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Ottoman uniforms
In 1909 a khaki coloured uniform had been introduced in the Ottoman Army. The traditional fez had been replaced by the so called kabalak, a rather peculiar headgear made from strips of cloth wrapped around a wicker frame and looking a bit like a sun-helmet. Officers had a sheepskin cap, a so called kalpak, (also often worn by the cavalry) but in the line they also wore the kabalak. The most common colour of uniform was, as mentioned khaki, but the variation in this, and in boots, was big: an almost infinite number of shades of khaki, beige and brown could be seen. The uniform consisted of a jacket with one row of buttons and a standing collar, short pants and puttees, plus brown coloured leather gear. The Ottoman state hadn’t really the industrial capacity to support their big Army for such a long war, and as a consequence the Ottoman soldiers often could be seen with old, mended or improvised clothing. As the war wore and, the biggest problem turned out to be footwear, that was often bad or even lacking.
The minor distinctive marks, also warn in full dress, are increased gold braiding on the cuffs and collar of the tunic for general and field officers; thick gold fringe on the general's, epaulettes; thin fringe on those of field officers, and plain epaulettes for officers below that rank. Capes are sometimes worn by officers in which case the stars denoting rank are shown on collar patches of the distinctive colour. Non-comissioned officers are distinguished from rank and file by having coloured shoulder straps, of distinctive colour for the arm to which they belong. To distinguish the various grades of non-commissioned officers, broad transverse bands are added (gilt for combatant ranks, silver for non-combatant). Sergeants have one band, assistant sergeant-majors two bands, and sergeant-majors three bands. Corporals have no band. The shoulder straps are bordered with red edging, and sergeant-majors also wear a red tassel to their side orms. A further distinction of bands of distinctive colour above the cuffs is also now being introduced : in this case a corporal will have one broad band, a sergeant one broad and one narrow, an assistant sergeant-major two broad, and a sergeant-major three broad bands, In action there has been a tendency on the part of officers to discard all b adges of rank. Those who were captured on the Canal in February 1915 had their shoulder straps in their pockets for production when required." The Ottoman soldiers personal equipment was in many aspects German in design, although simplified, while the weapons themselves were almost exclusively of German make. Beginning in 1917 a simple steel helmet of German-inspired design was introduced, but it never came into general use: like the kabalak it lacked visor, actually for religious reasons. The standard infantry rifle was the 7.65mm Turkish Mauser, of either model M.1893 or the M.1903. Bayonets were also of German manufacture, while some Ottoman infantry could be seen with combat knives stuck in their boots. The Cavalry were armed with a rifle or carbine, often the Turkish Mauser M.1905. The Ottomans used German MG/08 Heavy Machine-Guns. On Turkish Artillery
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