OTTOMAN EMPIRE & WWI.   Term Paper ID:20372 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Background, entry of empire in war on side of Central Powers, Balkan War, military & politics, alliances.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Background, entry of empire in war on side of Central Powers, Balkan War, military & politics, alliances. Paper Introduction: The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I This paper will examine how the Ottoman Empire, or Turkey, became actively involved in the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. The paper will briefly discuss the political and economic state of affairs in the Empire from the time the last Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, was deposed until the summer of 1914. The Ottoman search for a powerful European ally will be examined in greater detail, as will be the reasons for the final alliance between the ottomans and Germany. Finally, the paper will discuss the events of the summer and f all of 1914 which led to the Turkish entry in to the War in November of 1914. As an empire under a single government, the Ottoman Empire had been on the decline since the Seventeenth Century. Composed Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. At the same time, they did not wish for Turkey to be dominated bythe European powers; they really wanted a program of economic and militarymodernization which would eventually bring Turkey up to the same level ofpower as the European powers. France entered the waron August 3 and Germany invaded Belgium (in an offensive directed againstthe French) on August 4; in response, Britain declared war on Germany onthe same day. This nationalism insisted upon an essential"Turkishness" of all which remained in the Empire. Mostbelieved that a policy of neutrality would only lead to an eventualpartition of Turkish territories amongst the European powers (Kinross 6 6).The rise of Turkish nationalism had given the Turkish people a sense offuture greatness, replacing the shame of the despotism of the last Sultan.Few foresaw the possibility of the Central Powers losing, and even fewerthought that the Ottoman Empire would cease to exist at the end of the war. The league demanded that the Porte appointa neutral Christian governor of the Balkan province and allow locallegislative assemblies and gendarmeries, as well as allow detailed reformswhich were to be introduced and implemented by the Balkan League and theEuropean powers. Germany and the Ottoman Empire, 1914-1918.Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968.----------------------- 1 Realizing the plight of their country,several officers in the Turkish army in Macedonia began plotting tooverthrow the Sultan and establish a "new" Turkey, governed moreeffectively by a stronger central government based upon western Europeanideas of "democracy" (LaFore, 1965, 155; Price, 1956, 82). Thesesorts of maneuverings went on for two months, during which time Turkeymaintained its neutrality. The Ottoman search for a powerful European allywill be examined in greater detail, as will be the reasons for the finalalliance between the ottomans and Germany. Free passage through the Straits was absolutely vital toRussia's economic survival (Moorehead, 1956, 13). The Long Fuse: An Interpretation of the Origins ofWorld War I. The single unifying factor in the Empire was Islam,but fully 25% of the Empire's population was not Islamic by the beginningof the Twentieth Century; this was one of the eventual reasons for thenumerous rebellions in the empire, especially in the OttomancontrolledBalkan territories (Fromkin, 1989, 34-35). This relationship wouldcolor both empires actions in the months which preceded the First WorldWar. The Germans had been the onlyEuropean power willing to help modernize Turkey and its military. at that time, yet he was acting without theknowledge of all but a very few members of the cabinet in approaching theGermans. The paper will briefly discuss the political and economic state of affairsin the Empire from the time the last Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, was deposeduntil the summer of 1914. In response, the Turks mined the Dardanelles,effectively closing off the straits into the Black Sea (Fromkin 67).German officers in Turkey began scheming to get Turkey in the war by usingTurkish forces in aggressive acts. The Turkish reasons for entering the alliance were twofold. Finally, the paper will discussthe events of the summer and f all of 1914 which led to the Turkish entryin to the War in November of 1914. While the Porte agreed in principle, the Turkish peopleclamored for war. After the dismissal of Bismarck, however, KaiserWilhelm II began looking eastward, in pursuit of Germany's "destiny." Thus,a new policy began of establishing Asiatic Turkey as a major sphere ofGerman influence in strategic and economic fields; the Kaiser particularlywished to link Germany with the Persian Gulf, via the proposed Baghdadrailway. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1977.LaFore, Lawrence. The plans for the Baghdad Railway were blocked, however, by both theBritish and the Russians. Lippencott Co., 1965.Moorehead, Alan. This plan was received enthusiastically by the Sultan, who wishedto begin centralizing control of the empire through the construction ofrailroads (Kinross, 1979, 565). He also was convinced that the Triple Alliance was stronger thanthe Entente and was going to win the upcoming war (Trumpener 19-2 ). Indeed, the Britishgovernment, under the prompting of First Lord of the Admiralty WinstonChurchill, feared that the ships were going to be turned over to theGermans by the Turks (Fromkin 54-58). TheGermans had no choice but to accept the "sale" for they feared that theTurks would turn against them if they disavowed the "sale" (Trumpener 31-32). This anarchy drove theChristians into neighboring Bulgaria and Serbia, who had left the OttomanEmpire during the previous century. Thus, the Turks were again able toconvince the Germans that the time was not yet right for Turkishintervention (Trumpener 25-31). This latter conflict illustrated the traditionalantipathy between the Turks and the Russians, who had fought for centuriesover