The Rise of the Crescent - The revival of the Ottomans AH

[Kurdistani]

The Rise of the Crescent

Throughout the 19th century the Ottoman Empire was perennially regarded by the Great Powers as the “sick man of Europe”, a pre modern multi ethnic and multi religious anachronism in a world of secular nation-states. Between the 1820s and 1914 Greece, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania were successful in winning their independence for the declining imperial state, albeit thankx to extensive European support, all of which reduced the Ottomans European once vast European domains to an enclave around Constantinople.

Yet, contra to popular opinion at the time, the Ottoman state elite had slowly but surely been modernising and reforming their ramshackle empire. The Japanese victory over Russia in 1905 ruined the myth of European invincibility and led to a renewal of self-confidence amongst the educated Muslim elite of the Empire. 4 years later a cabal of Ottomanist officers (the CUP or Young Turks) who demanded reinstitution of the 1876 constitution overthrew the old autocratic Sultan, Abdulhamid II. However, the Empire was subsequently attacked by Italy, which seized Tipolitian and a coalition of Balkan powers, which forced the Ottomans out of most of their remaining Balkan possessions (Macedonia and Albania).

However, the commencement of the Great War across Europe and the subsequent Ottoman neutrality for most of the war marked the beginning of a remarkable revival in imperial fortunes.

Ottoman territories in 1914

[Kurdistani]

The Death of a Pasha

In January 1914, Enver Pasha, a hero of the resistance against the Italians and former military attaché in Berlin returned form Germany with the Committee's approval to assume the role of minister of War in the Sultan’s Government. Izzet Pasha, the Turkish Minister of War, was sick and failed to appear at his office. Enver suddenly showed up at the office in a general's uniform and declared that he was the new Minister of War. Clearly, it was the doing of the Committee, for Izzet Pasha did not challenge this brazen usurpation. Nor did the Sultan, who read about his new Minister of War in the morning newspaper, and reportedly said "It is stated here that Enver has become Minister of War; that is unthinkable, he is much too young!"
A few hours later, Enver strode before the Sultan in the same General's uniform and presented himself as the new war minister. Mohammed V acknowledged the action without argument. Enver quickly assumed his duties with unexpected strictness. Some 1,000 officers were dismissed before the end of the month . They were described as "failures in the Balkan Wars, the inefficient, and the old." Enver even imprisoned those officers whom he suspected of anti-Committee sentiment. However, in April 1914 two officers dismissed by Enver, Abdul-Rathman Babanzade (a Kurd form Suleymania) and Ali Said Bey (the son of an old Istanbul family that had tied their fourtunes to the old Sultan Abdulhamid II) entered the Ministers of Wars house and shot him eight times in the chest, precipitating a power struggle within the CUP and a political crisis which would have profound impact on the Empire's politics.

[LordoftheMind]

Cool! an ottoman Empire AAR! i have played them b4 but i have never written an AAR about it. It will be interesting to see where the Ottoman Empire will be with your in a couple years "Divine Guidance"

[Kurdistani]

Süphe Günleri - The Uncertain days

Istanbul 1914

The murder of Enver Pasha sparked a serious powersturggle with in the CUP. The Assassins that had murdered the Minister of War claimed that they had acted to protect the Sultanate and Şarat against a “dangerous atheists” and a "Jew". Ironically, if “saving” the Sultanate” had been the assassins aims, they failed. One of the first actions of the CUP leadership was to removed the Sultan Mehmed V despite the absence of any real evidence to link him to the assassins.

On Feburary 8th 1914, CUP “hit squads” surrounded the place and ushered the old Sultan into exile in Paris aboard a Greek ship, certainly a humiliating end for a member of the illustrious House Osman. Mehmed V is rumoured to have said to the soldiers sent to exile him, who had addressed him it the familiar form of you Sen instead of the polite Siz. “ What is this, are all Sultans to be removed from their rightful position? To be caste out of sight like unvirtuous girls found out on their wedding nights? If this is to be a Sultans fate then I fear God may no longer see fit to protect our domains.” However, his protests were to no avail and he died less than a year later after fleeing Paris to New York.

In his place Mehmed Vahideddin, Mehmed VI, was installed in Topkapi place (Feb 15th) with the pro British Mehmed Djaved Bey as grand Vizer and Ahmed Djemal Pasha as minister of War (Feb 19th).

