Turkey in the First World War
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Musalman
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It has been 95 years since the worst war in human history shook the world to its foundations. It was a time when human beings mastered the art of killing by coordinating the air, sea and trench battles. More than 60 million people were involved.
Surely, wars aren’t meant to be nice. There is no such thing as a “just” war. However, I have always believed that the wars are declared by States, but fought by individuals. It is this belief in the powers of individual that drove me to begin a search on the Prisoners of War in the Great War. As I searched through the records, I realized that it was rather hard to find out whether an individual was in fact taken a prisoner of war or died in battle. The fact that neither of the sides took many prisoners and British records were destroyed in WW II made my job difficult. Also, due to the fact that many of the Turkish soldiers were illiterate meant that I had to rely on a very few diaries that were available through internet and state records online. There was not much information in the Western records regarding the foot soldier. It was relatively easier to find out information on the officers. I was fascinated by the sorrows, hopes, destitute, cries, joys, artistic achievements, lament, love, pain, suffering, daily lives and cultural attitudes of the POW; of those who suddenly found themselves in conflict with other human beings, whether voluntary or otherwise. Cultural and sociological structures of whole societies had changed; the individuals’ look on life had been distorted.
In a way becoming a Prisoner of War to the “enemy” meant life! After all, the war was over for the POW. That is, the danger of being shot or blown to pieces by artillery fire was over. This in turn meant another kind of suffering for many. Life was easier for an officer as a POW, for all sides held a certain unwritten respect for the officer. For example, when General Townsend surrendered to Turks in Kut, he was treated with utmost respect and spent the rest of the war in Istanbul in perfect conditions. Whereas, many of his men had to be distributed to around 20 POW camps in Turkey and most of them were made to work, as has been the case for those who had been fallen POW to the Allied powers.
Those diaries of the POWs I have read from both sides of the conflict had a variety of attitudes towards the enemy. It seemed as if writing the negative aspects of life as a POW was much preferred. I did not expect the POW, who had positive experiences to write, for it seems illogical that you can write “good” things about your enemy. This was a forced attitude.
An individuals experience as a POW widely differed. Some complained about the harsh treatment one received and this was based purely on the belief that he suffered because he was the enemy. The individual never wrote about his behavior towards the captor in terms of discipline and respect to the culture of the enemy. Some delved into artistic endeavors and wrote poems and painted. Yet others entertained themselves by learning the language of the captor or other POWs in the same camp. My main purpose in this research was to find out facts about the life of POWs in Turkish hands. What I realized was that in fact the Turk’s behavior towards the captives was not as atrocious as some soldiers had portrayed in their writings. There were quite many who said they were happy with the treatment they had received. Certainly, the populace themselves were almost always good towards the captive. The POW were treated as “guests” rather than the enemy. Because, once captured they were harmless and not the enemy anymore. Expectations of those who delved into the negative, I found were mostly unrealistic. They may have felt that Turkey was as rich as their own country! What they didn’t know was that the whole Turkish population was suffering the disasters of the war. Food was scarce, money was almost non existent, their country was being invaded, their husbands, uncles, fathers, brothers, sisters were killed; they were on the defensive. Having difficulty in feeding themselves and contributing to the war efforts on 7 theatres, they now had to keep the POWs alive. There were POWs from a variety of nations such as the Russians, English, Indians, Ghurkas, Australians, New Zealanders and others in Turkey. When compared to the camps such as “the Stalag” in Germany or “Maadi Camp” in Egypt for the Turkish POWS one cannot call the Turkish “garrisons” as a “Camp” as such. The prisoners were not encamped in places surrounded by barbed wire. They suffered from the abundant lice and bugs, like the rest of the country did. They, once given parole, were allowed to mingle with the population, stay in private houses, and buy their own food etc. so long as they didn’t attempt to escape. Escape, some did and those were officers! Why would a private want to escape? He was alive, although life was difficult to what he had been used to. But an Officer was expected to try and escape...Some cultural differences and expectations I have discovered in the diaries were truly fascinating and made me smile. One POW, J. Wheat from Australian Submarine AE2 wrote “...About 7 pm. they brought us off a good meal from ashore, or at least we found out afterwards that it was good meal for Turkey. This meal consisted of two small loaves of bread each, two big dishes of stew having a very strong taste of garlic, two dishes of a kind of salad, some sort of green stuff with olive oil, which had a horrible greasy taste.” “..We learnt from the sentries that the name for tea was “Çay” and this was the first Turkish words we learnt. Needless to say we were always calling out for “Çay”. In the evening we were served with a meal that is a kind of pea cooked in nauseous Grease floating over the top of the water, which we learned afterwards is always put with these meals. There were three dishes brought in and placed on the floor. We were given a wooden spoon each and told to divide the food between ourselves. Just imagine an Englishmen with a dirty spoon squatting on the floor all eating from the same dish, food not fit for a pig (he is writing about lentil soup here which in those days must have been a treat for them! Same food is still served as stable in the modern Turkish army and is called “Kara Simsek” amongst the ranks. Full of protein!). “…August 1st a great number of Turkish recruits arrived in AfyonKarahisar. They camped outside the mosque close to us. They were all about middle aged. One thing we were surprised at was whenever we were going or returning from work the populace never showed any sign of hate against us...”
