Horaczek,aprivate1stclassandacarpenterbyprofession.²³⁷Aftermorethan
eightmonthsofminewarfareontheWesternfront,hevolunteeredfordeploy-
menttotheOttomantheaterofwarandservedinGallipoliinJulyandAugust
1915 .Thehotclimateandunfamiliarfoodtooktheirtoll,sincetheGermancon-
tingenthad no timefor acclimatization.²³⁸ Though sufferingfrom affected
health,GermanengineersdidtheirbesttosupporttheOttomandefense.The
bloodylessonslearnedontheFrenchbattlefieldsweretopayoffatthistime:
“WehadgainedrichexperienceforthelaterbattlesunderneaththeearthinGal-
lipoli.”²³⁹HoraczekadmiredthecommonOttomansoldier,whoborethehardlife
inthetrenchesandthesparsesupplywithoutcomplaining.Hewasalsoim-
pressedwith theOttoman fieldfortifications,whichseemedto befamiliar
since“[...]theTurkishtrenches[...]oftentotallyresembledtheGermantrenches
[...].”²⁴⁰ThetrainingofOttomanengineersprogressed,eventhoughthecommu-
nicationwastroublesome.Bothsidesknewnootherlanguagethantheirnative
tongueandrarelyweretheyassistedbybilingualOttomanofficers.Onlyoneto
twoGermanengineerssupportedtheminingactivitiesineachOttomonregi-
ment.TheOttomanshadtobeonthewatchsincetheBritishforcesmadeexten-
siveuseoftunnelsinnoman’slandinordertobeginsuddenopeningattacks
andconductedactive countermining operations.²⁴¹ Ottoman soldierswere
thus“docilestudents.”²⁴²Together,thealliescoulddeliverpainfulblowsto
theirenemies:
“ThefirstdetonationIwitnessedinGallipoliwasaneventfortheTurks.Thechargecom-
prisedoftwotonsofdynamite.[...]Theearthshook;theairwasfullofsoil,stones,wood
andhumanbodies.Athousandvoicesshouted‘Allah!’blendedintothebluster.”²⁴³HoraczekandotherGermanengineersalsoinstructedtheirOttomanfellowsol-
diersintrenchwarfare.Notonlytheevadingtechniquesagainstapproaching
AdolfHoraczek,AlsdeutscherSoldat 191 4/18vonderWestfrontandieOsmanischeFront:
ErlebnisseeinesdeutschenPioniersimGrabenkampfdesI.WeltkriegsundanderOsmanischen
FrontvondenArgonnenbisBagdad,ed.GuntherAdolfHoraczek(Berlin:epubli, 2014 ), 33 – 84.
SeethedetailedreportinE.Hiltmann,“MitdenMaschinengewehrenderMittelmeerdivi-
sionanderFrontaufGallipoli,”inVor20Jahren.ZweiteFolge:VondenDardanellenzum
Sues.MitMarineärztenimWeltkriegdurchdieTürkei,ed.SchriftleitungderDeutschenMedizini-
schenWochenschrift(Leipzig:GeorgThieme, 19 35),1 12 – 12 5.
Horaczek,VonderWestfrontandieOsmanischeFront,28.
Horaczek,VonderWestfrontandieOsmanischeFront,44.
Jones,UndergroundWarfare,1 90 – 199.
Horaczek,VonderWestfrontandieOsmanischeFront,45.
Horaczek,VonderWestfrontandieOsmanischeFront,52.
80 2ThePeakofKnowledgeTransfer