control of certain areas which formed the border between the twoempires. This illusion of neutrality gradually came to an end by the beginningof October. In fact, the Empire was subject to the capitulatory system, wherebythe European powers enjoyed special privileges within the empire, includingthe right to veto any changes in the external tariff rates of the Empire(Trumpener, 1968, 12). The German government did nothing to make Turkey a reliable allythroughout the spring and summer of 1914. Consequently,the Germans were asked to send a new, and larger, military mission toIstanbul in 1913. In the summer of 1914, the high command of theTurkish Navy was still being advised by British admirals (Trumpener 12-13). Although few in Turkey were aware of the alliance, theevents of the following days turned public opinion in Turkey against theEntente and in favor of Germany. Prior to the August 2agreement, the Germans had promised that they would influence theBulgarians to declare war on Russia and launch an offensive there. Overtures were secretly made to Britain, thefirst choice amongst most in Turkey for an ally, but the British governmentexpressed no interest (Moorehead 2-3). In contrast to the secret alliance, these conditionsassured the Turks that they would realize some tangible gains after thevictory of the Central Powers (Triple Alliance) If the Germans thought thatin return for the conditions, the Turks would enter the war, they weremistaken. cabinet werenot aware of its existence for many weeks. Without further authorization, the two shipsbombarded Russian ports. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1989.Kinross, Lord. When the Sublime Porte (the Ottoman government)defaulted on a public debt of more than a billion dollars in 1875, theSultan was forced to place administration of the public debt in Europeanhands (Fromkin 47). Itwas Enver Pasha, the Turkish war minister, who first went to the Germanswith an alliance proposal, in late July. As mentioned above, Germanyhad been investing rather heavily throughout the empire since the beginningof the century, although its investments did not outstrip those of theother European powers (Trumpener 7-1 ). On the other hand, the Germans hadalso been training and equipping the Turkish Army since before the turn ofthe century and many high officials in the C.U.P., who had been trained bythe Germans, tended to view Germany in a favorable light. Philips. Germany, under Bismarck, initiallyshowed little interest in currying favor with the "sick man of Europe," asthe Ottoman Empire was referred to, preferring instead to establish itspower in Europe proper. On August 6, two German warships, a battlecruiser and a cruiser,requested Turkish permission to enter the Dardanelles, in the straitsleading towards the Black Sea. Similarly, both France and Russiarebuffed Turkish overtures (Fromkin 46-49). Ironically, the central government accepted these provisions inreturn for economic and military assistance. many cabinet members preferred an alliance or understanding withthe British, distrusting the motives of the German government. The new mission, headed by Major-General Otto Liman vonSanders, arrived in Istanbul in January of 1914. Philadelphia: J.B. Those who were aware argued that intervention should not occuruntil the Army was fully mobilized, an argument which Germany accepted(Kinross 6 3). The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I This paper will examine how the Ottoman Empire, or Turkey, becameactively involved in the First World War on the side of the Central Powers. For even after the two German ships entered Istanbul, the Turksargued that intervention was impossible without the intervention ofBulgaria on the side of the Central Powers as well. First,the domestic reforms of the C.U.P. These "New Turks" of the Committee of Union and Progress (C.U.P.)were successful in forcing the Sultan to restore the constitution in 19 8and finally deposing him in 19 9 (Price 83-84). Outnumbered by the forces of the Balkan League, andsuffering from poor morale and leadership, the Turkish army in the Balkanswas defeated in six weeks (October-December, 1912), suffering very heavycasualties. A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914-1922. Composed of many differentethnic groups who spoke several languages other than Turkish, the Empirewas divided into several different regional f actions which did not mixwell with each other. The alliance was so secret that most members of the C.U.P. The secret alliance officially put Turkey on the side of the TripleAlliance. Although the new mission didsubstantially increase the political influence of Germany in Turkey, it didnot convert Turkey into a reliable German ally, as was thought in most ofthe Entente countries. The last resort, in effect, was Germany. Manyin Turkey disagreed with Enver's assessment of the situation. A youngcolonel named Mustafa Kemal thought that if the Triple Alliance won thewar, Germany would make Turkey a German satellite. The results of the Balkan War convinced the leaders of the C.U.P.that Turkey desperately needed an ally from amongst the great Europeanpowers. This did not mean, however, that Turkey became involved in thewar immediately upon opening of hostilities. On September 27, a British naval task force turned a Turkishtorpedo boat back towards its base when it discovered that the Turkish shiphad German sailors in it. If, on the other hand,the Triple Alliance lost the war, as Kemal thought it would, Turkey wouldlose everything (Kinross 6 6). These two ships had been paid for with funds which had beenraised throughout Turkey by a special public subscription to build supportfor the Turkish Navy. Outnumbered by Christian European residents, the Turkish armyin charge of keeping order in the region had its hands full, as rebelliousfactions began raiding each others' towns. Enver was probably the mostdominant figure in the C.U.P. TheBulgarians had yet to do so and the Turks were worried that if Turkeyentered the war and launched an offensive on their own against Russia, theBulgarians would march on Istanbul. This fear was not unfounded, forEnver had promised the Germans on August I that one of the ships would bedirected