The Fourth Army of the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish: ''Dördüncü Ordu'') was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was formed in the middle nineteenth century, during Ottoman military reforms.
The army did not survive the
WWI
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 fight ...
battles in Palestine and Syria.
Formations
Order of Battle, 1877
In 1877, it was stationed in Anatolia. It was composed of:Ian Drury, Illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri, ''The Russo-Turkish War 1877'', Men-at-Arms 277, Ospray Publishing Ltd., Reprinted 1999, , p. 35.
* Infantry: Five line regiments and six rifle battalions
*
Cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...
: Three line regiments
*
Artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...
: One line regiment (12 batteries)
*
Engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the lim ...
Second Constitutional Era
The Second Constitutional Era ( ota, ایكنجی مشروطیت دورى; tr, İkinci Meşrutiyet Devri) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 dissolution of the ...
on 3 July 1908, the new government initiated a major military reform. Army headquarters were modernized. The Fourth Army's new operational area was Caucasia and its many troops were scattered along the frontier to keep an eye on the Russian Empire. It commanded the following active divisions and other units:
*7th Infantry Division (''Yedinci Fırka'')
*8th Infantry Division (''Sekicinci Fırka'')
*19th Infantry Division (''On Dokuzuncu Fırka'')
*4th Artillery Division (''Dördüncü Topçu Fırkası'')
*Erzurum Fortress Artillery Regiment
The Fourth Army also had inspectorate functions for four ''Redif'' (reserve) divisions:
*13th
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ci ...
Reserve Infantry Division (''On Üçüncü Erzincan Redif Fırkası'')
*14th Trabzon Reserve Infantry Division (''On Dördüncü Trabzon Redif Fırkası'')
*15th Diyarbekir Reserve Infantry Division (''On Beşinci Diyarbekir Redif Fırkası'')
*16th Sivas Reserve Infantry Division (''On Altıncı Sivas Redif Fırkası'')
Order of Battle, 1911
With further reorganizations of the Ottoman Army, to include the creation of corps level headquarters, by 1911 the Army's headquarters were
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 ...
. Before the First Balkan War in 1911, the Army was structured as:
*Army Headquarters,
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 ...
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
In late Summer 1915, January 1916, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), pp. 109, 126
*Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine)
**VIII Corps
***23rd Division
*** 24th Division
***27th Division
**XII Corps
*** 41st Division
*** 42nd Division
*** 46th Division
Order of Battle, August, December 1916
Between August and December 1916, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), pp.134, 154
*Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine)
**VIII Corps
*** 3rd Division
***23rd Division
***24th Division
***27th Division
**XII Corps
***41st Division
***42nd Division
*** 43rd Division
***46th Division
Order of Battle, August 1917
In August 1917, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.170
*Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine)
***3rd Cavalry Division
**VIII Corps
*** 48th Division
**XII Corps
***23rd Division
*** 44th Division
** XV Corps
***43rd Division
** XX Corps
*** 16th Division
*** 54th Division
** XXII Corps
***3rd Division
*** 7th Division
*** 53rd Division
On 26 September the Fourth Army headquarters moved to Damascus, dividing its area of responsibility in half, leaving Cemal Pasha answerable for Syria and western Arabia.
Order of Battle, January, June 1918
Between January and June 1918, the army was structured as follows:Erickson (2001), pp.181, 188
*Fourth Army (commanded by Jemal) (Syria-West Arabia)
**VIII Corps (commanded by Ali Fuad Bey)Falls 1930 Volume 2 Part 2 p.657
***43rd Division
***48th Division
**XII Corps
***23rd Division
***41st Division
***44th Division
** Hejaz Corps
*** 58th Division
***Provisional Infantry Divisions x 3
Order of Battle, September 1918
In September 1918, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.197
*Fourth Army (
Mirliva
''Mirliva'' or ''Mîr-i livâ'' was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. It corresponds to a brigadier general (modern Turkish: ''Tuğgeneral'') in the modern Turkish Army. ''Mirliva'' is a compound word composed of ''Mir'' ( command ...
II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
(
Miralay
''Miralay'' or ''Mîr-i alay'' (Gendarmerie: ''Alaybeyi'') was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. The modern Turkish equivalent is ''Albay'', meaning Colonel.Galatalı Şevket Bey)
*** 62nd Division
***Provisional Divisions x 3
**Jordan Group
***24th Division
***3rd Cavalry Division
**VIII Corps (Miralay Yasin Hilmi Bey)
***48th Division
***
Umman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...