Archive for Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Turkish Enlisted Man’s Buckle

Posted in Belts & Belt Buckles with tags , , , on September 3, 2016 by The Dude

Ottoman_flagBeing a Kiwi I have an attachment to the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. When I visited Turkey in 2012 I made sure that I got to Anzac Cove and Chunik Bair. I scooped a little bit of soil from there into a container and dragged that home. Elsewhere here I have an Ottoman award and have been looking for an Ottoman era belt buckle for a while. This one has the toghra (personal cypher) of Mehmet V, the penultimate Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, under the national emblem. Notice how similar this buckle is in design to the Jerry ones. The Germans had both feet in the Turkish Army prior to the Great War, providing technical advice and equipment designs.

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Turkish soldiers at Sedd el Barr in 1915, prior to the invasion

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Gallipoli Star

Posted in Valour Medals with tags , , , , on November 10, 2013 by The Dude

Ottoman_flagThis medal, from the Ottoman Empire, is known colloquially as the “Gallipoli Star”. However it was not just awarded to deserving individuals in the Gallipoli campaign but in fact all acts of valour after its institution in 1915.

From Wikipedia “The Ottoman War Medal (Turkish: Harp Madalyası), better known as the Gallipoli Star, or the Iron Crescent (from German Eiserner Halbmond, in allusion to the Iron Cross) was a military decoration of the Ottoman Empire which was instituted by the Sultan Mehmed Reshad V on 1 March 1915 for gallantry in battle. This decoration was awarded for the duration of World War I to Ottoman and other Central Powers troops, primarily in Ottoman areas of engagement.”

I always wanted one of these since the Gallipoli campaign is almost holy to New Zealanders and during my recent trip to Turkey was able to hook this one. This one is stamped B.B. & Co on the rear.

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