 The First World War Ottoman Turkish Army was modelled after the German Imperial Army , with most of its members being conscripted for two years ( infantry ) or three years ( artillery ) ; they then served in the reserve for the next twenty @-@ three years . The pre @-@ war army had 208 @,@ 000 men in thirty @-@ six divisions , formed into army corps and field armies . On <unk> each division had three infantry and one artillery regiment for a total of around ten thousand men , or about half the size of the equivalent British formation . Unlike the largely inexperienced ANZACs , all the Turkish Army commanders , down to company commander level , were very experienced , being veterans of the Italo @-@ Turkish and Balkan Wars . 
