Ordered to Die
Ordered to Die: a history of the Ottoman army in the First World War is an account of the Ottoman Empire's military engagements in World War I, fought between the Allies of [World War I|Allies] and the Central Powers. It was written by Edward J. Erickson. It was divided into seven sections beginning prewar military issues.
Synopsis
Erickson relies heavily on non-published official histories that were not open to non-Turkish historian in the Ottoman Archives until the late 1980s and Turkish general staff archives, which have very limited access as of 2008. He also uses a limited number of Ottoman Turkish documents. Erickson's book is mostly on the strategic and operational level of the Ottoman Army. The book describes the tactics, social issues and the humanitarian dimensions of the Ottoman Army's engagements.Ordered to die presents sets of data on subjects such as the Ottoman army organisation, the structure of the General Staff and headquarters, German military assistance and Ottoman casualty figures.
The overall conclusion is that the Ottoman army’s record in World War I was an astounding achievement. The book says it was a "saga of fortitude and resilience".