Ottoman Army (1861–1922)
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, image = File:Osmanli-nisani.svg , dates = 1842/1861 – 1922 , country = , allegiance =
Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...
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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 ...
, size = ~2,873,000 est. (1918) , command_structure = , garrison =
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, garrison_label = , nickname = , patron = , motto = , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles =
World War I 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 ...
( Battle of Gallipoli),
Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...
, Tripolitanian War,
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
, anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 =
Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...
(World War I) , commander1_label = Sultan , commander2 = , commander3 = Ismail Enver Pasha , commander3_label = Minister of War , notable_commanders =
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 ...
, notable_commanders1 = , notable_commanders2 = , identification_symbol= , identification_symbol_label= , aircraft_attack= , aircraft_bomber= , aircraft_
Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
= , aircraft_fighter= The Ottoman Army was the 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) ...
after the country was reorganized along modern western European lines during the
Tanzimat The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. ...
modernization period. It operated during the decline and
dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...
of the empire, which roughly occurred between 1861 (though some sources date back to 1842) and 1918, the end of World War I for the Ottomans. The
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
was the first war effort in which the modern army took part, proving itself as a decent force. The last reorganization occurred during 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 ...
. The uniforms of the modern army reflected the military uniforms of the western European countries who were the Ottoman army's principal advisors at the time. The
Ottoman government The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were j ...
considered adopting a Western-style headdress for all personnel within the army, but the
fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
was favoured as it was more suited to the postures of the Islamic ritual prayer. French-style uniform and
court dress Court dress comprises the style of clothes and other attire prescribed for members of courts of law. Depending on the country and jurisdiction's traditions, members of the court ( judges, magistrates, and so on) may wear formal robes, gowns, ...
were common during the early stage of the Tanzimat period. After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the Ottoman government searched for other role models, so German- and British-style uniforms became popular. During World War I, the officer uniforms were mainly based on those of the Ottoman's German allies.


Establishment of the modern army

The shift from the Classical Army (1451–1606) took more than a century and began with the failed attempts of Selim III () and
Alemdar Mustafa Pasha Alemdar Mustafa Pasha (also called Bayraktar Mustafa Pasha; born 1755, died 15 November 1808) was an Ottoman military commander and a Grand Vizier born in Hotin (modern Khotyn) in the then Ottoman territory of Ukraine in 1765. Of Albanian or ...
(1789–1808), continued through a period of
Ottoman military reforms Ottoman military reforms began in the late 18th century. Reforms of Selim III When Selim III came to the throne in 1789, an ambitious effort of military reform was launched, geared towards securing the Ottoman Empire. The sultan and those w ...
(1826–1858) and finally concluded during the reign of
Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
(). As early as 1880, Abdul Hamid sought German assistance, which he secured two years later, culminating in the appointment of Lt. Col. Otto Köhler. Although the consensus was that Abdul Hamid II favored the modernization of the Ottoman army and the professionalization of the officer corps, it seems that he neglected the military during the last fifteen years of his reign, evidenced by his military budget cuts. The formation of the modern Ottoman army proved a slow process with various ups and downs.


Modernization of the Imperial Ottoman Army and Navy


1842–1861

File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435691).tiff, Resembling the French line-infantry uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435690).tiff, French-inspired palace guard dress File:Paris- Ernest Bourdin, 1854 Raffet, Auguste (artist) image 4th in collection of 4 col. lith. pl. by Riffault after Raffet; three uniform figures of Turkish infantrymen, standing, with more in background..jpg, Ottoman soldiers, 1854 File:Schlacht bei Cetate.jpg, Ottoman and Russian forces during the
Battle of Cetate The Battle of Cetate was fought during the Crimean War. In this battle a large Ottoman force under Ahmed Pasha unsuccessfully attempted to capture the village of Cetate which was controlled by Russian Colonel . Background The battle took plac ...
of 1853-1854 File:Distribution of the Medjidie, After the Battle of Citate.jpg, Distribution of the Medjidie, after the Battle of Cetate, 1854 File:Débarquement de l'armée Turque è Eupatoria E. Morier, 1855.jpg, Landing of the Ottoman army at Eupatoria, E. Morier, 1855


1861–1896

File:Turkey, 1826 (NYPL b14896507-418643).tiff, Resembling the Imperial German Army ''dunkelblau'' uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435701).tiff, Officer of the general staff wearing the Imperial German Army ''dunkelblau'' uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435703).tiff, Note the French-inspired Zouave uniform on the right File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435705).tiff, German-inspired ''dunkelblau'' uniforms File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435706).tiff, German-inspired ''dunkelblau'' uniforms File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435707).tiff, German-inspired ''dunkelblau'' uniforms File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435717).tiff, German-inspired ''dunkelblau'' uniforms, and a French-inspired Zouave uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435704).tiff, Resembling the Imperial German naval uniform File:Turkey, 1815-20 (part 1) (NYPL b14896507-416367).tiff, Resembling the Imperial German naval uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435710).tiff, Fire-department personnel wearing the German ''dunkelblau'' uniform, and a variant of the fez which resembles the German Pickelhaube File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-1150307).tiff, Resembling the Prussian artillery uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435712).tiff, Resembling the Prussian artillery uniform File:Turkey, 1850-96 (NYPL b14896507-435697).tiff, Resembling the Prussian
Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...
regiment uniform File:Soldiers 1900.png, The Imperial Ottoman Army in 1900


