First Balkan War - Order of Battle and Plans - Ottoman Empire - Ottoman Forces in The Balkans

Ottoman Forces in The Balkans

The Ottomans' military capabilities were hampered by a number of factors, beginning with domestic strife, caused by the Young Turk Revolution and the counter-revolutionary coup several months later (see Countercoup (1909) and 31 March Incident). This resulted in different groups competing for influence within the military. An effort had been made to reorganize the army by a German mission, but its effects had not taken hold, and the Ottoman army was caught in the midst of reform and reorganization. In addition, several of the army's best battalions had been transferred to Yemen to face the ongoing rebellion there, and in the summer of 1912, the Ottoman High Command made the disastrous decision to dismiss some 70,000 mobilized troops. The regular army (Nizam) was composed of well-equipped and trained active divisions, but the reserve units (Redif) that reinforced it were ill-equipped, especially in artillery, and badly trained.

The Ottomans' strategic situation was difficult, as their borders were almost impossible to defend against a co-ordinated attack by the Balkan states. Nevertheless, the Ottoman leadership decided to defend the entirety of their territory. As a result, the available forces—which could not be easily reinforced from Asia due to Greek control of the sea and the inadequacy of the Ottoman railway system—were dispersed too thinly across the region and failed to stand up to the rapidly mobilized Balkan armies. The Ottomans had three armies in Europe (the Macedonian, Vardar and Thracian Armies) with 1,203 pieces of mobile and 1,115 fixed artillery on fortified areas. The Ottoman High Command repeated the error of previous wars in neglecting the established command structure and creating new superior commands, the Eastern Army and Western Army, reflecting the division of the operational theater between the Thracian (against the Bulgarians) and Macedonian (against Greeks, Serbs and Montenegrins) fronts.

Western Army fielded at least 200,000 men while the Eastern Army fielded 115,000 men against the Bulgarian Army.

The Eastern Army was deployed against the Bulgarians. It was commanded by Nazim Pasa and numbered seven corps of 11 Regular Infantry, 13 Redif and 1+ Cavalry divisions:

  • I Corps with three divisions (2nd Infantry (minus regiment), 3rd Infantry and 1st Provisional divisions).
  • II Corps with three divisions (4th (minus regiment) and 5th Infantry and Uşak Redif divisions).
  • III Corps with four divisions (7th, 8th and 9th Infantry Divisions, all minus a regiment, and the Afyonkarahisar Redif Division).
  • IV Corps with three divisions (12th Infantry Division (minus regiment), İzmit and Bursa Redif divisions).
  • XVII Corps with three divisions (Samsun, Ereğli and İzmir Redif divisions).
  • Edirne Fortified Area with six-plus divisions (10th and 11th Infantry, Edirne, Babaeski and Gümülcine Redif and the Fortress division, 4th Rifle and 12th Cavalry regiments).
  • Kırcaali Detachment with two-plus divisions (Kırcaali Redif, Kırcaali Mustahfız division and 36th Infantry Regiment).
  • An independent cavalry division and the 5th Light Cavalry Brigade

The Western Army (Macedonian and Vardar Army) was composed of ten corps with 32 infantry and two cavalry divisions.

Against the Serbs the Ottomans deployed the Vardar Army (HQ in Skopje under Halepli Zeki Pasha) with five Corps of 18 Infantry divisions, one cavalry division and two independent cavalry brigades under the:

  • V Corps with four divisions (13th, 15th, 16th Infantry and the İştip Redif divisions)
  • VI Corps with four divisions (17th, 18th Infantry and the Manastır and Drama Redif divisions)
  • VII Corps with three division (19th Infantry and Üsküp and Priştine Redif divisions)
  • II Corps with three divisions (Uşak, Denizli and İzmir Redif divisions)
  • Sandžak Corps with four divisions (20th Infantry (minus regiment), 60th Infantry, Metroviça Redif Division, Taşlıca Redif Regiment, Firzovik and Taslica detachments)
  • An independent Cavalry Division and the 7th and 8th Cavalry Brigades.

The Macedonian Army (HQ in Thessaloniki under Ali Rizah Pasha) was composed of 14 divisions in five corps detailed against Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro.

Against Greece, seven-plus divisions were deployed:

  • VIII Provisional Corps with three divisions (22nd Infantry and Nasliç and Aydın Redif divisions).
  • Yanya Corps with three divisions (23rd Infantry, Yanya Redif and Bizani Fortress divisions).
  • Selanik Redif division and Karaburun Detachment as independent units.

Against Bulgaria in south-eastern Macedonia, two divisions forming the Struma Corps (14th Infantry and Serez Redif divisions, plus the Nevrekop Detachment) were deployed.

Against Montenegro, four-plus divisions were deployed:

  • İşkodra Corps with two-plus divisions (24th Infantry, Elbasan Redif, İşkodra Fortified Area)
  • İpek Detachment with two divisions (21st Infantry and Prizren Redif divisions)

According to the organizational plan the men of the Western Group had to number 598,000. But slow mobilization procedures and the poor railroad efficiency reduced drastically the available men, so that when war began, according to the Western Army Staff there were only 200,000 men available. Although during the next period more men reached the units, due to the war casualties, the Western Group never came near its nominal strength. In time of war the Ottomans planned to bring more troops in from Syria, both Nizamiye and Redif. Greek naval supremacy however prevented those reinforcements from arriving. Instead those soldiers had to deploy via the land route, and most never made it to the Balkans.

The Ottoman General Staff, assisted by the German Military Mission, developed 12 war plans, designed to counter various combinations of opponents. Work on plan No. 5, which was against a combination of Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, was very advanced, and had been sent to the Army staffs for them to develop local plans.

Read more about this topic:  First Balkan War, Order of Battle and Plans, Ottoman Empire

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