The Fifth Army of the Ottoman Empire or Turkish Fifth Army was formed on March 24, 1915 and dissolved on November 21, 1918. It was assigned the responsibility of defending the Dardanelles straits in World War I. The original commander of the army was the German military advisor to the Ottoman Empire, General Otto Liman von Sanders. The command passed to Vehip Pasha who became responsible for the Helles front while von Sanders still wielded considerable influence.
Structure in late April 1915
When the Allied Battle of Gallipoli, which aimed to seize the Dardanelles, commenced, the Fifth Army comprised the III Corps defending the Gallipoli peninsula and the XV Corps ("Asian Group") defending the Asian shore. The 5th Division was north of the peninsula in the First Army.
The number of divisions involved in the defence of the peninsula expanded to ten with an independent infantry regiment and a brigade of cavalry before the Battle of Sari Bair (August Offensive).
Three more divisions were in the "Asian Group". The four divisions at Anzac made up the III Corps (6 at Helles, 4 at Anzac) plus additional troops..
In August 1916, the army was structured as follows
In December 1916, the army was structured as follows:
In August 1917, January 1918, the army was structured as follows:
In June, September 1918, the army was structured as follows:
In November 1918, the army was structured as follows: