 The Crimean War (1853-56) holds an important place in the history of the Western World. Probably best remembered as the conflict involving the Charge of the Light Brigade and the "Thin Red Line." The war started over rather odd circumstances, with obscure affairs in the Holy Land and trying to maintain a balance of power in Europe. The conflict started as a very regional affair between the two "backward" empires, Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire, that almost became a full scale world war directly half way between the defeat of Napoleon and the start of the Great War in 1914. Much of the conflict is written from the British perspective because they wielded the largest amount of press in the world at the time. This makes doing research on the Ottoman Forces difficult. Labelled as "Turkish" during the Victorian Era by the Allies, this was very much a generalization. These "Turks" included men from all over the vast empire that stretched from North Africa, much of the Modern Middle East, and the Balkans. Many Ottoman units were raised from local ethnic groups such as Turks, Egyptians, Jews, Austrians, Albanians, Greeks, Armenians, Poles, and various Arabic speaking peoples. Compared to the British or French, Ottomans were just starting to modernize to the standards of the West under the leadership of Sultan Mahmud II. Starting in the 1830s, the Ottoman system was starting to become more European and this included the army that had just recently defeated the infamous Janissaries. The armed forces required all men to serve for five years in the army. It is estimated that there may have been up to 40,000 men in service but that number is just an estimate because record keeping was incredibly poor in the Empire. Many officers and soldiers could not read or write in Turkish because very few people could actually speak it since they were from a different ethnic background. Many complementary and modern histories like to make the Ottomans seem like cowards or simply too naive to put up a good fight. However, often overlooked is the fact in the Danube theater of the war, the Turks successfully drove the Russians off the field more than once. However outside the Crimea the Ottoman army was free to face their old enemy on many battlefields. While battles such as Silistria and Kars are not well known in the West; the Ottoman military machine was very far from perfect but the soldiers were brave when well led and it is fitting that their vital but largely unremembered part in the war. On the Crimean peninsula, the average Ottoman soldier was often times forced to do manual labor for the Allied Armies because the British, French, and Piedmont (Sardinia) officers refused to believe that such men were brave enough to be front line troops. Many times the Turks were often times not paid on time (or at all) and received horrid rations and water. Uniforms and shoes, were also an issue as they generally were of a poorer quality and wore out quickly because of the heavy labor the Western Europeans made them do. When downtime was allowed, many Turks simply chose to sleep or chat with their comrades; to many of the Allied soldiers these soldiers seemed to be rather boring. In summary, Ottoman Infantry was a professional force that was well trained, armed, and were good fighters; however, much of the war supply would have to come from the British. Disclamier: This organization is made up of Reenactors who voluntarily participate for the purpose of educating themselves and the public about the history, culture, and the people who lived during the period of the Victorian Era. We not affiliated with any modern or historical political party, organization, or religion; we also do not endorse, tolerate, nor condone the politics, views, beliefs, and/or activities of any political party in existence during the period of the Mid-19th Cent. |