Prussian officers had first been employed to modernise the
Ottoman (Imperial Turkish) army in the 1840's with limited success. It was not
until the 1880's (following defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78)
that a full term German military mission (under Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz) was set up to assist and equip the
Ottoman army. Even then progress was slow. When the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the
German side her army was still in the process of modernisation.
Throughout the
First World War several thousand German soldiers, sailors and airmen served in many varied capacities in the
Ottoman Empire. In addition Austria-Hungary also sent smaller numbers of
similarly useful men and materials to assist the Ottoman Empire during the war.
Recommended External Links -
The Story of Enver Pascha
and
Turkey's War
The 1913 German Military Mission to the Ottoman Empire
In the wake of Ottoman defeats in the Balkans
wars 1912-13, a new
German military mission under Otto Liman von
Sanders was sent to further modernise the Ottoman army.
When war broke out in Europe in the Summer of 1914 there were already over
500 German military personnel serving in the Ottoman army and navy. They included
much needed staff
officers, training
personnel, engineers, technicians, artillery gunners and aircrews. Liman von
Sanders first commanded the Turkish Armies at Gallipoli and later in Palestine.
SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau
The battle cruiser SMS Goeben and
the light cruiser SMS
Breslau were trapped in the Mediterranean Sea at the outbreak of the First World
War. After bombarding the French bases
at Bône and Philippeville in Algeria they handed themselves over to the Ottoman navy
rather than surrender to the overwhelming power of the Entente navies in the
Mediterranean. Once under the Ottoman flag they bombarded the Russian ports of
Sevastopol and Odessa thus precipitating a Russian declaration of
war on the Ottoman Empire bringing them
into the war on the German side.
In the Ottoman navy the Goeben and Breslau were
renamed the TCG Yavuz Sultan Selim (after Sultan Selim I) and Midilli (the Turkish name for
the Aegean island of Lesbos) respectively. During the war the two ships remained on patrol in the
Black Sea where the Midilli was sunk by a mine in 1918. Sailors from the ships also served
on land. They were first called upon to form a machine gun company to serve at
Gallipoli, and later a Naval Artillery Battery on the Dardenelles. Some of their
crews served served on other Ottoman vessels and as far away as Mesopotamia.
After the war the Yavuz Sultan Selim remained in Turkish service until 1950 (being renamed
TCG Yavuz in 1936). It was finally scrapped in 1973.
Recommended External Link -
Discussion on the Axis History Forum
on the
Landungsabteilung Gallipoli
Early Wartime Reinforcements
When war broke out a further 500 German military personnel were sent to assist
the Ottoman army, including a volunteer company of pioneers ("Freiwilliger
Pionier Kompagnie") who fought at Gallipoli. Further large scale
reinforcement was impossible while Serbia and neutral Rumania stood in the way
(the pioneers and other German reinforcements had to travel through Rumania in
civilian clothing and arms and ammunition were smuggled along the same route
with large bribes offered to the Rumanians). The conquest of Serbia by the
combined German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian armies in late 1915 opened the
route from Berlin to Istanbul.
Recommended External Link -
Discussion on the Axis History Forum
on the
German Volunteer Pioneers at Gallipoli and an article in German at
Gallipoli1915.de
Pascha I Expedition
Pascha I was a 16,000 strong army expedition
formed to assist Ottoman forces in March 1916 under the command of Oberst Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein. It consisted mostly of machine gun,
artillery and support troops with a fighter plane squadron (FA300). It
fought as part of the 4th Ottoman Army against British troops in the Sinai
campaign in the Summer of 1916.
Pascha I* |
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Eight Machine Gun Companies |
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601st-608th Machine Gun Companies
("Maschinengewehr-Kompanien 601-608") |
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Four Balloon Machine Gun Defence Platoons |
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133rd-136th
Balloon MG Defence Platoons |
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Artillery |
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60th Foot Artillery Battalion |
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350th Trench Mortar
Battalion ("Minenwerfer Batallion
350") |
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351st
Trench Mortar Battalion ("Minenwerfer
Batallion 351") |
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352nd
Trench Mortar Battalion ("Minenwerfer Batallion
350") |
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Aircraft |
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300th
Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 300
"Pascha“") |
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Non-Combatant Units |
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103rd Telephone
Detachment |
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105th Wireless Command |
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Pascha II Expedition - Asienkorps
A second Pascha Expedition also known as the Asia Corps ("Asienkorps") was formed
at
Neu-Hammer
in July 1917 under the command of
Oberst Werner von Frankenberg zu Proschlitz (and
from June 1918,
Oberst Gustav von Oppen). The first elements were deployed in
October 1917 with more reinforcements arriving in 1918. The Asienkorps' initial
mission to recapture Baghdad was deemed unfeasible and they were instead sent to
fight alongside the Ottoman army in Palestine.
