First Turkish States Era
209 B.C., the date of the accession to the throne of the Great Hun Emperor Mete Han, is the year taken as basis of the foundation of Land Forces.
In first the regular Turkish Land Army founded by Mete Han in 209 B.C., the largest unit in terms of number, consisting of 10,000 horsemen, was called "Division", divisions were divided into thousands, thousands into hundreds, hundreds into tens, each of them was assigned a commander with the ranks of Division Chief, Major, Captain and Corporal, and from bottom to top they are subordinated to each other in the correct chain of command.
This organizational model, which came to the stage of history with Mete Han, has continued with other Turkish states that ruled until today, and especially during the periods of Gokturks, Uyghurs, Seljuks and Ottomans, the Turkish Army became one of the leading armies in the world.
In the Great Seljuk Empire, which gained its independence by defeating the Ghaznavids in the Battle of Dandanaqan in 1040, and made Anatolia a new Turkish homeland by defeating the Byzantines in the Battle of Manzikert on 26 August 1071, the organization and training of the Land Forces were based on solid principles.
After the Great Seljuk State, Anatolian Seljuks and Egyptian Turkish Mamluks also created excellent armies.
Ottoman Empire Era
The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in 1299, grew stronger rapidly and in parallel with this strengthening, the Ottoman armies that went beyond Anatolia as of 1363 achieved great victories in battles such as Serbian, Kosovo, Nicopolis, Varna, the Conquest of Istanbul and Mohacs in the west; Chaldiran, Marj Dabiq and Ridaniya in the east.
The Ottoman army emerged in an organized manner during the reign of Sultan Murat I. The Ottoman Army, which was the first cavalry army in history, initially consisted only of Horse Raiders, but was later transformed into a permanent structure under the name of the Janissary Corps with the participation of dismounted troops. The Janissary Corps played an important role in the victories achieved during the rise of the Empire.
The Janissary Corps, which lost its effectiveness with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, was abolished following the suppression of the Janissary Revolt that started on June 15, 1826. Instead of this army, a new army was established named 'Asakiri Mansure-i Muhammediye'. The basis of this force was formed by battalions called "Branch". Again, in this organizational period the Military Academy named 'Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Şahane' was opened in 1834 in order to train officers who would command the army.
Four years after the Imperial Edict of Gülhane, in 1843, a reorganization was made and five armies were established with personnel subject to a five-year service period, and by the amendment made in 1848, the number of armies was increased to six. The Military Academy, called Mekteb-i Fünun-u Harbiye-i Şahane was founded in Istanbul on July 20, 1848. On the other hand, the number of military schools were also increased in this period and military schools at high school level were opened in Istanbul and Bursa in 1845, in Edirne and Monastir in 1846, in Damascus in 1847, in Erzurum in 1872 and in Baghdad in 1875. These constituted the student resource of the Military Academy.
With the declaration of the Second Constitutional Monarchy, in parallel with the innovations in the administrative field, the amount of weapons and materials was increased by making a new arrangement in the army organization, but the developments in the army were interrupted due to the Tripolitanian and Balkan Wars.
Subsequently the Turkish Army gained partial success on the fronts stretching from Galicia to Yemen and the Caucasus, in the First World War, and left its name written in history in golden letters with the Çanakkale Victory. Despite the successes achieved on various fronts, the Army faced harsh provisions of the Armistice of Montrose signed on 30 October 1918.
According to the provisions of the Armistice of Mudros, the homeland was reduced in size by the so-called victorious states, the number of land forces was reduced, their weapons were taken away, and the homeland was occupied.
The Turkish Nation did not recognize the occupations and started to resist, and volunteers and militia groups formed all over the country began to operate.
Realizing that it would not be possible to achieve the desired success with the efforts of dispersed elements and small units, Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his friends started working to establish a regular army in the mid-1920s, and as a result, the Western Front Command was established.
Thanks to this army, which was formed under great difficulties despite all impossibilities, the First and Second Battle of İnönü and the Battle of Sakarya were won with the motto "There is no line defense, there is surface defense, that surface is the whole homeland", and the Great Offensive launched against the Greek army on 26 August 1922 and the subsequent Pitched Battle of the Commander-in-Chief, led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha himself as the Commander-in-Chief, resulted in a great victory.
