Mekertich Portukalian 14 October 1914 – 17 July 1915
Մկրտիչ Փորթուգալեան
ميكيرتيجهپورتوكاليان
(Armenekan Party – Supported by the Democratic Alliance)
In early 1914, the Ottoman Empire finally managed to get some breathing room for itself. Victory in the Second Balkan War and the recovery of the old capital of Erdine/Adrianople had restored national confidence, and for the first time since 1911, the Ottoman Empire could boast a peaceful nation. The fruits of peace were bountiful. As soldiers were demobilized, they returned to the workforce, and the Anatolian and Arabian Vilayets produced astounding numbers for the harvest and a small baby boom proved to be around the corner. Construction and trade boomed as the professionalization of occupations in the Ottoman Empire continued and previously suspended foreign trade flowed back into the Empire. And indeed, even in other matters, the Ottoman Empire had a lot to be proud of. The students they had sent to Europe for pilot training in 1911 had returned and after conducting several air shows, they showed the Empire that aerial travel was now at the forefront of human ingenuity and innovation. Ottoman planes flying from Constantinople to Alexandria became a regular sight in early 1914. Ottoman diplomats also brought forth another victory, securing a loan worth $100 million from France for such low-interest rates it was as if the loan had no interest at all.
National patriotism was through the roof. When the Ottoman government opened their orders for two battleships from the British to public subscription, Turkish, Arab, Kurdish, and even Greek and Armenian donations shot through the roof. Even schoolchildren donated parts of their pocket money to this endeavor. As conflict became ever so likely between the Ottomans and the Greeks over the Aegean Question, the prospect of renewed war was welcomed by loyal citizens, who saw it as a chance for the Ottomans to redeem themselves for the losses of 1912 during the First Balkan War. The Ottomans had every reason to be confident about a new war with Greece. Though even the Russians were worried about the new battleships ordered by the Ottomans, they were more preoccupied with keeping the Ottoman sea lanes open, as Russia depended on these sea lanes for 50% of its exports and 90% of its grain imports.
But underneath the veneer of growing success, the Ottomans had far more problems than the general public realized. To stave off a new conflict with Russia in the same fashion as that of Crete two decades prior, the Ottomans signed the proposed Armenian Reform Package on 8 February 1914. While this reduced tensions between Constantinople and St. Petersburg, it only complicated the already strained relationship between the ruling Young Turks and the Armenians of eastern Anatolia. The Ottomans also recognized that they were severely isolated diplomatically during negotiations with Russia. Previously, the British and French were always behind the Ottomans in order to keep Russian ambitions in check, but as the Triple Entente formed, only France maintained the stance that Ottoman sovereignty couldn’t be impeded by the Russians, and this stance was growing weaker every day. The governing Triumvirate of the Ottoman Empire pulled itself ever closer to the Germans in order to maintain itself in the geopolitical arena of Europe. This German-Ottoman relationship was furthered by the arrival of Otto Liman von Sanders, who was sent by Kaiser Wilhelm II to assist in the reformation of the organization of the Ottoman Army after the Second Balkan War.
The ruling Triumvirate of Talaat Pasha, Cemal Pasha, and Enver Pasha were also dictators, no matter how much they maintained the illusion of continuing the democracy of the Second Constitutional Era. What they wanted, they got, and many times, they got what they wanted at a cost to the state. When Sultan Mehmed V voiced his concerns in early 1914 about Enver Pasha forcibly making himself the Minister of War, the Triumvirate simply reminded Mehmed V who was in charge by drifting their hands to their pistols. As haram, as it was to threaten the Caliph of All Islam, to the Triumvirate, all decorum of religion had been thrown out of the window the moment they became dictators of the nation.
As the Ottomans dealt with the schizophrenic episode of its booming economy and growing diplomatic isolation, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 provided great discomfort to the Ottomans. They were outside the workings of the alliances in Europe, and the looming threat of a war in Europe raised the concerns of a Russian intervention in Constantinople. Enver and Talat sought to align themselves with Germany whilst Cemal sought to pre-empt a Russian pre-emptio by allying with France. Despite his best efforts, on 18 July 1914 Cemal Pasha returned to the Ottoman Empire empty-handed and without an alliance with France. It was not as if France detested an alliance with the Ottomans. They were interested, however could not commit to an alliance without the approval of the reluctant British and hostile Russians. The British could potentially be persuaded but the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had less hope for the Russians. As war erupted on 28 July 1914, the Ottomans still held onto the hope that perhaps, an alliance could be struck with their old 19th century ally, the British. This came crashing down when their ordered battleships were requisitioned for war in the Royal Navy by the British on 1 August 1914. On 2 August 1914, Enver signed a secret pact with the Germans in response.