The Pascha II Expedition was a more rounded
fighting unit than Pascha I which consisted solely of support troops to bolster
the Ottoman army. At about 10,000 strong it consisted of frontline infantry
units with machine guns, artillery, cavalry and full supporting units. The
number of fighter squadrons was greatly increased. After being defeated along
with their Ottoman allies at the Battle of Megiddo 19th September- 1st October
1918, the Asienkorps was withdrawn towards Istanbul just before the Ottoman
surrender.
The British Colonel T.E. Lawrence (famous as "Lawrence of
Arabia") described the Asienkorps in his book
"The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"- “Exceptions were the German
detachments; and here, for the first time, I grew proud of the enemy who had
killed my brothers. They were two thousand miles from home, without hope and
without guides, in conditions mad enough to break the bravest nerves. Yet their
sections held together, in firm rank, sheering through the wrack of Turk and
Arab like armoured ships, high-faced and silent. When attacked they halted, took
position, fired to order. There was no haste, no crying, no hesitation. They
were glorious.”
Recommended External Link -
Discussion on the Axis History Forum
on the
Asienkorps
Pascha II- German
Units in Palestine 1917-18* |
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Asienkorps Staff
("Stäben des Asienkorps")
and from 1918 the staff of the 201. Infanterie-Brigade |
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Infantry |
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701st Infantry Battalion ("Infanterie Batallion
701") |
- deployed 1917 |
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With 6 machine guns and 18 Bergman light machine guns |
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146th Infantry Regiment
("1. Masurische Infanterie-Regiment Nr.
146") |
- deployed from Macedonia
1918 |
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1st Battalion- with
6 machine guns |
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2nd Battalion-
with 6 machine guns |
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3rd Battalion (from
the 85th Landwehr Regiment, IX Army Corps)-
with 6 machine guns
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11th Reserve Jäger
Battalion
("Kurhessisches Reserve Jäger Batallion
Nr. 11") |
- deployed
1918 |
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With 6 machine guns |
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Artillery |
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701st Infantry Support Battery
("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge
701") |
- deployed 1917 |
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4 x 7,7cm guns |
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702nd Infantry Support Battery
("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge
702") |
- deployed 1917 |
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4 x 7,7cm guns |
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703rd Infantry Support Battery
("Infanterie-Geschütz-Züge 703") |
- deployed 1917 |
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4 x 10,5cm howitzers |
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Other Armed Units |
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701st Machine Gun Company
("Maschinengewehr-Kompanie
701 "Hentig"") |
- deployed 1917 |
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Cavalry Squadron
("Kavallerie-Eskadron
Asienkorps") |
- deployed 1917 |
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701st
Pioneer Unit ("Pionierabteilung 701" from the "Kurhessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11") |
- deployed 1917 |
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205th
Pioneer Company ("Pionier Kompanie 205") |
- deployed 1917 |
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Aircraft |
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300th
Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 300 "Pascha“") |
- deployed 1916 |
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301st
Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 301") |
- deployed 1917 |
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302nd
Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 302") |
- deployed 1917 |
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303rd
Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 303") |
- deployed 1917 |
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304th
Bavarian Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 304b") |
- deployed 1917 |
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305th
Flying Squadron ("Fliegerabteilung 305") |
- deployed 1918 |
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55th
Fighter Squadron ("Jagdstaffel 55" later known as "Jagdstaffel 1F") |
- deployed 1918 |
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Non-Combatant Units |
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27th Mountain Heliograph Platoon
("Gebirgs-Blinker-Züge 27") |
- deployed
1918 |
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Intelligence Unit ("Nachrichtenabteilung Pascha II") |
- deployed
1918 |
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27th Survey Unit ("Vermessungsabteilung 27") |
- deployed 1917 |
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Medical
Units ("Sanitätsformationen") |
- deployed 1917 |
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Central Asian Missions
During the First World War Germany sent several missions into Central Asia,
in areas usually considered to be part of the Ottoman sphere of influence. Some of
these missions had the support of the Ottomans, but others clashed directly with
their interests.
