The Ottoman Empire___

“They are inured to war, from the constant hostile state in

which they live among themselves in the inaccessible heights
of mount Caucasus, and from the frequent skirmishes they
have with Russian troops on their frontier””.
- John Phillip Morier

The Ottoman Empire of the Napoleonic
Wars was one in decline. Since their
defeat by the massed charged of the
Polish winged Hussars outside the walls
of Vienna they no longer looked to make
gains in the West, concentrating on
internal battles, not least against the
rising threat of Wahabism, and border
Skirmishers with the Austrians and
Russians. All this changed when on the
2nd
July 1798 a young ambitious Corsican
general called Napoleon Bonaparte
landed in Egypt and thrust them into the
Napoleonic Wars. Expeditions by France
and Britain were followed by a full scale
war with Russia which only ended in an
uneasy truce when Napoleon marched on
Moscow. The army of the Ottoman
Empire was little changed in appearance
from the Renaissance Era, mixing regular
and irregular troops, the army is
a riot of colour making an
Ottoman army a striking sight on
the tabletop and one that plays
like no other in the Napoleonic
Wars!
Note: This is no way an official
supplement, but is presented
here by Napoleonic Wargaming
Ottoman Army Special Rules

By the Sultan’s Command:

Ottoman commanders were almost
universally, pretty terrible, and were
rarely in their positions due to any
particular military skill or experience.
For that reason at least half of the
Ottoman commanders must be SR:6
with a maximum of one commander
at SR:8. No Ottoman commander may
ever be SR:9 or 10.

Additionally, the Sultan was the only

one that could give orders, and had a
crude but effective way of
transmitting orders, mainly through
the use of music and flags.

When a brigade commander issues an

order, in addition to all the other All
commands are measured from the c-
in-c’s base, regardless of the though
the bands for command penalties are
24” instead of the usual 12”.
Janissary: While a shadow of their former glory, Janissaries were the
most well trained infantry in Ottoman armies. As such ALL units with
the Janissary special rule are subject to the following rules: Eilte (5+)
(unless the unit has a different number in it’s special rules). Baktasi,
Unreliable, and Tough Fighter
Fieldworks: Ottoman armies would often fight from positions prepared by their hordes of
manual labourers in advance of the battle. These redoubts, while providing excellent cover
made the Ottoman armies very static and this was something the best opponents could
exploit.

Any unit of Janissaries may begin the game in fieldworks, any Very Heavy Artillery
must ALWAYS do so. Fieldworks, and the units in them, must be deployed at the same time
as terrain, and before their opponents. Any unit in a fieldwork is treated as being in a
building for the purposes of being targeted by shooting. Any voluntary order for the unit to
leave the fieldworks suffers a -1 to the command rating as the troops are reluctant to leave
the relative safety of their entrenchments. If they are playing the role of ‘defender’ in a
scenario, at least half the janissaries must begin the game entrenched.

Baktasi: These were Sufi religious leaders that were so closely aligned with the janissaries
that new leaders of the movement would be first approved by the janissaries before being
officially recognised by the Grand Vizier. In battle they inspire the men to greater feats of
reckless bravery.

Any Janissary unit may be upgraded to include a Baktasi for the appropriate points. If they
do this they MUST reroll the first failed save of a turn, If this re-roll is a ‘1’ the unit loses the
Baktasi special rule and the unit must take an immediate morale test (results as per
shooting) One orta of Janissaries may be upgraded to the 99th Orta. This unit, made up
entirely of Baktasi Dervishes will never lose the Baktasi special rule until the unit is
destroyed.
Kazan: the large cauldrons carried into battle by the
janissary ortas were the equivalent of a French eagle or the
King’s colour to the British and would bring great shame on
the unit if lost. An orta that contains at least 1 unit of
Janissaries may purchase a kazan for +25 points. It is then
placed in base to base with the orta commander, moving
with him as required. When a unit fails a morale test they
may expend the kazan and count as having passed. That is
to say they count the morale result as a 7+. If the morale
result was a 4 or less, the kazan MUST be expended and
the unit saved. If using my alternative capture the colours
rules, place the kazan next to the unit that used it, then if
the unit is destroyed roll for the capture as normal.

Toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble…

While janissaries also carried flags, the soul of their orta was their kazan a large soup cauldron carried on the
shoulders of two bearers. This symbolised that it was the sultan that fed them, and as long as they were paid
and fed they would remain loyal. One of the most ominous sights the ruler could see would be the janissary
officers pouring the contents of their kazan on the fire and upturning the cauldron, a sure sign that they would
no longer be accepting the Sultan’s food…or orders…
Janissaries of the Guard
There were 61 orta (regiments) of Janissaries
quartered in the capital at Istanbul, and it was they
who provided the guard of the Sultan. Called
‘Benluks’, these were the best trained and
equipped infantry the Ottoman’s had to offer and
were also responsible for guarding the Sandjak-
Cherif - the Flag of the Prophet. Recognisable by
their yellow boots, the Benluks formed the core
of the army when the Sultan went to war. The
best men of Orta 60 to 63 were selected for the
personal guard of the Sultan, the Solaks. These
were distinguished by their quivers of arrows
harkening back to Xerxes’ Immortals, but these
men if disgruntled were as much a danger to the
Sultan as the enemy….

Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special

Jannisaries Regular S/B Musket Janissary.
6 3 3+ 3
(Benluk) Infantry and Sword
Jannisaries Regular S/B Musket Janissary,
7 3 3+ 3
(Solak) Infantry and Sword Elite 4+

Janissary Benluks and Solaks have the following special rules: Janissary,
Baktasi,

Solaks may only be included in an army led by the Sultan himself.

Additionally if the Sultan is not present, Benluks are limited a single brigade
per three additional Janissary brigades.
Other units of Janissary Austrian jager and were used to patrol wooded
areas and to guard the army’s water supply. This
While the force of Janissaries stationed in Istanbul
very brief rundown skips over the individual ortas
was formidable, at least in numbers,
that had different specific skills and responsibilities
outnumbering them were the one hundred and
such the Talim-Hanedjilar or ‘instructors’, the
one orta of the Djemaats, placed in strategic
Segbans that guarded camps, the marines, the band,
points within the empire, particularly guarding
etc. Additionally to the Turkish raised orta, the
the frontiers. While the Sultan had command over
Mameluks raised their own ‘Cairo Janissaries for use
all these units and personally appointed their
in their armies, look for them in the ‘Nizam-i-jedid’
commanders, many individual soldiers might have
section. Finally the Janissary Oglans were orta made
served their entire career without seeing the
up of recruits from the barracks in Istanbul. While
Sultan and so their loyalty was often to their local
part of Janisaary formations, we don’t give them the
commanders first. There were also the Coroudjis,
full suite of special rules we give to janisaaries.
specialist light infantry these men were similar to
Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special
Jannisaries Regular S/B Musket Janissary
(Djemaat) Infantry and Sword 5 2 4+ 3
Jannisaries Regular S/B Musket Janissary, Skirmish,
(Coroudjis) Infantry and Sword 5 2 4+ 3

Jannisaries Regular S/B Musket Baktasi, Elite 6+

(Oglans) Infantry and Sword 5 2 4+ 3
Unit organisation:

