The Military History Society of NSW

  ANZAC forces first encountered soldiers of the Ottoman Army on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the morning of 25 April 1915. ‘Johnny Turk’ as he came to be known, proved to be a stubborn opponent and skilled fighter defending his homeland, but less widely known is why the Ottoman Empire as whole was fighting alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary. Together, these three empires made up the Central Powers of World War One. Military historian and author David Wilson will speak on what was arguably the most turbulent decade of reform and consequence in the Ottoman Empire. We will look at the strategic position of the empire at the beginning of the 20th Century and see why it was known as ‘The Sick Man of Europe’ and what factors influenced the structure of the Ottoman armed forces during this critical period. We will also look at several strategic level leaders and also the humble, but stalwart “ mehmet ” (foot soldier) who fought in a multiplicity of campaigns across the vast Ottoman Empire

Reconnaissance is the quarterly magazine of The Military History Society of New South Wales Welcome to the Autumn 2021 issue of Reconnaissance . Most Australians know little about the country’s quite substantial military contribution to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Perhaps this is because much of it happened before federation. But they probably know at least one thing. That is the tragic-romantic story of outback horse-breaker cum bush poet Harry Morant, ‘The Breaker’, who along with fellow trooper Peter Handcock was executed by the British high command on 27 February 1902, allegedly for murdering Boer prisoners. The Morant case has been the subject of numerous books, documentaries, and, of course, the award-winning movie by Bruce Beresford. It has long been attended by controversy and continues to arouse strong passions to this day. Attitudes to the executions seem to shift back and forth according to latter-day feelings about Australian nationalism, the honouring of military h