Guest _KaaN_ Posted 26 April , 2004 Share Posted 26 April , 2004 Inspection by a German officer of Ottoman Assault troops 1918.Note grenade bags copying the German and Austrian example of such troops,and German supplied Ottoman style helmets. (Source:Helmets of the First World War,Michael Haselgrove & Branislav Radovic) My question is did such assault detachments serve in Palestine in 1918?My first impression is that these are members of the Ottoman Army Demonstration Battalion,never used in a fighting role in WW1.Kaiser Wilhelm reviewed such helmeted troops in November 1917 when he visited the Ottoman capital. Best Regards Kaan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domsim Posted 7 May , 2004 Share Posted 7 May , 2004 Kaan This photgraph appears in David Nicolle's book 'The Ottoman Army 1914-18' Osprey Publishing, 2002, page 23. The caption reads: 'German officer inspecting a company of Turkish storm-troopers in Palestine, probably in 1918. The soldiers and their commander wear the special steel helmet which differed slightly from that of German troops. (Imperial War Museum Q80044). There is a colour plate of a Turkish Storm-trooper with the caption: 'Assault party, 1918. Towards the end of the Great War some Ottoman infantry were issued with steel helmets which differed from the German type in several respects. Among the first units to be so equipped were 'storm-troopers', comparable to those seen on the European fronts; these served in Palestine and Trans-caucasia. Over his left shoulder this man carries a bag of grenades and he is armed with the German rather than 'Turkish' Mauser M.1898 rifle. This may suggest that he was attached to the recently formed Yidirim Army in Syria and Palestine.' Unfortunately he doesn't quote a source for this information. If you haven't already got it you could probably get a copy from Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 7 May , 2004 Share Posted 7 May , 2004 This picture has triggered a number of debates on several other forums. I still have not discovered any descriptions of Turkish stosstruppen appearing in combat. Germans yes, in the Jordan Valley. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest _KaaN_ Posted 7 May , 2004 Share Posted 7 May , 2004 Hi, Yes, this was asked by our friend Moulded(Peter) on the other forum. So I asked it here if anyone knew about them. Actually I visited the national library last weekend and found the units served in Palestine 1918. Unfortunately no mention about Turkish Strosstruppen. Still looking for them, no luck yet. Domsim, thank you. Best Regards Kaan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 7 May , 2004 Share Posted 7 May , 2004 Thanks very much for looking, Kaan. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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