The Ottoman army was one that hadn’t been

reorganised in centuries, but in spite of this we
can quote easily break it down into units for our
games of Black Powder. The vast majority of units
have no real size, they are mobs of (sometimes)
semi-trained militia that basically hung out with
their village, family or tribe. These units can be
any size, and represent a swarm of men and can
be small, medium or large units, often in a
‘warband’ formation. The Ottoman army wasn’t
entirely rabble however, and formations roughly
equivalent to regiments did exist, especially in the
janissaries. These formations were called ‘Orta’
and numbered between two and three thousand
(on paper at least) each orta consisted of two sub The local commander issues his orders
divisions, or ‘oda’, the left and the right. While
not perfect, for the sake of ease we will equate
these orta to ‘battalions’. This means when
selecting a formation, 2 units, with a commander,
an Aga, will make a nice ‘brigade’. A beautifully decorated Turkish jezzail
Sekhans
While the janissaries formed the core of the
Ottoman army, it’s bulk was provided by men
known as Sekhans. These were irregular fighters
called from across the empire, from Bosnia in the
West to the Persian Gulf in the East. These men
were raised in what was effectively a feudal
system, but they were no less formidable for it.
Often armed to the teeth and dressed in local
(what would now be called) traditional clothes
they form a colourful addition to the force. While
some of these men were very effective fighters,
not least the Albanian bashi-basooks, some were
little more than peasants dragged from their farms A 19TH century French postcard showing some rather
still clutching their tools, especially in Egypt. There formidable looking bashi-bazooks!
are literally hundreds of types of soldiers that form
the sekhan, so if you want to field one not included African ‘bashi-basooks’. This perhaps shows how
here, I suggest you find the closest one and work ferocious they were considered! The Reyas were
your own rules from there! It’s also worth pointing skirmishing riflemen, similar to British ones, operating
out that these terms were often used across in small units of 50 to 100 they were often attached to
borders, there are at least two paintings of black janissary ortas.
While bashi-basooks were unpaid brigands the Ottomans also had a system of local militia. These local
militia would have a central building they would operate from called a Derbent and soon this came to be
the general term for them. These Derbent ranged from local gangsters to a well-trained forces, such as
the Greek Martolos. I’d also recommend using these stats for the sailors and corsairs that the Ottomans
often employed on land.
Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special
Bashi - Regular Mixed Rifle formation, tough
Festooned 6 3 4+ 3 fighter, sharpshooter.
Bazook Infantry
Regular Jezzail and Small unit, skirmisher, Mixed
Reyas 4 2 4+ 2 rifle formation.
Infantry Sword
Warband Sword and Tough Fighter, Fanatic
Azabs 6 - 4+ 3
Infantry Shield
Regular Musket and Mixed Skirmish formation.
Derbents 6 3 4+ 3
Infantry sword
Warband Improvised Large unit, freshly raised,
Fellaheen 5 1 5+ 4 fanatic, Improvised weapons.
Infantry weapons

Festooned: Many troops carried their own personal weapons, and it would not be unusual for the more
martial types to carry a jezzail or musket, at least two pistols, a sword and a dagger! For this reason they
count as having muskets and rifles for firing, and pistols and swords for close combat.

Improvised Weapons: The unit suffers -1 to hit in close combat and shooting.
The New Order – Nizam-i-Jedid. Revolutionary France, Selim created a new army,
the Nizam-i-Jedid (sometimes also called the Nizam-
Sultan Selim III was a keen observer of modern life
i-cedid). These men were trained and equipped in
at the end of the nineteenth century. His uncle had
Western tactics and wore westernised uniforms,
received envoys from, and declared as legitimate
although they were tailored so as not to offend
ruler, Sultan Tipu. He had seen how The Tiger’s
Muslim sensibilities. Growing from a single
large army had been destroyed by western trained
regiment to a large force, .the janissaries saw this
troops. Calls for reform became too loud to ignore
new formation as a direct threat to them and so
in 1789 when 120,000 thousand Ottoman troops
they resisted the reforms. So bitterly in fact they
were defeated by 8,000 Russians, eventually
would assassinate Selim, only for his successor to
resulting in them ceding the Crimea to the Tzar.
disband this outdated force and continue the
With the assurances and advisors given to him by
modernisation of the army.

Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special

Nizam-i- Regular Smoothbore New Army (see below)
Jedid Infantry Musket 6 3 4+ 3
Jannisaries Regular S/B Musket Janissary.
(Cairo) Infantry and Sword 6 3 4+ 3
New Army: Nizam-i-jedid are trained and equipped as European infantry, including the rather unique ly for
the Ottomans, bayonet! Due to this they gain the following special rules: Must Form Square, Column of
Companies, Lacking initiative. Additionally they both despise and are despised by the janissaries and so they
may never support, or be supported, by units with the ‘janissary’ special rule, with the exception of ‘Cairo
Janissaries’ who may support and be supported as normal.