Against the defeated and fleeing enemy, Mustafa Kemal Pasha gave the order on 1 September 1922: "Armies, your first goal is the Mediterranean. Forward!" With this order, the enemy was driven into the sea on 9 September 1922, and Anatolia was saved from being occupied and the Turkish Nation from being taken into captivity. Thus, the integrity of the homeland and the unconditional independence of the Turkish state were recognized by the whole world.
Republican Era
After the victory in the National War of Independence under the leadership of Atatürk, the Turkish Land Forces was formed into three army inspectorates consisting of nine corps with two divisions and three cavalry divisions at the beginning of the Republican Era.
Period 1923-1939
After the War of Independence, weapons, vehicles and equipment remaining in the country were confiscated. The necessary ones were renovated and integrated in the establishment and staff of the army. A 'Department of Science and Art' was established to monitor, examine and inspect the constantly developing weapon and material technology.
All clothing and other supply needs of the army and the equipment of the armed forces began to be produced in national factories within 16 years.
The foundations of military factories were laid and they were activated in Ankara to repair and renovate the weapons and materials of the Land Forces.
The first tank unit was established in Lüleburgaz in 1934.
The Military Academy was moved from Pangaltı/İstanbul to Ankara after the construction of the building was completed in 1936.
Period 1939-1945
1939 is an important year for the development of the Turkish Armed Forces and Land Forces. Since the danger of World War II was knocking on the doors of the Republic of Türkiye, the needs had to be met according to the expeditionary organization. For this purpose, the following activities were carried out at various stages:
• With the transition of the Land Forces to an expeditionary state and the establishment of the divisions to be formed during the expedition, the number of corps, which was 10 in peacetime, was increased to 15.
• Parachute units were formed.
• Units in Western Anatolia were reinforced.
• Units on our eastern borders were reinforced.
• In order to be strong enough on both eastern and western fronts, all branches were recruited and the deficient staff of the communications and engineer units, armored brigades and survey regiments were reinforced. Heavy machine gun companies, horse-drawn and fixed artillery batteries and transportation branches, which could not be formed due to the lack of budget, were established during peacetime.
Period 1945-1952
• Land Forces Command was established in 1949. Until this date, army commands were subordinate to the General Staff in terms of operations and training, and to the Ministry of National Defense in terms of personnel and logistical support. Since 1950, the Land Forces Command has incorporated all service schools and training centers.
• Following the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, a brigade-sized force from the Land Forces was sent to Korea to join the United Nations Army.
Period 1952-1992
• Türkiye became a member of NATO in 1952.
• After Türkiye became a member of NATO, all branches of the Land Forces were equipped with modern weapons and equipment according to NATO standards..
• Air defense artillery units were established and supplied with Nike missiles.
• The Army Aviation School was established in 1957.
• In 1966, the 4th Corps Command was established in Ankara.
• In 1974, the Cyprus Peace Operation was conducted and the Turkish Peace Forces Command was established at the corps level in Cyprus.
• Aegean Army Command was established in Izmir in 1975.
Other developments during this period include:
• Establishment of the Training Command (1985): Land Forces Training Command was established in July 1985. The name of the Land Forces Training Command was changed to the Land Forces Training and Doctrine Command in 1994.
• Establishment of the Logistics Command (1988): the establishment of the Logistics Command, which is an executive command between the Land Forces Headquarters and the army and independent branch, was completed at the end of 1988, in order to carry out the logistics activities of the Land Forces in a more rational and effective manner in accordance with the requirements of modern warfare.
• Border security: The duty of protecting the land borders was given to the Land Forces Command in accordance with the Law on 'Protection and Security of Land Borders' dated 10 November 1988 and numbered 3497.
• Exercises: Mehmetçik exercises are carried out beginning from 1986, in an army region every year, in order to ensure that commanders and units conduct bilateral operations in the combat environment and to increase the level of troop command training.
