the beginnings of ottoman-german partnership - Bilkent University

On April 24, 1913 Mahmut Şevket Paşa asked Wangenheim's opinion about
the desirability of asking for a new German military reform comission, stating that
the Germans had been reforming the Ottoman Army for more than thirty years, and it
was impossible to change that tradition at that late date. 113 However, the ‘German
style’ Ottoman Army continued to fail in the ongoing wars. “In the meantime, in the
face of all the disasters Mahmut Şevket had to offer a restoration of truce and full
acceptance of the powers’ peace terms. The armistice was restored on April 16,
negotiations resumed on May 30, and ten days later the Treaty of London signed,
with the Midye-Enez line being established as the new Ottoman boundary and with
Thrace and Edirne in enemy hands.” 114
The First Balkan War ended calamitously for the Ottomans and the
Ottoman Empire entered into a state of havoc. Besides the material losses, the
Empire collapsed psychologically. Undecided about what to do next and without
hope for the future, the Ottomans began to seriously question the value of German
friendship and military assistance. In the European press, the victory of the Balkan
League was attributed to the superiority of French Cruiseot artillery over German
Krupp Artillery. 115 The popular view in the Ottoman Empire was that the German
military reformers had been unsuccessful in reorganizing the Ottoman Army.
Mahmud Şevket Paşa was not, however, of the same opinion, and with the support of
the inner cabinet of the CUP, led by Enver and Talat, on May 22, 1913, he asked
Wangenheim to relay his request to Berlin for a new German military mission.
113
Cemal Paşa, Hatıralar: İttihat ve Terakki, I. Dünya Savaşı Anıları ed. Behçet Cemal, (İstanbul:
Çağdaş Yayınları, 1977), pp. 87-88.
114
Shaw, p. 296.
115
The Greeks and Serbs used French artillery whereas the Ottomans used German artillery. The news
served to provoke the Ottoman Army, because the Bulgarians and the Romanians also used Krupp
artillery.
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