'File XX/4 Naval and Military Intelligence Queries.' [‎63r] (125/224)

THE PIONEER; FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, ign.
the reorganization of the
TURKISH ARMY.
[FROM OUK LATE CORRESPONDENT IN TURKEY.]
v my last letter I gave some details of
the impressions gained in Berlin in the course
of an interview with one of the rising Diplo
matists in Germany and I ventured to offer
another letter dealing with my curtailed visit
to Constantinople. So far as the outside of the
cup and the platter, is concerned, I see but
little change since the olden days when I first
knew the place and wandered through the
bazaars more especially those devoted to
lorseflesh with your late Viceroy. There are
fewer dogs and fewer police en evidence, the
pavements are as villainous and the streets, as *
mal-odorous as ever, and the Greek charioteers
as careless of the well-being of their excellent
little tats as before. The troops have exchang
ed the bad fitting blue uniforms for equally
bad fitting clothes of a khaki hue. The accou
trements and saddlery and harness of the Artil-
leiy appear to have been in some measure im
proved and from what I saw at the parade
grounds at Taxim and Daoud Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. consider
able attention is being paid to regimental and
battalion movements. In the days of Abdul
Hamid no battalion parade could be held with
out an Imperial Iradeh; the subalterns of the
army strongly disapprove of such wide powers
being placed in the hands of the Officer Com-
I manding a battalion. Daily parades are a most
confounded nuisance, said one genial youngster
tome. Such a remark cirried me back to the
pre-historic days when I was soldiering at Alla
habad, and our Colonel in a fit of zeal gave us a
gruelling on three successive days, a dose of
which we were much in need. On the third
morning, one of the senior, captains came into
the mess with the exclamation Z “ this is too
much of a good thing. Look here I’ll take a
thousand to go or if....does I’ll give three
thousand for the majority.” The Major did not
rise to the bait, but a senior Lieutenant promptly
accepted the offer and the regiment was bereft
of a Captain who had been through the Crimea
and Mutiny with more than usual credit.
However this is another story. In outward ap
pearance 1 do not think there is much change in
the Turkish army, and I am sorry to say that I
do not think the German method at all suited to
the Turk. Von der Goltz is an able writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. and
I have no doubt an excellent organiser, but his
experience of war is meagre and out of date
and he hjis no practical knowledge of any army
but his own. Barrack yard drill is not needed
in Turkey, to the extent that it is now carried
on. “ Right turn, left turn, take the beggar’s
name down ” seems to be the principle on
which things are done, the men are practiced
for hours at the ridiculous knee action step so
dear to the Prussian soldier, they are shod in
the high boot which is abhorrent to the
man who has been accustomed from his
infancy to sandals, and the two years he spends
with the colours is not sufficient to wed him to
the new style of foot gear. Just when his feet
are becoming used to the high boot, he passes
-pito the Reserve, back he goes with smiling
cheerfulness to the sandal, then comes a fresh
call to arms and he has to habituate himself
to the hated boot. One Fane or Brownlow
would do more for the Turkish Army than a
hundred Von der Goltzes.
Whilst a handful of German officers and a few
s core of Turks who have gone through a certain
German training are drilling the old Turk out
of remembrance, the Marshal with the aid of a
few be-speetacled pedants is re-arranging the
organisation which dates from the days of Von
Moltke. Sir John Lawrence used to say of his
Chief Engineer in the early days of th e
Punjab that “ Napier thought in lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .’’ Well
Von der Goltz thinks in millions. How long the
little game will last I do not know, but Turkey
is perilously near bankruptcy at present and if
military expenditure is not checked heaven
knows when the storm will break. The new
scheme is excellent in every way, but it adds
some three million annually to the military
budget,'and though that is a small insurance
against war, for a wealthy State, it is more than
Turkey can afford to pay.
Before I touch on the new organisation, it will
be necessary for me to remind your readers of
the old. For the past thirty years Turkey has
been divided into seven military districts each,
maintaining one army corps with two additional
divisions in the Iledjaz (that is the
district of Mecca and Medina) and Tripoli
in Africa. Roughly speaking the army
corps consisted of two divisions of infantry
and one of cavalry, each comprising 34 batta An extra allowance of pay granted to soldiers involved in special field service or to public servants on special duty.
lions, 80 squadrons and 126 guns and
numbering some 40,000 men on a war footing.
The headquarters of the seven corps were at
Constantinople, Adrianople, Salonica, Damascus,
Erzindjan, Baghdad, and Yemen. Although
universal military service was theoretically the
law there were many exemptions. Chmtians
paid a small tax in lieu of service, the inhabit
ants of the capital were from time immemorial
free, as were those of Scutari in Albania, whilst
Albanians and Kurds served when it so
pleased them. The latter were formed into
regiments of Irregular Horse under their
tribal chieftains, a system which suited them
admirably. They were armed at the expense
of the State, and were thus able to carry on
unofficial war with their Armenian neighbours
without let or hindrance. Men liable for service
passed nine years in the Nizam or active '
army, three with the colours and six in the
Reserve ; they then were drafted into the Redif
or Reserve in which they passed a second
period of nine years. Theoretically every battal- j
ion of the active army had two battalions (
of the Redifs—one with cadres of Officers
complete, the other commonly called Second
C'lass Redif, were unorganised, the men being
xable to service, but the regiments being in a
nebulous condition. Practically the whole
military burden fell upon about 8 million
Moslems, a manifest injustice.
