Orbat of Turkish Units at Gallipoli 1915

Ottoman Divisions & Order of Battle, Turkish 3rd & 5th Armies

As at the start of 1915, the Ottoman army had been warring (albeit not continuously) for four years against Italy, the Balkan states, Russia and then Britain, and had lost every campaign. The army’s performance was little better against the Arab secessionists in what would become Saudi Arabia. In the Gallipoli campaign, however, the ability of the Ottoman soldier came to be well-respected by the Allied fighting man, and the Ottoman troops of the Fifth Army proved very successful in their defensive endeavours, so the army clearly had its strengths.

There were five factors present at Gallipoli that drew the best out of the Ottoman troops.
- The first is that although the population of the Gallipoli peninsular was predominantly Greek, its proximity to Constantinople made the Ottoman soldiers feel that they were fighting for their homeland rather than fighting to oppress the peoples of the far reaches of the Empire.
- Secondly, Ottoman troops generally proved themselves more adept at defence than attack.
- Thirdly, by the time of Gallipoli the Ottoman army had been modernised to some extent by German military instructors.
- Fourthly, the Fifth Army had the benefit of good leadership- Liman von Sanders was an able commander, a number of divisions were commanded by experienced German officers, and amongst the home-grown Turkish officers was the nigh-legendary Mustafa Kemal.
- Fifthly, the units sent to Gallipoli tended to be the best troops the Ottoman army had.

Ottoman divisions were smaller than those employed by the Allies, and generally numbered about 10,000 men per division. Each division was comprised of 3 regiments, each of 3 battalions. They were better supported in terms of artillery than the Allied troops- provided naval guns are excluded. Although fighting much closer to home, the Ottoman Fifth Army had supply problems that were in many respects greater than those of the Allies, as there were no rail lines passing close to the Dardanelles, and so supplies had either to be brought 100 miles by road from the nearest railhead, run the gauntlet of Allied submarines to be shipped in, or a some combination of each.

Hamilton's invasion force was opposed by the Turkish Fifth Army, under the command of the German advisor to the Ottoman Army, General Otto Liman von Sanders. The 5th Army, which had to defend both shores of the Dardanelles, comprised six of the best Turkish divisions totalling 84,000 men. At Bulair, near the neck of the peninsula, were the Turkish 5th and 7th divisions. At Cape Helles, on the tip of the peninsula, and along the Aegean coast, was the 9th Division and, in reserve at Gaba Tepe in the middle of the peninsula was the 19th Division, under the command of (Turkish statesman who abolished the caliphate and founded Turkey as a modern secular state (1881-1938)) Mustafa Kemal. Defending the Asian shore at Kum Kale, which lies at the entrance to the Dardanelles, were the 3rd and 11th divisions.

According to one source, one third of the Ottoman Army at the time were ethnic Arabs including two thirds of the 19th Division. Other ethnicities within the empire, such as Kurds would also have been represented.
- Kurds are members of a largely pastoral Islamic people who live in Kurdistan; the largest ethnic group without their own state. Arabs are members of a Semitic people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speak Arabic and who inhabit much of the Middle East and northern Africa.

Turkish 5th Army - Special Dardanelles defence force formed 24th March 1915.

Commander Liman von Sanders
Chief of Staff (a very competent Turkish Officer) LTCOL Kiazim Bey.
Composition of 5th Army:
a. III Army Corps (on the Peninsula)
b. XV Army Corps (on the mainland south of the Peninsula)
c. 5th Division and an Independent Cavalry Brigade on the mainland north of the peninsula
- total strength (Bean) 62077
III Corps structure: (Commander Essad Pasha – oldest Turkish General on active service – also very experienced and battle wise.)

a. 7th Division –
    19th Regiment
    20th Regiment
    21st Regiment*
(*note – a Turkish Regiment of 3 Battalions was equivalent to a weak British Infantry Brigade.)
b. 9th Division –
    25th Regiment
    26th Regiment
    27th Regiment
    Broussa Field Battalion of Gendarmerie
c. 19th Division –
    57th Regiment
    72nd Regiment
    77th regiment
III Corps deployment:

a. 7th Division – Bulair Lines and adjacent coastline.
b. 9th Division – The remaining coastline on the Peninsula itself.
c. 19th Division – Corps Reserve – concentrated near Maidos.
9th Division deployment based around several defence zones, built around anticipated landing sites. These were:

a. Gaba Tepe Zone (from Aghyl Dere 4 miles north of Gaba Tepe to the mouth of the Asmak Dere half mile south of Gaba Tepe)
b. Kum Tepe Zone (south of Asmak Dere to the beginning of the cliff line.)
c. Sedd-el-Bahr Zone. (from the cliff line slightly north of Krithia south around the coast to Morto Bay and Domuz Dere inside the Straits).
d. The coast north of Gaba Tepe was outside this structure but was guarded by the Broussa Field Battalion of the Gendarmerie (rated by Bean as excellent soldiers.
9th Division deployments:

a. Gaba Tepe Zone: 27th Regiment
- 1 Battalion in trenches around Gaba Tepe with posts along the coast;
- 2 Battalions in reserve in camps behind Maidos.
b. Kum Tepe Zone 25th Regiment and Sedd-el-Bahr Zone:
- 1 Battalion entrenched in Kum Tepe Zone
- 2 Battalions in Sedd-el Bahr. (In the Sedd-el-Bahr Zone a line of four strong points, entrenched and surrounded by barbed wire entanglements was constructed. A Company was put into each as it was finished.)
c. Divisional Reserve: 26th Regiment, on the Kilid Bahr Plateau, enabling it to be quickly rushed to anywhere in the Division’s zone.
Turkish defences at ANZAC:

a. Gaba Tepe was the key; surrounded by trenches and barbed wire (even some old earth works dating back to the Balkan Wars.)
b. The beach north of Gaba Tepe covered by more earth works and a line of gun pits.
c. Further north, scattered outpost positions and gun pits.
d. Four large gun emplacements one and a half kilometres south west of Gaba Tepe (later known to the ANZACs as “The Olive Grove” were zeroed onto the beach in front of Gaba Tepe.

Canakkale Fortress Command (includes 115 guns in 15 forts)
1st Aircraft Squadron (later in the campaign a German detachment joined the Turkish squadron, still later, in early 1916, as the Allies were withdrawing, the 6th Aircraft Squadron joined.)

Turkish ORBAT (Order of Battle) 1915, Gallipoli Peninsular

[Turkish Navy deployments are given separately]
5th Division, Bulair
7th Division, Bulair
3rd Division, Kum Kale
11th Division, Kum Kale
9th Division, Cape Hellas
19th Division, Gaba Tepe (in reserve) [Mustafa Kemal]
- Notes: When 3rd Army Corps reinforced the Gallipoli Peninsula defenses, it arrived with the 7th and 18th Divisions. We have no knowledge of what happened to the 18th Division. The shadowy presence of Liman von Sanders, the legendary general who was chief German advisor to the Turkish Army, hovers everywhere.
Gallipoli: Turkish Counteroffensive, August 1915.
- [Not only are details scarce about units and formations - we consulted approximately 30 websites just to get the little we have - because the battle arena was geographically small, Turkish regiments and divisions were all mixed up, with the situation getting worse as the counteroffensive progressed. Reconstructing an accurate orbat is difficult under these circumstances. We have put down such corps, divisions and regiments as was possible.]
3rd Turkish Army [Kemal Yer]
5th Turkish Army [Vehip Pasha]
3rd Army Corps [Ehad Pasha; Chief-of-Staff Fahrettin Bey] Deployed opposite ANZAC
5th Division
- - 14th Infantry Regiment
9th Division
- - 25th Infantry Regiment
- - 64th Infantry Regiment
16th Division
- - 47th Infantry Regiment
- - 48th Infantry Regiment
- - 77th Infantry Regiment
- - 125th Infantry Regiment
19th Division [Mustafa Kemal]
- - 18th Infantry Regiment
- - 27th Infantry Regiment
- - 57th Infantry Regiment
- - 72nd Infantry Regiment
4th Cavalry Brigade [deployed north, to protect Tayfi area]
16th Army Corps (also called Saros Group) [Fevzi Bey] Reinforces and takes position in area Bulair - Enez-Kavak
6th Division
7th Division
12th Division
??th Army Corps (is the Asian group of three divisions?) [Faik Pasha] Might have been an ad hoc formation
4th Division
8th Division [Ali Reza Beg]
- - 10th Infantry Regiment
- - 23rd Infantry Regiment
- - 24th Infantry Regiment
11th Division
Unidentified Regiments
- 13th, 15th, 28th, 30th, 41st , and 64th Regiments are mentioned in the 3rd Corps Area

- 11th and 25th Regiments are mentioned, as are 16th and 19th Regiments