Engagements

*
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
*
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...
*
Greco-Turkish War (1897) The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War ( el, Ατυχής πόλεμος, Atychis polemos), was a w ...
*
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
*
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
*
World War I 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 ...
** Middle-Eastern theatre **
Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...
** Balkans Campaign ** Romanian Campaign *
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, ota, گرب جابهاسی, Garb Cebhesi) in Turkey, and the Asia Minor Campaign ( el, Μικρασιατική Εκστρατεία, Mikrasiatikí Ekstrateía) or the Asia Minor Catastrophe ( el, Μικ ...


Units


Combat units


Infantry

The infantry was the backbone of the army. Ottoman infantry was assigned to infiltrate enemy lines and protect territory gained.


Cavalry

The cavalry was losing its efficiency in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the end of the empire, there were three cavalry units, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 2nd Cavalry Division, and the 3rd Cavalry Division. These units were the successors to the Hamidiye cavalry formations, which had been disbanded on August 17, 1910. These new regiments were formed into seven cavalry brigades and three independent regiments. They were composed mainly of Kurds, some rural Ottomans and the occasional Armenian.


= Hamidiye light cavalry

= The Hamidiye was the first trained and organized Kurdish force within the Ottoman army, created by the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1892. It was modeled after the Caucasian Cossack Regiments (i.e. the
Persian Cossack Brigade , image = Persian Cossack Brigade.jpg , caption = Persian Cossack Brigade in Tabriz in 1909 , dates = 1879–1921 , disbanded = 6 December 1921 , count ...
) and tasked to patrol the Russo-Ottoman frontier. Despite its military appearance, organization and potential, the Hamidiye was in no way a cross-tribal force. Cavalrymen quickly found out that they could only be tried through a military court-martial, and were immune to civil administration. Realizing their immunity, they turned their forces into “legalized robber brigades” as they stole grain, harvested fields, drove off herds, and openly stole from shopkeepers. In 1908, after the overthrow of the Sultan, the Hamidiye Cavalry was disbanded as an organized force but, as they were “tribal forces” before official recognition, they stayed as “tribal forces” after dismemberment. The Hamidiye Cavalry is described as a military disappointment and a failure because of its contribution to tribal feuds. The decision to disband was made after the 1908 revolution and all of the units returned to their tribes by August 17, 1910. Militarily, Ottoman general staff stated conventional-style military discipline had always been a problem with these units. They were replaced by the reserve cavalry formations.


Artillery

After the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
, Ottoman armies began to deploy rapid-firing guns. Artillery began to gain importance and dominated the battlefield.


Non-combatant branches


Engineering

Ottoman engineers had both offensive and defensive functions. They removed physical obstacles created by the enemy, repaired damaged bridges and facilities, and built bridges and other infrastructure to enable infantry operations. Engineers were also expected to create obstacles during retreats and to demolish infrastructure that could be used by the enemy. Each corps had an engineering battalion and each division had an engineering company.


Communication

The communication branch was established in 1882. Its designation was 'telegraph battalion' and its main function was to operate telegraphs. In 1910, the telephone was added to its functions. In 1911, wireless stations were added to the unit. A direct line between
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
and Derne was established for the first time in 1911, during the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
. Beginning in 1912 with the Balkan Wars, every corp level unit had a 'telegraph battalion.'


Medical

The medical branch does not have a precise date of origin. During 1908, the second constitutional period, its structure included doctors, surgeons, veterinarians, pharmacists, dentists, chemists, wound-dressers and nurses. They were organized by the Health Department of the
Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Estoni ...
.


Military bands

Since the early days of the Ottoman Army, each regiment has had its own band. In 1908, during the second constitutional period, there were 35 military bands in the capital. Each army had two bands. The “Imperial Band” (mızıka-i humayun) consisted of 90 musicians.


