Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-11-02
THE TURK AS A FIGHTER
It is Claimed That There is Lack of Good
Leaders.
Foreign Omcers Form an Element of
Strength In the Army Of
the Ottoman Empire.
From the Army and Navy Journal.

From the Army and Navy Journal.
The Turk is good fighter when he is
we'll led. but as rule he is Tot we'll led
When he knows what to do he can do 1t,
stubbornly and resolutely. If somewhat
clumsily and craftily. but he has little fac
ulty of origination and but an Indifferent
faculty Of execution. When 1t comes to
defense he is there, largely by reason of
his negative qualities Of Wis inertia and his
stolid acquiescence in whatever may be mis-
environment for the time. At offensive
movements he is not an adept. "Kusmet'
(fate) sums up NEST Of his strategy. al
though he is willing to a limited degree to
help fate" out when some leader more in
telligent than the average shows him the
way.
But the Moslem, who is so used to being
misled in political and in other ways in
time of peace, would hardly know what
was happening If he should for once be well
led in battle. He has never been accustom-
ed to intelligent systems of administration.
Little Is done systematically in the Otto
man empire, or done with method long.
even where a periodical fit of progress"
SEXES on the centralized officialism at SIAM
boul. Such thing a war college is I'M
known in Turkey.
Here and there is a military school.
which gives kind of cadet drill in the
minutiae Of mil;tarism. but no such thing
Is known as a comprehensive scheme into
which the several parts of the military
system. SO far as there Is any system at
all, might be made to so fit that every
man would know his place and duty In
time Of war In other words. Turkey has
no military station bill' posted up any
where abouts. nor, SO far as any observers
are informed, even stored away In any
archives anywhere That she has some IN
dividual staff officers of brains and even
brilliancy, both native and foreign, In her
employ is not Denied but broad scope is
not allowed these specialists in forming
which
pashas and the discredited methods OF de-
crepit bureaucracy.
Still, after all that has been safd IT will
not do to despise the Turk as a fighter.
however far short he may fall of being the
ideal fighter. Now that ordnance has been
so improved and the range and execution
of weapons so much increased. mere boy
OF any pluck with magazine rifle in his
hand is quite capable of placing men hors
de combat. and the Turk is courageous.
though usually he sees no special reason
why he should take the trouble to be brave.
But he is always capable of becoming an
ugly beast at bay, and he has a good deal
of shrewd native sense. though Of some
what sluggish kind, which is liable to awake
and assert itself on special occasions when
he is not overloaded with red tape and Of
fetal or fanatical stupidity.
Then there is the young Turk, who has
studied in England. France or Germany,
and Is now in subordinate position. He
Is liable at any time. AS a result of casual
ty in battle, suddenly to succeed to import
ant local command. when fat and fatuouS
pashas wheezy whimsical beys are
killed off.
And last. but not least, there are in the
Osmanli armies a number of German and
English officers who supplement the Drawn
or the yeOma.l Soldiery with the brains of
the accomplished tactician These men
would have to reckon with an attacking
fcrce They are there, and they an ele-
ment Of strength to government with
which few besides have much sympathy
man. serving out his term of enforced en-
listment until with his discharge papers
Euns about his neck in fancy little tin
receptacle, he goes proudly home to his
IL cal memleket' to retire into the ''redif'
or reserve corps. He is tough. lubberly.
half-clothed. half-shod and il-fed fellow
who can waliow through mud and live on
bread and olives and sleep in puddles of
water without breaking down so readily as
a European would: man who, while gem
orally fatalist who does not see the good
OF attacking a position, yet in greater
degree sees the good of running away
from an advancing enemy.
He is a stupid, but by no means. wholly
inefficient Hut, who is capable of doing
great things in point of campaigning and
resistance. and some things in the way of
offensive tactics, when he is taught and
disciplined to war-as an art well as
pastime.
The great weakness Of the Turkish army
Is its lack of a properly trained non-com-
missioned staff. AS things are, private SOL
diers and even sergeants will not dare to
exercise the discretion of firing even at
lacking brigands unless some commission
ed officer arrives and warrants their so do
ing. This failure to place responsibility
upon these non-commissoned officers has
seriously tended, of course against their
Improvement and might in case of war
result In grave disaster to attenuated firing
lines where SO much would naturally be
expected from the intelligence of squad
commanders In most cases, indeed, the
b Turkish sergeant 'chauSh" is Simply
promoted private. who lacks the capacity
for high training which most of our own
non-commissioned soldiers possess. How
ever. there Is a vast deal of material in
the Turkish Amy