Ottoman Army (1861–1922)
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The Ottoman Army was the military of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
after the country was reorganized along modern western European lines during the
Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
modernization period. It operated during the decline and dissolution 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 between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
was the first war effort in which the modern army took part in, proving itself as a decent force. The last reorganization occurred during the
Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during 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 considered adopting a Western-style headdress for all personnel within the army, but the fez 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 court, courts of law. Depending on the country and jurisdiction's traditions, members of the court (judges, magistrates, and so on) may wear formal robes, g ...
were common during the early stage of the Tanzimat period. After the French defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
, 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 Selim III (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of a ...
() and Alemdar Mustafa Pasha (1789–1808), continued through a period of Ottoman military reforms (1826–1858) and finally concluded during the reign of
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
(). As early as 1880, Abdul Hamid sought German assistance, which he secured two years later, culminating in the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel 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 The Zouaves () were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army and other units modelled on it, which served between 1830 and 1962, and served in French North Africa. The zouaves were among the most decorated units of the French Army ...
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 The (; , ; from , and , , a general word for "headgear"), also , is a spiked leather or metal helmet that was worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by Prussian and German soldiers of all ranks, as well as firefighters and police. Although it ...
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 Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...
regiment uniform File:Soldiers 1900.png, The Imperial Ottoman Army in 1900


Engagements

*
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
*
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...
*
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 (), was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the O ...
*
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
*
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
*
World War I 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 ...
** Middle-Eastern theatre **
Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...
** Balkans Campaign ** Romanian Campaign *
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a par ...


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 The Persian Cossack Brigade, also known as the Iranian Cossack Brigade (), was a Cossacks, Cossack-style cavalry unit formed in 1879 in Qajar Iran, Iran. It was modelled after the Caucasian Cossack regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. Until 1 ...
) 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 were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
, 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 is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
and Derne was established for the first time in 1911, during the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
. 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.


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
Ottoman Gendarmerie The Ottoman Gendarmerie (), also known as ''zaptı'' or ''subaşı'', was a security forces, security force and public order organization (a precursor to law enforcement) in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire. The first official gendarmerie organiza ...
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 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 (‎; 1838–1914), also known as Küçük Said Pasha (; "Said Pasha the Younger") or Şapur Çelebi or in his youth as Mabeyn Başkâtibi Said Bey, was an Ottoman Turkish monarchist, senator, statesman and editor of the ...
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. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
in 1908, the Gendarmerie achieved great successes, particularly in
Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...
. In 1909, the Gendarmerie was affiliated with the Ministry of War and its name was changed to the Gendarmerie General Command (). During World War One, especially after the
Battle of Sarikamish The Battle of Sarikamish was an engagement between the Russian Empire, Russian and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empires during World War I. It took place from December 22, 1914, to January 17, 1915, as part of the Caucasus campaign. The battle resul ...
, 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, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII,
XVIII 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 (number), 17 and preceding 19 (number), 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors a ...
, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXV, Iraq Area,
Halil Halil is a common Turkish, Albanian and Bosnian male given name. It is equivalent to the Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken ...
, I Kaf., II Kaf.,
Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...


