Dardanelles Fortified Area Command

The Dardanelles Fortified Area Command or Mediterranean Strait Fortified Area Command or Çanakkale Fortified Area Command (Turkish: Bahr-i Sefîd Boğazı Mevki(i) Müstahkem Komutanlığı or Akdeniz Boğazı Müstahkem Mevki(i) Komutanlığı or Çanakkale Boğazı Müstahkem Mevki(i) Komutanlığı or Çanakkale Müstahkem Mevki(i) Komutanlığı) was the Ottoman fortified area command and was formed to defend against attacks on the Dardanelles from the Aegean Sea.

Dardanelles Fortified Area Command
The Dardanelles defenses in February/March 1915, showing minefields, anti-submarine nets and major gun batteries.
Active1911–1949
CountryOttoman Empire
Turkey
TypeFortified Area Command
Garrison/HQÇanakkale
PatronSultans of the Ottoman Empire
EngagementsWorld War I
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Mirliva Fahri Pasha
Mirliva Cevat Pasha (November 29, 1914 – October 8, 1915[1])
Mirliva Nihat Pasha (October 1915 – November 1917[2])
Miralay Selâhattin Bey (November 27, 1917 – December 29, 1918[3])
An Ottoman redoubt of the Dardanelles Fortified Area. The weapon is possibly a German-made 28 cm K L/40 on a coast defense mount.

Formations

Order of Battle, 1911

With reorganizations of the Ottoman Army, to include the creation of corps level headquarters, by 1911 the fortified area command was headquartered in Çanakkale, under the command of II Corps. The Dardanelles Fortified Area Command in 1911 was structured as such:[4]

Dardanelles Fortified Area Command, Çanakkale

  • 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • Independent Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • Torpedo Detachment
  • Mine Detachment
  • Wireless Detachment

Order of Battle, December 1912

In December 1912, the area command was structured as follows:[5]

Dardanelles Fortified Area Command (Çanakkale, Commander: Mirliva Fahri Pasha)

  • 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • Independent Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • Torpedo Detachment
  • Underwater Mine Detachment
  • 27th Infantry Division (Eceabat)
  • Provisional Infantry Division (Bolayır)
  • Afyon Redif Division (Eceabat)
  • Çanakkale Redif Division (Cape Helles)
  • Erdemit Redif Division (Suvla Bey)
  • Kavak Detachment (Kavak)
  • Menderes Detachment (Kum Kale)

Order of Battle, 1915

The Dardanelles Fortified Area was first-class fortified area, the commander of this fortified area was given the corps' authority. It was headquartered in Çanakkale. The formation of the fortified area in 1915 was as follows:[6]

Dardanelles Fortified Area Command, Çanakkale

  • 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade (İkinci Ağır Topçu Tugayı), Çimenlik Tabyası
    • 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment
    • 4th Heavy Artillery Regiment
    • 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment
  • Fortress Engineer Company
  • Engineer Construction Company
  • Communication Company
  • Mine Detachment
  • Searchlight Detachment (8 searchlight)
  • Fortified Area Ammunition Depot Detachment
  • Bolayır Ammunition Depot Detachment
  • Sea Transportation (3 motorboat with 3 small boat)


Sources
  1. T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 23. (in Turkish)
  2. T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, p. 64. (in Turkish)
  3. T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri, p. 118. (in Turkish)
  4. Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, pp. 371-372.
  5. Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, pp. 153-158.
  6. Askeri Tarih ve Stratejik Etüt Başkanlığı, Birinci Dünya Harbi'nde Türk Harbi: Cilt. 1. Kitap. Çanakkale Cephesi Harekâtı (Haziran 1914-25 Nisan 1915), T.C. Genelkurmay Basımevi, 1993,

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