Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I: A Comparative Study (Case Series: Military History and Policy)

244 Pages·2007·1.61 MB·English

by  Edward J. Erickson

Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World
War I
This book examines how the Ottoman Army was able to evolve and maintain a high level
of overall combat effectiveness despite the primitive nature of the Ottoman state during
World War I. The volume is structured around four case studies, at the operational and
tactical level, of campaigns involving the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire:
Gallipoli in 1915, Kut in 1916, Third Gaza-Beersheba in 1917, and Megiddo in 1918. For
each of these campaigns, particular emphasis is placed on examining specific elements of
combat effectiveness and how they affected that particular battle.
The prevalent historiography attributes Ottoman battlefield success primarily to
external factors—such as the presence of German generals and staff officers; climate,
weather and terrain that adversely affected allied operations; allied bumbling and
amateurish operations; inadequate allied intelligence. By contrast, in this book Edward
J.Erickson argues that the Ottoman Army was successful due to internal factors, such as
its organisational architecture, a hardened cadre of experienced combat leaders, its ability
to organise itself for combat, and its application of the German style of war.
This innovative new book will be of great interest to students of World War I, military
history and strategic studies in general.
Lt Col. Edward J.Erickson, US Army (retired), holds a PhD from the University of
Leeds. He is the author of three books and numerous articles on the Ottoman Army
during the early twentieth century.
Cass series: military history and policy
Series editors: John Gooch and Brian Holden Reid
ISSN: 1465–8488
A series of studies on historical and contemporary aspects of land power, spanning the
period from the eighteenth century to the present day, including national, international
and comparative studies. From time to time the series publishes edited collections of
essays and ‘classics’.
1 Allenby and British Strategy in the Middle East, 1917–1919
Matthew Hughes
2 Alfred von Schlieffen’s Military Writings
Edited and translated by Robert Foley
3 The British Defence of Egypt, 1935–1940
Conflict and crisis in the eastern Mediterranean
Steven Morewood
4 The Japanese and the British Commonwealth Armies at War, 1941–1945
Tim Moreman
5 Training, Tactics and Leadership in the Confederate Army of Tennessee
Seeds of failure
Andrew Haughton
6 Military Training in the British Army, 1940–1944
From Dunkirk to D-Day
Tim Harrison Place
7 The Boer War
Direction, experience and image
Edited by John Gooch
8 Caporetto, 1917
Victory or defeat?
Mario Morselli
9 Post-war Counterinsurgency and the SAS, 1945–1952
A special type of warfare
Tim Jones
10 The British General Staff
Reform and innovation, 1890–1939
Edited by David French and Brian Holden Reid
11 Writing the Great War
Sir James Edmonds and the official histories, 1915–1948
Andrew Green
12 Command and Control in Military Crisis
Devious decisions
Harold Hoiback
13 Lloyd George and the Generals
David Woodward
14 Malta and British Strategic Policy, 1925–1943
Douglas Austin
15 British Armour in the Normandy Campaign, 1944
John Buckley
16 Gallipoli
Making history
Edited by Jenny Macleod
17 British and Japanese Military Leadership in the Far Eastern War, 1941–1945
Edited by Brian Bond and Kyoichi Tachikawa
18 The Baghdad Pact
Anglo-American defence policies in the Middle East, 1950–1959
Behcet Kemal Yesilbursa
19 Fanaticism and Conflict in the Modern Age
Edited by Matthew Hughes and Gaynor Johnson
20 The Evolution of Operational Art, 1740–1813
From Frederick the Great to Napoleon
Claus Telp
21 British Generalship on the Western Front, 1914–1918
Defeat into victory
Simon Robbins
22 The British Working Class and Enthusiasm for War, 1914–1916
David Silbey
23 Big Wars and Small Wars
The British Army and the lessons of war in the twentieth century
Edited by Hew Strachan
24 The Normandy Campaign, 1944
Sixty years on
Edited by John Buckley
25 Railways and International Politics
Paths of empire, 1848–1945
Edited by T.G.Otte and Keith Neilson
26 Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I
A comparative study
Edward J.Erickson
Ottoman Army Effectiveness in
World War I
A comparative study
Edward J.Erickson

LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2007 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX 14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 2007 Edward J.Erickson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage
or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Erickson, Edward J., 1950– Ottoman Army effectiveness in
World War I: a comparative study/ Edward J.Erickson.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Military history and policy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. World War, 1914–1918–Turkey. 2. Turkey. Ordu—History—World War,
1914–1918. 3. Turkey—History, Military–20th century.
4. World War, 1914–1918–Campaigns-Middle East. I. Title.
D566.E75 2007 940.4′0956–dc22 2006025217
ISBN 0-203-96456-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10 0-415-77099-8 (hbk)
ISBN10 0-203-96456-X (Print Edition) (ebk)
ISBN13 978-0-415-77099-6 (hbk)
ISBN13 978-0-203-96456-9 (Print Edition) (ebk)
This book is dedicated to the memory of
Professor Briton Cooper Busch Colgate University 1936–2004
My friend and teacher

Contents

List of illustrations x
Preface xii
Acknowledgements xiii
List of abbreviations xiv

Introduction 1
1 From the ashes of disaster 6
2 Gallipoli, 1915 14
3 Kut Al Amara, 1916 61
4 Third Gaza-Beersheba, 1917 90
5 Megiddo, 1918 118
6 Conclusion: the strength of an army 144

Appendix A Ottoman Army Orders No. 1 157
Appendix B Other theatres of war in 1918 162
Appendix C The Ottoman infantry division 165
Notes 171
Selected bibliography 205
Index 217