the beginnings of ottoman-german partnership - Bilkent University

would only be responsible to Wilhelm II, but as an Ottoman admiral he would be
responsible to the Sultan. “If an incident should occur, the Porte would declare that
Souchon had overstepped his authority, that he had been forbidden to do anything
against Russia”. 238
Despite efforts by most cabinet ministers including the Grand Vizier to
prevent immediate Ottoman entry into the war, 239 Enver Paşa eased the way to
achieve the German aims. On September 26, after the British ships which had
patrolled the Dardanelles entrance since the Goeben and Breslau had entered,
stopped an Ottoman torpedo boat soon after it left Ottoman waters, he personally
ordered that the Dardanelles closed to all ships. 240 The Ottomans also began to lay
mines at the entrance to the Dardanelles. Furthermore, “on October 1 the Ottoman
customs duties, traditionally controlled by the powers through the Capitulations,
were unilaterally increased by four percent”. 241 Enver Paşa, “the war minister, was
confident that the empire was militarily ready to intervene. In fact, the only difficulty
was the lack of money, he had to be sure of Germany’s financial support once the
Turks had started marching.” 242
Germany assured Enver Paşa that the money he had asked for would be
sent, but not the German personnel and war materials because the Rumanian
president Bratianu “notified the German minister in Bucharest on October 2 that he
would permit no further shipments of materiel for Turkey to enter the country”. 243
Aware of this fact, opposition cabinet members continued to maintain their position
238
Trumpener, ‘Turkey's Entry into World War I: An Assessment of Responsibilities’, pp. 372-373.
239
Although Said Halim Paşa signed the alliance treaty he opposed the immediate entry into the war.
He was the spokesman of the cabinet members opposed to the entry into the war. Trumpener claims
that Germany would like to see a coup against the grand vizier by Enver Paşa. More interestingly,
Mahmud Muhtar Paşa proposed a scheme for a coup d’etat against the grand vizier, which was not
taken seriously by Germany. Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire: 1914-1918, p. 45.
240
Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire: 1914-1918, p. 46.
241
Shaw, p. 312.
242
Trumpener, ‘Turkey's Entry into World War I: An Assessment of Responsibilities’, p. 375.
243
Trumpener, ‘German Military Aid to Turkey in 1914: An Historical Re-Evaluation’, p. 149.
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