ORDERED TO DIE Recent Titles in Contributions in Military Studies Jerome Bonaparte: The War Years, 1800-1815 Glenn J. Lamar Toward a Revolution in Military Affairs9: Defense and Security at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century Thierry Gongora and Harald von RiekhojJ, editors Rolling the Iron Dice: Historical Analogies and Decisions to Use Military Force in Regional Contingencies Scot Macdonald To Acknowledge a War: The Korean War in American Memory Paid M. Edwards Implosion: Downsizing the U.S. Military, 1987-2015 Bart Brasher From Ice-Breaker to Missile Boat: The Evolution of Israel's Naval Strategy Mo she Tzalel Creating an American Lake: United States Imperialism and Strategic Security in the Pacific Basin, 1945-1947 Hal M. Friedman Native vs. Settler: Ethnic Conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa Thomas G. Mitchell Battling for Bombers: The U.S. Air Force Fights for Its Modern Strategic Aircraft Programs Frank P. Donnini The Formative Influences, Theones, and Campaigns of the Archduke Carl of Austria Lee Eystnrlid Great Captains of Antiquity Richard A. Gabriel Doctrine Under Trial: American Artillery Employment in World War I Mark E. Grotelueschen 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 9876543 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 This page intentionally left blank 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 This page intentionally left blank 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 x Illustrations 2.5 Disposition of Turkish Forces, July 1913 24 2.6 Disposition of Turkish Forces, August 1914 38 2.7 Days Required to Mobilize Turkish Corps versus Days 41 Required by the Mobilization Plan 2.8 Disposition of Turkish Forces, November 1914—Concentration 43 Plan 3.1 Available Offensive Strength—Third Army, December 22, 1914 57 3.2 Third Army Strength, March 24, 1915 64 4.1 III Corps Strength, August 2, 1914 77 4.2 Disposition of Turkish Forces, Late April 1915 86 4.3 Fifth Army Ammunition Expenditures Report, 88 May8-June8, 1915 4.4 Third Army Effective Strength, June 4, 1915 106 4.5 Disposition of Turkish Forces, Late Summer 1915 109 5.1 Artillery Strength—Erzurum Fortified Zone, January 1916 124 5.2 Disposition of Turkish Forces, January 1916 126 5.3 Third Army Strength, April 28, 1916 129 5.4 Disposition of Turkish Forces, August 1916 134 5.5 Disposition of Turkish Forces, December 1916 154 6.1 Disposition of Turkish Forces, August 1917 170 7.1 Disposition of Turkish Forces, January 1918 181 7.2 The Fortress of Kars, April 30, 1918 185 7.3 Disposition of Turkish Forces, June 1918 188 7.4 Disposition of Turkish Forces, September 1918 197 7.5 Disposition of Turkish Forces, November 1918 202 Illustrations xi 8.1 The Cost of Defeat—Commonly Used Figures 208 8.2 Disposition of Turkish Forces, January 1919 209 8.3 Ottoman Casualties (Author's Estimates) 211 D.l Aviation Squadrons, late 1915 228 F.l Ottoman Casualties 237 F.2 Other Ottoman Casualty Figures 240 F.3 Consolidated Summary of Ottoman Losses 240 in the First World War (Author's Estimates) F.4 Consolidated Ottoman Losses by Year of the War 241 (Author's Estimates) F.5 Ottoman Army Strength 1918 242 F.6 Consolidated Ottoman Battle and Non-Battle Losses 243 (Author's Estimates) This page intentionally left blank Foreword TURKISH GENERAL STAFF ANKARA Lieutenant Colonel Ed Erickson's Ordered to Die is the first complete history of the Ottoman Army in the First World War to be attempted outside of Turkey. He has done an admirable job in assembling the complex pieces of this important story. While we in Turkey may disagree with some of his fine points in this book, es­ pecially with the parts of the book which contain some assessments made by some academicians on the Armenian Rebellion, we still think that his account is fairly balanced and objective. I would maintain that Ordered to Die will stand as the de­ finitive work in English on the subject of the Ottoman Army in the First World War for a long time. The story of the Ottoman Army at war with the allies during the First World War is an incredible story. It is remarkable that the officers and soldiers of the empire managed to win both glorious victories and also to endure savage defeats under such difficult conditions. As the senior officer of the Turkish Armed Forces, I am extremely pleased that balanced and objective discourse on the subject of my nation's military performance during the First World War is emerging. Turkey's performance in the war has not been very well understood outside of Turkey. I hope this book will shed light on a subject long hidden from western eyes. The Turkish Armed Forces and I are grateful to Lieutenant Colonel Ed Erickson for his hard work and dedication in bringing this story to the English-speaking world. General Hiiseyin Kivrikoglu Chief of the Turkish General Staff This page intentionally left blank Preface / do not expect you to attack, I order you to die. In the time which passes until we die, other troops and commanders can come forward and take our places. - Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal Gallipoli, April 25, 1915 Gallipoli There is no finer quote with which to summarize the battle history of the Ottoman Army during the First World War than that of Mustafa Kemal (later and better known as Atatiirk) as he led the 57th Infantry Regiment forward into the hell of the Gallipoli beachhead. The Ottoman Army was a great fighting army that confounded its enemies during four years of war. It was an army that died with its boots on and endured great hardship and adversity. This was the army that after the dust settled on the prostrate armies of Russia, Austria- Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania was still on its feet and fighting a stubborn and determined fight. A thousand years earlier, they had swept through the Middle East from the steppes of Central Asia and they had acquired Islam along the route. They were Turkmen warrior tribes from the Altai Hills whose fierce fighting qualities carried them to the gates of Vienna. They were the stuff of nightmare stories for the small children of Europe, and when they moved through an area only flames and destruction remained. Later, the tribes were molded into a nation by the Osmanli Dynasty, but they were generally not known to the common people by this appellation. For hundreds of years, feared by their neighbors, these fighting conquerors were known simply as "the Turks." This book is about the Turkish Army, although it carries the title A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War. Indeed, going back to that war the British, their most relentless adversary, always seemed to fight the Turks, not the Ottomans. British histories, as well as Australian, the New Zealander, and French, portray the enemy as the Turk or even as "Johnny Turk." This was partly due to the popular usage of the time, but in reality the term very accurately reflected the character of that army.