Vasil Ivanov Kutinchev ( bg, Васил Иванов Кутинчев) (born 25 February 1859 in Rusçuk; died 30 March 1941) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

n officer. He began his military career in 1879 after graduating from the Military School in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

. On 13 September 1885 he was made commander of the 1st battalion of the 5th "Dunav" infantry regiment.Мусаков, И., „Генерал от пехотата Васил Кутинчев“, София, 1941 г., Печатница „Стопанско развитие“ He took part in the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

of the same year and on 8 November was promoted to commander of the 5th regiment. Captain Kutinchev fought in the

Battle of Slivnitsa The Battle of Slivnitsa ( bg, Битка при Сливница, sr, Битка на Сливници) was a victory of the Bulgarian army over the Serbians on 17–19 November 1885 in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. It solidified the unification ...

, Dragoman, Tsarevbrod and Pirot. After the war he served as commander of various infantry regiments and was promoted to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1904. Four years later Kutinchev was appointed commander of the First Army Region which comprised the western parts of

. On 2 August 1912 Tsar Ferdinand in honour of the 25th anniversary of his arrival to Bulgaria promoted six

s to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. One of those generals was Kutinchev. This is the first time in the history of the

Bulgarian Kingdom In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

when such high ranks were awarded to officers of the Active Army. Until then it was given to officers of the reserve. With the outbreak of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

General Kutinchev was made commander of the First Army which took part in the important battles of Kirk Kilisse, Lule Burgas and

Çatalca Çatalca (Metrae; ) is a city and a rural district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest district in Istanbul by area. It is in East Thrace, on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea. Most people living in Çatalca are either farmers o ...

. After the end of that war the entire army had to be transferred to Northwestern

were during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

it saw service against the Serbs. Meanwhile, on 16 July 1913 Kutinchev took the command of Second Army. On this post he remained until the end of hostilities. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

he was a general in the General Staff of the Active Army and commander of the newly created Army Region of Morava. In one final act of recognition of his service in October 1918

Vasil Kutinchev was promoted to

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

of the Infantry which was the highest military rank in the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establish ...

and went into the reserve. He died in

in 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kutinchev, Vasil Bulgarian military personnel of World War I Bulgarian generals Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Recipients of the Order of Bravery Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) People from Ruse, Bulgaria 1859 births 1941 deaths

See also

References