Despite the uncertainly the Empire suffered in early 1914, the CUP manage to maintain its vice like grip on power. Throughout, March and April 1914 the CUP leadership exiled 500 officers originally on Enver’s list for dismissal while “forgiving" a number of others after they had “admitted” their mistakes in the Balkan war.

Sultan Mehmed V(1909-1914)

Sultan Mehmed VI (1914-1933)

[Enclave]

Great . Turkey aar. was wondering myself to start it. Will keep an eye on this one.

[Kurdistani]

Originally Posted by Enclave

Great . Turkey aar. was wondering myself to start it. Will keep an eye on this one.

An Ottoman aar

[lifeless]

oo interesting...

[anti-commi]

are you playing 1914

[Kurdistani]

Originally Posted by anti-commi

are you playing 1914

Nope... just giving background..

[Bismarck1]

this intresting. I don't think I ever saw an ottomon HoI2 AAR. are you using DD?

[Kurdistani]

The July Crisis

Europe enjoyed its last summer of peace for 4 years

The Result of the power struggle within the CUP was that the pro German faction that had been symbolised by the young Enver Pasha was replace by a more neutralist and pro British faction by the time of the July crisis. The purge of officers had also consolidated the CUP as a political grouping giving it far more focus than it had ever had.

The so-called "July Crisis" actually spans the period from the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on 28 June 1914, to the general declaration of war in early August. During cabinet and CUP meetings, throughout this period, the Grand Vizer struggled with pro German and pro British elements within the government who argued for Ottoman intervention into the one of the alliance systems. However, the urbane Mehmed Djaved Bey managed to face down the hawks within the government and uphold a policy of neutrality. In a cabinet meeting on July 27th, as the war clouds gathered over Europe, Djavad Bey stated:

“This coming war is not the business of our Empire, we are only now recovering our strength after these calamities that befell us in Rumlia and Africa and yet some people demand more war? I find this irrational and detremental to us in the extreme. Our Empire needs peace so we can develop our military and economy. Our Empire has suffered at the hands of all the princes of Europe since the time of Selim III, it is time for us to watch as the wolves devour themselves. We have our own problems, soliders are being humilated in Arabia by ignorent tribes, [referring to unfortunate events for the Ottomans that had taken place in Nejd and Yeman] , we must remidy these issues before any thing, strength comes from within.”

Mehmed Djaved Bey Grand Vizer 1914-1919

On Auguts 20th as the Germans stormed through Flanders and Northern France, Sultan Mehmed VI annouced “imperial neutrailty in the conflict”, this declaration was accompanied by a statement that the government would send 20,000 troops to Arabia under the command of Mustafa Kemal Pasha inorder to restore Ottoman “honor” which had been damaged by a series of defeats infliected on the Sultans armies by the Beduions.

[Kurdistani]

El-Hasa Savaşı – The Al Hasa War 1914-1916 (Part 1)

Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha - Commander of Ottoman forces during the Al Hasa War



Wali Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman al Saud - In exile in Istanbul

As if to test the resolve of a weakened enemy who appeared to surrender on all terms, Wali Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman al Saud, ruler of the Nejd, sent a contingent of horsemen across the desert from Riyadh in winter 1914, and seized control of Dahran on the Persian Gulf, hardly firing a shot at the stunned Turkish garrison. News of this coup de grace stunned Ahmed Djemal Pasha as well. The war minister knew Saud was trouble, ever since the wily desert ruler surprised and defeated his hated rival, Emir Abd-ul Aziz Ibn al Rashid of Jebel Shammar, in 1902, reclaiming the capital of Nejd and his throne.

Before that, Rashid's forces had driven the Saudi clan deep into the desert, virtually destroying the puritanical Wahhabi movement, all with the help of the Ottomans, who under the guise of working for the Caliph ul-Islam, Sultan Abd-ul Hamid II, even kept a garrison of troops in Riyadh for many years, ensuring that the fanatic religious movement did not return. The Wahhabis returned to Riyadh, driving Rashid's forces back to Hail in northern Arabia. Now, ten years later, Ibn al Saud had enough nerve not only to wage war on Rashid, but even against the Imperial government in Istanbul. Clearly, the lack of support the Turks (due to the chronic political and military crisis that afflicted the Empire after the 1909 revolution) were giving to Rashid in the recent battles between Jebel Shammar and the Nejd for supremacy in central Arabia emboldened Saud.

