Fourth Army (Ottoman Empire)

Fourth Army
Fourth Army
	Djemal Pasha and Fuad Bey (April 1917)
Active	?-?; 7 September 1914 – 26 September 1918
Country	Ottoman Empire
Type	Field Army
Garrison/HQ	Baghdad, Damascus
Patron	Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
Engagements	Sinai and Palestine Campaign (World War I)
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Zeki Pasha (September – 18 November 1914); Djemal Pasha (18 November 1914 – September 1917); Mersinli Djemal Pasha (September 1917 – October 1918)

The Fourth Army of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish: Dördüncü Ordu) was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was formed in the middle nineteenth century, during Ottoman military reforms.

The army did not survive the WWI battles in Palestine and Syria.^[1]^[2]

Formations

Order of Battle, 1877

In 1877, it was stationed in Anatolia. It was composed of:^[3]

Infantry: Five line regiments and six rifle battalions
Cavalry: Three line regiments
Artillery: One line regiment (12 batteries)
Engineer: One sapper company

Order of Battle, 1908

After the Young Turk Revolution and the establishment of the Second Constitutional Era 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. It commanded the following active divisions and other units:^[4]

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:^[5]^[6]

13th Erzincan Reserve Infantry Division (On Üçüncü Erzincan Redif Fırkası)
14th Trabzon Reserve Infantry Division (On Dördüncü Trabzon Redif Fırkası)
15th Diyarbekir Reserve Infantry Division (On Beşinci Diyarbekir Redif Fırkası)
16th Sivas 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. Before the First Balkan War in 1911, the Army was structured as:^[7]

Army Headquarters, Baghdad
- XII Corps, Musul
  - 35th Infantry Division, Musul
  - 36th Infantry Division, Kerkük
- XIII Corps, Baghdad
  - 37th Infantry Division, Baghdad
  - 38th Infantry Division, Basra

World War I

Order of Battle, November 1914

In November 1914, the army was structured as:^[8]

Fourth Army (Syria)
- VIII Corps
- XII Corps
  - 35th Division
  - 36th Division

Order of Battle, Late April 1915

In April 1915, the army was structured as:^[9]

Fourth Army (Syria)
- VIII Corps
- XII Corps
  - 35th Division
  - 36th Division

Order of Battle, Late Summer 1915, January 1916

In late Summer 1915, January 1916, the army was structured as:^[10]

Fourth Army (Syria-Palestine)
- VIII Corps
  - 23rd Division
  - 24th Division
  - 27th Division
- XII Corps

Order of Battle, August, December 1916

Between August and December 1916, the army was structured as:^[11]

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:^[12]

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.^[13]

Order of Battle, January, June 1918

Between January and June 1918, the army was structured as follows:^[14]

Fourth Army (commanded by Jemal) (Syria-West Arabia)
- VIII Corps (commanded by Ali Fuad Bey)^[15]
  - 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:^[16]

Fourth Army (Mirliva Mersinli Cemal Pasha)
- II Corps (Miralay 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

^ Lawrence, T.E. (1935). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. p. 640.
^ Faulkner, Neil (2016). Lawrence of Arabia's War: The Arabs, the British and the Remaking of the Middle East in WWI. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 449. ISBN 9780300226393.
^ Ian Drury, Illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri, The Russo-Turkish War 1877, Men-at-Arms 277, Ospray Publishing Ltd., Reprinted 1999, ISBN 1-85532-371-0, p. 35.
^ Erickson (2003), p. 17.
^ Erickson (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)
^ Erickson (2001), pp.382–383
^ Erickson (2001), p.43
^ Erickson (2001), p.86
^ Erickson (2001), pp. 109, 126
^ Erickson (2001), pp.134, 154
^ Erickson (2001), p.170
^ Erickson 2001 p. 171
^ Erickson (2001), pp.181, 188
^ Falls 1930 Volume 2 Part 2 p.657
^ Erickson (2001), p.197

References

Erickson, Edward J. (2001). Order to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31516-7.
Erickson, Edward J. (2003). Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Falls, Cyril (1930). Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. 2 Part II. A. F. Becke (maps). London: HM Stationery Office.

[TE-1] Lawrence, T.E. (1935). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. p. 640.

[Neil-2] Faulkner, Neil (2016). Lawrence of Arabia's War: The Arabs, the British and the Remaking of the Middle East in WWI. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 449. ISBN 9780300226393.

[Russo35-3] Ian Drury, Illustrated by Raffaele Ruggeri, The Russo-Turkish War 1877, Men-at-Arms 277, Ospray Publishing Ltd., Reprinted 1999, ISBN 1-85532-371-0, p. 35.

[4] Erickson (2003), p. 17.

[5] Erickson (2003), p.19

[6] 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)

[7] Erickson (2001), pp.382–383

[Erickson43-8] Erickson (2001), p.43

[Erickson86-9] Erickson (2001), p.86

[Erickson109-126-10] Erickson (2001), pp. 109, 126

[Erickson134-154-11] Erickson (2001), pp.134, 154

[Erickson170-12] Erickson (2001), p.170

[13] Erickson 2001 p. 171

[Erickson181-188-14] Erickson (2001), pp.181, 188

[15] Falls 1930 Volume 2 Part 2 p.657

[Erickson197-16] Erickson (2001), p.197

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v t e Ottoman Forces during World War I
Army groups	Yildirim Caucasus Eastern
Armies	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
Corps	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXV Iraq Area Halil I Caucasian II Caucasian Hejaz
Fortified areas	Dardanelles Bosphorus Chataldja Adrianople Smyrna Erzurum Kars
Infantry divisions	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 1 Caucasian 2 Caucasian 3 Caucasian 5 Caucasian 9 Caucasian 10 Caucasian 11 Caucasian 36 Caucasian 37 Caucasian
Other divisions	1 Cavalry 2 Cavalry 3 Cavalry Van Gendarmerie
Others	1st Expeditionary Force 5th Expeditionary Force German Asia Corps Africa Hejaz Expeditionary Force 1st Provisional Force 2nd Provisional Force Islamic Army of the Caucasus 57 Rgt. 177 Rgt.