The records of William Wolseley Falconer, another Australian from the same submarine show that ” he was first interned in AfyonKarahisar and later sent to Belemedik. His technical expertise made him a valuable asset to German engineers contracted to build the railway through Taurus Mountains”
Yet another Australian, Lionel Stanley Churcher’s records suggest ” By all accounts he was a fiery and temperamental POW. He clashed particularly with Australian Corporal Kerr. They were drinking and card playing buddies and often fought: His litany of irritations included “inadequate bedding” “being ignored” and “lack of assistance” in his job as a cook. Obviously after one of his fights he was sent back to AfyonKarahisar on accounts of “disturbing the peace”...
William Thomas Cheater’s records say “In AfyonKarahisar camp his duties as a batman included going to the local markets to buy food and clothing for the officers... As months passed in captivity Afion officers staged plays and concerts for which Cheater bought all materials, props, sets and costumes including women’s clothing and veils. Apparently Lt. Stoker (the commander) and his fellow officers were already planning to escape dressed as women. After the escape by Lt.Cdr.Stoker, Lt Price and captain Cochrain (both from E7Submarine) escaped, Cheater was singled out and held partly responsible for escape. The Turks had traced the escape disguises back to is market excursions, for which he was punished”
An English POW writes “...I had thyphoid fever and was hospitalized. We were given bad milk and hard stale bread...which was called “Karavan “ (here he talks about “Yoghurt” and “Peksimet” bread, the later was the stable diet for the soldiers and Karavana is the food served to soldiers”
A John Still of 6th East Yorkshires, captured at Suvla Bay, given that the lower ranks weren’t treated as good as the officers, I presume he must have been an Officer, though speaks of “ bad treatment” had time to produce tens of marvelous poems whilst captive. Here is one he wrote in AfyonKarahisar:
The Little Owl
In the dark when quiet reigns,
Through the night when all is still,
While the silence upon the plains,
I hear you hooting on the hill.
Though the snow lies over all,
Spring is in the note you call.
Weird and wild the song you sing,
Passing by with silent flight,
Calling to the coming spring
Through the darkness of the night.
First are you of birds to know
Love comes swift behind the snow.
Welcome to your hopeful song,
for the message that you bring.
Were old winter twice as strong,
Yield he must before young spring;
As the bitter night of sorrow
Flies before the sun tomorrow.
‎posted by
‎Doğan Şahin
Surely, wars aren’t meant to be nice. There is no such thing as a “just” war. However, I have always believed that the wars are declared by States, but fought by individuals. It is this belief in the powers of individual that drove me to begin a search on the Prisoners of War in the Great War. As I searched through the records, I realized that it was rather hard to find out whether an individual was in fact taken a prisoner of war or died in battle. The fact that neither of the sides took many prisoners and British records were destroyed in WW II made my job difficult. Also, due to the fact that many of the Turkish soldiers were illiterate meant that I had to rely on a very few diaries that were available through internet and state records online. There was not much information in the Western records regarding the foot soldier. It was relatively easier to find out information on the officers. I was fascinated by the sorrows, hopes, destitute, cries, joys, artistic achievements, lament, love, pain, suffering, daily lives and cultural attitudes of the POW; of those who suddenly found themselves in conflict with other human beings, whether voluntary or otherwise. Cultural and sociological structures of whole societies had changed; the individuals’ look on life had been distorted.