Finally, the Turkish acceptance of humiliating terms by the Imam of Yemen, who was in rebellion from 1911 to 1913, decided the issue for Saud. He took for himself Dahran and al Hasa Vilayet, which was the whole Persian Gulf coast between Koweit and Katar. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who had been selected for the task of dealing with the troublesome Arabia provinces prepared to march a column of Turkish soldiers from Basra in Mesopotamia to reconquer al Hasa vilayet, and meanwhile urged Rashid in Hail to advance on Riyadh, telling him that shortly, all of the Nejd would be restored to the ruler of Jebel Shammar.

[Kurdistani]

El-Hasa Savaşı – The Al Hasa War 1914-1916 (Part 2)

In January 1915 a column of Ottoman troops, made up of a hotchpotch of Arab irregulars and elite Turkish units drafted in from Anatolia set out from the southern city of Basra under the command of the Mustafa Kemal Pasha towards the Arabian Desert. The columns departure had been delayed by weeks due to the uneasiness of the British government towards any strengthening of Ottoman power in the Gulf region. However, the British engaged, on the western front, could do little and after 3 day long negotiations in Istanbul between the British ambassador and Minister of War, Mustafa Kemal finally got the telegram that he had been waiting for on the 12th January 1915. The column set off two days later deep into the harsh Arabian Desert.

The Ottoman Camel Corp was "invaluble" in the Al Hasa campaign according to Mustafa Kemal Pasha

The initial phases of the conflict involved the Saudis launching hit and run the Ottoman column as in moved south past the domains of the Emir of Kuwait and along the coast. However, the Ottoman troops had been assembling in Basra for months were well supplied and armed and by March 1915 the Saudis had been ejected from much of the coastline including the port town of Dahran. The Saudis put up little resistance to the Ottoman advance along the coast and retreated deep into the desert to do battle with the Shammar who had been advancing from the north western desert.

[Kurdistani]

El-Hasa Savaşı – The Al Hasa War 1914-1916 (Part 3)

The harsh Arabian Desert

In July 1915 as the Summer heat rose to epic preportions, Mustafa Kemal received word that the Shammar had been crushed by the Saudis outside Nejd. Emir Abd-ul Aziz Ibn al Rashid of Jebel Shammar, who had barely escaped from the fighting with his life had sent word desperately to Mustafa Kemal Pasha who was waiting out the summer heat in Dahran for aid. However, despite being urged to action by his jounor officers Kemal sent no aid. Confonted on his "cowardes" by a young Baghdadi officier Farouk Chelabi, Kemal retorted:

“What? Even if I was to send my soldiers to the desert what good would it do? I have no desire to see my men dying like sheep in the desert for lack of water, all to save an ignorent savage. The fact is, no tribe can be trusted, even the most seemingly loyal may drive the knife into our backs. It is best to let them deal with eachother until non are left strong enough to resist us.”

Thus, little action was taken by the Ottoman army in the summer to save the Shammar you were forced to retreat back to their desert heartlands of Hail, much reduced. However, as the weather cooled, as much as it ever does in Arabia, Kemal began to make preperation to take Nejd and secure Arabia for the Ottomans once and for all.

[Kurdistani]

El-Hasa Savaşı – The Al Hasa War 1914-1916 (Part 4)

Dort kum tepeciği dövüşi – The battle of four dunes

Mustafa Kemal had been chided by the minister of war for his slow progress on the campaign. However, The wily Pasha managed to maintain his leadership of the Al Hasa campaign despite calls for his dismissal after news spread that he had failed to save the Shammar. Questions of Mustafa Kemal’s conduct had even been raised in the Ottoman Senate. On September 5th 1915 Ottoman began the march inland towards Nejd and the Saudis, thus commencing the most bloody and brutal phase of the war.

The first week of the march was relatively uneventful, however, on September 17th, 12 days way from base Mustafa Kemal’s column of 4,000 was attacked at a only 50km outside Nejd. The battle of the four dunes (dort kum tepeciği dövüşi) commenced when Kemal’s forces were attacked by Saudi horsemen, while encamped at an oasis. At about dawn Saudi forces came riding at full speed from behind for large sand dunes that stood to the West of the Oasis. With little time to organise his troops Kemal raced around the camp personally to rally his men. However, he soon realised the sneaky Bedouin had out foxed him by sending a small force of horseman to the rear of the camp under the cover of darkness. Kemal quickly organised his force into two defensive lines around the Oasis, one facing east and one facing west.

