The Mobilization of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War and the Military Training in Istanbul with Memories (1914)

https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jhf Tarih ve Gelecek Dergisi, Eylül 2020, Cilt 6, Sayı 3 Journal of History and Future, September 2020, Volume 6, Issue 3 Tarih&Gelecek Dergisi Dr. Mehmet ARSLAN 911 History&Future Journal of Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Atatürk İlkeleri Ve İnkilap Tarihi Enstitüsü ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4936-2531 e-ISSN 2458-7672 Eser Geçmişi / Article Past: Araştırma Makalesi Başvuruda bulundu. Kabul edildi. 05/08/2020 07/09/2020 Applied Accepted DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21551/jhf.777342 Research Paper Orjinal Makale / Orginal Paper Anılarla Birinci Dünya Savaşi’nda Osmanlı Devleti Seferberliği ve İstanbul’da Verilen Askeri Eğitimler (1914) The Mobilization of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War and the Military Training in Istanbul with Memories (1914) Öz Balkan Savaşı’ndan yenik ayrılan ve Avrupa’daki varlığı Doğu Trakya ile sınırlı kalan Osmanlı Devleti, aldığı ağır yenilginin altından kalkmak ve bir daha aynı faciayı yaşamamak için seferberlik hazırlıklarında ve asker alım usullerinde yenileşme hareketlerine girişti. Bu doğrultuda Osmanlı Devleti, Almanya’nın yardımlarıyla ordu içerisinde yenileşme hareketlerini gerçekleştirirken, Avusturya-Macaristan veliahdının öldürülmesi, sanayileşme ve silahlanma yarışında olan Avrupa ülkelerinin birbirlerine savaş ilan etmesine neden oldu. Avrupa ülkeleri birbirlerine savaş ilan ederken Osmanlı Devleti de yaşanan bu gelişmeler karşısında seferberliğini ilan etti ve asker alımlarına başladı. İstanbul ve çevresinde zorunlu askerlik görevi bulunanlar da seferberliğe uygun olarak bağlı bulundukları askeri kamplara gidip, askeri eğitimlerini aldıktan sonra Çanakkale’de görev yapmak üzere yola çıktılar. Bu makalede I. Dünya Savaşı’nın başlamasıyla birlikte Osmanlı Devleti’nin seferberlik hazırlıkları, asker alma işlemlerinin yapılması ve İstanbul’daki askeri eğitimler yayınlanmış anılar üzerinden anlatılacaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Seferberlik, Osmanlı, Anılar, Birinci Dünya Savaşı, Asker. Screened by Abstract Defeated in the Balkan War and its existence in Europe limited to the Eastern Thrace, The Ottoman Empire started to mobilize in military preparations and military recruitment processes in order to get rid of the severe defeat and not to experience the same disaster again. In this direction, while the Ottoman Empire was reorganizing movements within the army with the aid of Germany, the killing of the Austro-Hungarian throne caused European countries to declare war against each other in the race for industrialization and arms. While the European countries declared war on each other, the Ottoman Empire declared its mobilization in the face of these developments and began recruiting troops. Those who had compulsory military service in Istanbul and its vicinity went to the military camps where they were affiliated to mobilization, and after taking their military training, they set out to serve in Dardanelles. In this article, the preparations for the mobilization of the Ottoman Empire for World War One, the recruitment process and military training in Istanbul will be explained through the published memoirs. Keywords: Mobilization, Ottoman, Memories, World War I, Soldier. ATIF: ARSLAN Mehmet, “Anılarla Birinci Dünya Savaşi’nda Osmanlı Devleti Seferberliği ve İstanbul’da Verilen Askeri Eğitimler (1914)”, Tarih ve Gelecek Dergisi, 6/3 (Eylül 2020), s. (911-927) CITE: ARSLAN Mehmet, “The Mobilization of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War and the Military Training in Istanbul with Memories (1914)”, Journal of History and Future, 6/3 (September 2020), pp. (911-927) Tarih ve Gelecek Dergisi, Eylül 2020, Cilt 6, Sayı 3 Journal of History and Future, September 2020, Volume 6, Issue 3 912 https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jhf 1. The Status of the Ottoman Empire Before the First World War and its Participation in the War Although the preparations for mobilization in the Balkan War were not completed, Turkish officers acted in optimism and regarded themselves as superior to enemy forces. Unregulated troops were transported to the front by train in irregularity1. Even, health preparations that were to be made before the war were ignored by company and battalion2 commanders and soldiers to carry the wounded and dress the wounds could not be found. These procedures were carried out by sick, crippled and green soldiers3. Along with this and similar irregularities and irresponsibility, the soldiers going to the front had no food the soldiers got wet in the cold and no effort was made for the soldiers in this situation. On the other hand, the soldiers did not have a single grunt or even a single discourse4. They were also fighting in their positions until the last moment and they continued their struggles in a self-sacrificing manner5. In the end, due to the Balkan War disaster, the Ottoman Empire, whose presence in Europe was limited to Eastern Thrace, made new arrangements in the preparations for mobilization and recruitment procedures in order to get rid of the severe defeat and not to experience the same disaster again6. For the arrangements to be made, a treaty with Germany was signed7 and the improvement of the Army and the Turkish War Office were left to the Germans8. In this context, on 14 December 1913 a group of 42 officers under the command of General Liman Von Sanders arrived in Istanbul9. Enver Pasha, who was appointed as the Chief of the General Staff, changed his staff cadres in January 191410. On 12 May 1914, the law on the draft of soldiers was issued upon Sultan Mehmed Reşad’s declaration11. In addition to the new regulations in the military field, the political and social institutions of Western civilization and the sense of admiration that they naturally awakened in the Ottoman Empire caused a desire to benefit from the experiences of the Western nations. This desire brought a different character to the thought structure of the Ottoman Empire and a different character to political and social activities12. This admiration for the West led to a great deal of 1 Gustav Von Hoch Wachter, Balkan War Chronicles, Translator: Sumru Toydemir, (İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Cultural Publishing, 2008), 3-9. 2 Battalion: A military unit that consists of four companies and is commanded by a major. Company: the title of units consisting of persons of certain duties in the Ottoman military organization 3 Metin Özata, The War and Country Memories of a Doctor, (Ankara: Chief of Staff Publishing, 2009), 47. 4 Hoch Wachter, 17. 5 Hüseyin Cemal, New War What Happened to Us Again, Battle of Edirne, Siege, Captivity and Esaret and the Reason of the Disaster, Edited by: Aziz Korkmaz, (Ankara: Turkish History Association, 2014), 62. 6 Mehmet Arslan, ‘‘Military Drafting procedures to the Dardanelles Front in the First World War and the transportation of the Soldiers to the Front’’, Dardanelles Research Turkish Annual, Year:13 Spring:2015, Issue:18, (2015), 220./ While a raffle (...truncated)