Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-05
TURKEY'SSTRONGARMY
ORGANIZATION CAN TURN OVER
100000 MEN INTO THE FIELD.
Military Force That Stands Behind the
Sultan-Regulars and Fierce
= Irregulars.
From the st. James's Gazette.

At the time of writing. when the Balkan
peninsula Is virtually an armed camp. and
the dispatch of Turkish troops. including
many Asiatic battalons, to guard the from
tiers continues without cessation, the de-
fensive and offensive capabilities of the OF
toman empire may fifty be considered. Dur
ing the war with Greece In 1897 the sultan
modified 100000 men without any great eff
3 fort, but while that campaign brought out
the rapidity of mobilization and the devo-
ton and endurance of the Turkish soldier
1t also revealed in high commands indeci-
sion and lethargy, and in organization not a
| few weak points. Since then new laws and
sweeping reforms have been put into opera
ton. with the view TO perfecting the organi-
cation according to the most approved Ger
man methods: while the sultan has declared
it his resolve to increase the war footing of
his armies to total of one and half mil
! Hons The organization of the Turkish
army only takes Mussulmans into account
/ In spite of provisions to the contrary laid
down in 1885, Christians are still excluded
from the Ottoman military service and are
compelled to the payment of a substitu-
. ton tax.
1t is only in the medical corps that nom
Mussuman officers. usually Armenians or
Jews, found. Certain Mussulmans, such
as natives of Constantinople. the north Of
Albania, Arabia and Tripot, are also ex-
number of the Asiatic tribes. Kurds and
Arabs representing a population of over
a million and a half, escape regular recruit
! ing either by legal exemption or from their
own refusal to submit to 1t.
Compulsory Service.
For Ottoman subjects military service is
obligatory for twenty years. viz. from the
age of twenty to forty, and it is divided
follows: Six years with the Nizam, &C
tive army; eight years with the Redif. or
reserve army. and six years with the Mus
taf1z or Landsturm. The service with the
! colors is, according to regula tion three
years. the remaining three years Of active
service being spent in the NiZam reserve,
but the former period is frequently extend
ed TO four, five or even more years The
regiStra ton list of recruits shows that
about 10000 men are liable to service each
year. but. as a matter of fact, only about
$4,000 are Incorporated into the army. A
few years back the leakage was consider
ably more.
The Nizam troops have a peace strength
of 216.53O, and a strength of 374 800,
while in peace or war the number OF guns
is the same-viz.. 1,494. The Nizam COM
prise $40 infantry battalfonS, 200 SquadrOnS,
255 horse field. howitzer and mountain bat
teries, 145 siege and fortress artillery COM
panies. thirty-siX companies of engineers.
eight railway and five telegraph companies.
twentyfour companies of military-train
troops and sixty-three companies of ar
tificers and workmen. There are 374 bat
talions of Redif infantry and forty-eight
there distributed through the whole
empire 1913 battalions Of gendarmerie and
200 squadrons of mounted gendarmes
Savage Kurds.
! Since 1901 endeavors have been made to
utilize the most warlike Of the Kurd tribes
by forming them into a special militia on
the Cossack model. This militia, called
the Handle. after the reigning sultan. their
organizer comprises 266 squadrons Every
man furnishes his own equipment and mount
and Is armed with a lance. So far the
Handle have only succeeded in earning
for themselves an unenviable notoriety on
account of their outrages In Armenia, and
they form a dangerous element in the army
at large.
Lastly, there is-on paper, at least-a
latter are composed of men, principally
Asiatics. exempt hitherto from military
service. together with the overflow of the
annual contingent Of Osmanu recruits.
There said to be 666 battalions of
Have. but IN peace time each battalion
consists only of a permanent cadre of nine
officers and twelve non-commissoned off,
GERS. The Mustafiz have no organization
! of any kind except In time of war; never
theless they are far from being a negligi-
BILE quantity, for two divisions were mus
tered with ease toward the end of the re-
cent war with Greece.
The Nizam
The Nizam are splendid soldiers, their
long term Of service adding greatly to
their effectiveness, and the Redif are al
most their equals. Indeed. the portion
most worthy of note in the Turkish mil
tary organization is the Redif. These
troops possess permanent cadres COM
posed of all the officers necessary for the
mobilization of the units, and Turkish Of
ficers consider II distinction to be APP
pointed TO the Redif Each of the seven
military districts IS divided into four di-
visional areas. these again being parti-
toned into subdivisions corresponding to
the different units of the Redif down to
and including the company. The captains
reside in the midst of their company dis
trict, and attend to the training of the
men. who are called out usually for lone
month every two years.
At the present day the Ottoman empire
can mobilize nineteen army corps, twelve
of which are Redif, while the total armed
strength, excluding the gendarmerie and
the MustafZ, is 1.310OOo.