Easterners vs Westerners; who was right?

[Robert Dunlop]

I don't have Erickson's books with me but will provide the details when I get back home. There was a major campaign in the Caucasus Region throughout 1915, with the Ottoman Army involved in a series of battles with Russian forces. The Mesopotamian campaign got underway in 1915.

The Balkan Wars proved how difficult it was to capture Constantinople.

Robert

[Robert Dunlop]

The map here hints at the scale of the operations in the Caucasus.

Robert

[Robert Dunlop]

From Erickson's book 'Ordered to Die: A history of the Ottoman Army in the First World War':

Disposition of Ottoman Forces

Late April 1915:

Thrace: Two Armies (First and Second) comprising 14 divisions;

Caucasia: Third Army comprising 15 divisions with one more moving to Third Army;

Mesopotamia: Sixth Army with 2 divisions;

Syria: Fourth Army with 6 divisions;

Arabia-Yemen: VII Corps with 4 divisions;

Gallipoli: Fifth Army with 6 divisions.

Late Summer 1915:

Thrace: Two Armies (First and Second) comprising 5 divisions with 4 more forming;

Caucasia: Third Army comprising 14 divisions;

Mesopotamia: Sixth Army with 3 divisions;

Syria/Palestine: Fourth Army with 6 divisions;

Arabia-Yemen: VII Corps with 4 divisions;

Gallipoli: Fifth Army with 16 divisions.

January 1916:

Thrace: Two Armies (First and Second) comprising 9 divisions;

Caucasia: Third Army comprising 13 divisions;

Mesopotamia: Sixth Army with 4 divisions;

Syria/Palestine: Fourth Army with 6 divisions;

Arabia-Yemen: VII Corps with 4 divisions;

Gallipoli: Fifth Army with 16 divisions.

Robert

[aiwac]

Robert,

From the breakdown you have provided, it would seem that the Galipolli front had only slight precedence over the Caucuses front. However, what of the other divisions in the Thrace region? Were they not ready to come to the defense of the capital if need be? If so, that would mean that the main deployment of troops for the general region of Istanbul was substantially larger than that in the Caucuses. I seem to remember that one of the main reasons for the Ottoman capitulation in late 1918 was that most of the Istanbul area had been denuded for other fronts and was essentially defenseless against the Entente breakout on the Macedonian Front.

[Robert Dunlop]

Thrace was much more than the 'general region of Istanbul'. The Balkans Wars, especially the first one, showed how vulnerable Thrace could be to invasion by the Bulgarians. If Istanbul had been threatened by the Russian advance through Causcasia (more likely than an advance from the Gallipoli peninsula I suspect) then no doubt divisions would have been moved there. Otherwise Thrace should not be seen as an extension of Gallipoli IMHO.

It should be noted that Thrace was used as the region to form up new divisions.

Robert