TheTurkishartilleryhadtogainmobilitytoguaranteeaflexibledefenseof
ThraceandtheAnatolianmainland.Oneofthefirstmajorstudiesonthedevel-
opmentoftheartillerysince 1918 wasamerecomparisonoftheFrenchandGer-
manarsenal.Themixtureofdifferentcanonsfromvariouscountrieswasseenas
abigobstacletofutureTurkishwarfare,ashadbecomeevidentfromthewar
againstGreece.Supplyandmaintenanceweredifficultduetotheconglomera-
tionofallsortsofcalibersandspareparts.²⁸²Turkeyhadnoneedformany
heavyartilleryunits,sincetheywerecost-intensiveandtheneighborcountries
hadnoborderfortifications.However,somemobileheavyartilleryunitscould
beusefulinshoredefense.²⁸³Astotheconductofmodernartillery,Brigadier
GeneralEminreferredtotheoldOttoman 1913 artilleryregulationthathadcon-
tainedtranslationsofboththeGermanandFrenchinstructions.Hewasquite
skepticalabouttheuseofpostwarregulationsfrombothcountries.TheTurkish
artilleryshouldnotfollowthedevelopmentsinbothcountries,butrathercon-
centrateontheevaluationofitsownwarhistory:
“WetookmajorcommandlessonsfromtheGreatWarandachievedourgreatvictorieswith
thoselessons.Istheremorebrilliantevidenceofthefactthatwecorrectlychoseourwar-
farepracticesandourserviceregulations?Thatbeingsaid,nobodycantellatallwhatto-
morrow’swarwillbelike.”²⁸⁴Thesituationwasdifferentforthemountedtroops.IntheopinionofBrigade
GeneralBaki[Vandemir],theageofthecavalrywasnotover.Incrucialsitua-
tionsliketheMarnebattlein 191 4,inMacedoniaandinPalestinein1918,the
enemyhadbeenabletoattackandsplituptheCentralPower’sforcesthanks
tocavalryadvances.TheadvantageofstrongTurkishcavalryunitshadalso
beendecisiveinthewaragainstGreece.ThereforetheTurkisharmywasto
keepinserviceatleastthreemounteddivisions.²⁸⁵BakiclearlyfavouredtheGer-
manReichswehrasarolemodelforacavalryfieldregulation:“Duetothefact
thatmilitaryservicelasts 12 years[intheReichswehr],thisnotonlychangedthe
A.Besim,“CihanTecarübüneGöreTopçununTeçhiz,TeslihTeşkilveTabiyesindeVukua
GelenİnkilaplarveTerakkiler”[RevolutionsandProgressintheOrganization,Armament,Or-
ganizationandStrategyoftheArtilleryAccordingtotheExperiencesoftheWorldWar],TM
5 – 57 (1929), 48 – 53 ;Ibid., 5 – 59 (1929), 2 – 11 ;Ibid., 5 – 60 (1929), 41 – 46 ;Ibid., 8 – 84 (1932),
33 – 47.
A.Besim,“CihanTecarübüneGöre,”TM 5 – 59 (1929),4.
K.Emin,“AlmanveFransızMuharebeUsulleri,AtışKaideleri,AralarındakiFarklarveBiz”
[GermanandFrenchCombatCustoms,FireRegulationsandtheirDifferencesandWe],TM 9 – 91
(19 33 ), 15.
Baki,“GelecekHarplerdeSüvari(1)”[TheCavalryinFutureWars(1)],AM 49 – 79 (1931), 77.
TheTurkishArtilleryandCavalry 225