Download Slide 1

The Great War
1914 - 1918
Causes
• Alliance system?
• Shots in Sarajevo?
• Nationalism?
• Germany’s Weltpolitik?
• French revenge?
• British defense of its naval superiority?
 Causes for outbreak were European – the war
started as a European war
Why did the Ottoman Empire get
involved?
• A small group within the CUP (Young Turk
government) led by Enver Pasha concluded a
secret German-Ottoman alliance which was
activated on October 29, 1914
• Why?
- An opportunity to revenge the Ottoman losses against
Russia
- Alliance encouraged by Austria-Hungary; a way to
control Ottoman ambitions in the Balkans (Yapp)
- Only the German Kaiser enthusiastic about the
alliance in Germany (Yapp)
Neutrality or war?
• The alliance did not mean the Ottoman
Empire had to join in the war – neutrality still
the policy of the majority of the government
• Minister of War, Enver Pasha, argued for
joining the war – OE could obtain stronger
position in peace conference/agreement
(Yapp)
The Ottoman Empire entered the war in
October 1914
Entente policy
• The Entente powers wanted to keep the
Ottoman Empire out of the war – but they did
not pursue this policy very forcefully
– The OE participation would not make a big
difference (- gross underestimation!)
– Italy more worthy of their time
– The Ottoman decision would be made as a result
of how the war went
The Turkish Declaration of War
• After the disasters of Turkey in 1913, she was left without a friend among
the European nations. Russia then began a series of exactions, and Britain
abandoned us to Russia. In this strait Germany alone assisted us, and by
her protection enabled us to escape or at least postpone the Russian
demands.
This amiable attitude on the part of Germany encouraged us to suggest to
the German Ambassador at the Porte that we might enter a permanent
alliance with Germany.”
• “My own position was that while much annoyed at the Black Sea affair, I
nevertheless continued to believe that we should join with Germany. The
Entente could give us nothing but the renewal of promises, so often
broken, to preserve to us our present territory. Hence there was nothing
to be gained by joining them.”
An Account by Wartime Leader Talaat Pasha
(taken from his 1921 Memoirs)
Issuance of Ottoman Fetva by Essad
Effendi, Sheik-Ul-Islam
• If several enemies unite against Islam, if the countries of Islam are
sacked, if the Moslem populations are massacred or made captive;
and if in this case the Padishah in conformity with the sacred words
of the Koran proclaims the Holy War, is participation in this war a
duty for all Moslems, old and young, cavalry and infantry? Must the
Mohammedans of all countries of Islam hasten with their bodies
and possessions to the Djat? [Note: Jihad, Holy War.]
Answer: "Yes."
• The Moslem subjects of Russia, of France, of England and of all the
countries that side with them in their land and sea attacks dealt
against the Caliphate for the purpose of annihilating Islam, must
these subjects, too, take part in the holy War against the respective
governments from which they depend?
Answer : "Yes."
The Campaigns
• Caucasian Front
– Winter 1914/15 – Winter 1917/18
• Gallipoli
– February 1915 – December 1915
• Syrian Front
– Ottoman attack on Suez Canal Feb ‘15 + Aug ’16
– British counterattack Feb/March ‘17
• Mesopotamia;
– Basra – Nov.’14
– Advance on Baghdad Oct.’15 – siege at Kut  British
surrender April ‘16  renewed campaign; Baghdad
captured March’17
Caucasian Front
• ¾ of all casualties suffered by the Ottomans
between Nov ‘15 and March ‘ 17 were
sustained against the Russians
Allenby’s path in Palestine and Syria made
easier by the Russian “war of attrition” against
the Ottomans
• Fresh Ottoman campaign in summer ‘18 
regained lost territory
• Armenian Genocide
Gallipoli (Dardanelles)
• Entente goals (Churchill’s master plan)
– Open the Straits  new supply route to Russia
– Attack Istanbul  knock the Ottomans out of the
war (the “soft underbelly of Europe”)
– Persuade the Balkan states to join the Entente
Open a front against Austria-Hungary from the
south
German troops would have to be moved from the
Western Front  VICTORY!
