The Fourth Army of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

( Turkish: ''Dördüncü Ordu'') was one of the

field armies A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and fleets ...

of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

. It was formed in the middle nineteenth century, during Ottoman military reforms. The army did not survive the

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

battles in Palestine and Syria.

Formations

Order of Battle, 1877

In 1877, it was stationed in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. It was composed of:Ian Drury, Illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri, ''The Russo-Turkish War 1877'', Men-at-Arms 277, Ospray Publishing Ltd., Reprinted 1999, , p. 35. *

Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

: Five line regiments and six rifle battalions *

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

: Three line regiments *

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

: One line regiment (12 batteries) *

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

: One sapper company

Order of Battle, 1908

After the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

and the establishment of the

Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...

on 3 July 1908, the new government initiated a major military reform. Army headquarters were modernized. The Fourth Army's new operational area was Caucasia and its many troops were scattered along the frontier to keep an eye on the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. It commanded the following active divisions and other units: *7th Infantry Division (''Yedinci Fırka'') *8th Infantry Division (''Sekicinci Fırka'') *19th Infantry Division (''On Dokuzuncu Fırka'') *4th Artillery Division (''Dördüncü Topçu Fırkası'') *Erzurum Fortress Artillery Regiment The Fourth Army also had inspectorate functions for four ''Redif'' (reserve) divisions: *13th

Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...

Reserve Infantry Division (''On Üçüncü Erzincan Redif Fırkası'') *14th

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

Reserve Infantry Division (''On Dördüncü Trabzon Redif Fırkası'') *15th Diyarbekir Reserve Infantry Division (''On Beşinci Diyarbekir Redif Fırkası'') *16th

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

Reserve Infantry Division (''On Altıncı Sivas 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's headquarters were

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Before the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

in 1911, the Army was structured as: *Army Headquarters,

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ( ...

, Musul *** 35th Infantry Division, Musul *** 36th Infantry Division, Kerkük ** XIII Corps, Baghdad *** 37th Infantry Division, Baghdad *** 38th Infantry Division,

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

World War I

Order of Battle, November 1914

In November 1914, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.43 *Fourth Army (Syria) **

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Arm ...

*** 23rd Division *** 25th Division *** 27th Division **

*** 35th Division *** 36th Division

Order of Battle, Late April 1915

In April 1915, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.86 *Fourth Army (Syria) **

*** 8th Division *** 10th Division *** 23rd Division *** 25th Division *** 27th Division **

*** 35th Division *** 36th Division

Order of Battle, Late Summer 1915, January 1916

In late Summer 1915, January 1916, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), pp. 109, 126 *Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine) **VIII Corps ***23rd Division *** 24th Division ***27th Division **XII Corps *** 41st Division *** 42nd Division *** 46th Division

Order of Battle, August, December 1916

Between August and December 1916, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), pp.134, 154 *Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine) **VIII Corps *** 3rd Division ***23rd Division ***24th Division ***27th Division **XII Corps ***41st Division ***42nd Division *** 43rd Division ***46th Division

Order of Battle, August 1917

In August 1917, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.170 *Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine) ***3rd Cavalry Division **VIII Corps *** 48th Division **XII Corps ***23rd Division *** 44th Division ** XV Corps ***43rd Division ** XX Corps *** 16th Division *** 54th Division ** XXII Corps ***3rd Division *** 7th Division *** 53rd Division On 26 September the Fourth Army headquarters moved to Damascus, dividing its area of responsibility in half, leaving Cemal Pasha answerable for Syria and western Arabia.

Order of Battle, January, June 1918

Between January and June 1918, the army was structured as follows:Erickson (2001), pp.181, 188 *Fourth Army (commanded by Jemal) (Syria-West Arabia) **VIII Corps (commanded by Ali Fuad Bey)Falls 1930 Volume 2 Part 2 p.657 ***43rd Division ***48th Division **XII Corps ***23rd Division ***41st Division ***44th Division ** Hejaz Corps *** 58th Division ***Provisional Infantry Divisions x 3

Order of Battle, September 1918

In September 1918, the army was structured as:Erickson (2001), p.197 *Fourth Army (

Mirliva ''Mirliva'' or ''Mîr-i livâ'' was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. It corresponds to brigadier general ( modern Turkish: ''Tuğgeneral'') and division general ( modern Turkish: ''Tümgeneral'') in the modern Turkish Army. ''M ...

Mersinli Cemal Pasha) ** II Corps (

Miralay ''Miralay'' or ''Mîr-i alay'' (Gendarmerie: ''Alaybeyi'') was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. The modern Turkish equivalent is ''Albay'', meaning Colonel. ''Miralay'' is a compound word composed of '' Mir'' (commander) and ''Ala ...

Galatalı Şevket Bey) *** 62nd Division ***Provisional Divisions x 3 **Jordan Group ***24th Division ***3rd Cavalry Division **VIII Corps (Miralay Yasin Hilmi Bey) ***48th Division *** Umman Provisional Division

Sources

References

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Field armies of the Ottoman Empire Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire in World War I Capture of Damascus