A Great Day for Allah

Sanaa, Yemen, Ottoman Empire
1910

“He is dead.”

The Young Doctor looked up from the Dead Man with sorrow etched on his face. The Wife, draped in a hijab, reached out for her dead husband with a trembling hand. “How can you be so sure? It is…it is as though he is sleeping.” The Young Doctor shook his small head with a deep sigh. “He does not breathe. His heart does not beat. He can only be dead.” The Wife fell to her knees next to her husband’s bed, gripping his work-worn hands. She wept. Outside, dark clouds began to form over the city—the city which never saw rain. The dwellers within looked up in awe at the rising storm, while, inside the great tower, the Young Doctor watched the clouds come together with trepidation. To himself, he thought: This can mean nothing good. He was right. For the man on the bed was Yahya Muhammed Hamidaddin, great Imam of the Yemeni people, and without him, no Muslim in this mountainous land would fight against the might of the Sultan(1).

BREAKING NEWS!

OTTOMAN HERO ISMAIL ENVER BEY DEFEATS ITALIAN FORCES AT BENGASI!

General Ismail Enver Bey has succeeded in defeating the Italian Royal Army in Cyrenaica on this date, October 13, 1911. Though a large force of 6,000 Italians disembarked at Bengasi after a long bombardment, Enver Bey and his 11,000 regulars were able to crush them after a bloody battle in the city’s streets. This marks the third recent success for the Ottomans in their war against Italy, with Omar Muktar’s(2) irregulars' successful engagement with Italian troops at Tobruk and the defense of Tripoli by Neset Bey. The Italians still hold two large beachheads at Khoms and Derne and seek to advance further into the nation….

Notes
(1) IOTL, the Yemenis rebelled against the Ottomans in 1911, causing several thousand Ottoman troops to be relocated from Libya to Yemen. This would be a large factor in the Ottoman defeat in the Italo-Turkish War later that year.
(2) IOTL, a guerilla leader who ultimately lost against the Italians. ITTL, still a guerilla leader, just winning this time.

Hmm, interesting. So the Ottomans manage to beat the Italians?

Also, sorry, but that has to be one of the worst TL titles I've ever seen.

The title is a bit misleading...but the TL is very original

Well, Ottoman strategy in that war always seemed to strike me (Though I'm admittedly ill-read on the matter) as trying to inflict a devastating defeat on the Italians to try to knock them out of the war before Italian naval superiority prevented Ottoman reinforcements.

RunAwayFromDangerMan said:

Hmm, interesting. So the Ottomans manage to beat the Italians?

Also, sorry, but that has to be one of the worst TL titles I've ever seen.

Click to expand...

We'll see. They'll certainly do better.

And yeah, I just sorta plucked it off the top of my head.

Patukov said:

The title is a bit misleading...but the TL is very original

Click to expand...

Thanks!

TyranicusMaximus said:

Well, Ottoman strategy in that war always seemed to strike me (Though I'm admittedly ill-read on the matter) as trying to inflict a devastating defeat on the Italians to try to knock them out of the war before Italian naval superiority prevented Ottoman reinforcements.

Click to expand...

The biggest problem was that there -was- no unified strategy. Each commander was motivated primarily by personal, political concerns (i.e. "how can I benefit from this war politically?") rather than military concerns: that of course did not preempt their amazing talents (Enver wasn't called 'Napoleonlik' for nothing, and of course Mustafa Kemal did become Ataturk later), but it did cause them to coordinate the few troops they had badly. ITTL, that won't matter with the large numerical superiority the Ottomans enjoy, as well as some of their best commanders.

Bigger update later today!

Bengasi, Libya

October 23, 1911

The smell of war which lingered over Bengasi bit Mustafa Kemal’s nose harshly. Relishing it, he breathed deeply and smiled to himself. As he had ridden to the meeting place across the city, he had seen the signs of battle clearly imprinted on the port: the bodies of Italian soldiers left to rot where they lay, buildings with gaping holes in the sides, and of course the ubiquitous artillery emplacements. This, indeed, was where he had longed to be, sitting behind his bureaucrat’s desk in Istanbul, wasting his life on paperwork and politics. Turning his attention back to the meeting, he watched his compatriots’ faces with a keen eye. The other three commanders, in turn, stared at him with what seemed like fear. “And so you traveled across Egypt to get here?”, Ismail Enver said, puzzled. Kemal chuckled. “Yes. Why is that so hard to believe? I disguised myself and the troops I brought here as carpet merchants and we crossed the border with ease.” Enver cast a look out the window at said troops—some fifteen volunteers from the Academy(1)—shifting uncomfortably in the Cyrenaican(2) heat. Shrugging, he turned back to his colleague. “Fine then. The situation is thus: the Italians hold two significant beachheads at Khoms in the west and Derne, only a few dozen miles from here. They continue to advance further west and east, thanks to their naval support. There are 20,000 Italian troops overall in these beachheads, while our forces number somewhere between 40,000-50,000. However, about 10,000 of those are Arab irregulars, many of the rest are conscripts, and we lack any sort of naval support whatsoever to help us against the Italian navy. With these hideously inadequate troops, we must somehow destroy the beachheads at Khoms and Derne before the Italians land more reinforcements and make our position entirely untenable. Any suggestions?”

