the beginnings of ottoman-german partnership - Bilkent University

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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. 55
The defeat in the Balkans had, indeed, proved how weak the Ottoman Empire was. The CUP and the Ottoman intellectuals now felt really drastic reforms were needed in order to save the Empire from collapse and destruction. They understood, however, that the Empire had to be careful about the nature of the new German military mission. The new situation in the Balkans had changed the views of all the European Powers about the Ottoman Empire. The ongoing negotiations between Germany and England about the railroad concessions took new shape. Germany, for one, began to define its future policies regarding Anatolia on the supposition that the Ottoman Empire would finally be partitioned. 116 In the spring of 1913, Wilhelm II agreed to send a new military mission to Istanbul, but at the same time showed that his real intention was to use it to control Ottoman affairs, while at the same time preventing Russia from dominating Anatolia. To achieve this end, he tried hard to secure an agreement with Britain regarding the settlement that he made if the Ottoman Empire was partitioned: Let us ensure that the partition shall not be carried without us. I want Mesopotamia, Alexandretta, Mersina. The sensible Turks are already expecting this fate patiently… It is very important to have definite objectives in this event (the partition), instead of warning the Turks, which the present Turkish government does not deserve and would never be acted on anyway… I could not wish for a better… merciless judgement upon the policy of great adventures and Ententes of my uncle Edward VII! In the long run a policy directed against Germans with Slavs and Gauls is absolutely unworkable for the Anglo-Saxons! We shall find one another in Asia Minor, either for the sake of Turkey… or at her expense! 117 It is not certain that the German Foreign Office and General Staff shared Wilhelm II's views, but in any case Germany went ahead to seek British friendship in order to detach it from Russia and France, thus isolating France and preventing Russia from realizing its goals in the Near East. In İstanbul, without giving any 116 BOA, HR. SYS, Dosya: 202, Gömlek: 36, BOA, HR. SYS, Dosya: 43, Gömlek: 53. 117 Fritz Fischer, ‘World Policy, World Power and German War Aims’, in The Origins of the First World War: Great Power Rivalry and German War Aims, ed. H. W. Koch, (London: Macmillan Education Ltd., 1984), pp. 135-136. 56
Page 1 and 2:
THE BEGINNINGS OF OTTOMAN-GERMAN PA
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I certify that I have read this the
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ÖZET Bu tez Birinci Dünya Savaş
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ÖZE
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BOA, HR, SYS:
Page 11 and 12:
have tried to follow a chronologica
Page 13 and 14: Affairs (Hariciye Nezareti), Minist
Page 15 and 16: Prussia. 3 Ottoman ambassadors like
Page 17 and 18: officers to train and command. This
Page 19 and 20: Until Bismarck, Prussia did not dea
Page 21 and 22: integrity and gave Russia a dominan
Page 23 and 24: Empire ideologically suitable for f
Page 25 and 26: well as aide-de-camp (yaver-i ekrem
Page 27 and 28: connections with the important figu
Page 29 and 30: Kaiser Wilhelm II’s accession to
Page 31 and 32: While Wilhelm II’s Germany was pu
Page 33 and 34: In 1893, the Germans completed the
Page 35 and 36: Germany in Ottoman debt increased f
Page 37 and 38: Ottoman control, each attempting to
Page 39 and 40: The students of schools like the Ci
Page 41 and 42: egime. Whether Abdulhamid prolonged
Page 43 and 44: August 5, 1908 while his bitter riv
Page 45 and 46: into key positions there. From now
Page 47 and 48: grand vizier. This caused the inner
Page 49 and 50: war. However, Russia could not supp
Page 51 and 52: C. Ottoman-German Relations During
Page 53 and 54: In order to reorganize the Ottoman
Page 55 and 56: Von der Goltz stayed in Turkey for
Page 57 and 58: compensating the kilometer guarante
Page 59 and 60: East. 97 The Ottomans felt alone in
Page 61 and 62: architect of the establishment of G
Page 63: leaving all the previous ministers
Page 67 and 68: who were connected with the CUP wer
Page 69 and 70: new losses on the Ottomans at the s
Page 71 and 72: to be headed for a major war. The C
Page 73 and 74: appointments to the senior military
Page 75 and 76: dividing the same provinces into sp
Page 77 and 78: likening his military mission to do
Page 79 and 80: Baghdad railroad had two unfinished
Page 81 and 82: CHAPTER FOUR: FROM THE ALLIANCE TRE
Page 83 and 84: present, Turkey can only be advised
Page 85 and 86: Since the Ottoman Empire had been r
Page 87 and 88: 2. If Russia should intervene with
Page 89 and 90: The treaty had various problems, ev
Page 91 and 92: alliance as the only means of assur
Page 93 and 94: accepted by Berlin”. He argues th
Page 95 and 96: B. German-Ottoman War Aims and the
Page 97 and 98: y Germany were achieved, the Empire
Page 99 and 100: October 1, 1914. 234 The German and
Page 101 and 102: against the war. In the meantime, i
Page 103 and 104: directing Souchon to disregard the
Page 105 and 106: Britain and Russia, all of which we
Page 107 and 108: potential enemy. Bismarck had manag
Page 109 and 110: eformed by the Germans during the l
Page 111 and 112: compartmentalization of awareness d
Page 113 and 114: against Russia, culminated in Ottom
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Almanya’ya i’zam olunacak Osman
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Appendix III İTTİFAK MUAHEDESİ 1
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ATASE, Dosya: 73, Klasör: 1646, Fi
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Appendix V Başkomutan Vekili ve Tu
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29 TEŞRİNİEVVEL 1330 (11 KASIM 1
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D: 3 C: 1 İ. S.: 2 Appendix VII Me
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File0003.JPG (JPEG Image, 1269x1731
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File0001.jpg (JPEG Image, 1269x1731
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1.Primary Sources BIBLIOGRAPHY: Gen
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Halil Menteşe, Osmanlı Mebusan Me
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Soy, Bayram, ‘II. Wilhelm, Weltpo
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