Timeline of the ‘New Army’

 1789: A humiliating defeat of the army prompts the Sultan begin

Reforms.
 1794: The first Nizam-i-Cedid regiment founded in Istanbul. This regiment consists of 12 companies
each of 100 men, with 10 guns attached.
 1799: The second and third regiments, organised identically to the first are created.
 1801: With 12 regiments now raised, provincial governors are instructed to raise their own units,
leading to cavalry units including between 4 and 6 lancer regiments being created.
 1807: The Janissaries rise up and demand an end to the system.
 1808: the New Army is reformed to aquiece to the demand of the traditionalists. No called the
Sekban-i-jedid, there are now 6 regiments each of 2 battalions. The reforms did not appease
the janissaries, and after their assassination of the Sultan, the janissaries massacred them.
The Cavalry of the Sultan

The main arm of the fighting forces of the Ottoman

armies had always been the cavalry. In the 17th
century most European armies would have a
proportion of perhaps 10% of their army as cavalry.
For the Ottomans it was often around or above 50%.
In perhaps the most famous battle for the Ottomans in
this period, The Battle of the Pyramids, cavalry were
almost the entirety of the army! As can be expected,
they were a hugely diverse arm, with the white
flowing robes of the Mameluks, contrasting with the
hawk feather sporting Delis, contrasting with the full
suits of chainmail worn by the Sipahi. The cavalry was
simultaneously the best, and worst, parts of the were excellent, and terrible, units from both sides of
Ottoman army. Capable of great bravery and feats of the divide. There were also guard units stationed in
individual heroism, they had none of the close order Istanbul, the so-called Suvarileri. Perhaps the most
formation training of their European enemies, famous of all Ottoman cavalry though were the light
meaning even ‘heavy’ Ottoman cavalry would often cavalrymen from Egypt, the Mameluks. Once slaves,
struggle against lighter European opponents. As with they had risen to rule the country and would so
the infantry, the cavalry was split into regular and impress Napoleon that he took a number of them back
irregular forces, but don’t make the mistake of to France, inducting them as one of the founder
thinking that this status reflects their quality. There regiments in his Imperial Guard.
The Sultan’s Mounted Guard

The main part of Ottoman cavalry were irregular, that is not paid a salary by the Sultan. Of the six cavalry divisions
though, there were two that consisted of professionals and were considered guard cavalry. The first guard
division (not a term they would have used) consisted of the Silahtar (‘weapon bearers’) that had traditionally
formed the Sultan’s bodyguard. By 1807 this role had been taken by the Sipahi Oglans, the ‘Sipahi’s Children’. The
second ‘guard’ cavalry division was made up of the Ulufecijan (‘the salaried men’) and the Gureba (‘the
strangers’). All four of these units were considered as janissaries, and so would be sub divided into two oda, the
left and the right, meaning in Black Powder terms they are two brigades of four units (two of each type). Clad in
chainmail with lances, shields and swords while subtly different, for our purposes the regiments are the same.

Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special

Guard Cavalry Reg Cav Lance, Sword, and 8 1 3+ 3 Elite 4+, Individual Fighters,
Pistol or Bow Ferocious Charge, lance.

Individual Fighters: these men, while skilled in their own right had
none of the training European cavalry that their European counterparts
did. For this reason if they charge an enemy cavalry unit that has
either charged or counter charged, the unit with this rule does not get
the +1 to hit bonus for charging. Conversely however, if the enemy are
following up via a pursuit, they do not gain the usual +1 to hit, as their
formation is likely to be broken up, allowing the Mameluks’ individual
combat skills to shine.
Sipahi
As mentioned earlier, Ottoman armies had a huge
proportion of cavalry in their armies, often rising to over
50%. Of this cavalry at least half would be Sipahi. Granted
tracts of land called ‘Timar’, they were held in trust on
behalf of the ruler, and in times of war these Sipahi were
required to raise forces proportionate to their Timar. For
this reason they are often compared to medieval European
knights, and while not exactly accurate in all details, it’s
close enough to get a rough idea! As with almost all
Ottoman cavalry there was no uniform for these men, they
would often dress in elaborate silks and robes, often
underneath chainmail hauberks. One sign of being a Sipahi
was a round breastplate in the centre of the chest, though
this had fallen a little out of favour by the Napoleonic era.
The other traditional symbol of the Sipahi was a lance with
either a yellow or a red pennant. By the time of Selim III
there were over 100,000 Timar holders in the Ottoman
empire, though not all were up to much, though 10,000
Sipahi were ordered to undergo annual training in Istanbul,
and these could be considered competent to good. We’ll
call them ‘Istanbul Sipahi’ here.
 Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special
Sipahi Regular Lance, Sword, Individual Fighters, Ferocious
5 1 4+ 3 Charge, lance.
(regular) Cavalry Pistols or Bow
Sipahi Regular Lance, Sword, Individual Fighters, Ferocious
7 1 4+ 3 Charge, lance, Large.
(Large) Cavalry Pistols or Bow
Sipahi Regular Lance, Sword, Ferocious Charge, lance.
6 1 4+ 3
(Istanbul) Cavalry Pistols or Bow
Large Sipahi Ferocious Charge, lance,
Regular Sipahi (Istanbul) 8 1 4+ 3 Large.
(Istanbul)
Ottoman Light Cavalry
Perhaps the most famous part of the Ottoman army is it’s
light cavalry. These were entirely irregulars, not paid by the
Sultan, but allowed to plunder basically at will. This was a
great strategy when fighting abroad, not so much when
fighting in your own lands however! The types of light
cavalry are almost as varied as the ethnicities under the
Ottoman banner, so we will conflate them into a few
types. I’ll be comparing them to more recognisable
European cavalry types, and while of course this won’t be
entirely accurate, it’ll give an indication of these troops.

