Mustafa Rüştü Erdelhun (1894 9 November 1983) was a Turkish general who served as the 10th

chief of the Turkish General Staff The Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces () is the chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces (). He is appointed by the President of Turkey, who is the commander-in-chief. The position dates to the period of the ...

in the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

from 23 August 1958 to 27 May 1960, and the 9th commander of the

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the foun ...

from 1 August 1958 to 21 August 1958. He also served as commander of the 18th Corps and the Second Army. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1945, major general in 1947,

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1952, and general in 1956.

Biography

A graduate of the

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy () or as it is known historically and popularly Harbiye is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defense University (Turkey), National Defence University. It is located in the cent ...

in 1914 and as a staff officer in 1926, he was born in

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

while his parents were born in Romania. They later migrated to

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. Prior to serving as a team commander in Artillery and Adjutant units, he went to

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

in 1921 where he formally joined the Turkish Army with the Izmir Weapons Commission. He took several assignments during his career, including chief of staff of the Guard Company Command's 8th Division, faculty member of Turkish War Academies,

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

commander in the 61st and 121st

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

regiment. He also commanded branch office at the General Staff headquarters. He was later transferred to Tokyo where he represented the country as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

and with the second appointment in London. He was also appointed as a deputy commander of the 43rd Field Artillery Regiment stationed in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. As a brigadier general he commanded the 15th Brigade and the Training department of Chief of General Staff. As a major general he commanded the 6th and 51st Division Command and became a member of the MSB Istanbul Investigation Board. As a lieutenant general he was appointed as the head of Tokyo Liaison Committee, in addition to commanding the 18th Corps. Erdelhun participated in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

Biography

Awards and decorations

References

Further reading