Allied plans and their execution
• 1st plan: British and French navies to attack
the straits, supported by an army
– Naval attack started Feb ‘15
– 3/23 ships lost to mines  admiral called off the
attack
– BIG MISTAKE: Allies did not know that the
Ottomans were out of mines and ammunition – to
take Istanbul would have been a walk in the park if
the admiral had not called the attack off…
• 2nd plan: Allied support troops would be landed on
both sides of the straits  a disaster
– Inexperienced soldiers
– The Turks knew about the plans  well prepared
– Inexperienced General Hamilton in charge of military
attack
– No up-to-date maps of the area nor of the Turkish
positions (guide book used as source of information!)
– Inadequate supply lines
– Allied troops ran out of ammunition  home-made
grenades
– 6/8 big guns in the support artillery broken down by Aug
‘15
Last attempt
• Raw British recruits to be landed at Suvla Bay on Aug 6
• General in command had never seen wartime action
before
• Troops landed in the dark, sat on the beach for two
days without water
“Stopford was in command. He did not go ashore.
Instead he congratulated the men on their succcessful
landing and settled down to his afternoon nap. They
went off to bathe with no Turks between them and
victory.”
A.J.P. Taylor, The First World War, 1963
“Only two weeks before the attack, General Sir
Ian Hamilton, classical scholar and poet, still
had no plan of attack, no military staff, no
accurate maps or charts, no knowledge of the
enemy and nowhere to land his 73.000 men”
- A.J.P. Taylor, The First World War, 1963
Losses
• Total of casualties on both sides was around
500.000; 213.000 allied troops, 300.000 Turks
• Of 7 Anzac battalions examined in Sept ‘15,
78% had dysentery and 64% had skin sores
• Nov 28: 15.000 Allied troops froze to death
Syrian-Egyptian Front
• Jamal Pasha led Ottoman army against Suez
canal in January 1915  driven back
• Renewed Ottoman attack in August 1916 
again defeated
 British reaction; new prime minister and new
commander brought success to the advance
into Palestine  Jerusalem captured Dec ‘17
Mesopotamian Front
• Army from British India occupied Basra in late
1914  advanced towards Baghdad 
Ottoman force drove British force to Kut 
siege  surrender 1916
• British attacked again in March 1917 and
gained control over Baghdad and southern
Iraq
Arab Revolt
• Sultan-caliph’s proclamation of jihad worried the
British – potential to cause unrest in the Middle
East and in India
Search for a Muslim dignitary who could be a
counterweight to the Sultan-caliph
• Sharif Husayn, the amir of Mecca a suitable
candidate
– Sharif Husayn had the most prestigious Arab-Islamic
position within the Ottoman Empire
– Direct descendant of the Prophet
– Quite autonomous
Husayn-McMahon Correspondence
• Ten letters; July 1915-March 1916
• Husayn offered to ally with the British against the Ottoman
Empire; he would start an Arab Revolt from within the
Empire
• In return, the British would support an independent Arab
state under leadership of Sharif Husayn
• The “thorniest issue” was the exact borders of the future
Arab state
– The Syrian coast (much of today’s Lebanon) had to be reserved
for the French
– Britain wanted to keep certain areas of Mesopotamia (Iraq)
under their control
– The matter of exact borders were postponed until after the war
Success of Arab Revolt?
• The Revolt began on June 10, 1916
• By September most of the towns of Hijaz had been
conquered – with the exception of Medina
• Revolt made in the name of Islamic solidarity (against
the CUP government to “liberate” the sultan-caliph)
• Sharif Husayn was not really an Arab nationalist; more
of an ambitious dynast who wanted a hereditary
kingdom and used his status to get it (Cleveland)
• Limited organized response among the Arabs of the
Ottoman Empire  not a popular uprising
Wartime agreements
• Monroe: “Expansionist bookings-in-advance”
– Agreements designed to serve the interests of the
European members of the Alliance; Arab interests not
taken into consideration
• To encourage Russia: The Constantinople Agreement,
March 1915
– Not implemented – Bolshevik government renounced
treaty
• The Sykes-Picot Agreement, May 1916
• Balfour Declaration, November 1917
– To secure Jewish support for an Allied victory in the war in
USA, Russia and Germany