The First Great War of Unification (and Other Happy Euphemisms for Kicking Ass)
Constantinople, 1838. An artists' rendition of the Ottoman Navy in its entirety.
The period following the
Spring Reforms and the half-hearted European reactions to the annexation of Montenegro is most often described as relatively serene. The major players of Europe had already come to a generally accepted conclusion on the crisis in the Netherlands, and were for the most part looking outwards, towards the unclaimed territories in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
The Great Game, as it was called, saw Russia and the United Kingdom continue their cat-and-mouse games over the vast and rugged lands of Central Asia, while Prussia and Austria both worked towards closer Germanic cooperation all while subtly undermining the other's position within the confederation.
The Second Oriental Crisis (also known as the First War of Unification) is considered by many to be the beginning of new era – a shift of power that would force the continental powers to once more pay close attention to any changes of fortune on the continent. At the time, the rivalry between the Ottoman Empire and the Egyptian state was seen as an opportunity for exploitation and influence, one in which both of those nations would play a minor role compared to their European puppet masters. Despite the fall of Montenegro, there was little to contradict this.
Such disregard could be seen throughout the capitals of Europe. Following the Spring Reforms, the Porte sent out diplomats across Europe with a renewed vigor, seeking to improve ties with those nations deemed to have an interest in Ottoman survival, and to hold off for the time being those who did not. Foreign reaction was unenthusiastic at best. While all professed a desire to 'improve ties', none were willing to make concrete promises regarding mutual defense, economic privileges, or even a promise of nonintervention. While these results were hardly surprising, they tempered the confidence of the Sultan and his closest advisers, many of whom had been confident military success would bring renewed interest in the Ottoman Empire abroad.
The sole ray of hope amongst such dreary affairs was Prussia. A nation eager to assert itself on the world stage, and sharing a number of common natural enemies, it was common sense that the nation with the most to gain from an Ottoman revival would be Prussia. Whilst unable to promise direct military intervention during war, and unwillingly to alienate its most important partner – Austria – Prussia nonetheless agreed to a limited proposal. In exchange for favored economic policies in Constantinople, the Prussians promised diplomatic support within the Ottoman realms (including Egypt) and most importantly, established a military mission at Edirne, with the goal of training 80,000 Turks to European standards by 1838.
By the time the Second Oriental Crisis came to a head, the reforms of the past few years were yielding significant results for the Empire. Literacy was on the rise, a positive, stable (if humble) budget had been established, and the process of industrialization had begun. The Porte had even gone so far as to establish a written constitution, which though changed little in terms of practical power, guaranteed to all subjects of the Empire basic rights. Though it would clearly favor those of Islamic faith, and would not diminish the segregated legal system of the Ottomans, it was clearly a huge step of unprecedented liberalization. The increase of both private and public funds as well as a sense of enfranchisement led to higher support for the government across the vast majority of society. While it would be foolish to claim that such changes were embraced by all (and as we will see later, clearly were not), the overwhelming tensions with Egypt required such disagreements to be set aside for now... For Egypt, time had run out.
Realistically, the Egyptians could never have hoped to mount an offensive against the Ottomans without heavy international support. In this sense, the Egyptians were doomed from the start – unable to win the war, it was only a question of by how little they would lose. Had they pushed the Ottomans to warearlier, it is likely that they could have forced a settlement in their (relative) favor. As it is, such are hypothetical guesses – in March, 1838, an army of over 100,000 Ottoman troops, led by a cadre of Turk and Prussian officers, crossed the borders into Syria.
In truth, the war was decided within days of the initial crossing. Diplomatically, the seeds of Ottoman labor bore fruit, as the major nations of Europe pledged neutrality in the conflict, clearly favoring the Ottomans. France, the lone hope for Egyptian ambitions, quickly adopted a sympathetic neutrality, unwilling to commit major forces in the face of European neutrality... particularly when much more lucrative opportunities existed beyond the seas. Outnumbered and poorly equipped, the Egyptians could hope for little more than to pacify the Ottomans with minor exchanges. Such was not to be, as all hopes died at the Battle of Bayrut.
Despite the obvious inferiority of his troops, Mehmet Ali insisted on the majority of his forces being placed in northern Syria, on the border of Anatolia. Believing that a thrust North would force most of the Ottoman army to place itself between his forces and the long road to Constantinople, he would be free to move westwards, into the rich lands of Mesopotamia. Furthermore, promised French forces would allow Libya to be overrun, ensuring Egyptian dominance of the Arab world.
Such was not to be. The newly enlarged
Army of Arabia, consisting of the
2nd Constantinople Foot, 4th Constantinople Foot, 5th Constantinople Foot, 1st Benghazi Foot, 6th Baghdad Horse, 14th Baghdad Horse, and
4th Constantinople Horse moved into Syria from the west, overwhelming the border garrisons and pushing to Jerush. While a small garrison was left behind to pacify the region, the rest raced forward, capturing the scarce North-South tracks that would be vital for resupplying the enemy, aiming for the ports of Sidon and Nabulus, as well as the coveted treasure of Jerusalem.
Too late, the Egyptian forces realized they were caught in a trap. What began as an orderly retreat southwards – all pretense of invasion abandoned – soon became a rout as word spread of size and brutality of the Turks pushing from the south and east. With all semblance of order falling apart amongst the rank and file, second disaster struck. The Army of Anatolia.
Smaller than it's southern counterpart, the Corps of
The Army of Anatolia tasked with assisting in the invasion consisted of the
1st Ankara Foot, 1st Edrine Foot, 2nd Constantinople Horse, and
3rd Constantinople Horse. Initially, their responsibility was to blunt any Egyptian thrust until the larger army could crush them from the south. However, as the Egyptians began to retreat southwest along the coast, abandoning their defensive works the Army of Anatolia took to the offensive, forcing the Egyptian army to attempt a fighting retreat. While The Army of Arabia would gain the greater share of the war's glory for annihilating a majority of the Egyptian force within weeks of the campaign, it is undisputed that the former's contribution was critical to buying the latter enough time to prevent any significant forces escaping.
Regardless of who claimed the most honors, the fact remained that by the end of June, Syria was under Ottoman occupation, the remnants of the Egyptian army making a stand behind the protective sands of the Sinai. Unfortunately, it proved just as ineffective as everything up to this point.
As the Egyptians scraped together a force to defend the vital Alexandria-Cairo line, a third Ottoman army entered the fray,
The Army of Africa. Undermanned and consisting mostly of irregular forces, its purpose had been to simply been seen to be doing something in the vulnerable western provinces. As the war effort forced more and more Egyptian troops eastwards, orders passed down from Constantinople to open a new front. In mid June, roughly coordinating with the Ottoman advance across the Sinai, the
1st Tripoli Foot, 2nd Benghazi Foot, and
1st Tripoli Horse moved along the western coastline, overwhelming the severely depleted garrisons of the region.
It is likely that on the defensive, behind a massive geographic defensive line and with infinitely better (though still poor) logistics, the Egyptians should have been able to have kept the Ottomans out of Egypt proper indefinitely. However, general discontent, particularly within the army, as well as the collapse of morale and exaggerated claims of a massive Ottoman army moving out of Libya led to a full scale disintegration of Egyptian forces. Ottoman forces crossed into Egypt in July, and the 4th Constantinople Horse entered Alexandria without contest by the end of the month.
By September, most of the nation was occupied, and the European nations, once wavering but nonetheless supporting of the Ottomans, now began to voice concern about a sudden shift of power in the region. Outraged (never mind that not a few years ago, these lands were incontestability part of the Empire) , the Porte realized that they could not afford to win the war in Egypt, only to find Christendom united against them.
The 4th Constantinople Horse, Liberators of Alexandria, seen here in The Second War of Unification.
The unit would be one of the most decorated in the Ottoman army up until its near annihilation and subsequent disbandment in The Caucasus War.
They would be revived with much fanfare as a fully armored regiment in 1934.
The treaty of Constantinople was harsh – Syria, Crete, Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula, and Alexandria were ceded to the Turks in perpetuity. Mehmet Ali himself was forced to take an oath of loyalty to the Sultan, effectively making him a hereditary governor, and Egypt into a vassal of the Ottomans. Neither side left the conference entirely satisfied. Unfortunately for Egypt, the Ottomans would later be in a situation to do something about it.
Gameplay notes:
Right before the Second Oriental Crisis starts, the Liberal Constitution + Prussian Advisers kicks in, giving the Ottomans a Constitutional Monarchy, 10 research points, some prestige (I think), five infantry, and three cavalry. I tried to write these in as happening over time, hence the Prussian diplomatic talks. In reality, at this time I had no research points for which to be trading for techs, and no clout to be expecting anything other than blowing DP on 'improving relations'. A tough time. Mostly just saved them, but assume that in 'reality' the Ottomans abroad were doing
something, no matter how fruitless.
I managed to scrape two (2!) machine parts aroundish this time and they will be put to great use in the next update. Not much went on prior to the crisis. Saving nonexistent research points, improving nonexistent literacy rates, supporting a nonexistent economy... good times, good times.
Clearly, the military reforms of the previous chapter were nothing more than creating an obviously non-Turkish naming system for my units. A cop out, but one I'd gladly make for the ease of know who is where. At this time, a vast majority of my units were in the war. I had a unit or two on the Russian and Austrian borders, and one or two that participated in the war as mop ups and thus didn't get any mention, as they technically weren't supposed to be there. The poor placement and subsequent pocketing of almost the entire Egyptian army was something new, and looking it up on vickywiki, it appears that declaring war right after the constitution prevents Egypt from getting reinforcements. First time I've done it that way, and I suppose technically that's a gamey move, and certainly explains the cakewalk... but let's pretend that it's due to the French weaseling out, eh
Obviously, game play wise the Europeans didn't say boo after their scripted responses at the beginning of the war. However, I had no intention of total annexation at this time, and roleplay made me consider the port of Alexandria a much greater prize than the gold province in the southeast of Sudan. Probably should have gone for the latter, but ah well, them's the breaks.
Economy at this stage is crap, but for the most part improving. Basically running on hopes, dreams, and export of raw materials. And given the starting navy + current funding, the opening picture isn't as much of a joke as I wish it were.