In a way becoming a Prisoner of War to the “enemy” meant life! After all, the war was over for the POW. That is, the danger of being shot or blown to pieces by artillery fire was over. This in turn meant another kind of suffering for many. Life was easier for an officer as a POW, for all sides held a certain unwritten respect for the officer. For example, when General Townsend surrendered to Turks in Kut, he was treated with utmost respect and spent the rest of the war in Istanbul in perfect conditions. Whereas, many of his men had to be distributed to around 20 POW camps in Turkey and most of them were made to work, as has been the case for those who had been fallen POW to the Allied powers.
Those diaries of the POWs I have read from both sides of the conflict had a variety of attitudes towards the enemy. It seemed as if writing the negative aspects of life as a POW was much preferred. I did not expect the POW, who had positive experiences to write, for it seems illogical that you can write “good” things about your enemy. This was a forced attitude.
An individuals experience as a POW widely differed. Some complained about the harsh treatment one received and this was based purely on the belief that he suffered because he was the enemy. The individual never wrote about his behavior towards the captor in terms of discipline and respect to the culture of the enemy. Some delved into artistic endeavors and wrote poems and painted. Yet others entertained themselves by learning the language of the captor or other POWs in the same camp. My main purpose in this research was to find out facts about the life of POWs in Turkish hands. What I realized was that in fact the Turk’s behavior towards the captives was not as atrocious as some soldiers had portrayed in their writings. There were quite many who said they were happy with the treatment they had received. Certainly, the populace themselves were almost always good towards the captive. The POW were treated as “guests” rather than the enemy. Because, once captured they were harmless and not the enemy anymore. Expectations of those who delved into the negative, I found were mostly unrealistic. They may have felt that Turkey was as rich as their own country! What they didn’t know was that the whole Turkish population was suffering the disasters of the war. Food was scarce, money was almost non existent, their country was being invaded, their husbands, uncles, fathers, brothers, sisters were killed; they were on the defensive. Having difficulty in feeding themselves and contributing to the war efforts on 7 theatres, they now had to keep the POWs alive. There were POWs from a variety of nations such as the Russians, English, Indians, Ghurkas, Australians, New Zealanders and others in Turkey. When compared to the camps such as “the Stalag” in Germany or “Maadi Camp” in Egypt for the Turkish POWS one cannot call the Turkish “garrisons” as a “Camp” as such. The prisoners were not encamped in places surrounded by barbed wire. They suffered from the abundant lice and bugs, like the rest of the country did. They, once given parole, were allowed to mingle with the population, stay in private houses, and buy their own food etc. so long as they didn’t attempt to escape. Escape, some did and those were officers! Why would a private want to escape? He was alive, although life was difficult to what he had been used to. But an Officer was expected to try and escape...Some cultural differences and expectations I have discovered in the diaries were truly fascinating and made me smile. One POW, J. Wheat from Australian Submarine AE2 wrote “...About 7 pm. they brought us off a good meal from ashore, or at least we found out afterwards that it was good meal for Turkey. This meal consisted of two small loaves of bread each, two big dishes of stew having a very strong taste of garlic, two dishes of a kind of salad, some sort of green stuff with olive oil, which had a horrible greasy taste.” “..We learnt from the sentries that the name for tea was “Çay” and this was the first Turkish words we learnt. Needless to say we were always calling out for “Çay”. In the evening we were served with a meal that is a kind of pea cooked in nauseous Grease floating over the top of the water, which we learned afterwards is always put with these meals. There were three dishes brought in and placed on the floor. We were given a wooden spoon each and told to divide the food between ourselves. Just imagine an Englishmen with a dirty spoon squatting on the floor all eating from the same dish, food not fit for a pig (he is writing about lentil soup here which in those days must have been a treat for them! Same food is still served as stable in the modern Turkish army and is called “Kara Simsek” amongst the ranks. Full of protein!). “…August 1st a great number of Turkish recruits arrived in AfyonKarahisar. They camped outside the mosque close to us. They were all about middle aged. One thing we were surprised at was whenever we were going or returning from work the populace never showed any sign of hate against us...”
The records of William Wolseley Falconer, another Australian from the same submarine show that ” he was first interned in AfyonKarahisar and later sent to Belemedik. His technical expertise made him a valuable asset to German engineers contracted to build the railway through Taurus Mountains”
Yet another Australian, Lionel Stanley Churcher’s records suggest ” By all accounts he was a fiery and temperamental POW. He clashed particularly with Australian Corporal Kerr. They were drinking and card playing buddies and often fought: His litany of irritations included “inadequate bedding” “being ignored” and “lack of assistance” in his job as a cook. Obviously after one of his fights he was sent back to AfyonKarahisar on accounts of “disturbing the peace”...
