Armies of the Italian-Turkish War: Conquest of Libya, 1911–1912 (Men-at-Arms)

In the early 1900s, the decaying Ottoman Turkish Empire had lost some of its Balkan territories, but still nominally ruled all of North Africa between British Egypt in the east and French Algeria in the west. Libya had fertile coastal territory, and was the last North African (almost, the last African) region not yet conquered by a European colonialist power. Italy was a young country, ambitious for colonies, but had been defeated in Ethiopia in the 1890s. The Italian government of Giovanni Giolitti was keen to overwrite the memory of that failure, and to gain a strategic grip over the central Mediterranean by seizing Libya, just across the narrows from Sicily. The Italian expeditionary force that landed in October 1911 easily defeated the Ottoman division based in the coastal cities, incurring few losses. However, the Libyan inland tribes reacted furiously to the Italian conquest, and their insurgency cost the Italians thousands of casualties, locking them into the coastal enclaves during a winter stalemate which diminished Italian public enthusiasm for the war. To retrieve Italian prestige the government launched a naval campaign in the Dardanelles and the Dodecanese - the last Turkish­ held archipelago in the Aegean - in April-May 1912, and landed troops to capture Rhodes. The army finally pushed inland in Libya in July- October (using systematic air reconnaissance, for the first time), and after brutal fighting the war ended in a treaty that brought Italy all it wanted, although though the Libyan tribes would not finally be quelled until after World War I. Containing accurate full-colour artwork and unrivalled detail, __Armies of the Italian-Turkish War__ offers a vivid insight into the troops involved in this pivotal campaign, including the tribal insurgents and the navies of both sides. Cover Contents Historical Background Italy The Ottoman Empire Libya The path to war Forces In The Field Italian Army Italian Navy Turkish garrison Ottoman Navy Chronology Operations Naval preliminaries, and occupation of Tripoli Conquest of the coastline Ottoman counter-offensive Battle of Sciara Sciatt Reinforcements Fighting for the oases Eritrean ascari, and local recruitment Tripolitania: Gargaresh and Homs Cutting supply routes: Zanzur, Sidi Said and Misurata Cyrenaica: Tobruk, Benghazi and Derna Naval operations The Aegean Front The Dardanelles The Dodecanese Conclusion & Consequences The Treaty of Lausanne Aftermath The Armies The Italian Army Infantry Cavalry Artillery Engineers Colonial and police troops Weapons The Ottoman Army Organization Weapons The Libyan forces Select Bibliography Plate Commentaries Index Imprint