Greco-Turkish War (1897) - Opposing Forces

Opposing Forces

The Greek army was made of 3 divisions with 2 of them taking positions in Thessaly and one in Arta, Epirus. Crown Prince Constantine was the only general in the army. He took command of the forces on 25 March. The Greek army in Thessaly consisted of 45,000 men, 500 cavalry and 96 guns, while that of Epirus was made of 16,000 men and 40 guns.

The opposing Ottoman army was consisted of 8 infantry divisions and one cavalry. In the Thessaly front it consisted of 58,000 men, 1,300 cavalry and 186 guns, while in Epirus it could field 29,000 men and 24 guns. In addition, the Ottoman army was under the guidance of a German military mission under general Baron von der Goltz who had reorganized it after the defeat in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). Edhem Pasha had the overall command of the Ottoman forces.

Apart from the obvious difference in numbers, the two sides had also significant differences in the quality of armaments. The Ottoman army was already being equipped with its second generation of smokeless powder repeater rifles (Mauser Models 1890 and 1893), while the Greeks were equipped with the inferior single shot Gras rifle.

There was also the potential for a naval contest. In 1897 the Greek navy consisted of three Hydra class small battleships, one cruiser, the Miaoulis, and several older small ironclads and gunboats. The Greek ships conducted bombardments of Turkish fortifications and escorted troop transports, however there was no major naval battle during the war. The Ottoman fleet had eight battleships and ironclads at least as large as the Greek battleships, and although most of these were obsolete designs the Osmanieh class had been rebuilt and modernized. The Turkish navy also had several smaller ironclads, two unprotected cruisers and a number of smaller ships including torpedo craft. However, the Ottoman fleet had not been maintained, perhaps due to the Sultan’s fear of a strong navy becoming a power base for plots against the government, and in 1897 when called into action most of the ships were in poor condition and could not contest control of the sea beyond the Dardanelles.