As Enver Pasha called for mobilization, the Empire’s booming economy came to a stagnant crawl as laborers on the field enlisted in the army once again, and businesses closed down knowing that the ports would close in the inevitable coming conflict. With the straits being closed on 3 August 1914, the political class in the Ottoman Empire roused itself. After the Coup of 1913 most political parties in the Ottoman Empire had been banned with many of its leaders exiled to Europe and Egypt. As news of the SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau and their journey toward the Ottoman Empire became public knowledge, several underground political leaders in the Ottoman Empire realized what the Triumvirate was planning. Sultan Mehmed V himself was visibly angered by the idea of entering a general European war on such contradictory and foolish terms. Ahmet Riza, one of the founders of the Committee of Union & Progress, the ruling party of the Empire, denounced the foolishness in the Ottoman Parliament only to be escorted out. Recognizing that this was the best time to overcome the ruling dictatorship in the Empire, Ibrahim Temo spoke with Riza about the possibility of an overthrow.
A coup with only the support of Riza and Temo would never even come out of the woodworks, but both sent telegrams throughout Europe and Egypt, asking for the exiled political leaders to come together in a moment of unity. Abdullah Cevdet in France, Serif Pasha in Egypt, Ali Kemal in Switzerland, Lufti Fikri Bey in Italy, etc. were all addressed in this great calling. But these Ottoman liberals and democrats were scattered and if Temo and Riza had any hope of salvaging the situation, then they needed to be banded together. It was ironically, an Armenian Nationalist who banded these scattered politicians together. Mekertich Portukalian, the leader of the Armenekan Party was a known Armenian Nationalist, even if he was a more moderate one, and had operated from Marseille ever since his exile in 1885. On the evening of 2 August 1914, Riza extended an invitation to Mekertich, promising a democratic Ottoman Empire, one that would respect the rights of the Ottoman Armenians. It was too tempting of an idea to refuse, especially in light of growing confrontations between the Kurds and Armenians in Anatolia. Mekertich agreed, and on 7 August 1914, he hosted all of the exiled political refugees of the Ottoman Empire in his home in Marseille. A general plan for a coup was made but the support of Sultan Mehmed V was necessary. Temo’s cousin was a retainer to the Sultan and that day asked Mehmed V in whispered tones about the brewing conspiracy.
Mehmed V, who had never liked the Triumvirate, deriding them for betraying the democratic ideals of the 1908 Revolution was in favor. With the Sultan on board, Portukalian and the exiles left Marseille the next day. They reached Constantinople on 10 August 1914, where agents loyal to Sultan Mehmed V secreted them away from the ports before they could be stopped by lackeys of the Triumvirate. Mahmud Muhtar Pasha, who commanded the Ottoman 2nd Infantry Division in the 1st Army veered away from its routine war games in Thrace and instead started to march towards Constantinople. Mahmud Muhtar Pasha supported the goals of the democrats and had always been known to be a critic of the Three Pashas and was only allowed to walk free due to his highborn status. His troops knew nothing other than that an arrest and search drill was being planned in Constantinople which was evidently a lie told by Mahmud Muhtar Pasha. On the 14th of August 1914, as his troops neared Constantinople, he stopped, as all the plotters turned to Mehmed V to give the final go-ahead.
Mehmed V gave the go-ahead that evening the 2nd Infantry Division entered Constantinople to the surprise and astonishment of the gendarme based in Constantinople. Troops filed into the residences of the Three Pashas, arresting them on the orders of the Sultan, Mahmud Muhtar Pasha, and Portukalian, who had become the de facto spokesperson of the democratic opposition. Pro-Triumvirate militias were disarmed by the 2nd Infantry Division and Mehmed V gave a radio address to the entire nation. Mehmed V declared the end of the Triumvirate, denouncing them publically for betraying the democratic ideals of the 1908 Election and announced that a new government would be formed the next morning with Mehmed V invoking a temporary provisional clause in the Constitution to take absolute power for 72 hours. The next, however, none of the democratic opposition could agree on who should take power as Grand Vizier. The Coup of 1914 was intended to restore democracy and knew that anyone who would take power would inevitably be a temporary provisional leader until a new election could take place. And not many were willing to be provisionary leaders.
