With the addition of Bulgaria to the Central Powers in October of 1915, and the subsequent occupation of Serbia, Germany was finally able to open up a supply line to her Turkish Allies. In January of 1916, the Gallipoli Campaign came to a close, as the Empire's forces were evacuated back to Egypt. The centero f the campaign in the Middle East now shifted into the Sinai, where Turkish and Empire forces had stood facing each other since late in 1914. The Suez Canal was the jugular vein of the British Empire, and so in late January of 1915, the Turkish VIII Corps had launched an attack on it. With three divisions of infantry and other supporting arms, aided by a detachment of six German staff officers, the force successfully crossed the Sinai and reached the Suez Canal on the 2nd of February. The British forces in Egypt made no attempt to hold a line forward of the canal, but instead used it as a moat, setting up their defenses on the far side. The Turkish forces, using pontoons carried across the desert, attempted to cross the canal but were driven back. The VIII Corps withdrew back to its base at Beersheba to prepare for another attack. Realizing that the defense of the Suez Canal could tie down Empire troops needed elsewhere, the German government decided to send a small reinforcement of troops to serve at the Sinai Front. The force was code-named "Pasha," and was designed to provide the Turks with some of the specialized elements that they lacked. "Pasha" was not designed to used as a separate force, but was intended to be spread out through the Turkish forces in the Sinai. Many of the units were actually German-Turkish, with the Germans providing the officers and specialists, and the Turks providing enlisted personnel. The force consisted of the following: "PASHA" Veteran, Morale: 10 8 Machinegun Batteries, each with: 1 mounted command stand 1 machinegun stand (2 dice) 1 light limber 5 Antiaircraft Batteries, each with: 1 command stand 1 gun crew (ds) 1 8cm AA gun 1 medium truck 2 Trench Mortar Batteries, each with: 1 command stand 2 76mm Minenwerfer mortar stands 60th Battalion Heavy Artillery, with: Headquarters, with: 1 mounted command stand 1 forward observer stand 1 baggage wagon 10cm Gun Battery, with: 1 mounted command stand 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 medium limber 1 10cm 04 gun 1 supply wagon 1 support stand  15cm Howitzer Battery, with: 1 mounted command stand 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 medium limber 1 15cm 02 howitzer 1 supply wagon 1 support stand 21cm Howitzer Battery, with: 1 mounted command stand 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 heavy tractor 1 21cm howitzer 1 supply wagon 1 support stand 300th Flight Detachment, with: 2 Fokker Fighters 2 Aviataks Twin-Seater Recon Notes 1. The non-battalions companies of each type appear to have been sequentially numbered by type, i.e., 4th Machinegun Company, the 2nd Trench Mortar Company, etc. As their contribution, the Austrian government sent the following force: Veteran, Morale: 9 2 Mountain Howitzer Batteries, each with: 1 mounted command stand 1 gun crew stand (ds) 1 light limber 1 10cm 1910 mountain howitzer These units arrived at the Sinai front in July of 1916, and served with the Turkish Fourth Army and VIII Army Corps in actions at Romani, and the 1st and 2nd Battles of Gaza. Their success was such that in order to further stiffen the Turkish forces, a force known as "Pasha II" was sent to reinforce it the following year. (That TO&E will appear in the next CPQ.) BIBLIOGRAPHY Military Operations, Egypt and Palestine 1914-June 1917, Sir George MacMunn and Cyril Falls, London, 1928 Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly # 6 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com