For Command Decision 2nd Edition

Background

Of all the powers involved in World War I, the Ottoman Empire was undoubtedly the worst prepared for war. Its successive involvement's in the Balkans during 1912-13 showed a miserable overall performance which cost the Empire its European territories. These poor showings by the armed forces were in the midst of major reforms which were enhanced by German military missions, which by the time the Empire became involved in World War I had made some significant improvements, but it wasn't enough to ensure that the Empire would be in a strong position by the end of the war.

To understand the Ottoman's showing in World War I, one must go back to the 1908-09 revolution which brought the "Young Turks" into power. The Young Turks, mostly army officers who wanted to change not only the government but also the armed forces, were led by a triumvirate which became in fact a shared dictatorship. The three ministers who controlled the Empire's fate were Talat Pasha, Enver Pasha, and Ahmet Cemel Pasha, all of whom were bent on seeing that the Empire would regain the lost glory which it had some 500 years before.

The reforms which the army went through had started during the 19th Century, with first the French, and later the Germans providing military missions. The reason for the transition to German advisors was simply that the Turks thought that the Germans had less of an interest in the Middle East, whereas the French were concerned with territorial gains in the region. The first German mission under Von der Goltz (1886-1895) established the basis for the Turkish reliance on things German, so that by the time Liman von Sanders became involved the Turkish military was starting to resemble their German counterpart. This is not to say that the reforms were completely successful, the Turkish performance in the Balkan Wars proved how far the Empire had yet to go to improve their military might. However, the German presence in Turkey since 1886 made it easier for von Sanders to operate. One thing must be stated, although the Ottoman Empire relied on the German Empire for training and arms, it still had its own war aims, which were very much in conflict with the German views. Also, the amount of reform that actually extended to the enlisted level was sufficiently small so as to keep the Turkish foot soldier on a comparatively lower footing than his European counterpart.

It is widely known that the Ottoman Empire was drug into the war through the exploits of the German vessels Goeben and Breslau, however given the Empire's geographic position, it would have been very difficult for the Empire to remain neutral. And given that same geographical position it would be a difficult task for the Empire to protect all its interests. Bordering on Europe, having a common frontier with its bitter enemy the Russians, stretching to encompass the oil-rich region of Persia, and containing within its boundaries the Holy Land, one could see that the struggling armed forces would be stretched to their thinnest.

The major colonial powers, namely France and Britain, surely wanted nothing more than to carve up the Ottoman Empire between them, especially to keep the Russians at arm's distance. It would be a question of where the Allies would strike, and what kind of resistance the Ottomans could muster.

Uniforms

In 1909 a khaki uniform was issued which replaced the dark blue uniform worn from before the Crimean War. Due to variations in material the color could somewhat vary, but according to the Osprey Ottoman Army book, the uniforms are a light, sandy colored khaki. The authors of The Last Crusade World War I rules state that they use a mix of Polly S U.S. Armor olive mixed with Field Gray and Khaki. However this combination gives a much darker color, similar to the uniforms in the film Lawrence of Arabia, which appear to be a little on the dark side.

The traditional fez was also replaced by the kabalak, a wicker framework covered by a cloth wrapping. This headgear was also known as the Enver helmet and was quite effective in protecting the head from the different climates which the Turkish soldier found himself. Later in the war helmets were issued on a very small scale to select storm troops. The infantry carried a variety of small arms, the rifles typically being either German or Turkish Mausers. As the war progressed and weapons became harder to come by, the Turks would use whatever was available, from captured Russian Moison Nagants to black powder weapons. The following are my suggestions for painting Turkish infantry uniforms:

Tunic and Pants - Testors SAC Bomber Tan

Leather Details (belts, straps, holsters, scabbards, shoes) and Mauser rifle - Polly S Armor Red Brown

Enver Helmet and Puttees - Polly S Khaki

Flesh - Ral Partha

Leather Metal Details - Ral Partha Steel

Officer's Fez - Polly S Field Gray

I paint the helmet and puttees a different shade to break up the monotony of the figure. Turkish flesh could actually range from Caucasian to a dark Arabic skin tone, providing variation in the figures if one wants. 

Figures

As I game this era in 15mm, I will direct my comments to that scale only. Currently I know of three manufactures of Turkish figures for World War I. They are Horizon Bleu Miniatures, MiniFigs, and Tumbling Dice Miniatures. All of my Turkish forces are Minifg as they had the first complete line to cover the Turks. The only other figures that I have seen are the figures from Tumbling Dice, which I must say are not 15mm! These figures are very close to 20nun and would not mix in at all with the MiniFig line. I have written to Horizon Bleu but have not received any response. The Minifig line itself is fairly complete, although the sculpting leaves a little to be desired. These figures have the traditional poses which seem to be standard in everything that Minifigs used to do. They are also cast in a pewter alloy that is not very easy to work with.

W-801 Infantry Advancing
W-802 Infantry Firing, standing and kneeling
W-803 Infantry Marching
W-804 Assault Team, throwing grenade, but not in steel helmets!
W-821 Infantry Command, looking through binoculars, firing pistol
W-841 Cavalry with Rifles
W-842 Cavalry with Swords
W-843 Syrian Auxiliary Cavalry with Rifles
W-861 Cavalry with Rifles with Command
W-862 Cavalry with Swords with Command
W-881 Machine Guns (Maxims) and Crews
W-882 Artillerymen, four different poses

Organization

As I do my World War I gaming with GDW's Over the Top rules, I will use the organizations given in those rules. The optimum single player command in Over the Top is a battalion, which is a very affordable command a player could buy.

TURKISH DIVISION

Headquarters, with: 1 command stand
3 Infantry Regiments, each with:

Regimental Headquarters, with: 1 command stand
Regimental Machine-gun Company, with: 1 machine-gun stand
3 Infantry Battalions, each with:
Battalion Headquarters, with: 1 command stand
4 Infantry Companies, each with: 1 command infantry stand 3 infantry stands

Therefore, an infantry battalion would consist of 17 stands, comprising of 28 infantry figures and 5 command figures which would cost $8.50, a very economical command for one player.

SOURCES

Goodlett, Tim and Hayes, Mark The Last Crusade Poor Beggars in Red Games, 1991.
Moorehead, Alan Gallipoli Balentine, 1956.
Nicolle, David Lawrence and the Arab Revolts Osprey Men-At-Arms Series, London, 1989.
Nicolle, David The Ottoman Army, 1914-18 Osprey Men-At-Arms Series, London, 1994.
Novak, Greg Over the Top GDW, Inc., 1990.
Smith, Darryl "Turkish Delight" Command Post Quarterly 9 GDW, Inc., 1995.