Persia
A plan was proposed by Wilhelm Wassmuss
to incite the tribes of Persia to rise up against their British occupiers. It
was hoped that this would form a larger Islamic revolution against British rule,
threatening British India. Kaiser Wilhelm II was a keen supporter of the plan
and it was put into action in February 1915. Wassmuss wandered from tribe to
tribe using his knowledge of Arab customs and languages, along with bribes of
gold supplied to him from Germany, Arabic propaganda pamphlets, promises of
German military aid and mystic scenes in which he claimed to speak directly to
the Kaiser to gain their friendship. Wassmuss became a legend in Persia causing
the British a great deal of concern and effort in his capture and earning
himself the nickname "The German Lawrence" although his mission ultimately
failed to incite a full scale rebellion.
Afghanistan
Although it may seem an unlikely ally of Germany, Afghanistan could have proved a
crucial one. If the Afghan Emir Habibullah joined the war on the side of the central
powers and threatened the North West frontier of British India, Britain would be
forced to withdraw troops from other theatres to deal with the threat. If Indian
nationalists also rose up in rebellion at the same time the British Empire might
have a real crisis on its hands.
With this aim a part military, part diplomatic
mission under the joint command of the Indian nationalist leader
Raja Mahedra
Pratap, the German
diplomat Otto von Hentig and the German adventurer and artillery officer
Oskar von Niedermeyer was sent to Afghanistan
in 1915. It consisted of a cadre of German troops specially recruited with former Asian
and colonial experience, Persian tribesmen and several
escaped
German and Austrian Prisoners of War on the run from Russian captivity who they met along the way.
Although they reached Kabul after an epic journey evading hostile tribesmen and
British and Russian patrols under the harshest climatic conditions, the mission was ultimately a
failure as they could not convince the Afghans to join the war.
Georgia
As the Russian Empire descended into chaos and revolution through 1917 and 1918 the rich
oilfields of Georgia and Azerbaijan became an important objective for several armies at the
same time. Bolshevik, White Russian, British and Ottoman armies all headed for
Baku with the hopes of capturing the oilfields.
Germany also sent an army, the Caucasus Expedition ("Kaukasusexpedition")
consisting of 3,000 mostly
Bavarian troops under the command of Generalmajor Friedrich
Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein. Along the
way they picked up further recruits from escaped German Prisoners of War and
German colonists living in Georgia. They arrived
in Tiflis, the Georgian capital in June 1918 where they were welcomed as
defenders against the Bolsheviks. Due to the confused situation and rivalries
for the oil, they clashed with Ottoman troops briefly on the way. The revolution
in Germany and the end of the war finally caused their mission to be aborted.
The last German troops left the port of Poti in December 1918.
Recommended External Link -
Discussion on the Axis History Forum
on the
Georgian
Caucasus Expedition
Caucasus Expedition 1918* |
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Infantry |
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29th Bavarian Jäger Regt ("29.
Königlich Bayerisches Jäger-Regiment") |
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7th Bavarian Reserve Jäger Btn ("7.
Königlich Bayerisches Reserve Jäger-Batallion") |
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9th Bavarian Reserve Jäger Btn
("9. Königlich Bayerisches Reserve Jäger-Batallion") |
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15th Bavarian Jäger Regt
("15. Königlich Bayerisches Jäger-Regiment")- raised August 1918 |
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1st Bavarian Reserve Jäger Btn ("1.
