Soldiers of the German army serving in the
Ottoman Empire used the same bayonets as those fighting on other
fronts during the First World War. Experience had proven that long
bayonets, such as the S98 and even the S98/05, were not practical in
modern trench warfare and they were sometimes replaced by shorter
bayonets such as the kS98 and from 1915, the S84/98nA. Period
photographs show German soldiers on Ottoman fronts using both the
S98/05nA and S84/98nA bayonet. Trench knives were also used. One
photograph shows a cavalryman of the Asienkorps carrying a Demag trench knife/bayonet, possibly
of the variation made to fit the Mauser rifles of the Ottoman army.
Another photograph shows Asienkorps machine gunners carrying what
appear to be Ersatz trench knives in addition to their S98/05nA
bayonets. Markings for bayonets
of the Pasch I and II Expeditions were the same as those for the
German army, showing unit and weapon numbers for example
"MGK.601.24." (on a Heller S84.98nAS, see below) for the 601st
Machine Gun Company ("Maschinengewehr-Kompanie 601") and "F.FL.A.300.111."
(on another Heller S84/98nAS seen in
"The Collector's Book of German
Bayonets 1680-1945" by Roy Williams) for the 300th Field
Flying Detachment ("Feld Flieger Abteilung 300").
Bayonets with sword
knots were also sometimes carried by officers during the First World
War as being easier to wear than cumbersome swords which were
officially withdrawn in 1915. The same practice was carried out on
Ottoman fronts. At least one period photograph shows Generalleutnant
Liman von Sanders (commander of the Ottoman army in Palestine)
carrying an S84/98nA bayonet, probably a privately purchased
variation.
Some German soldiers smuggled into the
Ottoman Empire through neutral Rumania in the early part of the war
(such as the "Freiwilliger Pionier
Kompagnie") and German soldiers serving as part of Ottoman army
units (such as Artillery or Technical NCOs) may have been issued
Ottoman army bayonets, which were based on German models and often
made in German factories. So far no photographic proof of these
bayonets in use by German troops has been confirmed, although period photographs do sometimes
show German officers commanding Ottoman Army units carrying Ottoman
swords.
The sailors of the SMS Goeben and SMS
Breslau that served at Gallipoli have been seen in period photographs
carrying the S98/05 bayonet. A surviving example (see below) confirms
they were of the earlier S98/05aA variety.
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