The Mobilization of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War and the Military Training in Istanbul with Memories (1914) ve İstanbul’da Verilen Askeri Eğitimler History & Future

Defeated in the Balkan War and its existence in Europe limited to the Eastern Thrace, The Ottoman Empire started to mobilize in military preparations and military recruitment processes in order to get rid of the severe defeat and not to experience the same disaster again. In this direction, while the Ottoman Empire was reorganizing movements within the army with the aid of Germany, the killing of the Austro-Hungarian throne caused European countries to declare war against each other in the race for industrialization and arms. While the European countries declared war on each other, the Ottoman Empire declared its mobilization in the face of these developments and began recruiting troops. Those who had compulsory military service in Istanbul and its vicinity went to the military camps where they were affiliated to mobilization, and after taking their military training, they set out to serve in Dardanelles. In this article, the preparations for the mobilization of the Ottoman Empire for World War One, the recruitment process and military training in Istanbul will be explained through the published memoirs.

Enver Pasha spoke at a meeting of Ottoman government officials, saying that Goeben and Breslau had arrived at the strait that morning and that he had allowed these ships to pass through the strait as they had been followed by the British Navy. He said that a decision must be reached for this matter. After the negotiations, it was decided that the ships should be temporarily and apparently disarmed. The next day, the Navy Minister Cemal Pasha, by giving an official statement to the newspapers in line with the decisions taken at the meeting, asked them to publish many positive articles about these two ships and government policies 23 .
One of the positive publications along with Cemal Pasha's official declaration was the İkdam newspaper's lead article dated 12 August 1914. The article says: "Ottomans, to arms!... We need extraordinary efforts, great durability. (…) Despite our government's absolute neutrality, we need to call for arms like all other nations against all odds; to arms!... This order showed the brilliant evidence of the truth. (...) 24 .
In the period of neutrality between August and November of 1914, the Ottoman Empire undertook propaganda activities in an organized and planned manner in order to eliminate the tranvance that occurred after the Balkan defeat. In this framework, the social war was tried to be revealed through the censored media for the war on the horizon. In addition, the rallies organized by the associations such as the Navy Association and the Turkish National Association, transformed the reactions of the public in favor of the war 25 . For the same purpose, the Ottoman Power Associations, on the verge of World War I, were forced to establish a much wider youth population under a military discipline in every school, madrasa and official institution. Moreover, the organization that wanted to gather young people who did not go to school under the same roof, organized rapidly in the whole country with the names of Young and Vigorous associations. Experts from Germany were brought to these associations directly adhered to the Turkish War Office 26 . By October 29, 1914, the Turkish Navy actively participated in the war by bombing the Russian ports of Odessa, Sevastopol and Novorossiysk in the Black Sea 27 . On 11 November 1914, the Ottoman Empire declared war against the Allied Forces and the declaration of Sultan Mehmet Reşad, written to the army for the Navy, was published. The declaration stated that jihad was declared to protect the lives and existence of 300 million Muslims 28 . After the declaration of the jihad, the necessity of jihad 29 and the defense of the homeland was expressed in the big mosques of the cities for weeks. Every young man was asked to join the war. Anyone holding guns, whether or not entered the military age, filled the way for military branches to remove the pain of the Balkan War 30 .

Announcement of Mobilization and Preparations
On 2 August 1914, the Turkish War Office announced the mobilization of all land and naval troops, with the exception of the 21 th and 22 th Division in Hijaz and Yemen, with the 7th Corps. In order to announce the mobilization order to the troops and the public, an announcement was made with the posters hanging in the corridors of the Turkish War Office and on the streets. The posters that are made on a red background have ''Tuğrayı Humayun'' 31 , a sword crossed with a rifle, a cannon and several bullets. At the bottom three lines read: There is mobilization. Those who are soldiers to arms. The first day of the mobilization is the 21st of July 32 . The papers and posters, in which the mobilization order was written, were distributed to the villages and neighborhoods in sealed envelopes. Envelopes were forbidden, and the neighborhood headmen had three days of detention in case of prematurely opening the sealed envelopes 33 .
The Turkish War Office also issued a declaration of mobilization and published declarations on how the handlers and drummers were to be used to announce the mobilization order 34 . In this direction, a drum-zurna was announced in the village squares to declare mobilization and war 35 . In the newspapers published in the same period, the mobilization orders were transferred to the readers 36 . The first day of mobilization is also the 9th day of Ramadan 37 , and many Muslims are fasting. Fasting people do not understand anything from the posters hanging on the walls with the morning awkwardness and fasting pleasure. In the discussions, it is also question what the military branches 38 they have to go to. These issues were tried to be disclosed to the public by official announcements and special news in the newspapers which came a little later that day 39 .
