With an estimated 300,000 Arabs in the Ottoman forces in 1914, a third of the total men under arms, there were far more Arabs serving in the ranks of the Ottoman army than those who followed the banners of the Arab revolt, Goncu points out.
“Two thirds of the troops who made up his (colonel Mustafa Kemal) 19th Division that faced the first wave of the Allied invasion were Syrian Arabs, comprising the 72nd and 77th regiments of the Ottoman army”
Bill Sellars,
Australian writer and historian
However, Gallipoli is now claimed as an only Turkish victory. It was there that Colonel Mustafa Kemal twice thwarted Allied attacks, saving an empire that he would then overthrow. Later, he was to become better known as Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Yet, historians now point out it was with the help of Arab troops that his reputation was built.
“Two thirds of the troops who made up his 19th Division that faced the first wave of the Allied invasion were Syrian Arabs, comprising the 72nd and 77th regiments of the Ottoman army,” says Turkey-based Australian writer and historian Bill Sellars.
www.aljazeera.com
Interesting information. Turkish nationalists are delusional, they have a tendency of trying to make the Ottoman empire a Turkish empire (which is false) and they try to wipe away or downplay the empire’s Islamic heritage. Such historical revisionism breeds arrogance and it needs to be dealt with. It’s well known that the Ottoman army was multi-ethnic and many times it wasn’t even led by ethnic Turks.
“Two thirds of the troops who made up his (colonel Mustafa Kemal) 19th Division that faced the first wave of the Allied invasion were Syrian Arabs, comprising the 72nd and 77th regiments of the Ottoman army”
Bill Sellars,
Australian writer and historian
However, Gallipoli is now claimed as an only Turkish victory. It was there that Colonel Mustafa Kemal twice thwarted Allied attacks, saving an empire that he would then overthrow. Later, he was to become better known as Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Yet, historians now point out it was with the help of Arab troops that his reputation was built.
“Two thirds of the troops who made up his 19th Division that faced the first wave of the Allied invasion were Syrian Arabs, comprising the 72nd and 77th regiments of the Ottoman army,” says Turkey-based Australian writer and historian Bill Sellars.
The forgotten Arabs of Gallipoli
At a small but moving ceremony on 8 January, hundreds of Turks marked the 88th anniversary of the end of a famous first world war – Gallipoli.
Interesting information. Turkish nationalists are delusional, they have a tendency of trying to make the Ottoman empire a Turkish empire (which is false) and they try to wipe away or downplay the empire’s Islamic heritage. Such historical revisionism breeds arrogance and it needs to be dealt with. It’s well known that the Ottoman army was multi-ethnic and many times it wasn’t even led by ethnic Turks.