The room was silent for a moment: then, Omar Mukhtar, the leader of the Cyrenaican irregulars who had gained victory at Tobruk, spoke. “My men may be irregulars, but they are highly motivated and highly mobile. I propose this: Enver, prepare trenches and other earthworks at Bayda(3), but attempt to make them as inconspicuous as possible. Move the majority of your infantry and artillery there, and prepare to defend the city. I suggest that the defense of the city be placed under Mustafa Kemal’s command. You yourself should lead a cavalry raid east to Derne: attack, and then appear to be defeated and retreat towards Bayda. In all likelihood, the Italians will follow. After they do, my men will launch a quick attack on Derne, seizing the city. The Italians have set up artillery there, and if we are able to capture it, we will be able to keep the Italian ships at bay. After the capture of Derne, I will advance west and attack the Italians in the rear as they attempt to attack Bayda. If we pull this off, the Italian force in the east will be utterly annihilated and we can deal with Khoms at our leisure.” The former imam grinned despite himself at the astonishment of the three military men. “Any questions?”

. . .


“The attack came early in the morning of the 25th. I was smoking one last cigarette next to my Etrich Taube before I was to go up and scout Turkish positions to the east. As I stamped the dying fag out, I heard a strange noise from the south—it sounded like yelling, gunfire. Turning to the young private next to me, I ordered him to find out what was happening before I took off. ‘Yes, Sottotenente.(4)’ The young man hurried off. It was the last time I would ever see him, and I had never even learned his name. Having climbed into my plane, I was strapping on my flight helmet when the Turks burst into the square. It seemed as though there was an infinite horde of them pouring towards me. Rapidly, I turned to the other guard and screamed to him to turn the propeller and get in the plane. He did so, while I flung a cipollo(5) at the enemy to keep them back. The explosion nearly deafened me and kept them wary for a moment. Just as the engine started, a lucky shot struck the young private, killing him."

"Though I regretted this, I had no time to mourn: seizing the throttle, I shoved it forward. The plane kicked out a puff of smoke and picked up rapid speed. Looking behind for a moment, I saw that the Turks were moving as fast as they could to catch up to me. I had to get out. Turning back to the front, I saw that the sea was rapidly approaching. It was now or never. Easing the joystick back, I shut my eyes tight, praying rapidly under my breath to the Virgin. Five seconds later, I felt the plane leave the ground and skim the water for a moment before pulling up towards the sky. Opening my eyes again, I thanked Mary under my breath before turning the Taube back to see the city. A swarm of Turks covered the city, while, far away, I could see our forces trying to retreat from the defenses in the west. It was at that moment that I knew we could not win this war. With a heavy heart, I turned the monoplane’s nose towards Khams(6), praying my little bird would make it…”

--Excerpt from Sailing the Sky: A Pilot’s Life by Italian pilot Giulio Gavotti

BREAKING NEWS!

TURKS SINK TROOPSHIP IN EASTERN MED!

Yet another defeat has struck our courageous forces, as the treacherous Turkish cruiser Hamidye has sunk the troopship Perseo on the approach to Suez! Almost nine hundred courageous Italian soldiers have been killed! Corriere del Sella begs the government of Mr. Giolitti to end this war before more brave Italians die...

Notes
(1) The Ottoman Military Academy in Istanbul, which produced many of the Young Turks and was quite a fine school.
(2) Cyrenaica=eastern Libya.
(3) Today, a large industrial city. Then, a small town not even near the coast.
(4) Second Lieutenant.
(5) A type of grenade used by the Italian Army.
(6) An archaic spelling of Khoms often used by the Italians.

Good update. So I guess Gavotti won't be setting aviation records ITTL? Also, haven't the Italians tried to destroy the Ottoman fleet yet? I remember vaguely that that was what they started the war with...may be wrong though.