In addition to the statements made by the Turkish War Office, it was declared that the draftees would be reported to be counted as fugitives and executed if they did not go to the military branches within seven days. In addition to this declaration, the Turkish War Office decided to make reserve officers of high school, university, college and some of the of the madrasa graduates. It was reported in newspapers that all university and college students should go to the Army Academy's reserve officer camp with the documents provided from military branches 40 . In addition, the Turkish War Office decided to have the medical faculty students to do a medical internship in a military hospital for 3 months in order to help physicians in the front 41 .  Young people who want to be an officer after the announcements run at the Military Academy to enter training camps for reserve officer candidates and fill all the gates, courtyards and corridors. Crowds are so big that officers can't keep up with their registration 43 .
In this density, the reserve officer candidates go to the reserve officer training camp in Harbiye, take the imprint paper 44 , give them their sequence numbers and then sent back to be called 45 . As a result, with the circulars issued every two days from the Turkish War Office, troops were collected from all over the country 46 . https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jhf 917 Tarih ve Gelecek Dergisi, Eylül 2020, Cilt 6, Sayı 3 Journal of History and Future, September 2020, Volume 6, Issue 3 The military branch managers, who were responsible for the recruitment of soldiers, were eager for military recruitment, but had difficulty in obtaining the documents used for substitute soldiers. Accordingly, the military authorities often could not find the opportunity to determine when the people of each region had entered the age of compulsory military service. In addition, people who could not report their own age, often had to report their age through prediction. In addition, the military branches were hesitant to disarm the demobilized groups due to incorrect recordings or lack of records. There were even false recruitments 48 . So that those who completed their military service 15 days before the campaign was announced were called to military service again. Despite all these uncertainties, those who were called under arms left their families behind, knowing that the enemy would attach their homeland if they did not go 49 .
The majority of young people who leave their families behind and are in military age are engaged or married. There are even those who are taken to the military branch, accompanied by officers on their marriage day 50 . In addition to military service, headmen 51 were also appointed to carry out recruitment procedures. The headmen, who were assigned to the recruitment of soldiers, acted with the thought of being gossiped about 52 and did the legislation related to military affairs quickly. In the neighborhoods where the headmen are leading, the recruitment works, which should be carried out, are done by means of drums. The declarations decreed that everyone muslim or nonmuslim, teacher or no teacher, local or foreigner should go to the nearest recruitment office or they will be severely punished 53 . From the first day of the mobilization, what to do according to the mobilization plan every day, how many soldiers will be recruited and how much load animals will be bought, and similar works were recorded in the battle registers by mobilization detachments. Every day the corps reported these to the Turkish War Office and the former mobilization branch of the General Staff. This mobilization is the first mobilization of the Germans. Everyone is somewhat inexperienced. Because of the absence of population records of the people to serve in the army, how many would be called to arms, how many of these would come, how many of them were abroad, how many classes of soldiers were needed to fill the mobilized regiments and corps, organize new mobilized units, form ammunition and transportation lines, how many extra soldiers and animals would remain and what to do with them were uncertain. In addition, because the number of people who were invited to the military invitation was high, first priority was given to the warehouse agency 54 . Then the older soldiers were discharged. It was also decided to recall them in case of need 55 .
In the face of this intense interest, Sultan V. Mehmet Reşat published the declaration that the army's needs were met before the end of the week of mobilization and that many people were sent back on leave due to the excess drafting's and he expressed his satisfaction 56 . Although the 48  procedures of those who answered the military service call were done, those who do not want to perform their military service even though they were invited and bribery issues are among the problems of this period.
One of these problems is taking a disability report and trying to be exempted from military service. Because some doctors working in the Ottoman army organized bribe-related disability reports. Not only the doctors but also the headsmen got involved in bribery to forge identity cards and help people get rid of military service. Apart from the doctors and the headmen, some of the policemen helped those who tried to get rid of the military by taking bribes 57 .

Figure 3. Drum and Zurna Players Calling for Volunteers 58
While the deserters diminished the fighting capacity of the army on the one hand, on the other hand they caused a serious domestic security problem. The reason why there was a domestic security problem was that a considerable number of the deserters got involved in numerous crimes including banditry. Apart from the deserters, those who left their units on leave and never came back also got involved in similar crimes. In this respect, deserters were not only a military problem but also a domestic security and social problem 59 .
