The Fourth Army 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) ...

( Turkish: ''Dördüncü Ordu'') was one of the

field armies A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...

of the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

. 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 fightin ...

battles in Palestine and Syria.

Formations

Order of Battle, 1877

In 1877, it was stationed in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. 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 Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

: Five line regiments and six rifle battalions * Cavalry: 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 siege ...

: 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 limit ...

: One sapper company

Order of Battle, 1908

After the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Consti ...

and the establishment of the

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 The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. 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 ...

Reserve Infantry Division (''On Üçüncü Erzincan Redif Fırkası'') *14th

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

Reserve Infantry Division (''On Dördüncü Trabzon Redif Fırkası'') *15th Diyarbekir Reserve Infantry Division (''On Beşinci Diyarbekir Redif Fırkası'') *16th

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

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. I ...

. Before 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 ...

in 1911, the Army was structured as: *Army Headquarters,

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ...

, Musul *** 35th Infantry Division, Musul *** 36th Infantry Division, Kerkük ** XIII Corps, Baghdad *** 37th Infantry Division, Baghdad *** 38th Infantry Division,

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 han ...

World War I

Order of Battle, November 1914

In November 1914, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.43 *Fourth Army (Syria) **

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...

*** 23rd Division *** 25th Division *** 27th Division **

*** 35th Division *** 36th Division

Order of Battle, Late April 1915

In April 1915, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.86 *Fourth Army (Syria) **

***

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

*** 10th Division *** 23rd Division *** 25th Division *** 27th Division **

*** 35th Division *** 36th Division

Order of Battle, Late Summer 1915, January 1916

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 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bav ...

***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'' ( commander) ...

Mersinli Cemal Pasha) ** II Corps (

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 ...

Provisional Division

Sources

References

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Field armies of the Ottoman Empire Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire in World War I History of Damascus