In the end, it was a surprised Portukalian who was offered the title of Grand Vizier. There were several doubts of course, as a Christian becoming Grand Vizier was unheard of. Though a few Christians and Jews had accumulated enough influence to have rivaled the post of Grand Vizier in the Ottoman Empire historically none had held the actual title. It was a bold move. It held symbolism. After all, the idea of Ottomanism was that every Ottoman citizen regardless of their background could reach the top in the new Ottoman Empire. The fact that Portukalian was an Armenian, the main ethnicity who were targets of the arrested Triumvirate made the symbolism even greater. For Portukalian, this was a tumultuous decision to take. An Armenian Nationalist at heart, he had been fighting the Ottoman Empire since 1879 ever since Abdulhamid II had taken absolute power. Though he had high hopes for the Empire during 1908-13, he had become disappointed by the Coup of 1913. To be suddenly offered its highest non-royal title was both an honor and a dishonor to him. It was fellow Armenian nationalist Panos Terlemezian who allowed him to make the decision to take the post. Terlemezian, though also an Armenian Nationalist, was popular in eastern Anatolia even among the Turkish and Kurdish populace for having protected their civilians during the Armenian uprisings in 1896. Terlemezian saw the opportunity that this provided for not just Armenians, but everyone in the Ottoman Empire.
At 11 a.m. on 15 August 1914, Mekertich Portukalian became the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman, replacing the arrested pro-Triumvirate Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha. The first order the first Christian Grand Vizier gave was to imprison several members of the Committee of Union and Progress involved with the Young Turks, including the Triumvirate and their cabinet for life. Portukalian appointed Mahmud Muhtar Pasha to become Minister of War, Ahmet Riza as Minister of the Interior, Arif Ahmed Bey as Minister of the Navy, Ibrahim Temo as Minister of Public Works, Ali Kemal as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Serif Pasha as Minister of Justice, and other democrats from various political parties now un-banned into the cabinet. Mehmed V immediately returned power back to the government, citing the constitution and returning back to a constitutional monarch. For Portukalian and the new cabinet, they had to deal with the headache of two German warships SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau sitting on their docks. The French, British, and Russian ambassadors were all raising hell about the issue whilst the German ambassador, Hans von Wagenheim pragmatically simply waited for a response from the newly restored democratic government.
On 11 August 1914, three days before the Restoration of 1914 – as it became known – Cemal Pasha had ‘bought’ the two warships under fictitious circumstances from Germany to the Ottoman Empire renaming the two warships. For Portukalian, this was a headache as everyone knew that the circumstances of the new Ottoman warships were entirely fictitious and the British and French saw right through them. Furthermore, the secret alliance that Enver Pasha had signed two weeks prior with Germany bound the Ottomans to Germany under a military alliance that the new government had no wish to honor. Hans von Wagenheim, nicknamed ‘The Fighting Diplomat’ by the other diplomats in Constantinople ardently demanded the new government to honor the secret alliance. Portukalian on the other hand, sought to fight for rapprochement and a deal to ensure that his government could possibly withdraw from the precipitous situation properly. And there was also the matter of the ongoing talks with Russia about a possible rapprochement and alliance. Despite their open Germanophile view, the Triumvirate had opened secret talks with Russia regarding a potential defensive pact in secret back in August 5. Though Sazonov, the Russian Foreign Minister remained incredibly negative towards the idea, Russian diplomats were taking the talks extremely seriously.
In order to make sure that any move against either belligerent side, Portukalian requested the German Embassy to stop the transfer of officers involved in the German military reform commission in Constantinople from Germany at the moment. Whilst Wagenheim, recognizing the delicacy of the situation ultimately agreed to the first Christian Grand Vizier’s thoughts, the stubborn Admiral Souchon was angered by what he deemed to be Turkish duplicity. Portukalian and the new Ottoman Cabinet could only massage their headaches as the very first day of their new jobs had been forced to be done with foreign relations in mind. None of the government officials knew what to do domestically as the entire Empire waited with bated breath regarding the new government whilst said the government was tangled up in European great power politics. Ahmet Riza, as the Minister of the Interior addressed the nation 2 days later by asking for calm and asking every civil official to go about their day as per the rules and regulations of the revised 1908 Ottoman Constitution.
