Customer Reviews

Ottoman Infantryman 1914-18 (Warrior)

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The Ottoman Army of the First World War simply doesn't get much coverage in English language sources so it is always refreshing to anything new appear on this subject. Dr. David Nicolle, a Mideast expert, provides a wonderful look at the Ottoman Asker (infantryman) in Ottoman Infantryman 1914-18. This is not only one of Dr. Nicolle's better volumes but also one of the better recent volumes in Osprey's Warrior series. Overall, this volume does a superb job laying out the training, motivations and experience of Ottoman soldiers in the First World War.

Since Ottoman history is relatively obscure to Western readers, the author begins with a 5-page chronology section in the introduction before shifting into the standard Warrior-series sections on enlistment, training and daily life. These sections are replete with first-person anecdotes and the author makes very effective use of numerous sidebars to cover a myriad of related sub-topics. The material comes from Turkish memoirs, as well as accounts by German advisors and British intelligence assessments of Turkish soldiers. A couple of points leap out here: the Ottoman Army was dreadfully unprepared for war in 1914 (leading to inadequate troop training and severe material shortages) and even with German help, they had great difficulty fielding new divisions and keeping them supplied in the field; although the Ottoman army lacked a professional NCO corps and its senior officers were often mediocre, the mid-level officers and troops were effective fighters; Ottoman troops made do with minimal food, supplies and weaponry.

The second half of the volume deals with life on campaign and the Ottoman soldier in combat. Herein, the author discusses unit organization and tactics, weaponry and medical care. The volume has two Maps (Ottoman Empire during World War I; major Ottoman campaigns) and seven battle scenes (unloading wounded, 1918; Galicia, 1916 with inset showing color tabs and rank insignia; Iraq 1915; Arabia 1916; Caucasus 1917-18; Gallipoli 1915; Palestine 1918) by Christa Hook, as well as a 3-page glossary of Turkish military terminology. This is a well written volume that does a superb job laying out the important elements of this subject and accomplishes its mission of providing insight into how the Turkish soldiers - despite the absence of any kind of material or training advantages enjoyed by their opponents - put up such a tough fight for four years on a wide variety of fronts.

Turkish soldiers had little gear and great hearts. This is the overall feeling left when one finishes David Nicolle's Ottoman Infantryman 1914-18 and it may not be too far off the mark. Many books have been written about the Ottoman fronts from the perspective of the people fighting "Johnny Turk" but views of the Turks themselves are rare in the west due to the lack of written sources.

In detailing the existence and experiences of the Ottoman soldier Nicolle stresses the nightmarish supply system and the problems it brought to the men, in food, equipment and medical supplies. More than just short rations, for example, one story was of a Turkish soldier who trying to surrender to the British, found they didn't believe he was a Turkish soldier because his gear was so mismatched.

There is also comment on the quiet courage of the Ottoman, far from the brute of allied propaganda, men who would hold a line with pitiful supplies and stay calm even when wounded. It would have been nice had Nicolle gone into more detail about the source of this strength, especially in the face of such poor supplies, a fact that would undermine the determination of most soldiers. Limited by osprey's space requirements he can extol this virtue without giving it the examination it really deserves.

One thing I found irritating was a constant string of documentation by the author to show off his sources. I can appreciate this when it comes to a direct quote but when it is things that should be just the author's opinion I start to wonder. For example on p54 he comments that an island retaken from the British was used as an isolation ward from that point on "Pye 1938 pp.100-104" or pg 32 hen he says that once the war started Turkey imported very little footwear except those of high fashion "Quartaert 1994,pp.903-4". In each case the passage he sites is clearly longer than the item Nicolle wrote in his own work which means he has condensed it. The works should be cited in a bibliography but scattered as they are through the works it is more than a little irritating.


For all these complaints though Nicolle done a fine job of amassing information on a previously much over looked portion of the First World War. All too often they are seen as the enemy in books and films, scruffy and even savage. Nicolle elevates them beyond prejudice and makes them into real men, less evil oppressors than men defending their homeland in the worst conflagration the world had yet known. It is not the definitive work on the topic. Osprey's size limitations prevent that but it is an important step forward for students interested in the war, to truly see the face of the "enemy" as more than a shape in the gun sights.

An oft-forgotten figure, the Ottoman soldier fought on distant fronts against formidable enemies and during the first phase of the war even won significant victories against the Allies in Mesopotamia and Gallipoli. Yet few have a good idea of how the typical soldier of the Turkish Empire was equipped and clothed or how he was recruited, fed and clothed. Nor do general histories of WWI deal with special cases within the Ottoman Army, such as those units recruited among the Arabs or the Turkish corps sent to fight the Russians in Galicia. This book is well-researched, includes excellent photos (many of which have not been republished since the war) maps and original artwork. The writing style is both illuminating and entertaining.

I found this book very informative. Like most of thr warrior series books. especially the part about belonging. On the scale of 1 to 5 I would give it a 5.