Paramilitary units

The
Turkish Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie General Command ( tr, Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı) is the national Gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in a ...
was a unit which was sent on police duties among civilian populations. The Gendarmerie was a paramilitary unit because it was not included as part of the state's formal armed forces. It was established in 1903 and organized under infantry gendarmerie and the cavalry gendarmerie. The units were small, with the regiment being the largest. They were distributed across the administrative units under Valis. Their number changed with security needs. Historically, there was a Gendarmerie performing the same functions before 1903. Since the term Gendarmerie was found only in the Assignment Decrees published in the years following the
Edict of Gülhane The Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif ("Supreme Edict of the Rosehouse"; french: Hatti-Chérif de Gulhané) or Tanzimât Fermânı ("Imperial Edict of Reorganization") was a proclamation by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I in 1839 that launched the Tan ...
of 1839, it is assumed that the Gendarmerie organization was founded after that year, but the exact date of 'unit foundation' is not that date. There is also a manual, ''Asâkir-i Zaptiye Nizâmnâmesi,'' which was adopted on June 14, 1869 and is accepted as the foundation of the organization. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman grand vizier
Mehmed Said Pasha Mehmed Said Pasha ( ota, محمد سعيد پاشا ‎; 1838–1914), also known as Küçük Said Pasha ("Said Pasha the Younger") or Şapur Çelebi or in his youth as Mabeyn Başkatibi Said Bey, was an Ottoman monarchist, senator, statesman ...
decided to establish a modern law enforcement organization, so a military mission was formed for the task. 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 ...
in 1908, the Gendarmerie achieved great successes, particularly in
Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...
. In 1909, the Gendarmerie was affiliated with the Ministry of War and its name was changed to the Gendarmerie General Command ( ota, Umûm Jandarma Kumandanlığı). During World War One, especially after the Battle of Sarikamish, Gendarmerie units changed hands from Vali'es (a civilian authority) to the War Ministry (a military authority) to be a combatant branch. This change effectively made them combat units.


Organization

After the Second Constitutional Era, 1908, the Ottoman General Staff published the “Regulation on Military Organisation.” It was adopted on July 9, 1910. Army commands were replaced by “army inspectorates” whose main responsibilities were training and mobilization. The army was to be composed of three parts: the regular army (nizamiye), the reserve army (redif) and the home guard (müstahfız). The “corps” concept was established. Reserve divisions were to be combined into reserve corps and they were to be given artillery units. Units of the regular army would recruit soldiers through the sources of the army inspectorate they belonged to. The strengths of the Ottoman army were at the highest echelons of its rank structure. Unlike the British or the Germans, the Ottomans had no long service corps of professional non-commissioned officers, which was its weakest point.


Divisions

An infantry division was to be composed of three infantry regiments: a sharpshooter battalion, a field artillery regiment, and an army band. Divisions had operations, intelligence, judiciary, supplies, medical and veterinary departments.


Corps

Corps were composed of three divisions and other ancillary units. They had operations, personnel, judiciary, supplies, secretariat, veterinary, documentation, artillery, engineering and post divisions. Corps consist of 41,000 enlisted and 6,700 animals. During this period, not based on chronological order, the corps that were established were I, II, III, IV, V, VI,
VII VII or vii may refer to: the Roman numeral 7 Art and entertainment * The Vii, a video game console * vii, leading-tone triad, see diminished triad * ''VII'' (Blitzen Trapper album) * ''VII'' (Just-Ice album) * ''VII'' (Teyana Taylor album) * ...
, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII,
XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * XIII (comics), ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** XIII (2003 video game), ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a ...
, XIV, XV, XVI,
XVII 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as ...
, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI,
XXII 22 (twenty-two) is the natural number following 21 and preceding 23. In mathematics 22 is a palindromic number and the eighth semiprime; its proper divisors are 1, 2, and 11. It is the second Smith number, the second Erdős–Woods numb ...
, XXV, Iraq Area,
Halil Halil is a common Turkish male given name. It is equivalent to the Arabic given name and surname Khalil or its variant Khaleel. Notable persons with the name include: * Halil Akbunar (born 1993), Turkish footballer * Halil Akkaş (born 1983), ...
, I Kaf., II Kaf.,
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...


Fortified zones

Fortified zones had the same departments of divisions. They added documentation, artillery, engineering, communications and floodlight projectors. During this period the fortified zones that were established were
Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
, Bosporus, Chataldja, Adrianople, Smyrna, Erzurum, and Kars.


Army

Army headquarters had corps level departments and also infantry department, cavalry department and field gendarmerie department. * The 1st Army was formed on September 6, 1843.David Nicolle, colour plates by Rafaelle Ruggeri, ''The Ottoman Army 1914–18'', Men-at-Arms 269, Ospray Publishing Ltd., 1994, , p. 14. * The 2nd Army was originally formed in 1873. * The 3rd Army was originally formed in the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and headquarters was at
Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. * The 4th Army was originally formed 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 re ...
. * The 5th Army was formed on March 24, 1915 and assigned the responsibility of defending the
Dardanelles straits The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
in World War I. * The 6th Army was formed in 1877 and was stationed in
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 ...
. * The 7th Army was formed in 1877 and was stationed in
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. * The 8th Army was formed during World War I. * The 9th Army was formed during World War I.


