Bigali Fortress, IIIrd Corps Weapons Repair Shop

[michaeldr]

Early in the campaign the Ottomans established arms repair workshops to service the Helles front. These were situated at Eceabat, Bigali, Kilye and at Akbas Harbour.

Due to the insufficiency of these repair shops, it was decided to centralise the process, and establish the IIIrd Corps Weapon Repair Shop in the barracks at Bigali Fortress. In this repair shop, which is known to have been officially opened at 6pm on the 16^th May 1915, nearly 90,000 rifles were repaired during the campaign. It is known that most of the guns repaired here were damaged by either their sights and/or their stocks, and that due to the difficulty of supplying spare parts during the war, guns were repaired by using useful material from scrap rifles.

Situated on the coastal road out of Eceabat and just 6km north from that town, Bigali Fortress has recently been very carefully restored (https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-915X2020000100052&lang=pt) and reopened this year to show the work which was done there in 1915, when it was the IIIrd Corps Weapon Repair Shop.

 

The gate and the official party photographed at the opening ceremony on 16 May 1915

Walking through the museum, one can follow the process of receiving, sorting and repairing the damaged rifles, all shown in displays which are made-up of replica weapons.

The final stage in the repair of any weapon must of course be its test firing before it can be returned to the front. That process is also the final stage of one's visit to this museum; the test firing range. Here one is offered the chance to fire (electronically) a replica Mauser, aiming at realistic targets which pop up from behind a replica trench. It is all immense fun and really very interesting indeed. Not least as it demonstrates just how heavy the rifles were in 1915. That at least is what this old soldier found when comparing it to having previously used an M16.

A new visit on the Gallipoli battlefield and Very Highly Recommended Indeed.

[Guest]

Mate,

From what I understand the Germans set up a number to repair equiptment workshops, because the need to replace what was being used up at a fast rate.

Stores from Germany were not coming quickly so the need was to make and replace in Country. These include those shown, but also Artillery repair workshops.

These were set up in a number of areas from Sam (Palestine) to Caucasus

I don't reconize the German officer (with fez) in the photo?

Do they name any of the Ottoman or others officers in the photo?

Bigali had a number of installations set up around there, including a hosp and MG depot during the fighting, a number of Germans worked there.

Cheers

S.B

Edited 21 June , 2022 by stevebecker

[michaeldr]

6 hours ago, stevebecker said:

I don't reconize the German officer (with fez) in the photo?

Steve, my best information is that standing next to Esad Pasha is Colonel Max Schlee.

He is mentioned in Clash of the Gods of War by Westerman & Floyd (see p.119) - “German Colonel Max Schlee and Navy Captain Waldemar Pieper were assigned as Chief Inspectors of field army and ordnance factories.....The inspectors were also instrumental in opening repair facilities on the peninsula.”

6 hours ago, stevebecker said:

Bigali had a number of installations set up around there, including a hosp and MG depot during the fighting, a number of Germans worked there.

Please note Steve, that Bigali Fortress (which we are talking about here) is on the coast of the Dardanelles and not at the village of the same name up in the hills.

Edited 21 June , 2022 by michaeldr

[Guest]

Mate,

Yes I was aware I meant these

Asbeck Eduard     Lt (Maj) Dr    Oberstabsarzt (Naval Shore det) officer German Field Hosp Bigali at Kilia Tepe Gallipoli 9-15 to 11-15 to Hosp in Konstantinopel 11-15
Fievet Karl     Kapt-Lt Dr Marine    Stabsarzt (medical) MO SMS Breslau (Midilli) Physician to Naval shore Det German Field Hosp Bigali at Kilia Tepe 8-15 to Joseph Hosp at Istanbul 
Holy und Poniecitz Franz von     Capt    Çanakkale Bigali'da Makinali Tüfek okulu komutani (Machine gun school commander in Çanakkale Bigali)
 

Germans I found working around here

As you mention

Schlee Max (Pasha)      Maj to Col (Maj-Gen)    Deutsche Militär-Mission in der Türkei - Silah ve Mühimmat Daire Baskani ve Sahra Topçu Birlikleri Basmüfettisi (Head of Department of Weapons and Ammunition and Deputy Director of Field Artillery Units) Generalinspekteurs of Turkish Fieldartillerie 1914-1918 (General inspectour of Turkish Field Artillery 1914-1918) - shown Head of Department of Weapons and Ammunition Ottoman GHQ 1-18 
 

None I can tie down to Bigali 

Gronemann     LtCol    Genel kurmay Silah ve Mühimmat Dairesinde (General Staff in the Department of Weapons and Ammunition)
Kiecker Eduard     Lt    Weapons officer Sdr-Kdo (Sonderkommando) 
Klocksien (Klocksin) Paul    ObLt    Arms and Munitions Inspectorate in Istanbul and Transportation of Weapons and Equipment from Germany
Lichtschlag Otto    Capt (LtCol)    Generalstab - Genel kurmay Silah ve Mühimmat Dairesinde (General Staff in the Department of Weapons and Ammunition)
Pieper (Piper) Waldemar    Kapt to Kon-Admiral (Maj-Gen)  Marine    MMD (Military Mediterranean Division) - established an artillery ammunition factory in Constantinople 1915 - Türk Silah Dairesi ve fabrikalari komutani (Turkish Armed Forces and factories commander) - shown Inspector of Weapons Turkish Weapons Office 2-15 to 7-17 (Ordnance Dept) 
Scholz Emil von    LtzS to Kapt-Lt Marine    Searchlight and Ordnance officer at Dardanelles to Weapons and Munitions production at Istanbul later Kapt-Lt for Ships and Coastal Artillery 1916 
Töpfer August    ObLt Eng    OberIngenieur (Engineer officer) - K.O. Waffenamt - KO weapons office - Armaments office 
Zachariae    Maj (LtCol)     Deutsche Militär-Mission Türkei - Istanbul'da Silah ve Mühimmat Fabrikasi Müdürü (Director of Weapons and Ammunition Plant in Istanbul)
 

S.B

[michaeldr]

Many thanks for adding that info Steve - all useful