Delis: The Ottoman equivalent of hussars, these men was

originally of Tartar descent but by the 1800’s came largely
from the Balkans, where they were called zataznicis
(literally: knights). Confusingly they were also sometimes
referred to as ‘bashi basooks’ (crazy heads) due to their
rash nature. Their most distinguishing features were the
eagle feathers nailed to their shields and the leopard skins
way as to the use of camels, I can’t imagine they
they wore.
didn’t, especially as they were used extensively
Arab cavalry: these men would be drawn from the desert later on in the century during the Madhist revolt,
so I’ve included rules here if you want to use
them
nomads of the Arabian Peninsula or across the Sahara region of Egypt. While I’ve not seen any evidence either I’ve
included rules for Arab Camelry here.

Yorouks: Very light cavalry, Yoruks were a type of cavalry as old as the empire itself. They would sow fear and
confusion by ranging out in front of the army leading raids and intelligence gathering missions. They are, in game
terms at least, basically Ottoman Cossacks.

Mameluks: No more burying the lead, this is the unit you’re all here for! These men were the ruling elite of Egypt,
having risen there from originally being a slave class. They dressed fabulously, in their distinctive baggy trousers
and richly decorated waistcoats. They would also wear a thick cloth band into which would be stuffed all manner of
pistols and daggers. Individually incredibly brave, almost to the point of insanity, they impressed a young General
Bonaparte so much he inducted a squadron into his Imperial guard, a formation that fought at his side until the
Napoleonic era’s last bloody day at Waterloo

Unit Type Armament H-2-H Sh Mor Sta Special

Irreg Lance, Sword, Individual Fighters, Ferocious Charge,
Deil 6 - 4+ 3 Lance, Marauder.
Cavalry Pistols or Bow
Arab (Horse) Irreg Marauder.
Sword, Pistols 5 1 5+ 3
Arab (Camel) Cavalry Camels, Marauder
Irreg Marauder.
Yorouk Sword, Pistols 5 1 5+ 3
Cavalry
Irreg Individual Fighters, Ferocious Charge,
Mameluk Festooned 5 1 5+ 3 Marauder, Festooned.
Cavalry
May Not Charge Formed enemy: Arab Cavalry and Yorouks may not charge formed, unshaken enemy in the
front. See Clash of Eagles’ Cossack rules for specific details.

Camels: Enemy non-camel cavalry do not get charge bonus’ for attacking camels.

“Fire on the cavalry!” cried an

officer from behind them.
Javert raised his musket and
glared with one open eye at
the approaching horde. His
eyes trained on a man in white
astride a large bay mount. The
Mameluk cavalry had their
curved swords wielded, and
they shone in the sun like
blinding jewels. Javert tried to
decide whether he should hit
the horse or the rider. Without
hesitating, he made his
decision and pulled the
trigger.’ Kelsey Brickl, Wolves
and Urchins: The Early Life of
Inspector Javert