Army Group

The Army Group developed late in World War I. The conflicts depleted the Army units, so Army Groups were used to compensate for the lost units and keep the remainder functioning. In August 1917, the Caucasus Army Group was established. It was a unification of the Second and Third Armies. In July 1917, the
Yildirim Army Group The Yildirim Army Group or Thunderbolt Army Group of the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish: ''Yıldırım Ordular Grubu'') or Army Group F (German: ''Heeresgruppe F'') was an Army Group of the Ottoman Army during World War I. While being an Ottoman unit, ...
was established. It was a unification of the Sixth and Seventh Armies. In June 1918, the Eastern Army Group was established. The unit was composed of whatever was left from the Caucasus Army Group united under the Third and Ninth Army.


General Staff

The General Staff was the group of officers who were responsible for the administrative, operational and logistical needs of the army. The general staff fulfilled the classic staff duties then in use by all major European powers and was staffed by trained general staff officers, who were selected and trained in staff procedures at the War Academy in Constantinople. After completion of the War Academy, graduates were advanced in grade over their non-graduate contemporaries and immediately assigned to key billets in the army. The staff was supervised by a chief of staff and was composed of various divisions, which specialized in a variety of military fields. The most influential staff division was the Operations Division. Staff provided bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate units. In the Ottoman Army, staff officers in all levels were combatants, a comparison to other armies that have enlisted personnel for specific tasks that were non-combatant. Before 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 ...
, the Sultan and his high-ranking staff officers performed the main planning and activity of the Ministry of War, which was established in 1826. During this time, the General Staff was a department within the Ministry of War. It performed the recruitment, reserves, judiciary and printing military charts.
Ahmed Izzet Pasha Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
, who became the chief of general staff on August 15, 1908, was aware of the urgent need of this institution to be reformed. Ahmed Izzet Pasha's work produced good results and he managed to provide a better and much more efficient structure for the General Staff. At the outbreak of the Balkan Wars, the General Staff was divided into seven departments. It formed the headquarters of
Nazım Pasha Hüseyin Nazım Pasha ( tr, Hüseyin Nâzım Paşa; 1848 – 23 January 1913) was an Ottoman general, who was the Chief of Staff of the Ottoman Army during the First Balkan War of 1912–13. He was murdered by Yakub Cemil during the 1913 O ...
, the acting head commander. When the war was lost, further changes were needed. These came with Enver Pasha, who on January 3, 1914 replaced Ahmed Izzet Pasha as both the minister of war and the chief of general staff. During the course of the World War, the Ottoman General Staff had seven departments: operations, intelligence, railroads, education, military history, personnel and documentation.


Force sustainment

LoCI was modeled on German organizational architecture. German organization was designed to operate at friendly rear areas. Neither Ottoman nor German LoCIs were staffed or equipped to do much more than coordinate logistics and transport supplies. The history of transportation starts with World War I. The World War I Ottoman logistics system was a pipeline that moved men and supplies from rear areas to forward stations and further distribution to front-line corps and infantry divisions. 279 officers, 119 doctors, and 12,279 men were assigned at the onset, but by April 14, 1915, few of these were available for point or area security. Under heavy insurgency, “protected logistics areas” were created for both convoys and for fixed facilities such as hospitals and magazines. The idea of protected logistics areas were carried from the Ottoman Classical Army. When plotted on a map, the protected logistic areas gave the heavy insurgency points. These were established along the
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 ...
-
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
corridor, which carried the bulk of the Third Army's supplies, and along the
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 ...
-Erzurum corridor, which carried the army's magazine capacity. The weak road network within the Third Army area was rapidly deteriorating in 1914. Every province had civilian road workers and they were not enough to maintain the all-weather roads. The combatant units would not last more than couple days without the logistic support. Increased need required the army to build up its labor services, which did transfer resources from allocated units to combat to sustain the front. During World War I, European armies had ten logistic persons for one combatant. The Ottoman labour services (amela taburu) were noncombatants, so they were unarmed, as in the other armies. The Ottoman Army had only six labour service battalions in 1914. In 1915, these were reorganized and expanded to 30 battalions of which 11 were deployed on the
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 ...
-Erzurum-
Hasankale Pasinler or Basean ( tr, Pasinler; hy, Բասէն, translit=Pasēn; ka, ბასიანი, tr; la, Phasiani; el, Φασιανοί, translit=Phasianoí; formerly Hasankale and Hesenqele, meaning "the fortress of Hasan"), is a town in Erzuru ...
-
Tortum Tortum ( ota, تورتوم) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. The population is 4,507 as of 2010. The current mayor is Muammer Yiğider from the Great Unity Party (BBP). History Tortum was par ...
corridor. In 1915 the labour battalions were an essential and absolute requirement for the function of Third Army. Attrition wore the combat battalions down, but World War I was also hard on the non-combatant units. During 1916, at the high point of the Russian advance, the labor battalions were targeted. In the summer of 1916, the surviving 28 labor battalions were reorganized into 17 full strength battalions.