1992-2010 Period
With the collapse of the Warsaw Treaty Organization and the dissolution of the USSR in 1990, the balance of power in the world was disrupted and an environment of uncertainty entered, and the cold war ended. In this context; many large states have started to minimize their armies and form armies that are fewer in number but more effective.
In this period; Taking into account the threats against Turkey, the limitations imposed by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), and the areas of weakness of the Land Forces; the aim was to form a Force Structure that:
• is able to adapt to the combat environment of the future,
• has high mobility and firepower,
• has the capability to detect, identify and recognize the enemy from depth,
• is capable of fighting at night,
• has high survivability,
• allows flexible and multi-purpose use,
• is in sufficient size,
• is easy to conduct,
• allows saving on personnel and is based on an effective mobilization system,
• is based on battalion, brigade, corps and army organizations.
In this context, instead of divisional organization, units were organized as brigades and attached to corps. Additionally, brigades were mainly formed as armored and mechanized units in order to increase mobility and firepower.
In order to increase reconnaissance, surveillance and target detection opportunities, starting from 2007; Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battalions, Companies and Platoons which have Tactical and Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAVS) have been added to the establishment of Army Commands, and Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Teams have been added to the establishment of Brigade and Regiment Commands.
Within the scope of creating central skill pools, the Communications Electronic Information Systems Units were restructured, the Communications Electronic Information Systems Regiment Commands were established in the Army Commands, and the Electronic Warfare Units were included in the Communications Electronic Information Systems Regimental Commands organizations.
With the Logistics Management System (LYS) project, a dual supply and triple maintenance system was introduced. In this context, the logistics organization of the Land Forces has been restructured at all levels, from the Land Forces Headquarters to the Battalion/Detached Company level.
Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) units were reorganized in 1997.
Separating the air defense branch from the artillery branch as an independent branch was accepted by Law No. 4185. Accordingly, air defense units were reorganized and the Air Defense School, established within the Artillery and Missile School, was moved to Çekmeköy Quarters in 1998. Afterwards, it was moved to Konya in 2008.
The Land Forces Intelligence School, which started operating in Ankara in 1999, was abolished in 2003 and merged with the Turkish Armed Forces Intelligence School. The Turkish Armed Forces Intelligence School, which continued its activities under the Turkish Armed Forces Command until 2010, has been affiliated to the General Staff since this date. Education and training activities continue in Ankara.
In order to establish a single command in the army aviation units and to switch to the combat command structure from peace, the Army Aviation Command was established and affiliated to the Turkish Armed Forces Command on 15 August 2003.
The engineer units were restructured in 2006. In this context, engineer talent pools were established at the Engineer Regiment level in the 1st Army and the 2nd Army, and at the Engineer Battalion level in the 3rd Army and the Aegean Army.
In 2007, Service Schools and Training Center Commands and Training Brigade Commands were affiliated to the Land Forces Training and Doctrine Command.
Representing the Turkish Armed Forces in the best way both at home and abroad, the Turkish Land Forces have made significant contributions to peace support operations and continue to do so. In this context, Turkish Land Forces contribute to the following international operations.
Within the scope of Operation ALTHEA carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkish Land Forces first participated in the operation with a regiment-level unit on 04 August 1994, based on the decision of the UN Security Council. Since this date, varying units have been assigned at the Regiment/Company level.
In order to prevent conflicts in Kosovo, varying units at the Regiment/Company level were assigned to Kosovo to contribute to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) Operation as of July 13, 1999.
In Afghanistan Resolute Support Mission, the Afghanistan Turkish Task Force (ATGK) Command took the "Framework Nation" responsibility from 2015 to 2021. The mission ended with the withdrawal of all NATO personnel on 28 August 2021.
Türkiye contributed to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Operation with troops at the company level from 20 October 2006 to 1 September 2013.
In conclusion, Turkish Land Forces, as a part of our Armed Forces, which is "A Steeled Expression of Turkish Unity, Turkish Power and Capability, and Turkish Patriotism", always has the determination and decisiveness to be worthy of our great nation and carries the honor and pride of being under its command.