William Thomas Cheater’s records say “In AfyonKarahisar camp his duties as a batman included going to the local markets to buy food and clothing for the officers... As months passed in captivity Afion officers staged plays and concerts for which Cheater bought all materials, props, sets and costumes including women’s clothing and veils. Apparently Lt. Stoker (the commander) and his fellow officers were already planning to escape dressed as women. After the escape by Lt.Cdr.Stoker, Lt Price and captain Cochrain (both from E7Submarine) escaped, Cheater was singled out and held partly responsible for escape. The Turks had traced the escape disguises back to is market excursions, for which he was punished”
An English POW writes “...I had thyphoid fever and was hospitalized. We were given bad milk and hard stale bread...which was called “Karavan “ (here he talks about “Yoghurt” and “Peksimet” bread, the later was the stable diet for the soldiers and Karavana is the food served to soldiers”
A John Still of 6th East Yorkshires, captured at Suvla Bay, given that the lower ranks weren’t treated as good as the officers, I presume he must have been an Officer, though speaks of “ bad treatment” had time to produce tens of marvelous poems whilst captive. Here is one he wrote in AfyonKarahisar:
The Little Owl
In the dark when quiet reigns,
Through the night when all is still,
While the silence upon the plains,
I hear you hooting on the hill.
Though the snow lies over all,
Spring is in the note you call.
Weird and wild the song you sing,
Passing by with silent flight,
Calling to the coming spring
Through the darkness of the night.
First are you of birds to know
Love comes swift behind the snow.
Welcome to your hopeful song,
for the message that you bring.
Were old winter twice as strong,
Yield he must before young spring;
As the bitter night of sorrow
Flies before the sun tomorrow.
‎posted by
‎Doğan Şahin
Jigs
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Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets where they lie side by side here in this country of ours You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
Atatürk 1934
R.I.P and Respect.
DESERT FIGHTER
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England alone in ww couldnt fight turkey alone.They would have u guys crushed.No offence
cabatli_53
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British Empire, Australia, New Zeland, India, Italy, French & Turkish army...
Turkish army with Ataturk has killed about 250 000 enemy soldiers at this war...
Turkish army with Ataturk has killed about 250 000 enemy soldiers at this war...
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xdrive
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While we were fighting the turks, the British were on the beach drinking tea.
And that's a true story.
Jigs
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The ANZACs did the bulk of the fighting and this can't really be debated.
Kansu
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Underestimating Turkish Army was a huge mistake for churchill and english.english and Anzac troops paid it with their lives... But the manpower we lost couldnt be replaced for a very long time. and this is the other truth concerning us.
The fall of Ottoman Empire was the beginning of the end for all the Islamic world.
Just look at it.Almost every Single Problem that Muslims collectively face today is the result of fall of Ottoman Empire.
No Matter how weak had the Empire Became.But it was still a sign of Islamic Unity which if retained could had saved a lot of Problems.And Especially in Middle east.
Just look at it.Almost every Single Problem that Muslims collectively face today is the result of fall of Ottoman Empire.
No Matter how weak had the Empire Became.But it was still a sign of Islamic Unity which if retained could had saved a lot of Problems.And Especially in Middle east.
xdrive
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Well the beach where we landed didn't help much either
You guys sat on top of the hill with machine gun emplacements. Everyone got slaughtered.
Jigs
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I think if the Ottoman Empire did survive it would have been a much weaker state in of itself then modern day Turkey. Possibly due to the fact of the treaty's signed by the Sultan at that time and the severe lack of reforms that needed to occur. It would have broken up Turkey and reduced it to nothing. If it wasn't for Ataturk we would have been much worse off.
Jigs
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Well the beach where we landed didn't help much either
You guys sat on top of the hill with machine gun emplacements. Everyone got slaughtered.
We also didn't have much ammo left and artillery was very low because we wasted it on all those british and french ships that the mines eventually destroyed. Both sides were at great risk and it all came to down critical decisions that resulted in the holding of the peninsula.
The British did underestimate us though.
Tiger Awan
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What I think is that if reforms were made while keeping Ottoman Empire Muslims would have been more powerful.
But today instead of thinking about "Ottoman Empire disintegration" we should now think of strengthening OIC.
