ABSTRACT
A Turkey reinforced by foreign air-power could prove a dangerous threat to a Russian force invading Persia and pressing down to Iraq and the Gulf. The strategic problem that faces those planning the defence of the Turkish Republic is different from that of the old Ottoman Empire. It is simpler, for no far-flung territories impose on the Turkish General Staff the task of dispersing forces over wide areas. Turkey provides a quarter of the armed forces at the disposal of NATO—in all, twelve infantry divisions, three cavalry divisions and three armoured brigades. The conclusion to be drawn from the history of Turkey’s armed forces since the Revolution is that its increased efficiency can only be secured if she is part of an international defence system in the Eastern Mediterranean. All through the last half of the nineteenth century-she had grown increasingly dependent on foreign military equipment.