For Portukalian and the cabinet, the goal was clear. Until the Empire could deal with its internal affairs on a pragmatic and proper basis, the Ottomans were not going to be involved in this new European war. Portukalian had so much he wished – such as restoring the Ottoman Armenian Parliament of 1863 – and did not wish to be tangled up in what he deemed to be harmful politics from Europe. Russian Ambassador, Mikhail von Giers was ecstatic when on 21 August 1914, after a week of dawdling, Ali Kemal, in his role as Foreign Minister, under directives from Portukalian offered the Russians a deal. Goeben and Breslau would remain in port in the Sea of Marmara and would not be allowed to enter the Black Sea, whilst the Ottomans also extracted a promise from Giers to at least talk with Sazonov about a neutrality pact. Souchon was ordered to take his two ships to port at Bandirma. Souchon was furious. This move made it clear that the ships would remain under the ostensible command of the Ottomans – they hadn’t forgotten nor forgiven the British for the requisitioning of their ships into the Royal Navy – whilst also delaying any sort of belligerence against the Entente. This was made clear when Enver’s mobilization order was repealed to only a partial mobilization. Despite the tone of rapprochement that Portukalian’s government was giving out, Portukalian needed to make it clear that he would not let the European war affect the Ottoman’s own decision-making process. As a Christian head of government in a conservative Islamic nation, he already had many opponents in the Ottoman Senate and Parliament and needed to make this clear to all.
The British Ambassador, Louis Mallet was summoned to Portukalian, and he made it clear that if the British Fleet, which was still in the Aegean, waiting for Souchon’s fleet to come out and enter Ottoman waters, then they would be fired upon and attacked as if ‘our two nations are at war.’ Mallet, who was an ally of Churchill and supported his moves, wrote back to London angered by the interaction. Whilst Mallet had given off belligerent tones, Asquith was more moderate. British ships had come into viewing distance from Ottoman shores – though still not breaching the 6-mile limit of neutrality – and the Ottomans were understandably angry. The Admiralty had previously acquiesced to the idea of a 15-million-pound compensation to the Ottoman Empire for the warships and Asquith, eager to at least stave off an Ottoman entry into the war asked the cabinet, and Churchill to consider it seriously. Meanwhile, the Germans too became furious at the new Ottoman government for their open and loose interpretations of the document signed by Enver. Portukalian explicitly told Wagenheim that the document did not mention anything about the Ottomans entering the conflict when the Germans did and that only if necessary and only if needed would his government enter the conflict.
The Germans, recognizing the futility of trying to do anything underhanded with the new government, lest they destroy the good relationship with Constantinople, decided to play ball for the moment and agreed to the loose interpretation and asked Souchon to stay put and not anger anyone important. The Germans refocused their diplomatic might onto the Bulgarians. And the Ottomans finally turned back to their domestic affairs. 10 July 1915 was announced as the new date for democratic elections in the Ottoman Empire, keeping under the universal male suffrage and direct vote for Assembly members as advised by the 1908 Constitution. Portukalian decided to move ahead with his pet project of restoring the 1863 Ottoman Armenian Parliament which had autonomous democratic powers over Ottoman Armenian citizens during the height of the Tanzimat Era. On 17 September 1914, under the authority of the Ottoman Senate, the Ottoman Armenian Parliament was asked to reconvene in December 1914 after an election. A great victory for Portukalian personally, the news of the Ottoman Armenian Parliament reconvening was met with celebrations among the Armenian populace of the Ottoman Empire.