Thanks to an old friend who has been in com
mand of one of the old army corps, I have
been favoured with an epitome of Marshal Von
der Goltz’s new scheme. It does not err on the
side of econorny. Instead of seven ? there are |
no less than 14 army corps, and in lieu of the
two independent divisions in the Iledjaz and
Tripoli there are no less than five. Under the old
scheme there were but two army corps in
Europe, and for many years the second corps at
Salonica had grown to an unwieldy size owing to
large reinforcements from other corps in Asia.
THE PIONEER’ FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1911.
THE REORGANIZATION OF THE
Turkish army.
[tHOM OUH LATR CORUESPONOENT IN TURKEY.]
In last letter I gave some details of
the impressions gained in Berlin in the course
of an interview with one of the rising Diplo
matists in Germany and I ventured to offer
mother letter dealing with my curtailed visit
to Constantinople. So far as the outside of the
CU P and the platter, is concerned, I see but
little change since the olden days when I first
knew the place and wandered through the
bazaars more especially those devoted to
horseflesh with your late Viceroy. There are
fewer dogs and fewer police en evidence, the
pavements are as villainous and the streets, as 1
mal-odorous as ever, and the Greek charioteers
as careless of the well-being of their excellent
little tats as before. The troops have exchang
ed the bad fitting blue uniforms for equally
bad fitting clothes of a khaki hue. The accou
trements and saddlery and harness of the Artil
lery appear to have been in some measure im
proved and from what I saw at the parade
grounds at Taxim and Daoud Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. consider
able attention is being paid to regimental and
battalion movements. In the days of Abdul
Hamid no battalion parade could be held with
out an Imperial Iradeh ; the subalterns of the
army strongly disapprove of such wide powers
being placed in the hands of the Officer Com
manding a battalion. Daily parades are a most
confounded nuisance, said one genial youngster
tome. Such a remark carried me back to the
pre-historic days when I was soldiering at Alla
habad, and our Colonel in a fit of zeal gave us a
gruelling on three successive days, a dose of
which we were much in need. On the third
morning, one of the senior, captains came into
the mess with the exclamation Z il this is too
much of a good thing. Look here IT1 take a
thousand to go or if.... does I’ll give three
thousand for the majority.” The Major did not
rise to the bait, but a senior Lieutenant promptly
accepted the offer and the regiment was bereft
of a Captain who had been through the Crimea
and Mutiny with more than usual credit.
However this is another story. In outward ap
pearance 1 do not think there is much change in
the Turkish army, and I am sorry to say that I
do not think the German method at all suited to
the Turk. Von der Goltz is an able writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. and
I have no doubt an excellent organiser, but his
experience of war is meagre and out of date
and he h*is no practical knowledge of any army
but his own. Barrack yard drill is not needed
in Turkey, to the extent that it is now carried
on. “ Piight turn, left turn, take the beggar’s
name down ” seems to be the principle on
which things are done, the men are practiced
for hours at the ridiculous knee action step so
dear to the Prussian soldier, they are shod in
the high boot which is abhorrent to the
man who has been accustomed from his
infancy to sandals, and the two years he spends
with the colours is not sufficient to wed him to
the new style of foot gear. Just when his feet
are becoming used to the high boot, he passes
-into the Reserve, back he goes with smiling
cheerfulness to the sandal, then comes a fresh
call to arms and he has to habituate himself
to the hated boot. One Fane or Brownlow
would do more for the Turkish Army than a
hundred Von dcr Goltzes.
Whilst a handful of German officers and a few
s core of Turks who have gone through a certain
German training are drilling the old Turk out
of remembrance, the Marshal with the aid of a
few be-speetaeled pedants is re-arranging the
organisation which dates from the days of Von
Moltke. Sir John Lawrence used to say of his
Chief Engineer in the early days of th e
Punjab that “ Napier thought in lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .” Well
Von der Goltz thinks in millions. How long the
little game will last I do not know, but Turkey
is perilously near bankruptcy at present and if
military expenditure is not checked heaven
knows when the storm will break. The new
scheme is excellent in every way, but it adds
some three million annually to the military
budget,'and though that is a small insurance
against war, for a wealthy State, it is more than
Turkey can afford to pay.
Before I touch on the new organisation, it will
be necessary for me to remind your readers of
^he old. For the past thirty years Turkey has
been divided into seven military districts each,
maintaining one army corps with two additional
divisions in the Iledjaz (that is the
district of Mecca and Medina) and Tripoli
in Africa. Roughly speaking the army
corps consisted of two divisions of infantry
and one of cavalry, each comprising ,34 batta An extra allowance of pay granted to soldiers involved in special field service or to public servants on special duty.
lions, 30 squadrons and 126 guns and
numbering some 40,000 men on a war footing.
The headquarters of the seven corps were at
Constantinople, Adrianople, Salonica, Damascus,
Erzindjan, Baghdad, and Yemen. Although
universal military service was theoretically the
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