Chief of General Staff

The General Staff was organized under the Chief of General Staff. *
Ahmed Izzet Pasha Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
from August 15, 1908 to January 1, 1914 * Enver Pasha from January 3, 1914 to October 4, 1918 * Ahmed Izzet Pasha October 4, 1918 to November 3, 1918 *
Cevat Pasha Cevat is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Cevat Rıfat Atilhan (1892–1967), Turkish career officer, antisemitic writer, initiator of the 1934 Thrace pogroms *Cevat Çobanlı (1870–1938), military commander of the Ottoman ...
from November 3, 1918 to December 24, 1918 *
Fevzi Pasha Fevzi is the Turkish form of the Arabic name Fawzi (فوزيّ) meaning "triumph". It may refer to: Given name *Fevzi Çakmak (1876–1950), Turkish field marshal *Fevzi Davletov (born 1972), Uzbekistani footballer *Fevzi Elmas (born 1983), Turk ...
from December 24, 1918 to May 14, 1919 * Cevat Pasha from May 14, 1919 to August 2, 1919 * Hadi Pasha from August 2, 1919 to September 12, 1919 *
Fuad Pasha Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1814 – February 12, 1869), sometimes known as Keçecizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha and commonly known as Fuad Pasha, was an Ottoman administrator and statesman, who is known for his prominent role in the Tanzimat reforms of the ...
from September 12, 1919 to October 9, 1919 * Cevat Pasha from October 9, 1919 to February 16, 1920 * Shevket Turgut Pasha from February 16, 1920 to April 19, 1920 * Nazif Pasha from April 19, 1920 to May 2, 1920 * Hadi Pasha from May 2, 1920 to May 19, 1920


Ministry of War (War Department)

The apex of the Ottoman military structure was the Ministry of War, which had been established in 1826 with the
Auspicious Incident The Auspicious Incident (or EventGoodwin, pp. 296–299.) (Ottoman Turkish: ''Vaka-i Hayriye'', "Fortunate Event" in Constantinople; ''Vaka-i Şerriyye'', "Unfortunate Incident" in the Balkans) was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old J ...
and had transformed a couple of times during the Ottoman military reforms. Within the ministry, there were offices for procurement, combat arms, peacetime military affairs, mobilization, and promotions.


Special Organization

The Special Organization was a special forces unit established in 1913. It was an organization designed to establish insurgency and function as an intelligence service. Instigating insurgency, conducting espionage in foreign countries, and counterespionage inside the Ottoman Empire was its function between 1913 and 1918. The institutional origin, the reason given in the strategic document, was related to the unsatisfactory result of 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 ...
. Its goal was the recovery of
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
. This military organization had no precedent in Ottoman history, and it was directly developed out of the counterinsurgency experiences from Macedonia and the guerrilla experiences from Libya with a handful of Ottoman officers. The difference between the secret service of Abdul Hamid II was that it was directly linked to him and did not have an operational function. There is a controversy on burned intelligence documents of the special forces, which Shaw puts in 1914. On that day, Enver Pasha became war minister and destroyed Abdul Hamid's records and probably intelligence on him. The first field operator was Süleyman Askerî, who undertook the first mission and established the field structure. There is no actual evidence to support any claims of a dual-track structure (an operation with both political and military goals). The organization sub-management consisted of Atif Kamçil, Aziz Bey, Dr. Bahaeddin Şakir, and Dr. Nazım Bey. The staff was organized into four departments: the European Section headed by Arif Bey, the Caucasian Section headed by Captain Reza Bey, the Africa and Libya Section headed by Hüseyin Tosun Bey, and the Eastern Provinces Section headed by Dr. Sakir and Rueni Bey. The headquarters was on Nur-i Osmariiye Street in Istanbul.


War Council

The War Council was under the Ministry of War. Established by the high-ranking staff officers during wartime, the head of the council was the Sultan. After 1908, the Ministry of War became part of the
Imperial Government The name imperial government (german: Reichsregiment) denotes two organs, created in 1500 and 1521, in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to enable a unified political leadership, with input from the Princes. Both were composed of the em ...
. In 1908, the Ministry of War's high-ranking staff officers moved to the War Council. The War Council was abolished when Enver Pasha became the minister of war. The Sultan's group of high-ranking staff officers were silently removed from control. In its final form, the Ministry of War was a part of a civilian structure, which left the General Staff to a military establishment.


Minister of War (Nazir-i Harbiye)

The titular Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman military forces was the Sultan,
Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...
. The Minister of War fulfilled the role of commander of the military forces. During wartime, the Minister of War was the overall commander of the Ottoman Army.


Personnel

The modern army simplified the rank structure, but the rank system remained very complex. At the onset of the Second Constitutional Era in 1908, there were 58-year-old lieutenants, 65-year-old captains, and 80-year-old majors. In 1909, reformation age limits were set (41 for lieutenant, 46 for captains, 52 for majors, 55 for lieutenant colonels, 58 for colonels, 60 for brigadier generals, 65 for generals and 68 for field marshals).


