Officer of the Roșiori (undress).

Turkey has now, since the disbanding of the Janissaries (who formed the Sultan body-guard, of 12,000 men at first, and later of 100,000), organised her Army on a purely European footing. The officer who is chiefly responsible for this organisation, and who was sent for that purpose to Turkey, at the request of the then Sultan Mahmoud II., from 1835 to 1839, is no less a personage than Field-Marshal Count Moltke.

Since his time, the Turkish Army has improved after every war. Though it is yet by no means equal to that of any of the great Powers, still that is the fault of neither the military system nor yet of the Turkish soldier. The responsibility lies with the confused system of military administration, which deals in the most hopeless and in the worst possible way with the clothing and equipment, and even with the feeding and pay of the Army.

Terms of Service.

According to the Law, every able-bodied Mahomedan inhabitant of Turkey is bound to serve in the Army. Christians are exempted on payment of a fine.

Service in the “Nizam,” or Active Army, lasts six years, of which the Infantry soldier spends three and the Cavalry and Artilleryman four years with the Colours and the remaining time in the Active Reserve or “Ikhtiat.” After this the soldier joins the Landwehr or “Redif” for eight years, and subsequently six years in the Landsturm or “Muhstafiz.” As a matter of fact, the period of service with the Colours is usually reduced to two years, or three at the outside.

Organisa­tion.

The whole Turkish Empire is divided into 7 military districts or “Ordu,” of which the seventh, Arabia, is exceptionally constituted. “Ordus” 1 to 6 have each in peace-time to supply 1 Army Corps of Nizam troops, and, besides this, 1 to 2 Army Corps of the Redif in case of necessity. The seventh Ordu only possesses 1 Army Corps altogether.

Each Corps consists of 2 Infantry Divisions, 2 Cavalry Divisions, 1 Regiment of Field Artillery, 1 battalion of Pioneers and 1 of the Train.

A Division consists of 2 brigades; an Infantry brigade numbers 2, and a Cavalry 3, regiments. A regiment of Infantry numbers 5 battalions, of which 1 is a Depôt battalion; a regiment of Cavalry, 5 squadrons, of which 1 is a Depôt squadron.