All preparations made with the announcement of mobilization turned Istanbul economy upside down. This situation led to an increase in the prices of consumption goods and a decrease in the purchasing power of the people. So much so the okka 60 of cheese, was twelve kurushs. In such an environment, the people are running to wirthdraw the money from the banks, and the small traders who do business on loan do not know what to do. Organizations established with https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jhf 919 Tarih ve Gelecek Dergisi, Eylül 2020, Cilt 6, Sayı 3 Journal of History and Future, September 2020, Volume 6, Issue 3 large capitals take serious measures to avoid the risk of bankruptcy 61 . The wholesaler traders who dominate the market have agreed to establish an economic dictatorship. Traders who establish the economic dictatorship often hold meetings in Galata, Bahçekapı and in the offices located in the lower Hanp of Mahmutpaşa and raise the goods every day according to the previous day and get new profits and benefits by reporting these prices to the second third traders and tradesmen through their own men 62 .
As a result, there is no usual mobility in Istanbul's bazaars and markets. In the city, occasional drums are echoing, while volunteers who want to go to the front are gathered in squares. Every morning, several drums and flags are taken out and long people crowds are walking in various districts; and military camps are established in districts such as Üsküdar and Göztepe 63 . Apart from the military camps established in the districts, military officer candidates who want to receive military training at the Military Academy fill everywhere. Due to excessive demand, these crowds were taken to Istanbul Hürriyet Hill one day and a written examination was made in scattered form. What was wanted was writing answers opposite the questions. The result of the exam was a major liquidation. Nearly 80% of the big crowd was sent to the regiments and the army academy was divided into five battalions with all its numbers and the battalions were given numbers. After that, the lot was drawn and the places where the battalions were to be sent were determined. The first and fifth battalions remained at the Military Academy. The second battalion was taken to the Artillery School in Halıcıoğlu; The third battalion was sent to the Minor Officer School in Maçka; the fourth battalion was sent to Orhaniye Camp in Yıldız. Thus, the confluence in the school ended 65 .
The first training process of the new soldiers, who were taken to the military camps, was launched after the military deployments were finalized. However, the first training period coincided with the month of Ramadan and the soldiers were fasting. Soldiers' fasting and their insistence on not disrupting their fasting interrupted the execution of mobilization works. As fasting interrupted the mobilization process, the the shayk-al-islam69 gave a fatwa70 which decreed that sahur 66 and iftar 67 were removed from the army. Enver Pasha signed a decree in the direction of the fatwa and imposed a ban on fasting in the army 68 . Thus, on September 12, 1914, when the soldiers carried out their gun fire trainings in Istanbul Ortaköy they broke their fast 69 .

Soldiers' Barracks and Trainings for Soldiers
After the recruitment process of men, training period was started and new recruits were taken to education every day 70 . In this direction, the soldiers who were woken up by a wake-up trumpet got dressed until the trumpet ceased to be blown. Some soldiers sang the song "You were coddled why did you join the army?", which cheered other soldiers up. Meanwhile coffee and tea servers introduced themselves with a low voice and served those who wanted to drink tea or coffee. Half an hour after the wake-up trumpet, the mess call was sounded and those in charge of the meals came. Another half an hour after the mess call were led to a restaurant-like place by a corporal. Everybody had a plate and a spoon in front of them. Beans with pastrami was put in the plates and the bread was sliced before it was served. Everybody sat according to their squad 71 number. After the soldiers ate their meals, the training trumpets were sounded and the soldiers started their training 72 .
The trainings given to the soldiers were usually practiced during the day and theoretical lessons in the evening. Thanks to the knowledge given here, the draftees learned military training and upbringing in a short time 73 . Initial trainings included simple movements like ducking and pruning 74 . Those who got training for the first time performed their training with civilian attire at first and they continued with military uniforms. They learned how to stand at attention, stand at ease, how to turn as a squad, free march, how to form a line in battle order, how to turn wrist, how to strengthen fingers, how to swing feet, how to duck and prone, how to turn to various directions and ceremonial salute. After the training the soldiers were given an exam. The first exam tested whether the soldiers could read and write or not. Madrasa and university students were exempted Aside from the trainings, the soldiers were inspected during their training. After the inspections, some units were taken to the Sultanahmet Mosque, where they are laid for a period of time. Soldiers also did shoot training in watery and muddy areas in Kağıthane area, one of the training zones. In the days when there was no shooting training, soldiers were marched as a company and did assault training 83 . Taksim Officer School was another military camp and the soldiers were taken to Çatalca for manoeuvering every month 84 . Being sent for maneuvering on a monthly basis, soldiers were given a strict exam in the camps and were divided into divisions according to their success in these exams 85 .
After the trainings, in November, health checks were started. Firstly, the chest, heart and all the limbs of the soldier were examined. The soldiers were asked if they smoked. Those who were put in category "a" were deemed sturdy and sent to cold places like the Erzurum front. Those who were not sturdy enough for cold places were sent to hot and warm places. In accordance with their physical condition, the cold place the soldiers were sent was Erzurum while the hot places were Irak and Sina fronts and the warm places were places like İzmir, Adana and Antalya. Besides, the soldiers were given cholera and typhoid vaccinations before they were sent to these places 86 .
