The Ottoman Seventh Army was a large military formation 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 ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although designated as an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, at least by 1918, it was only of

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

strength. The Seventh Army was established in 1877 for service in

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

and the

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. By 1908 it consisted of the 13th and 14th infantry divisions, one cavalry regiment and one artillery regiment and they were involved in combatting insurgent tribesmen in the Yemen.

World War I

Order of Battle, August 1917

In August 1917, the army was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 170. *Seventh Army,

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(Mirliva

Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa () is one of the names of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic language, Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in t ...

) **

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

*** 24th Division, 50th Division ** XV Corps *** 19th Division, 20th Division ** German Asia Corps In late 1917, commanded by Fevzi Pasha, the Seventh Army was ordered to advanced across the desert in order to bring pressure to bear upon Allenby's inland flank in Palestine. While Allenby attacked the

Ottoman Eighth Army The Eighth Army of the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish: ''Sekizinci Ordu'') was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was established during World War I. World War I In June 1917, Enver Paşa activated the Yildirim Army Group (also known a ...

, his Australian Mounted Division was sent to hold back the advance of the Seventh Army. The Seventh Army did manage to force the Australians to retreat by several miles but ultimately the Australians held their line. After the British victory in the

Battle of Mughar Ridge The Battle of Mughar Ridge, officially known by the British as the action of El Mughar, took place on 13 November 1917 during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. Fig ...

on 13 November (which did not directly involve the Seventh Army), Fevzi decided to withdraw the Seventh Army to guard Jerusalem.

Order of Battle, January 1918

In January 1918, the army was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 181. *Seventh Army (Mirliva

Mustafa Fevzi Pasha Mustafa () is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Moustafa * Moustafa Am ...

) **

*** 1st Division, 19th Division, 24th Division ** XV Corps *** 26th Division, 53rd Division ** 3rd Cavalry Division **German Asia Corps

Order of Battle, June 1918

In June 1918, the army was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 188. *Seventh Army (Mirliva

) **

***1st Division, 24th Division, 3rd Cavalry Division ** XV Corps ***26th Division, 53rd Division, 19th Division **German Asia Corps

Order of Battle, September 1918

In September 1918, the army was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 197. *Seventh Army (Mirliva

) **

(Miralay

Ismet Pasha Ismet () is a Turkish form of the Arabic name Ismat which comes from Ismah. Along with Turkish, the name is also seen in Albanian, Bosnian, and Macedonian. The name means "honesty" or "purity" and in classical "infallibility", "immaculate", "impec ...

) ***1st Division, 11th Division ** XV Corps (Miralay Ali Fuat Bey) ***26th Division, 53rd Division The Seventh Army was destroyed by British aerial bombardment during its retreat from

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

on 21 September 1918.

After Mudros

Order of Battle, November 1918

In November 1918, the army was structured as follows:Edward J. Erickson, ''Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', Greenwood Press, 2001, , p. 202. *Seventh Army (Mirliva Ali Fuat Pasha, deputy) **

***11th Division, 24th Division ** XX Corps ***1st Division, 43rd Division

References

{{Ottoman Forces during World War I Field armies of the Ottoman Empire Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire in World War I Capture of Damascus