Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War (Contributions in Military Studies)

302 Pages·2000·15.78 MB·English

by  Edward J. Erickson

ORDERED TO DIE
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ORDERED TO DIE
A History of the Ottoman Army
in the First World War
Edward J. Erickson
Foreword by
General Huseyin Kivrikoglu
Contributions in Military Studies, Number 201
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Erickson, Edward J., 1950—
Ordered to die : a history of the Ottoman army in the first World War / Edward J. Erickson,
foreword by General Htiseyin Kivrikoglu
p. cm.—(Contributions in military studies, ISSN 0883-6884 ; no. 201)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-31516-7 (alk. paper)
1. World War, 1914-1918—Campaigns—Turkey—Gallipoli Peninsula. 2. Turkey.
Ordu—History—20th century. I. Title. II. Series.
D568.3 E66 2001
940.4'15— dc21 00-021562
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2001 by Edward J. Erickson
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-021562
ISBN: 0-313-31516-7
ISSN: 0883-6884
First published in 2001
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West. Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 43
Copyright Acknowledgment
All photographs used with the permission of the Military History and Strategy Research Center,
Turkish General Staff, Ankara, Turkey.
To my wife, Melanie
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Contents
Illustrations tx
Foreword by General Huseyin Kivrikoglu xiii
Preface
xv
Acknowledgments xxi
1. Army on the Brink, 1908-1914 1
2. Plans 15
3. The Early Offensives. November 1914-March 1915 51
4. Under Attack, April 1915-January 1916 75
5. High Tide, January-December 1916 119
6. Strategic Pause, January-December 1917 159
7. End of Empire, January-November 1918 179
8. Conclusion 207
Appendix A. Commanders' Biographies 217
Appendix B. The Ottoman General Staff, Summer 1914 223
Appendix C. Ottoman Army Organization, 1914 225
Appendix D. The Ottoman Aviation Inspectorate and Aviation 227
Squadrons
Appendix E. German Military Assistance 231
Appendix F. Ottoman Casualties 237
Appendix G. Turkey in the First World War-Chronology 245
Selected Bibliography 251
Index 257
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Illustrations
A photo essay follows page 118.
MAPS
1.1 The Ottoman Empire in 1914 xx
2.1 Railroad and Road Networks in the Ottoman Empire, 1914-1918 18
3.1 The Sarikami§ Encirclement Operation According to 56
the Third Army Attack Plan of December 19, 1914
4.1 General Situation at Gallipoli, First and Fifth Army Forces, 92
End of August 1915
5.1 General Situation, Turkish Land Forces, 1916 132
6.1 General Military Situation, 1917 162
7.1 Third Army Operations, 1918 190
TABLES
1.1 German Military Mission 12
2.1 Ottoman Empire Population, 1914 15
2.2 1914 Coal Production 16
2.3 1914 Railways 16
2.4 Disposition of Turkish Forces, 1912 21