Commissioned officers


Enlisted personnel

In 1908, active duty lengths were set at two years for the infantry, three years for other branches of the Army and five years for the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
. During the course of the World War, these remained largely theoretical.


Training

In the Ottoman Army, the commissioned officers who received training relating to their specific military occupational specialty or function in the military were called ''mektepli'' (educated) officers. There were also commissioned officers who did not receive training but were put through service in the ranks at specific periods of time. These commissioned officers were called alaylı. The Ottoman Empire tried to replace alaylı with mektepli officers, because a majority of the officers were alaylı. Princes (by birth) and important statesmen (by position) were considered officers even though they had not received military training or worked through ranks. It is also true that commissioned officers may have had leadership training (viziers, governors, etc.) and management generalists (medicine, engineering, etc.).


Ottoman Military Academy

The Academy was formed in 1834 by
Mehmed Namık Pasha Mehmed Emin Namık Pasha (1804 – 1892) was a prominent Ottoman statesman and military reformer, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the modern Ottoman Army. He served under five Sultans and acted as counsellor to at least fou ...
and Marshal Ahmed Fevzi Pasha as the ''
Mekteb-i Harbiye The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...
'' ("War School"), and the first class of officers graduated in 1841. Its formation was a part of the military reforms within the Ottoman Empire as it recognized the need for more educated officers to modernize its army.


Ottoman Armed Forces College

The Ottoman Armed Forces College was founded in 1848. It was renamed the Armed Forces College in 1964.


Ottoman Military College (Staff Officers)

In order to train Staff Officers in the same system as European armies, the 3rd and 4th years were created in the War Academy in 1848 under the name of “Imperial War School of Military Sciences" General Staff Courses. Abdülkerim Pasha was appointed as the first director of these courses. As part of the reorganization efforts of the Ottoman Army, new arrangements were implemented in 1866 for the Staff College and other Military Schools. Through these arrangements, the General Staff training was extended to three years and, with additional military courses, a special emphasis was placed on exercises and hands-on training. Although staff officers were initially considered to be part of an entirely different military branch, following 1867 new programs were implemented to train staff officers for branches like infantry, cavalry and artillery. In 1899, a new system was developed on the principle that the General Staff Courses should train more officers with higher military education in addition to Staff Officers’ training. Following this rule, a greater number of officers from the Army War Academy were admitted to the Staff College. This process continued until 1908. Following the declaration of the Second Constitutional Period, the structure of the Staff College was rearranged with a new Staff College Regulation dated 4 August 1909. The new designation, “General Staff School,” passed in October. With the General Staff School, the practice of direct transition from Army War Academy to Staff College was abolished and admission into Staff College now required two years of field service following the Army War Academy. Afterward, the officers were subjected to examinations, and those who passed the exam were admitted into the college as Staff Officer candidates. Following the Allied occupation of Constantinople on 16 March 1920, military schools were dissolved by the victors of the First World War; nevertheless, the Staff College was managed to continue its activities until April 1921 at the Şerif Pasha Mansion in
Teşvikiye Teşvikiye is one of the four neighbourhoods (together with Maçka, Osmanbey and Pangaltı) within the Nişantaşı quarter of the Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, the population of the neighbourhood was 11,59 ...
, Constantinople where it had been moved on 28 January 1919. After all instructors and students went to Anatolia to join the National War of Independence, the Staff College was closed down.


Military missions

The French military system was used before the modern Ottoman Army was developed. After defeat from Russia in the war of 1877–78, the Ottoman's reform process began with a fundamental revision: the German military system replaced the French one. The first German military mission arrived in Capitol in 1882. It was headed by a cavalry officer named Koehler, who was appointed as aide-de-camp. There were three military missions active at the turn of 1914. These were the British Naval Mission led by Admiral
Arthur Limpus Admiral Sir Arthur Henry Limpus, (7 June 1863 – 3 November 1931) was a Royal Navy officer who became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard. Naval career Promoted to commander on 1 January 1898, Limpus was posted to the protected cruiser H ...
, the French
Gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
Mission led by General Moujen, and the German Military Mission led by
Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz Wilhelm Leopold Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz (12 August 1843 – 19 April 1916), also known as ''Goltz Pasha'', was a Prussian Field Marshal and military writer. Military career Goltz was born in , East Prussia (later renamed Goltzhausen; now ...
.