Whilst the possibility of a state-sponsored violent spree against Armenians had disappeared with the new government, the reinstatement of the Ottoman Armenian Parliament was met with disdain by the local Kurdish tribes living alongside the Armenians. The Kocusagi Kurdish Tribe involved itself in heavy-handed intimidation and banditry against the Armenian peasantry and was met with support from the conservative Ottoman civil officials in the region, who were still unsure about their loyalty to the new government in Constantinople. The Armenians did not take these insults lying down either, and sporadic outbursts of violence began to grow. The honor killing of 2 Armenians in broad daylight in Bitlis by 3 members of the Ferhatusagi tribe caught even the attention of the Ottoman government. Minister of the Interior, Ahmet Riza had the officials who were neglecting the matter exiled to govern the Asir – a virtual death sentence to a long political career in the Ottoman Empire at the time. But while it was an appropriate gesture, the Kurdish tribes in the region, who had long targeted Armenians with the blessings of Abdulhamid II and then the Triumvirate were not dissuaded to stop with the removal of a few officials from the region. The Armenians, in response, began to take up arms, not against the government, as many had once feared but against marauding members of various Kurdish tribes.
Minister of the Interior, Ahmet Riza, and Portukalian himself recognized that if the Third Democratic Restoration in the Ottoman Empire was to be successful, then the very first elections it was going to hold needed to be as fair and clean-cut as possible. In addition, something needed to be done about the powerful tribes in eastern Anatolia who did as they pleased regardless of what the government ordered them to. The government was however being challenged by the ghosts of the Triumvirate. In the Ottoman Parliament, the Committee of Union & Progress (CUP) still had most of its members adhere to the idea of Turkish nationalism at the expense of other ethnicities in the Empire, most especially in the non-Muslim minorities following the ideologies of the Three Pashas. When the government attempted to pass a bill that would employ 7000 new Ottoman gendarmes and policemen in eastern Anatolia to prevent the growing specter of violence, members of the CUP led by Halil Mentese Bey decided to stall the bill’s approach to the Senate. The CUP, which had been a frequent backer of a Turkification policy believed the Armenians to be third-columnists within the Ottoman Empire, and wanted to end the Armenian Question at all costs, even if the Kurds did the dirty deed for them. Mentese was successful for two weeks, but after a third hearing, the support of the other political parties, now unbanned in the Empire, saw the bill pass into the Senate, where it was made into law.
7000 new paramilitaries were soon deployed in early November 1914 to Sivas, Bitlis, Van, and Muradiye to protect the election for the Ottoman Armenian Parliament coming up in December. The surge of Ottoman paramilitary present on the streets provided an ironical twist as for the first time in decades these members of the Ottoman military apparatus were there to protect the Armenians. New Ottoman government officials who had replaced the pro-CUP ones in the regions made it clear that any attempt to intimidate, force, raid, and undo the process of the election would see the reaction of the government forces. Kurdish tribes, who were already belligerent against the Ottomans because of their pro-CUP attitudes, thought that this was a provocation. Three Kurdish tribes rose up in rebellion in November 1914, marauding the countryside villages and the more remote roads and passageways on horseback.
With the Ottoman Armenian election coming up soon, this new uprising needed to be dealt with fast. But even as new numbers of paramilitary forces surged into eastern Anatolia to put down the uprising, the Turkish nationalists of the CUP continued their agitation against the government, halting, stalling, and conducting several disruptive means of attacking the new current ruling government of Portukalian. The fact that they were being governed by a Christian, an Armenian at that was like a personal insult to several members of the CUP, and despite the support that Sultan Mehmed V had shown to the government, many members of the CUP continued to ignore the constitutional supporting building behind Portukalian. And there was also the fact of Russia. Fearing an Ottoman entry into the war, the Russians had kept two armies in the Caucasus at full alert since August 1914 and whilst war between the two nations hadn’t started at all, the surge of Ottoman paramilitary into eastern Anatolia needed to be treaded carefully lest a spark start between Constantinople and St. Petersburg. Ottoman paramilitary was thus ordered to avoid the Russian border by at least 35 km to prevent any excuse from the Russian side of the border.
Though the paramilitary was able to open the roads and make the cities safe, the rural and remote countryside was still filled with the brim with Kurdish rebels by the time the election date of 5 December 1914 rolled around. The elections were remarkably calm despite the situation around them as Ottoman gendarmes prevented the intervention of anyone with malevolent intentions. Of The ~300,000 eligible Armenian voters in the Ottoman Empire at the time, around ~231,000 of them cast a vote.
