What IS that on your head, Mr. Ottoman?
When looking at the rare images of the Ottoman Army in the Great War, one thing stands out– the odd headgear.
German 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 used by Turkish gunners as an anti-aircraft gun. Note the ready rounds to the left of the gun.
An Ottoman army heliograph station in Palestine. A heliograph flashes sunlight to make Morse code messages.
Speaking of Spandaus, here we see Ottoman soldiers posed “shooting at a British plane” with their gun mounted on a cartwheel for balance and traverse, somewhere in the Sinai, 1916
Ottoman Machine-gun Corps, Gaza, 1917. Note the German-supplied Spandaus with their distinctive ammo cans
1914, Ottoman 3rd Army with winter gear
Ottoman gun crew at Gallipoli
Middle East in WWI. Turkish Infantry Column at rest, April 6, 1915. George Grantham Bain Collection. Note the stacked Mausers and Crescent flag
Ottoman Turks with Mauser rifles
For info on the headgear– I give you a quick and easy reference to the M1909 Kabalak & Bashlyk!