Following the preparations, Sarikamis offensive took place on December 22, 1914 under the command of the Chief of General Staff Enver Pasha. However, it resulted in failure and the destruction of half of the 3. army due to ill season and time choice 87 . On the other hand, when the Ottoman Empire entered the war, the Muslims living in the Syrian coast, especially in Beirut, began to emigrate to cities such as Damascus, which were far from the shores, with the concern that the Allied Powers would bomb the shores. Zeki Pasha, who was the commander of the military units in the region where the Muslims began to migrate, ordered the collection of weapons in the hands of Christians living in Jabal-i Lebanon. The reason why Zeki Pasha gave this order was that he believed that the Christians in Lebanon could rise up with the provocation of the Entente States and that the Empire would be damaged. In addition, Zeki Pasha searched the consulates of the states fighting the Ottoman Empire and seized the documents found there. In addition, Zeki Pasha searched the consulates of the states fighting the Ottoman Empire and seized the documents found there 88 .
In 1915, the military units were sent to the region for the war in Dardanelles. Nizamettin Çoray, a member of the troops sent to the Dardanelles Front and serving as an artillery lieutenant, says in his memoirs of the Dardanelles Campaign: ''The enemy ships had been bombarding our lines for days. The offensive was at its highest. The enemy saw us in the morning of 18 March again when they thought that they had completely destroyed us. The sea was suddenly shaken with white foams. Mutual fire rain was renewed. The power of faith given by God was piercing the enemy's heart. Their favorite Bouvouet and two torpedo boats sunk in the water one after another. Formidable battleships named Irresistible and Ocean followed them.''. Ali Tezcan, who went to the area at the age of 23 says: ''As we arrived at Kanlı Sırt we encountered the 57th Regiment, Mustafa Kemal and Şefik Bey, commander of the 27th regiment: Mustafa Kemal asked me: Yalova man, what happened? Is the enemy down there? Commander we are devastated. The captain was buried under the earth. The shore line is filled with the English I said. The answer of Mustafa Kemal, whose veins became evident suddenly was this: "no retreat, go forward".'' that loud voice is still in my ears. I still hear that voice now, we went forward, we spilled blood. We got killed and won'' 89 .
Moreover, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk says: "We are not engaged in individual heroic scenes. However, I cannot help telling you about the bomb ridge incident. The distance between the corresponding trenches is eight meters, so death is definite… Those in the first trenches are martyred all, those in the second take their place. But you cannot imagine how faithfully and submissively they go! They saw those who died. They knew they would also die in three minutes, but they show no dread. No being shaken at all! Those who are literate read the Quran. Those who are not say the Kelime-i Shahadet (İslamic confession of faith). They are getting ready for the heaven. This is an example of the marvel of the spirit of the Turkish soldier. You must be sure that this is the high spirit that won the battle of Dardanelles.'' 90 . As it is understood from the statements of those who fought in the Dardanelles Campaign, the soldiers who went to the front defended the territory of the motherland in a high spirituality and ensured the retreat of the states of Çanakkale on January 9, 1916 91 .

Result
According to the published memoirs of Ottoman soldiers who participated in World War I, the Ottoman Empire took sides with Germany which was strong in the military and political fields in Europe, where the alliance ties were established because of the colonialism and arms race, in Germany. In Europe, which became polarized because of the colonialism and arms race, the fuse of the war was ignited as a result of the killing of the candidate of the Austrian-Hungarian throne by a Serbian youth. After this event, all countries strengthened their alliance ties and declared war on each other. The Ottoman Empire declared its mobilization and started its preparations.
First of all, the mobilization order was delivered to all parts of the country. In this context, the military branches and headmen were tried to be used. Within the framework of the new recruiting law, the recruitment criteria were determined and the inclusion of individuals in the military service was carried out. However, due to intensity, transactions could not be carried out properly and due to the fact that the population registration information had not been kept regularly, there was confusion in the transactions in the military branches. In addition, due to the intense participation of soldiers, those who were redundant were sent to places called warehouses. In the end, the recruitment of soldiers was completed and they were sent to military camps. In the camps, the soldiers received basic military training as well as a strict training in the night classes. In the camps, the soldiers completed their training in a complete discipline and soon adopted military training and upbringing.Following the training period of three-four months, the soldiers were put to health check and their places of service were determined according to which climate their health conditions were fit for. In addition, the necessary vaccinations were made before the soldiers were transferred to their regions and the prevention of infectious diseases were tried to be prevented. As a result, the Ottoman Empire, completing all kinds of mobilization preparations, participated in the First World War with the Sarıkamış Offensive and carried out the shipment of troops from Istanbul to other fronts, especially the Dardanelles.