight for the Ethiopians. In Ethiopia, he was known as Wehib Pasha, and served as the Chief-of-Staff to Ras Nasibu, the Ethiopian Commander-in-Chief on the southern front. In an interview with The New York Times, he remarked "Out there will be the grave of Italian Fascism. When the Italian native troops hear of ME they will desert." Vehib designed a strong defensive line for the Ethiopians which was known as the "Hindenburg Wall", in reference to the famous German defensive line of World War I, the Hindenburg Line. However, the Italians broke through these defenses during the Battle of the Ogaden in April 1936. After the war was lost, Vehib left Ethiopia and returned to Istanbul.

Death He died in 1940 and was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery in Istanbul.