Ottoman Army - Strength - 1877
A regiment of infantry was composed of 3 battalions of 8 companies. The complement of a battalion on a war footing is 800, and on a peace footing, as a rule, 450 rank and file. A regiment of cavalry is composed of 6 squadrons, except those of the Cossacks, which have only 4 squadrons. The war state of a squadron is 140, and the peace state 90 horses. A regiment of artillery is composed of 4 battalions of 3 batteries, 1 mountain battery, and battery of mitrailleuses, 6 guns to each battery. The guns of the horse artillery, and those of one battalion of field artillery, are Krupp steel guns, similar to those in the Prussian service.
The strength of a regiment of field artillery is-
| Men | Horses | Mules | ||
| In war | 2,340 | 2,632 | 119 | |
| In peace | 1,400 | 600 | - |
The garrison artillery are not attached to any corps d'armee in particular, but are placed under the orders of the Minister of War. It is composed of 2 battalions of 4 companies each; and the war strength of a battalion is 664 men.
The war strength of the standing army will consequently be-
| Men | Horses | Guns. | |||
| Infantry | 168 Battalions | 134,000 | - | - | |
| Cavalry | 158 Squadrons | 20,540 | 20,540 | - | |
| Artillery | 90 Batteries | 15,142 | 17,718 | 540 | |
| Engineers | 2 Battalions | 1,128 | - | - | |
| Total | 171,010 | 38,258 | 540 |
The peace strength-
| Battalions | Men | Horses | Guns | ||
| Infantry | 168 | 75,000 | - | - | |
| Cavalry | 158 | 14,200 | 14,200 | - | |
| Artillery | 90 | 9,000 | 3,900 | 540 | |
| Engineers | 2 | 900 | - | - | |
| Total | 99,100 | 18,100 | 540 |
The following, then, is a summary of the total forces available, on paper, to the Ottoman Government in event of war:-
| Men | Horses | Guns | ||||
| Infantry | Standing Army | 168 Battalions | 134,000 | - | - | |
| 1st Redifs | 120 Battalions | 96,000 | - | - | ||
| 2nd Redifs | 120 Battalions | 96,000 | - | - | ||
| Levee en Masse | 250,000 | - | - | |||
| Cavalry | Standing Army | 158 Squadrons | 20,540 | 20,540 | - | |
| Auxiliary | 10,000 | 10,000 | - | |||
| Artillery | Horse and Field | 90 Batteries | 15,042 | 17,718 | 540 | |
| Reserve | 14 Batteries | 2,340 | 2,751 | 84 | ||
| Garrison | 7 Regiments | 14,280 | - | - | ||
| Detachments | 20 Regiments | 7,000 | - | - | ||
| Engineers | 2 Battalions | 1,128 | - | - | ||
| Zaptiehs | 20,000 | - | - | |||
| Total | 666,530 | 51,009 | 624 |
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