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 ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, 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 ( , ), corresponding partially with 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 throug ...
and headquarters was at
Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. * The 4th Army was originally formed in
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 ...
. * The 5th Army was formed on March 24, 1915, and assigned the responsibility of defending the
Dardanelles straits The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
in World War I. * The 6th Army was formed in 1877 and was stationed in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
. * The 7th Army was formed in 1877 and was stationed in
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. * 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 Yıldırım Army Group or Thunderbolt Army Group of the Ottoman Empire or Army Group F (German: ''Heeresgruppe F'') was an Army Group of the Ottoman Army during World War I. While being an Ottoman unit, it also contained the German Asia Cor ...
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 (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during 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 Ahmed Izzet Pasha (1864 – 31 March 1937 Ottoman Turkish: احمد عزت پاشا), known as Ahmet İzzet Furgaç after the Turkish Surname Law of 1934, was a Turkish-Albanian soldier and statesman. He was a general during World War I and al ...
, 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, the acting head commander. When the war was lost, further changes were needed. These came with
Enver Pasha İsmâil Enver (; ; 23 November 1881 – 4 August 1922), better known as Enver Pasha, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish military officer, revolutionary, and Istanbul trials of 1919–1920, convicted war criminal who was a p ...
, 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 is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...
-
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, 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. It is the site of an ...
corridor, which carried the bulk of the Third Army's supplies, and along the
Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...
-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 (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...
-Erzurum- Hasankale- Tortum 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 Ahmed Izzet Pasha (1864 – 31 March 1937 Ottoman Turkish: احمد عزت پاشا), known as Ahmet İzzet Furgaç after the Turkish Surname Law of 1934, was a Turkish-Albanian soldier and statesman. He was a general during World War I and al ...
from August 15, 1908, to January 1, 1914 *
Enver Pasha İsmâil Enver (; ; 23 November 1881 – 4 August 1922), better known as Enver Pasha, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish military officer, revolutionary, and Istanbul trials of 1919–1920, convicted war criminal who was a p ...
from January 3, 1914, to October 4, 1918 * Ahmed Izzet Pasha from October 4, 1918, to November 3, 1918 * Cevat Pasha from November 3, 1918, to December 24, 1918 * Fevzi Pasha 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 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 Auspicious EventGoodwin, pp. 296–299. ( in Constantinople; , "Event of Malignity" in the Balkans) was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Janissary Corps by Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826.Kinross, ...
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 lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
. Its goal was the recovery of
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 ...
. 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 () denotes two organs, created in 1500 and 1521, in the Holy Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to enable a unified political leadership, with input from the Princes. Both were composed of the empero ...
. 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 (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...
. 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, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
. 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 and Marshal Ahmed Fevzi Pasha as the '' Mekteb-i Harbiye'' ("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, 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, the French
Gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or 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" (). In France and som ...
Mission led by General Moujen, and the German Military Mission led by Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz.


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 of the Imperial German Navy. 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 (February 1909 – March 1910) * Admiral Hugh Pigot Williams (April 1910 – April 1912) * Admiral Arthur Limpus (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. 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, previously commander of the 22nd Division, was assigned by the Kaiser to
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. 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 (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
Said Halim Pasha Mehmed Said Halim Pasha (; ; 18 or 28 January 1865 or 19 February 1864 – 6 December 1921) was a writer and statesman who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1917. He was one of the perpetrators of the Armenian genocide ...
and Minister of War Ahmed Izzet Pasha were instrumental in developing initial relations.
Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...
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, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
s, and
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''
General Vidinli Tevfik Paşa was sent to Germany to analyse, select, and purchase
Mauser Mauser, originally the Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and ...
rifles. Instead of the offered rifles ( Mauser M1890), the Ottomans bought the Mauser M1893 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
Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Maxim, Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first automatic firearm, fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most ...
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 20 ...
s and, in some quantity, Behollas, Frommer M912s, Luger P08s, 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 (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...
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


1877


1908

In 1908, the First Army was in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and the
Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...
, 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 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 ...
, its operational area included
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 ...
and the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, 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, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, and
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
) and also one in
Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar; Greek: Τράλλεις)'' is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River (ancient ...
(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 that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
; 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 Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
,
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, and
Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...
. There were also two independent divisions,
Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
and Tripoli, 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 (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
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 Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
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 on the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
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.


See also

* Ottoman stormtroopers


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * U.K. War Office, General Staff. 1914. Handbook of the Turkish Army; Prepared in the Intelligence Division of the War Office by Captain M.C.P. Ward, Intelligence Section, Cairo. 8th provisional edition. Cairo, Egypt: Government Press. {{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