mparatively easy one, for an invading army must
meet with constant difficulties through lack of water, excessive heat,
absence of roads and railways and distance from real base of supplies.

At the time of Turkey's entry into the war, military opinion all over
the world was divided on the question of the relative efficiency of her
army. All agreed, however, that as an individual fighting animal the
Turk had few if any equals. Centuries of warfare had established his
reputation, and the wonderful defense of Plevna had set the seal upon
it. On the defensive, it was believed by many, he was unbeatable,
conditions of supply and equipment being equal.

The Balkan War, however, had been a severe blow to his prestige. It was
widely felt that his defeat by the Bulgars, the Serbians, and the Greeks
had revealed serious, even vital, weaknesses in the Ottoman army.
Consequently the test of Turkey in the Great War was anxiously awaited
by both allies and foes. Tremendous issues were at stake, and the
failure or success of the soldiers of the Crescent in standing before
the troops of Russia, France, and Great Britain was bound to have an
important, perhaps decisive, influence on the outcome of the struggle as
a whole.

It is doubtful if the general staff of any of the warring countries had
any accurate or dependable figures of the Turkish army. Especially was
this so of the army on a war footing. At one time only Mohammedans were
permitted to serve with the colors, the citizens of other religious
beliefs being called upon to pay a yearly tax in lieu of service. Of
recent years, however, that law was altered, and in the Balkan War
Mohammedan and Christian served side by side and fought with equal ardor
for their country. Just how large a proportion of the Christian
population had been incorporated into the army at the time of the
outbreak of hostilities few experts were in any position to estimate.

Germany, because of her painstaking investigations in Turkey as well as
in every other country, probably was in possession of more accurate data
than any other nation, not even excepting the Turks themselves. The best
neutral authorities speak of 1,125,000 as the total war-time strength of
the Ottoman forces, but that estimate was made prior to the war and
before the world had learned that nations under modern conditions are
able to place a much larger proportion of their available manhood in the
field than was ever thought possible. P