Yakup Satar (11 March 1898 – 2 April 2008) is believed to have been the last Ottoman veteran of the First World War. He died at age 110. Born in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, Satar joined the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1915. On 23 February, 1917, he was taken prisoner by the British in the

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

campaign's

Second Battle of Kut The Second Battle of Kut was fought on 23 February 1917, between British and Ottoman forces at Kut, Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). The battle was part of the British advance to Baghdad begun in December 1916 by a 50,000-man British force (main ...

. Freed after the end of the war, Satar then served in the forces of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

in the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

, which lasted from 1919 to 1923. Shortly before his 110th birthday, he was treated for a minor infection at a military hospital before being released home, where he lived with his daughter in the

Seyitgazi Seyitgazi is a town and district of Eskişehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The central town of Seyitgazi lies at a distance of towards the south from the province capital of Eskişehir. According to 2010 census, population o ...

district of

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

. He died soon after turning 110. His memories from the War of Independence and his daily life along with those of two other veterans, Ömer Küyük and

Veysel Turan Veysel Turan (1901 - 25 March 2007) was one of the last Turkish veterans of the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923). Military years He joined the newly-established army of Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Ankara. In the early period of the Turkish War o ...

, are depicted in the documentary film '' Son Buluşma'' (2007) ( en, The Last Meeting) by Nesli Çölgeçen.Beyazperde

References

External links

The Times: Yakup Satar, The last Turkish veteran of the First World War who also fought for the independence of Turkey
1898 births 2008 deaths People from Eskişehir Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent Ottoman military personnel of World War I Ottoman prisoners of war Members of Kuva-yi Milliye Turkish military personnel of the Turkish War of Independence Turkish centenarians World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom Men supercentenarians Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire {{Turkey-mil-bio-stub

See also

References

External links