to sail to a German North Sea port (Trumpener 24). The Turks gave permission, in return for apledge by the Germans that several conditions relating to the aftermath ofthe war be met. As an empire under a single government, the Ottoman Empire had beenon the decline since the Seventeenth Century. By the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the only Europeanterritory which remained under Ottoman control was Macedonia, and this areawas a mess. On August 4, Britain sent a cable to the Turkish government that itwas requisitioning two dreadnought type battleships for the Royal Navy,ships which were just completed by British shipyards under contract for theTurkish Navy. This development worriedthe Russians, who had developed a powerful rivalry with Germany; theRussians were convinced that the Germans intended to gain control of thestraits into the Black Sea, allowing them to cut off much of Russia'seconomic lifeline in the event of war (Kinross 598-99; LaFore 2 2-2 3).In fact, the psychological effect of the new military mission on the TripleEntente alliance (Russia, France, and Britain) was greater than the actualbenefit to the Turkish military. Meanwhile, the Entente governments did not turn this whole episodeinto a cause for war with the Turks, for they were actively negotiatingwith the Turkish government to maintain Turkey's neutrality; none of them,of course, were yet aware of the secret alliance (Kinross 6 5). The final act came when Enver gave theGerman admiral in command of the two former German warships authorizationto enter the Black Sea. The secret alliance was agreed to on August 2, the day after Germanydeclared war on Russia. It must be remembered that only a few of the ministers in thePorte were aware that a treaty with Germany had been agreed to (Trumpener23-24). Even after the assassination ofArchduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo in June, the Germans made noovertures to the Porte as to an alliance in the event war broke out. After suffering further defeats, the Turkish governmentessentially relinquished all serious claims to the Balkans (Kinross, 589-91). Turkey, however, did not enter the war, even though it hadpledged to do so if Russia entered the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, an event which had already occurred by the time the agreement wassigned. The most disastrous of these wars was the First Balkan War in 1912-1913. A History of Turkey: From Empire to Republic. He did not want the Turks tobecome the "vassals of Russia," a traditional fear on the part of theOttomans. No armistice was signed and fighting again broke out by theend of January. It started withcultural and social values, but eventually included political values aswell (Kinross, 585-86). Just why did Turkey enter the war on the side of the Central Powers?Although many had counselled against such a move, the Turkish people hadbeen humiliated by the defeats in the Balkan War and were fearful ofenemies and isolation. In response to Russia'sgeneral mobilization on July 31, Germany had declared war on Russia onAugust 1, the day before the alliance was signed. Prior to 19 8, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by the Sultan; althoughhis rule was absolute and personal in form, in actuality rule throughoutthe Empire depended upon the local leaders who often ignored the Sultan.In addition, foreign countries, especially European countries, exercised alarge degree of influence and power in various parts of the Empire (Fromkin36). The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire. Thus, the alliance was not the result of carefuland logical planning on the part of the German government, but a hastilyagreed-to treaty which was not completely what the Kaiser had been seeking. Gallipoli. In addition, the Turks effectively controlled the Straits betweenthe Aegean and Black Seas, which was Russia's only warm-water outlet to theopen sea. New York: Random House, 1956.Price, M. Under the C.U.P., afeeling of nationalism awoke within the Turkish people, replacing theconcept of Ottomanism. The British did not wish to concede control ofthe Gulf to any other power, while the Russians were concerned that therailroad would serve as a Turkish weapon against Russia in the Caucasus(Kinross 566-567). London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1956.Trumpener, Ulrich. On November 2, Russia declared war on the OttomanEmpire and on November 3, British warships bombarded the outer defenses ofthe Dardanelles (Fromkin 71-73). could only be carried out if the OttomanEmpire was secure from outside attack; this sort of security required theassistance of a great power.Secondly, Enver thought that an alliance with Germany (and Austria-Hungary)was more desirable than one with the Entente. Public anger in Turkey against the British wasimmediate and most did not accept the British explanation that the twoships were needed for the Royal Navy, or the promise to pay the Turkishgovernment the full contract price for the ships. At the same time the Turks were making these arguments to theGermans, they publicly announced that the two German warships which hadentered Istanbul had been sold by the Germans to the Turkish Navy! As if toeliminate any doubts of the disinterest of most Germans, the Germanambassador in Istanbul rejected Enver's proposal, before being overruled bythe Kaiser (Trumpener 14-15). Enver himself was probablymotivated not so much by sympathies for Germany as by calculations ofTurkish self-interest (Trumpener 16-18). Although the governmentsought to balance the interests of the European powers, certain powers werefavored while others were disfavored. Works CitedFromkin, David. The once great Ottoman Empire had come to bedominated by the now great European powers and had even been defeated inbattle by some of their former subjects. The newly-formed Balkan League, led by Serbia and Bulgaria, began toplot to bring all of the European Balkans out of the ottoman sphere ofinfluence and within their own. This new government, however, did not solve theproblems and wars continued to break out up through 1913. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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