British military mission

British military advisors, which were mainly naval, had less impact on the Ottoman navy. The British naval mission was established in 1912 under Admiral Arthur Limpus. He was recalled in September 1914 due to increasing concern Britain would soon enter the war. The mission of reorganizing the Ottoman Navy was taken over by rear admiral
Wilhelm Souchon Wilhelm Anton Souchon (; 2 June 1864 – 13 January 1946) was a German admiral in World War I. Souchon commanded the ''Kaiserliche Marine''s Mediterranean squadron in the early days of the war. His initiatives played a major part in the entry o ...
of the Imperial German Navy. Interestingly, the Ottoman ships were painted the same colours as those of the Royal Navy, and the officer insignia mirrored that of the British. The British Naval Mission was led by: * Admiral
Douglas Gamble Admiral Sir Douglas Austin Gamble (8 November 1856 – 23 May 1934) was a Royal Navy officer who commanded the 4th Battle Squadron. Naval career Gamble joined the Royal Navy in 1870. After serving in the Naval Intelligence Department at the Ad ...
(February 1909 – March 1910) * Admiral
Hugh Pigot Williams Admiral Hugh Pigot Williams (1 September 1858 – 28 June 1934) was a British officer of the Royal Navy. In 1910–1912, while a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy, he served as head of the British naval mission to the Ottoman Empire and Fleet Comm ...
(April 1910 – April 1912) * Admiral
Arthur Limpus Admiral Sir Arthur Henry Limpus, (7 June 1863 – 3 November 1931) was a Royal Navy officer who became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard. Naval career Promoted to commander on 1 January 1898, Limpus was posted to the protected cruiser H ...
(April 1912 – September 1914)


French military mission

French military advisors were very effective. A fledgling air force was started in 1912, its history began under the
Ottoman Aviation Squadrons The Aviation Squadrons of the Ottoman Empire were military aviation units of the Ottoman Army and Navy.Edward J. Erickson, ''Ordered To Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', "Appendix D The Ottoman Aviation Inspectorate an ...
. A complete overhaul of the provincial gendarme was also a part of the French military mission. The French gendarme mission was led by General Moujen.


German military mission

The German military mission became the third most important command center (Sultan, Minister of War, Head of Mission) for the Ottoman Army. The German mission was accredited from 27 October 1913 to 1918. General
Otto Liman von Sanders Otto Viktor Karl Liman von Sanders (; 17 February 1855 – 22 August 1929) was an Imperial German Army general who served as a military adviser to the Ottoman Army during the First World War. In 1918 he commanded an Ottoman army during the Sin ...
, previously commander of the 22nd Division, was assigned by the Kaiser to
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Germany considered an Ottoman-Russian war to be imminent, and Liman von Sanders was a general with excellent knowledge of the Russian armed forces. The Ottoman Empire was undecided about which side to take in a future war involving Germany, Britain and France. The 9th article of the German Military Mission stated that in case of a war the contract would be annulled. The German military mission eventually became the most important among the military missions. The history of German-Ottoman military relations went back to the 1880s.
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
Said Halim Pasha Mehmed Said Halim Pasha ( ota, سعيد حليم پاشا ; tr, Sait Halim Paşa; 18 or 28 January 1865 or 19 February 1864 – 6 December 1921) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian originDanişmend (1971), p. 102 who served as Grand Vizier o ...
and Minister of War Ahmed Izzet Pasha were instrumental in developing initial relations.
Kaiser Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
ordered on der Goltz to establish the first German mission. General Goltz served two periods within two years. In early 1914, the Ottoman Minister of War was a former military attaché to Berlin, Enver Pasha. About the same time, General Otto Liman von Sanders, was nominated to the command of the German 1st Army, the largest on the European side.


Military culture

H. G. Dwight related witnessing an Ottoman military burial in Constantinople and took pictures of it. Dwight says that the soldiers were from every nation (of every ethnicity), so they were only distinguished by their religion, in groups of "Mohammedans" and "Christians". The sermons were performed as based on the count of Bibles,
Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
s, and
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''
General Vidinli Tevfik Paşa was sent to Germany to analyse, select, and purchase Mauser rifles. Instead of the offered rifles ( Mauser M1890), the Ottomans bought the
Mauser M1893 The Mauser Model 1893 is a bolt-action rifle commonly referred to as the Spanish Mauser, though the model was adopted by other countries in other calibers, most notably the Ottoman Empire. The M1893 was based on the experimental M1892 rifle, whic ...
and M1903 in 7.65 mm caliber. When constitutional rule was restored in 1908, the Ottoman Army mostly had basic rifles, with only a few rapid-firing ones. The Ottoman Army had no machine gun units until early 1910 (because of the changes implemented on July 3, 1910). The available ones were used on warships and for coastal defense. The few machine guns were all
Maxim-Nordenfelt The Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company was the result of a takeover by Hiram Maxim of Thorsten Nordenfelt's Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company in 1888. Rothschild issued £1.9 million of shares to finance the merger. Nathan Rothsch ...
Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian M ...
s ( MG09 version). In the following years, only a handful of Hotchkiss M1909s and Schwarzlose MG M.07/12s were added. In 1914, officers mainly had Browning M1903s,
Mauser C96 The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 2 ...
s and, in some quantity, Behollas, Frommer M912s,
Luger P08 The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...
s, and Smith & Wesson No. 3s. The infantry used two different kinds of grenades. The most commonly used offensive grenades were the German M1915 and M1917 Stielhandgranate. There were also defensive grenades used, which were "ball" and "egg" shaped. The most common types of Ottoman field guns during WWI were German-designed and manufactured 75-mm Krupp M03 L/30 Field, 77-mm Krupp M96 L/27 nA and the 77-mm Rheinmetall M16 L/35 guns. Desperately short of field artillery, the Ottoman Army also used a lot of older and obsolescent field guns, some dating back to the 1870s, as well as captured Russian and British guns.


