Decimated due to mass arrests among officers and troops, the TSK was not able to execute its tasks properly. The formal aim of Operation Euphrates Shield was fighting against forces of the Islamic State (IS), but Ankara cared more about stopping the advancement of the Syrian Kurdish forces. A few months later, the weakened Turkish Army was sent to fight in northern Syria. The putsch ended in a fiasco already after several hours, and led to a series of purges within the TSK.
First, on July 15, a part of the land forces, mainly mechanized and armored, left their barracks in an attempt to overthrow President Recep Erdoğan. The year 2016 was one of the worst years in the history of the modern day Turkish Army (Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri – TSK). Why did Turkish soldiers suffer a terrible defeat although they were equipped with one of the best and most modern combat tools?
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