Witnesses of war: Memoirs of Ottoman soldiers in WWI

The inclusion of the Ottoman Empire in World War I drastically changed the course of the war. Not only was the battlefront extended, but the Ottomans sent troops to the Galician front to help Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the two other sides of the Central Powers, which included Germany. Memoirs from the war later came to light in the form of diaries of senior soldiers, written in Ottoman Turkish. Here is a collection of books that bear witness to a war that had a catastrophic impact on Europe, Asia and Africa. Although the number of stories set in different battlefronts are limited, each clearly demonstrates the desperate atmosphere of the war.

Gallipoli Front

Lieutenant Ibrahim Naci, 21, from Istanbul, recorded his 29 days at war on the Gallipoli Front in his diary. He died on June 21, 1915, during a clash in Kerevizdere. Here is a section from his diary, written just before his death: "It is 7:00 a.m. The enemy has been attacking us since last night. Now, we are advancing upon them. May Allah bless us. It is 11:00 a.m. We are in the middle of the war. Millions of rifles and shells are being shot. The principal corporal has been injured. Goodbye." When İbrahim Naci passed away, Commander Bedri Efendi found his diary and wrote the following words in it. "My poor Naci! You were like my son. I read about your personal feelings that this diary kept for you as your brother or a father. Do not be cross with me or take offense. You and other soldiers did not die. Although your bodies are put into a hole, you will be remembered with respect and dignity in the shadow of great Muslim Turks." The commander died only 12 days later, on July 2, 1915, and the diary's last words were written by the imam and clerk of the battalion. Lieutenant Naci wondered whether his family would learn of his sorrowful memories. After 98 years, his memories were published as a book entitled "Allaısmarladık" (Goodbye) by Yeditepe Publishing.

Sarıkamış Front

Ergun Hiçyılmaz's book "Elveda Vatanım Elveda Esir Kampları" (Goodbye My Land, Goodbye Prison Camps) by Destek Publishing reveals the stories of Turkish soldiers in prison. One of the prisoners in a Russian camp, Halil Bey, wrote the following words: "I was captured. Have mercy upon us, Allah. I am prisoner and lost my freedom. I want to cry, but I know it is useless. Why did they not shoot me? Everything, this entire story, would then end. I was angry with myself and felt deep sorrow. Why did I not shoot myself in the head when I had the chance? I was stumbling because I became exhausted thinking about all these things. I was about to fall and lose myself. Surrounded with thoughts and in deep depression, I heard a voice as if someone was whispering to me, 'Get a hold of yourself and never lose your self-control. Pull yourself together.'"

Another book by M. Fuad Tokad titled "Kibrit Kutusundaki Sarıkamış" (Sarıkamış in a Matchbox) from Timaş Publishing mentions another WWI memory: "We have been in captivity now for two years. The Russians are advancing toward the city of Erzincan and the British are close to Baghdad. We have not heard from our families. The sorrow of captivity increases day-by-day. Everything is in darkness. May Allah bring us peace so that we may console ourselves from pain and suffering. Bring us peace that our beloved Turkey will rise again and our glorious flag waves everywhere; then we can be happy."

Galicia Front

It was the final days of August in 1916 and Turkish soldiers were hearing about the upcoming attack by the Russians when Lieutenant Mehmet Şevki wrote down his war memories. "The enemy will advance on us today. We should be prepared. Have you ever dreamed of waiting in a hail of bullets that can hit you and throw you down any moment? The situation of soldiers here is merely a bit less miserable than a sheep with his legs fastened waiting for death. I was sitting in a ditch with Bergamalı Corporal Mustafa, Sergeant Ali and a few other soldiers. Nobody was talking or wanted to talk. We only had sorrowful smiles on our faces and distress in our heart. We were listening to the groans of injured soldiers and watching the fall of bullets." This passage is included in the book "Teğmen Mehmet Şevki'nin Anılarından" (From the Memories of Lieutenant Mehmet Şevki), published by Atlas Tarih.

Romanian Front

Atlas Tarih's book depicts the days of war from senior Lieutenant Galip Efendi's point of view, one of the commissioned officers of the 74th regiment. Galip Efendi recorded the following words: "We are young and are not bothered by war. We are longing for our lovers, one of them is the daughter of an aunt living in Aydın, the other is a secret pen friend from Üsküdar and another is living in Kadıköy's Moda quarter. Suddenly, someone harshly banged on the door and said something in Russian. We are attacked! All of us shot at the door with our parabellums [machine guns]. We then opened the door and saw dead Russian soldiers lying on the floor.

North African Front

Lieutenant İhsan Efendi reported from a German submarine: "When the submarine came to the surface, I accompanied the commander to the captain's tower. The weather is dark. I suppose we were underwater for about four or five hours. He said an underwater bomb closely skipped the submarine." This passage along with İhsan Efendi's other memories can be found in the aforementioned Atlas Tarih publication.

Other related books

Palestine

· Sibirya Günlükleri (Siberia Diaries) by M. Fuad Tokad – Timaş Publishing

· Köprülü Şerif İlden – İşbank Publishing

· Mehmet Şevki Yazman, edited by Kansu Şarman – İşbank Culture Publications

Sarıkamış

· Ahmet Rasim – Arba Publishing

· Hüseyin Fehmi Genişol, edited by Mustafa Yeni – İşbank Culture Publications

Gallipoli

· "Çanakkale Kanlısırt Günlüğü" (Gallipoli: The Diary of Kanlısırtı Battle) by Mehmet Fasih Bey, edited by Murat Çulcu – Denizler Publishing House

Galicia (Poland)

· Serezli Mehmed Ragıp – Timaş Publishin

· Halil Ataman – Kardeşler Publishing House

· İ. Hakkı Sunata – İşbank Culture Publications

Iraq

· Ömer Çakır – Akçağ Publishing

· Lieutenant İbrahim Naci – Yeditepe Publishing

· Erich R. Prigge – Timaş Publishing

WWI war memoirs in general

· Cemal Paşa, Alpay Kabacalı – İşbank Culture Publications

· Rafael De Nogales – Yaba Publishing

· Kazım Karabekir – Yapı Kredi Publishing

· Erick Ludendorff (German General) – DBY Publishing

· Norman Stone, Doğan Kitap - Klaus Wolf, İşbank Culture Publications

· Carl Mühlman – Timaş

· Edward J. Erickson – Kitap Publishing House

· Talat Paşa – İşbank Culture Publications

· Kress Von Kressenstein – Turkish General Staff Publishing

· Falih Rıfkı Atay

· Şerif İlden – İşbank Culture Publications