Vehicles


Uniforms

Bayonets were made by German companies in
Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...
and
Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella- ...
.


Position of Units


1908

In 1908, the First Army was in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
and the
Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...
, and there were also units in Europe and Asia Minor. The First Army also had inspectorate functions for four reserve divisions. The Second Army headquarters was established in Adrianople, its operational area included
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
and the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
, and it had units in Europe and Asia Minor. The Second Army also had inspectorate functions for six reserve divisions and one brigade. The Third Army's operational area comprised Western Rumelia, and it had units in Europe (specifically Albania,
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, and Macedonia) and also one in Aydın (in Asia Minor); the Third Army had inspectorate functions for twelve reserve divisions. 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. ...
; the Fourth Army had inspectorate functions for four reserve divisions.


1909

Officially, the Army's effective peacetime strength was estimated at 700,620, of which 583,200 were infantry, 55,300 were cavalry, and 54,720 were artillery. There were 174 field and 22 mountain batteries. Of that, the total active army (260,000) contained 320 battalions of infantry, 203 squadrons of cavalry and 248 6-gun batteries of artillery. The reserve (120,000) contained 374 battalions of infantry, 666 supplemental and incomplete battalions, and 48 cavalry squadrons.


1910

In 1910, the empire was divided into seven army corps districts. These were Istanbul, Edirne, İzmir, Erzincan,
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
,
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 ...
, and
Sanaa Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Gover ...
. There were also two independent divisions,
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
and
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, and a number of divisions, each consisting of three regiments, nine battalions, and a training battalion.


1911

The 1909 military reformation included the creation of corps level headquarters. In 1911, the First Army was headquartered in Harbiye, and the Second Army was headquartered in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
and responsible for the Balkans and control over forces in Syria and Palestine; it also had the first of two inspectorates. The Third Army was headquartered in Erzincan and the Fifth Army's headquarters were in Baghdad; it had the second inspectorate.


1912

In 1912, the First Army was in Thrace, the Second Army was in the Balkans, the Third Army was in Caucasus, the Fourth Army was in Mesopotamia, the VIII Corps was in Syria, and XIV Corps was in Arabia and Yemen.


1913

In 1913, the positions of the forces remained the same, but the original First army degraded during First Balkan Wars.


1914

Before the Ottoman Empire entered World War I, the four armies divided their forces into corps and divisions so that each division had three infantry regiments and an artillery regiment. The main units were the First Army with fifteen divisions; the Second Army (headquartered in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
and commanding two corps made up of two divisions) with 4 divisions plus an independent infantry division with three infantry regiments and an artillery brigade; the Third Army with nine divisions, four independent infantry regiments, and four independent cavalry regiments (tribal units); and the Fourth Army with four divisions. The reserve system had been done away with, so the plan was to have reserve soldiers fill out active units rather than constitute separate units. In August 1914, of 36 infantry divisions organized, fourteen were established from scratch and were essentially new divisions. In a very short time, eight of these newly recruited divisions went through major redeployment. By November 1914, the Second Army was moved to Istanbul and commanded the V and VI Corps, each composed of three divisions. The Ottoman concentration plan shifted major forces to European Thrace and established the defense of straits. The First and Second army were located in this region. The Third army acquired new supplies for a winter offense. The force in Palestine (VIII Corps) was replaced with the Army in Mesopotamia.


1915

On March 24, 1915 and September 5, 1915, the 5th and 6th Armies were established, respectively. In February 1915, the defense of the straits was reorganized. The Second Army had responsibility for the south and east coasts. It later provided troops to the reinforce the men
fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
on the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
peninsula, but otherwise played no further role.


1916

In March 1916, the decision was made to deploy the Second Army to the
Caucasus campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...
. The Second Army was made up of veterans of the Gallipoli campaign as well as two new divisions. Due to the poor state of the Ottoman rail network, it took a long time to move the forces.


1917

On August 12, 1917 and 2 October 1917, the 7th and 8th Armies were established, respectively. The Second Army was deactivated on 4 February 1918. It was later reactivated and commanded rear area troops, including labor units in Anatolia.


Notes


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Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ottoman Army (1861-1922) 1861 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1922 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922