Military bridges and tombaz bridging in The Ottoman army of the Modern Period (19th and 20th Century)

The SAMUR (Armoured Amphibious Assault Bridge- AAAB) is a modernised system that forms part of the modernisation projects of the Land Forces Command of the Turkish Armed Forces. It has been developed in accordance with the tactical operational needs of the Turkish military. The SAMUR is designed to enable troops to cross from watery locations such as rivers to the opposite shore. Although the system is highly modernised, it is actually a continuation of the system used for centuries. The use of floating bridges has been employed in a similar manner for centuries, from Alexander the Great to the present day. This paper will examine the use of floating bridges in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, their military modernisation and the methods used to meet the requirements of modernity with the modernisation of the system in the Ottoman Empire. The use and construction of floating bridges is described in textbooks prepared for students in military schools, travelogues, manuscripts, works of military personnel who participated in wars and archival documents. Bridge books are an important source of information on this topic. These works provide detailed descriptions of the types and construction of bridges used by armies to cross rivers. The process of building bridges on fixed and floating abutments is covered in detail, including the determination of the crossing location, the survey of rivers and forests, the construction process and the assignment of workers. The research analysed the condition of floating bridges in the 19th century. Answers were sought by analysing various issues, including changes in the use and condition of the bridges. Thus, we attempted to make an academic contribution to this field, which has been little studied. Key Words: 19th Century, Military Bridges, Fortification Troops, Floating Bridges, Military Modernisation