Country Ottoman Empire Engagements Siege of Acre | Garrison/HQ Constantinople Disbanded 1807 | |
The Nizam-ı Cedid Army refers to the new military establishment of the Nizam-ı Cedid reform program. The Nizam-i Cedid army was largely a failure in its own time however proved to be a much more effective infantry than the Janissaries.
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After losing the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92 in 1792 to Austria and Russia, Selim III concluded that Ottoman military was in serious need of reform if the empire was to survive. As a result, he began implementing a series of reforms aimed at reorganizing the military after the fashion of European militaries. This included the usage of European training tactics, weapons, and even officers. These reforms troubled the Janissaries, who were suspicious and unreceptive towards the reforms. To this end, Selim III created the Nizam-i Djedid in 1797 in order to develop a replacement for the Janissaries. By 1806 this new army stood 26,000 men strong, equipped with a French-style uniforms, European weapons, and a modern artillery corps. Due to their distinctly modern nature, the army was named Nizam I-Cedid, which has the meaning, in Turkish, of 'New Order.'
However, when war with the Russian Empire broke out once again, Sultan Selim III hesitated to use Western drilled army in combat, despite its strong numbers of over 25,000. The old order strongly opposed this age of reform in the Ottoman Empire, overthrowing the enlightened Sultan in 1807 and either massacring or disbanding soldiers in the new model army. However, the Ottoman Empire would have a lasting effect as a result of these reforms, although defeats against the better trained Russian army never ceased to exist.
Battles
In 1799, a 200-men strong Nizam-I Cedid army was involved in combat assisting Jezzar Pasha in his heroic resistance against Napoleon in Gaza Strip. Around 304 Nizam-I Cedid infantry and artillerymen on the side of Admiral Sir Sydney Smith successfully defended Acre. One third of the Ottoman forces were sent to aid British forces removing the French from Egypt while the Nizams also played the vital leading role in capturing of Rashid.