Harp Mecmuası

Harp Mecmuası (Ottoman Turkish: War Journal) was an Ottoman illustrated military journal published in Istanbul between 1915 and 1918. It was started during the Gallipoli campaign between the Ottoman army and the Allied coalition led by the United Kingdom. It was the most popular publication in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.[1]

Harp Mecmuası
CategoriesMilitary journal
Frequency
  • Biweekly
  • Irregular
PublisherOttoman Ministry of War
Founded1915
First issueNovember 1915
Final issueJune 1918
CountryOttoman Empire
Based inIstanbul
LanguageOttoman Turkish

History and profile

Harp Mecmuası was first published by the Ministry of War in Istanbul as a biweekly in November 1915.[2][3] In fact, it was launched as a response to the British propaganda.[4] The Ottoman army was fighting in Gallipoli when the journal was started.[2][5] Given that all articles were written in Ottoman Turkish, its primary target was Turkish people living in the Empire.[6] Its goal was to present military news to raise their awareness about the achievements of the Ottoman army and to make them having an understanding of why the Ottoman Empire participated in World War I.[2][6]

The journal frequently published news from the fronts of World War I.[4] It also provided detailed information on history, ethnography and geography of the various parts of the Empire, including Palestine, Jerusalem[6] and the Suez Canal.[3] The journal was assisted by the Intelligence Office under the General Staff in producing these articles[1] which were mostly accompanied by drawings and photographs.[6] One of these photographs was that of Seyit Ali Çabuk (known as Corporal Seyit) who was an Ottoman soldier, and it was published in the cover page of the second issue of the journal dated December 1915.[1] In the photograph Corporal Seyit was shown carrying a 275 kg heavy shell to the gun.[1] It made Corporal Seyit legend being the symbol of the victory of the Ottoman Navy at the Dardanelles on 18 March 1915.[1] Other leading Ottoman military figures of the fight in Gallipoli were also covered in the articles, including Captain Mehmet Hilmi and Lieutenant Fahri from the Rumeli Mecidiye battery.[7] The journal featured aerial photographs of the Suez Canal which were employed by the Ottoman fighter pilots in their attacks against the British Navy in the region.[3]

The names of the editors were not given in the masthead of the journal.[6] One of its major contributors was Ziya Gökalp.[6] Over time the frequency of Harb Mecmuası became irregular, and it folded in June 1918 due to economical reasons after producing the issue numbered 27.[2][8]

References
  1. Tuncay Yılmazer (17 November 2020). "Çabuk, Seyit Ali". 1914-1918-online.
  2. Serdar Cem Sediroğlu (February 2018). "I. Dünya Savaşı Yıllarında Psikolojik Harp Vasıtası Olarak "Harb Mecmû´ası"". History Studies (in Turkish). 10 (1): 233. doi:10.9737/hist.2018.578.
  3. Zeynep Çelik; Zeinab Azarbadegan (Summer 2020). "Late Ottoman Visions of Palestine Railroads, Maps, and Aerial Photography". Jerusalem Quarterly. 82: 104.
  4. "The use of propaganda in Turkey before and During WW1" (PDF). Erasmus +. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  5. "Harp Mecmuası yeniden yayınlanıyor" (in Turkish). Cihan Harbi. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  6. Eyal Ginio (Fall 2005). "Presenting the Desert to the Ottomans During WWI: The Perspective of the Harb Mecmuası". New Perspectives on Turkey. 33: 48–50. doi:10.1017/S0896634600004234. S2CID 148448446.
  7. Ayhan Aktar (2017). "Who Sank the Battleship Bouvet on 18 March 1915? The Problems of Imported Historiography in Turkey". War & Society. 36 (3): 203. doi:10.1080/07292473.2017.1356591. S2CID 159814632.
  8. "Ottoman Periodicals at Penn". Penn Libraries. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
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