Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War

Edward J. Erickson

Jan 2001 · Greenwood Publishing Group

About this ebook

The first general history in English of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Ordered to Die is based on newly available Turkish archival and official sources. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Ottoman Army performed astonishingly well in the field and managed to keep fighting until the end of the war, long after many other armies had quit the field. It fought a multi-front war against sophisticated and capable enemies, including Great Britain, France, and Russia. Erickson challenges conventional thinking about Ottoman war aims, Ottoman military effectiveness, and the influence of German assistance.

Written at the strategic and operational levels, this study frames the Turkish military contributions in a unitary manner by establishing linkages between campaigns and theaters. It also contains the first detailed discussion of Ottoman operations in Galicia, Romania, and Macedonia. Erickson provides a wealth of information on Ottoman Army organization, deployments, strategy, and staff procedures. He examines with particular attention the army's role in the Armenian deportations and the intelligence available to the Turks in 1914 and 1915. Appendixes include biographies of important commanders, the efforts of the Ottoman Air Force, Ottoman casualties, as well as a wartime chronology.

About the author

EDWARD J. ERICKSON teaches social studies at Norwich High School in Norwich, New York./e After serving as an infantry noncommissioned officer in airborne assignments, he was commissioned in the Field Artillery and served with divisional and corps artillery units in the United States, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and in Operation Desert Storm.