The 27th Infantry Regiment (Turkish: or ) or simply 27th Regiment (Turkish: or ) was a regiment of the Ottoman Army during World War I. It is best known for its response to the landing at Anzac Cove of Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915 during the Gallipoli campaign.
History
The date of the regiment's formation is unknown.
World War I
At the start of World War I the regiment was assigned to the 9th Division. In September 1914 the 27th Regiment and the 9th Division relocated to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Following the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Irfan to command the Menderes Detachment on 10 November 1914 Kolağası (Major) Mehmed Şefik was appointed to replace him as commander of the 27th Regiment of the 9th division. On 29 November 1914 Şefik was promoted to the rank of Binbaşı (Lieutenant Colonel).
While its officers were from various parts of the Ottoman Empire most of the conscripts and NCOs of the 27th Regiment came from the Gallipoli Peninsula which had a diverse ethnic composition. Due to the Ottoman authorities being suspicious of the reliability of its Greek and Armenian citizens most of the regiments combat soldiers were local Muslims, though non-Muslims made up half of its auxiliary and support staff. At the time that took over command the regiment was responsible for the southern region of the Gallipoli Peninsula (including Helles, Kabatepe and Suvla). The regiment was soon assigned the specific task of defending the coastline between Ece Bay and Kakabtepe. He began a program of digging and fortification of trenches in order to avoid his men being caught out in the open by naval shellfire. He also made it plain to his officers that the forward units were not to retreat when attacked but instead to be prepared to sacrifice their lives in order to gain time for reserve units to arrive. Following a detailed inspection of the terrain Şefik identified that the Ariburnu (ANZAC Cove) region was a critical point and in early March 1915 commenced the construction of a comprehensive defensive system, though it was soon halted due a change in defensive strategy imposed by Otto Liman von Sanders, who believed in the deployment of light screening forces along the coastline while retaining strong mobile reserves and supplies in the interior. Following the arrival of Mustafa Kemal's 19th Division on the peninsula on 26 February 1915 the 9th Division was reassigned to defend the Asiatic coast, but the 27th Regiment was left behind and reassigned to the 19th Division.