The First Army or First Guards Army of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish: Birinci Ordu or Hassa Ordusu) was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was formed in the middle 19th century during Ottoman military reforms.
Formations
Order of Battle, 1877
In 1877, it was stationed in Selimiye. It was composed of:
Infantry: Seven line regiments and seven rifle battalion.[2]
After the Young Turk Revolution and the establishment of the Second Constitutional Era on July 3, 1908, the new government initiated a major military reform. Army headquarters were modernized. Its operational area was Constantinople and the Bosporus, and it had units in Europe and Asia Minor. It commanded the following active divisions:[4] The First Army also had inspectorate functions for four Redif (reserve) divisions:[5][6]
Redif divisions of the First Army (name of the division denotes its location)
1st Bursa Reserve Infantry Division (Birinci Bursa Redif Fırkası)
2nd Kastamonu Reserve Infantry Division (İkinci Kastamonu Redif Fırkası)
3rd Ankara Reserve Infantry Division (Üçüncü Ankara Redif Fırkası)
4th Kayseri Reserve Infantry Division (Dördüncü Kayseri Redif Fırkası)
Order of Battle, 1911
With further reorganizations of the Ottoman Army, to include the creation of corps level headquarters, by 1911 the Army was headquartered in Harbiye. The Army before the First Balkan War in 1911 was structured as such:[7]
Army Headquarters, Harbiye, Constantinople
I Corps, Harbiye, Constantinople (Ferik Zeki Pasha)
1st Infantry Division, Harbiye, Constantinople (Colonel Hasan İzzet Bey)
2nd Infantry Division, Selimiye, Constantinople (Mirliva Prens Aziz Pasha)
3rd Infantry Division, Pangaltı, Constantinople (Mirliva Osman Pasha)
In April 1919, Şevket Turgut Pasha, Cevat Pasha and Kavaklı Mustafa Fevzi Pasha hold a secret meeting in Constantinople. They prepared a report called "Trio Oath" (Üçler Misâkı) and decided to establish army inspectorate for the defense of homeland. In late April, Kavaklı Mustafa Fevzi Pasha submitted this report to the Minister of War Şakir Pasha. On April 30, 1919, the War Ministry and Sultan Mehmed VI ratified the decision about the establishing of army inspectorates that had been accepted by the Chief of General Staff[18] And then the First Army Troops Inspectorate (stationed in Constantinople, Kavaklı Mustafa Fevzi Pasha), the Yildirim Troops Inspectorate (stationed in Konya, Mersinli Cemal Pasha, later Second Army Inspectorate) Inspectorate, the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate (stationed in Erzurum, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, later Third Army Inspectorate) was formed. Additionally, the Rumeli Military Troops Inspectorate (Nureddin Pasha) would be established and the XIII Corps would be under the direction of the Ministry of War.[19] In May 1919, the army inspectorate was structured as follows:[20][21]
First Army Troops Inspectorate (Birinci Ordu Kıt'aatı Müfettişliği, Constantinople, Inspector: FerikKavaklı Mustafa Fevzi Pasha)
^ abDavid Nicolle, colour plates by Rafaelle Ruggeri, The Ottoman Army 1914-18, Men-at-Arms 269, Ospray Publishing Ltd., 1994, ISBN1-85532-412-1, p. 14.
^ abcdIan Drury, Illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri, The Russo-Turkish War 1877, Men-at-Arms 277, Ospray Publishing Ltd., Reprinted 1999, ISBN1-85532-371-0, p. 35.
^ abcdeEdward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 6.
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003, p. 17.
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 19.
^T.C. Genelkurmay Başkanlığı, Balkan Harbi, 1912-1913: Harbin Sebepleri, Askerî Hazırlıklar ve Osmanlı Devletinin Harbe Girişi, Genelkurmay Basımevi, 1970, pp. 87-90. (in Turkish)
^Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, pp. 371-375.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 38.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 43.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 86.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 109, 126.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 134.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 154.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 170.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 181.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 188.
^Edward J. Erickson, Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War, Greenwood Press, 2001, ISBN0-313-31516-7, p. 197.
^Zekeriya Türkmen, Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, ISBN975-16-1372-8, p. 105. (in Turkish)
^Zekeriya Türkmen, Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, ISBN975-16-1372-8, p. 106. (in Turkish)
^Zekeriya Türkmen, Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, ISBN975-16-1372-8, p. 333. (in Turkish)
^Zekeriya Türkmen, Mütareke Döneminde Ordunun Durumu ve Yeniden Yapılanması (1918-1920), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2001, ISBN975-16-1372-8, pp. 109-110. (in Turkish)
