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The Turkish Army in 1854 - Page 3

© John Barham

On the credit side, the quality of the support Arms remained high. The Artillery had acquired guns from the British, and their standard of gunnery was universally second to none. Turkish Engineers had always commanded international repect, and the current generation continued to be able to hold their own with their counterparts in the other armies. As most services were almost totally neglected, it was surprising to find strong emphasis on providing adequate medical care. One of the first reforms in the 1820s had been the establishment of an Army Medical Corps and a modern military medical college. Arrangements were made for most students to spend time in Western Europe to learn the latest medical and surgical skills. By the 1850s, Turkish military hospitals were as well equipped as those of the Russian and British Armies, and better than some.

A major problem for the Turkish Army was a bad image, due much to prejudiced outside judgements born of ignorance. The 'sick man of Europe' was presumed automatically to have a weak army. It did not occur to observers that the general poor state of dress and equipment might be due to lack of money rather than a lack of discipline and poor morale. Because social habits were different, they were derided. Moslems were not supposed to drink, and the troops spent their off duty hours keeping themselves to themselves, playing cards, backgammon or dominoes, or just sleeping. All the troops were rumoured to be homosexual - just how such grand scale intimate research might have been carried out is amazing to contemplate - and this provoked either genuine or defensive moral outrage amongst Europe's mid-19th century military men.

Those who served with Turks however, like this British Officer observing the 1853 Rumanian campaign, told a different story: "A Turk is every inch a soldier, eats whatever is given to him, obeys without a murmer, works like a horse, marches till he drops, draws his own water, cuts his own wood......if officered as they ought to be, and armed as they ought to be, (they) might once again make Europe tremble."

Illustration: Turkish officer 1854 Artwork from Campaign 6, Balaclava 1854, reproduced by permission of Osprey Publishing Ltd (c) Osprey Publishing Ltd

Sources

Robert B Edgerton Death or Glory - The Legacy of the Crimean War Westview Press 1999

Paul Kerr The Crimean War Boxtree 1997

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