“Thehighestdemandamongthemilitarybranchofarmswasforthecavalryandartillery.
Theinfantry[...]wasseenasaverytiringanddifficultbranch.Thereforetherewaslowde-
mandforthisarm.Theother[twohigherratedbranches]weremoretechnical[...]andwere
ingreatdemandsincetheywerebothmotorizedandmounted.”²⁵²PreparingforTotalWar:TheCaseofAsımEren( 1935 – 1939)
Afterthereintroductionofconscription,theWehrmachtwasoneofthemostap-
pealingrolemodelforTurkishofficers.MemoirsofTurkishofficerwritingabout
theirinternshipsintheReichswehr/Wehrmachtcouldnot befoundfor this
study.However,therearefivearticleswrittenbyCaptainAsımEren (1901–
1988)²⁵³thatdescribehisimpressionsduringhisstayattheWehrmacht.Several
ofhisstatementsechothoseofLieutenantMustafainhisarticlefrom 1913 .The
articlealsocontainsotherobservationsaboutthepoliticalandmilitarydevelop-
mentsduringthetimeofEren.
ForEren,whohadspentseveralmonthsintheInfantryRegimentNo.9in
Potsdam,theGermanarmywaswellknowntoeveryTurkishsoldierbecause
therewasalongtraditionofmilitaryexchangebetweenbothcountries.Erenin-
vitedhisreaderstostudythisreportcarefully,since“inmyopinioneveryoneof
ourofficerscanfindsomethingsuitableforthemself.”²⁵⁴Similarlytothecaseof
LieutnantMustafamorethantwodecadesbefore,fortheTurkishobserverthe
institutionoftheGermancompanysergeantmajor(“başgedikli”/“Spieß”)was
remarkable.Atthistime,intheorganizationoftheTurkisharmy,thecompany
officercontinuedtofulfillmostofthoseduties.²⁵⁵ThislongservingGerman
NCOwasresponsibleforthecompany’sadministration,innerdisciplineand
thedailyconductofservice.Healsocompiledthe daily serviceschedule,
whichwasdescribedindetailbyEren.Obviouslythiskindofhour-by-hoursys-
tematic,strictlyorganizeddailyroutinepreparedinadvancewasnotwidespread
intheTurkisharmedforces.ErenthenoutlinedtheWehrmacht’sdailyservice
Çelikoğlu,BirDarbeciSubayınAnıları,31.
AftertheGreco-Turkishwar,ErenhadbeentrainedintheBerlinwaracademy.Uponhis
return,heservedintheTurkishwaracademyandintheGeneralStaff.Heretiredasacolonel
andwasamemberofthenationalassemblyfrom 1957 to 196 5.Cf.TBMMAlbümü[Albumofthe
TurkishGrandNationalAssembly],ed.T.C.BüyükMilletMeclisi,vol2(Ankara:TBMM, 20 10),
74 4, 816.
AsımEren,“AlmanOrdusundaNelerGördüm;No.1:BirAlmanPiyadeBölüğündeBir
Günün 24 SaatNasılGeçer”[WhatIHaveSeenInTheGermanArmy;No.1:How24HoursIn
AGermanInfantryCompanyArePassingBy],PM 10 – 97 (1936), 10 2.
Eren,“AlmanOrdusundaNelerGördüm.No.1,” 113.
218 4German-TurkishMilitaryCooperationafter 1918