page_title: Khetcho
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Khetcho / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: Khetcho Commander of cavalry en:Armenian volunteer units killed in July 1915 at the south part of en:Lake Van near the Bitlis just after Van Resistance following the Ottoman forces.
context_page_description: Khetcho was a renowned Armenian activist and combatant. A member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Khetcho led an active life in Armenian politic affairs. During his time as an activist, he participated in the Khanasor Expedition, an offensive by Armenian fedayees against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe on July 25, 1897. He was also a key supporter of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. In 1915, during a skirmish between Turkish forces near Bitlis, he was killed in action.
context_section_description: In the First Balkan War of 1912–13, the Ottoman Empire had lost its Balkan possessions to Christian uprisings, intensifying fears in the Turkish homeland that the Empire's increasingly restive Armenian Christian minority—with the assistance or encouragement of Western governments—might also attempt to establish an independent state, resulting in the breakup of Turkey itself. Distrust and suspicion of Armenians reached a peak following the outbreak of World War I, when a successful advance of Russian troops across the Turkish border into the heavily Armenian-populated vilayet of Van in early 1915 was blamed on Armenian disloyalty, leading the Turkish government to adopt a set of extreme measures which would culminate in the Armenian genocide.
  Prior to the start of World War I, Khetcho participated in the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Council meeting in Berlin. Khetcho was then tasked to acquire armaments in order to support self-defense efforts. At the start of the war, he was one of the five Armenian legions formed to enter Ottoman territory forming the Armenian volunteer units under Russian command. During the Van Resistance, Khetcho's unit was among the first to enter and liberate it on May 5, 1915. This was followed by the Russian armies occupation of the city a few days later.
caption: Khetcho on horseback
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