Kemal Pasha Oasis (site of the battle of four dunes)

Kemal took personal control of the western line, which was facing the larger number of horseman while Farouk Chelabi was placed in command of the rear section. However, it proved to late to stop the horseman making it into hand to hand combat and for 4 hours under the heat of the mid day sun the two armies battled. The carnage was medieval.

Arabian Horsemen loyal to the Saudi paramount

In the end the Arabs were forced to retreat back towards their bases in Nejd. After the battle Farouk Chelabi wrote in his journal:

“Only when one leaves the comforts of civilisation can one see mans true animal like nature. It is often said that the Prophet came to the Arabs because they were the worst of all people; I always assumed that this saying was a Persian or Turkish invention. After today, and the brutalities and inhumanity that I have seen today, I fear it is neither, rather a painful truth. The Saudis know no law nor do they have any love for civilisation. It is now my firm belief that unless we [the Ottoman] can secure Arabia we will fail in claims to be the true defends of Islamic civilisation.”

Kemal ordered his solider to pursue but they were too fatigued to catch the horsemen. Despite holding their ground the Ottoman forces had taken over 400 casualties in the fight. A Greener commander may have ordered the retreat then and there but Kemal, after much soul searching decided to push on.

[Kurdistani]

El-Hasa Savaşı – The Al Hasa War 1914-1916 (Part 5)

Extract for the writings of Ahmed Wani “Mektuplar Arabistan’dan” (Letters from Arabia) Translated by Simon Levine - Oxford University Press, 1958 pp.65

Ahmed Wani's account of the campaign in Arabia is one of the few primary sources relating the life of a soldier during the Al Hasa War .

"The heat was unendingly oppressive, those days crossing the desert towards our goal of Nejd, the heart of the Saudi domain showed the darkest side of humanity to me. I saw men fight over sips of water, humans marching relentlessly forward under the spectre of the sun like soulless ghosts. In my native Van, the sun had always been a welcome friend, which would break the unrelenting cold that dominated that region. I remembered as a young boy wishing and praying for the sun to return during the frozen days of winter. However, this continuous heat of this sun was destroying me. Never could I have imagined that heat like this was possible. When it is cold one can always add a layer of clothing or drink an elixir of warm tea to fend off the worst privations of the frost. But in the desert how can one strip off ones own skin? Indeed, how can one even dare to take off any piece of ones attire? The risk is too great. Here the sun burns your skin until it is red raw. Even a Zenj [Ottoman terms of Africans] could not stand this weather. For days we marched through an sea of sand and rock towards our goal. Our Pasha, a hardhearted native of Macedonia rode at the head of the column aloft a Camel. He urged us forwards, shouting and beating those who through thirst, heat and fatigue collapsed. How in the name of god could the Saudis survive such weather? In my mind I replayed the battle where we had faced the hoards of horsemen, it seemed like a life time ago. As I remembered the faces of the Saudis seemed to become less and less human, surely they could not be human to survive, let alone thrive, in this weather? The Imam attached to our unit spoke to us of the Saudis and how they had committed the worst crime, that of apostasy, by rejecting the authority of the Caliph and Sultan. I smiled to myself. To me that was the least of their faults, it was there inhuman barbarism, which was of more concern. No Muslim could have acted the way they did. About two days from Nejd we saw the bodies of our advanced party scattered across a piece of rocky desert. Not just murdered by defiled in the most obscene of ways. On seeing this the Pasha halted the column.

“Listen men.” He shouted, his voice was horse from lack of water, “You see, we have no choice but to fight.” He looked at his exhausted soldiers. I thought for a second I saw the glimmer of fear in his eyes. It passed. The Pasha, his skin red from the sun looked up and down the column, then spoke again, this time with a more relaxed tone “These are not Muslims we fight, these are devils. God is with us.”
I helped to quickly bury our fallen comrades, fearful but knowing the righteousness of our cause."

[Enclave]

It gets very booring to see whole page with loads of text. No offence, but it starts to suck.

[Kurdistani]

Originally Posted by Enclave

It gets very booring to see whole page with loads of text. No offence, but it starts to suck.

U suck

[Tskb18]

One heck of an AAR you've got going here, eh. Do continue.

[Tskb18]

Originally Posted by Enclave

It gets very booring to see whole page with loads of text. No offence, but it starts to suck.

May i be so bold as to make a suggestion? Read the words, they add up to a very interesting story so far.