Königlich Bayerisches Reserve Jäger-Batallion")- from the 29th Bavarian Jäger Regt |
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Caucasian Railway Protection Btn -
raised from former German
Prisoners of War |
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10th Assault Btn
("10. Sturmbattalion") |
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Assault Company |
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Machine Gun Company
(with 12 machine guns) |
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Trench Mortar/Mine
Thrower Company (with 8 mortars) |
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Garrison Company -
raised from former German
Prisoners of War |
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Other Armed Units |
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176th
Mortar Company ("176. Mörser Kompanie") |
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2nd
Motorised Batallion, 65th Reserve Field Artillery Regt ("II. Batallion,
Reserve Feld Artillerie Regiment Nr 65") |
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Armoured
Car Machine Gun Unit ("Panzer-Kraftwagen-MG-Abteilung") |
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1 x Daimler/15
Armoured Car (modernised in 1917)
1 x Ehrhardt/15 Armoured Car (modernised in 1917)
1 x Ehrhardt/17 Armoured Car
1 x Minerva Armoured Car (modified captured Belgian car)
1 x Daimler Machine Gun Carrier
Possibly 2 x Austin Armoured Cars (captured Russian cars)
Miscellaneous softskin vehicles |
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7th Bavarian Cavalry Brigade
("7. Königlich Bayerische Kavallerie-Brigade") |
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5th Bavarian Light
Horse
Regt ("5. Königlich Bayerisches Chevaulegers-Regiment "Erzherzog
Friedrich von Österreich"") |
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4th Bavarian Light
Horse
Regt ("4. Königlich Bayerisches Chevaulegers-Regiment "König"")- deployed September
1918 |
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Aircraft |
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28th Aviation Detachment |
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Non-Combatant Units |
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1750th Signal Section |
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Austro-Hungarian Troops in the Ottoman Empire
Austria-Hungary first lent its heavy artillery to the
Ottoman Empire in December 1915. Two heavy artillery
batteries (the "9. Mototmörserbatterie" and the "36. Haubitzbatterei") fought for the Ottomans at Gallipoli
and later during the Suez Offensive. In 1916 the "Gebrigshaubitzdivision von
Marno" consisting of two batteries of mountain howitzers was also sent to the
Suez Front and continued to fight alongside the Ottoman army until the end of
the war (having been renamed the
"Gebirgshaubitzabteilung
in der Türkei" in 1917 and "Feldhaubitzabteilung in der Türkei"
in 1918). As well as artillery, Austria-Hungary
assisted the Ottoman army in 1916 with four much needed motorised units (the "1.,
2., 3., 4., Autokolonnen Türkei").
In late 1917 a new Austro-Hungarian mission was
planned to be sent to assist the Ottoman Empire called the "Orientkorps". This
unit was intended, like the German Asienkorps, to include infantry battalions as well
as artillery and transport. The Orientkorps underwent training and
equipping for tropical climates but with the war not going so well for
Austria-Hungary by this late date most of the troops were diverted to other
fronts. Only the artillery batteries (the "Gebirgskannonenabteilung
in der Türkei") and one motorised unit (the "10.
Autokolonne Türkei") were eventually
sent to Palestine in June 1918.
As well as these troops, many Austro-Hungarian army and
navy personnel served in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War as staff
officers,
pilots, engineers, medics, communications technicians, and as training personnel
assisting the Ottoman army with artillery, engineering and even skiing.
Recommended External Links -
Page listing all
Austro-Hungarian Units in the Ottoman Empire at
the Austro-Hungarian Army
website and a discussion on the Axis History Forum
on
Austro-Hungarians at
Gallipoli and in Palestine
The End of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire surrendered to the Entente on 30th October 1918 after
defeats on several fronts. Just prior to that most Germans had retreated
home or became allied prisoners of war. As a result of the war and its following
treaties (the
Treaty of Sèvres 1920 and the
Treaty of Lausanne
1923) the
Ottoman Empire was split up and a new Turkish Republic was declared.
* NOTE ON UNIT LISTS- These lists have
been compiled from several sources (listed below). The different sources do not
always agree. I have tried to follow original German sources of the period, and
where not available have followed the general consensus of opinion. Please email
me here if you have more accurate information
Unit List Sources-
Pascha I and II
"Die
Schlachten und Gefechte des Großen Krieges 1914-1918" compiled by the
German General Staff
"The German Army in World War I" (Pt3) by Nigel Thomas
"Megiddo 1918" by Bryan Perrett
The contributions of Shawn USAF1986
and Peter H on the
Axis History Forum -
Asienkorps
The further researches of Chris Flaherty
Wikipedia pages in
English
and German
Caucasus Expedition -
"Geschichte des deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914-1918" by Hermann Cron
The contributions of Mad Zeppelin and Peter H on the
Axis History Forum -
Georgian Legion
Wikipedia pages in
English and
German
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