T6andT7artillerytowingtractors.³¹⁰MostoftheTurkishunitshadnotmore
thanoneortwotrucks:“Eventhoughweweredesignatedasa‘motorizedanti
aircraftbattery’,wewerestillnotfullymotorized.Wehadnogun-towingvehi-
cles.ExceptforoneBüssingtruck,wehadnomotorvehicleinthebattery.”³¹¹
Thisiswhytheabove-mentioneddebatesinTurkishperiodicalswereonlya
mereevaluationofthingsthatwouldbefeasible.InthecaseoftheBüssing
trucks,theTurkishgovernmentevenhadtoofferpaymentwithtobaccoduring
thefirstroundofnegotiations.³¹²
TheDevelopmentofTurkishTankWarfare
TogetherwithotherTurkishofficers,thecavalrycaptainTahsin[Yazıcı]wassent
totheFrenchcavalryschoolinSaumurin 1925 .ThereCaptainTahsinfirstread
postwarFrenchevaluationsabouttheuseofarmoredvehiclesincombination
withthecavalry.³¹³DuringTahsin’sstudiesinSaumur,theFrencharmydecided
onthedeploymentofanindependenttankdivisionandonthepartialmotoriza-
tionofthecavalryregiments.³¹⁴UponhisreturntoTurkey,Tahsinservedasan
instructorinthecavalryschool,wherehealsotranslatedintoTurkishtheFrench
1926 instructionforarmoredcars.³¹⁵Bytheendofthedecade,theTurkisharmy
beganwiththepreparationsforitsfirstarmoredunit.Afirstexperimentalunit
wasfoundedintheMaltepegunneryschoolafterafewoutdatedRenaultFT 17
tankshadbeenpurchased.AsapresentbyKlimentVoroshilov,theSovietcom-
missarfordefense,in 1932 TurkeyreceivedelevenRussiantanksthatwereto
formthebasisoftheTurkishtankforce.³¹⁶In 1934 Turkeyacquired 43 BA-6
wheeledarmoredcarsand 64 T- 26 BtanksfromtheSovietUnion.Theywereto
formthetankbataillonofthe 2 ndCavalryDivisioninLüleburgazforthedefense
FornumbersregardingTurkeyseeBartHarmannusVanderveenandOlyslagerOrganisation
BV,TheObserver’sArmyVehiclesDirectoryto1 940 (Warne:Frederick&Company, 1974 ), 371 – 37 2.
Kocatürk,BirSubayınAnıları,1 03.
NadolnytotheGermanForeignMinistry,2October 1930 .AA-PAR7 8562 ,E 6923 31.
ErhanÇifci,ŞarkCephesi’ndenKore’yebirTürkGenerali:TahsinYazıcı’nınAskerlikSerüveni
ATurkishGeneralfromtheEastFronttoKorea:TahsinYazıcı’sMilitaryAdventures, 86.
StéphaneFerrard,HistoiredesBlindésFrançais(Paris:Argos,2 012 ), 48 – 52.Ontheroleof
thecavalryseeRobertoNayberg,“L’EmploidesCharsdanslaCavalerieFrançaiseentre1 919 et
1939 ,”GuerresMondialesetConflitsContemporains 168 (1992),1 25 – 14 1.
Tekeliandİlkin,İkinciDünyaSavaşıTürkiyesi,79;Çifci,ŞarkCephesi’ndenKore’ye,92.
Çifci,ŞarkCephesi’ndenKore’ye,1 02.
TheDevelopmentofTurkishTankWarfare 231