The Long Century of the Ottoman Weapons: Transformation of the Equipment of the Ottoman Ground Forces during the Modernization of the 19th Century

Abstract

The paper explores the development of the material and technical basis of the Ottoman ground forces during the period of a widescale modernization and implementation of Western technical innovations (1826—1880). The paper scrutinizes the activities of the most important Ottoman industrial centers, which provided all kinds of troops with necessary supplies, and firearm purchases from Belgium, Great Britain, France and the USA. The source base of the research includes a wide range of works of the Ottoman historians and military leaders, books of the British and French authors and archive materials containing the notes of the Russian military informers. The multifaceted analysis of the Ottoman military transformations revealed a controversial nature of the modernization. On the one hand, the reformers successfully accomplished the rearmament programme. By the end of the reforms the majority of the Ottoman regular troops had possessed the latest British and American rifles and cannons manufactured by Krupp factory. On the other hand, the modernization of the equipment and industrial centers worsened the financial position of the Ottoman Empire and caused a rapid growth of the military expenditures that composed a significant part of the Ottoman state debt. Several unsuccessful attempts of organization of the military production strengthened the dependence of the Ottoman empire on imports from Europe and America. The technological progress chase increased the Ottoman military potential, however its cost weakened economic and, as a consequence, political position of the state.