Armenakan Party (Autonomist): 16 Armenakan Party (Nationalist): 14 Social Democratic Hunchakian Party: 10 Armenian Revolutionary Federation: 5 Freedom and Accord Party: 4
Portukalian had to watch his party fracture during the 1914 Ottoman Armenian elections. With reconciliation with the Ottoman Empire on the cards, the Armenakan Party in Armenia fractured into two factions, with the Autonomist Faction promoting greater autonomy and freedom of Armenians, but within the purview of the Ottoman Empire and the Nationalist Faction promoting the secession and independence of Armenia. Portukalian himself was neutral on the topic, as he was now the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire and found it dangerous to entertain such thoughts if he was to lead the nation properly. The autonomist Social Democratic Hunchakian Party won 10 seats whilst the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation also claimed 5 seats. The only mainstream empire-wide political party to win any seats in the elections was the Ottoman Freedom and Accord Party which was very minority friendly and represented the liberal and centrist segment of Armenian society. Panos Terlemezian became the Speaker of the Ottoman Armenian Parliament representing the overall Armenakan Party which had claimed 30 seats out of 49. With powers over Armenian cultural promotion, consultation with government regarding Armenian affairs, administrative decisions over Armenian vilayets, the education system of Armenians, and land resource management for Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, the restoration of the Ottoman Armenian Parliament was Portukalian’s greatest achievement. The remainder of the Kurdish rebels melted away with time in the countryside as Portukalian’s government continued to root out pro-Triumvirate civil servants throughout the Empire.
Whilst Portukalian’s government breathed a sigh of relief as things seemed to be becoming more normal, on January 1915, another act threw a spanner into the works of the new democracy in the Empire. Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov of Bulgaria had long delayed the entry of Bulgaria into the Great War, but with mounting German pressure and mounting promises of land and riches from Berlin and Vienna, and with Ottoman neutrality seemingly becoming more and more likely, and with Allied offers to Bulgaria becoming ever vaguer, the Bulgarians declared war on Serbia on 12 January 1915 in support of the Central Powers. Prime Minister Venizelos of Greece offered an entire Greek army corps and the Greek fleet to the Allies to attack Bulgaria at the same time, precipitating a political crisis in neutral Greece at the time. With the Great War approaching both sides of the Ottoman border, it became clearer to the Ottomans that neutrality was becoming less and less of an option, especially if the Ottomans wished to remain safe in the post-war world. With Bulgaria jumping with the Central Powers, Admiral Souchon was starting to make even greater noise in the Sea of Marmara whilst Wagenheim continued to pressure the new government about the idea of joining the war.
Though Portukalian and his government had come to power to avoid any sort of entry into the war, the old diplomatic isolation of the Ottomans was rearing its ugly head. The Ottomans had no illusions about Russian claims on their territory but with Bulgaria aligning with the Germans, Bulgarian claims in eastern Thrace were also not unknown. This put the Ottomans in a deep quandary as it was clear that it was time to pick sides, and unless they did then the post-war world would be extremely unforgiving to the Ottomans. Nevertheless, even though it seemed that the war loomed large among the politicians, they knew that the Ottomans needed to enter the war on their terms. Being at peace for the past 6 months had given the Ottomans much-needed breathing room. Portukalian’s government had hiked up prices for passage through the Straits to extremely high levels that the Allies had paid to send supplies and grain to Russia. As such, the economy was in good condition, and the factories were producing a good amount of products every week. Neutral trade meant that Ottoman chromium sales were increasing throughout Europe as chromium became a vital commodity during wartime. The German and French military missions in the Ottoman Empire had significantly reorganized the Ottoman military and Ottoman military commanders watched the war in Europe with studious eyes.
The several unbanned political parties in the Ottoman Empire also had differing views on which side they favored most, but one thing was clear – if the Ottomans wanted to survive the post-war order, it needed to be in the war, and on the winning side. The German and Austrian support for Greece during the Aegean Crisis in early to mid-1914 had neither been forgiven nor forgotten either. For Portukalian, it was essential that the Ottomans be on the winning side, no matter which side. So in secret, the halted negotiations between the Ottomans and the great powers were re-started by the end of January 1915. Compared to 1914, the Ottomans found the Central Powers to be more arrogant whilst the Entente proved to be demurer. Serbia was on the brink of falling with Bulgaria’s entry and Russia was retreating all throughout the Eastern Front. Compared to the offers of 1914, the Entente’s offers to the Ottomans were far more expansive. A border re-draw with Bulgaria in regards to Kardzhali & Haskovo, reduction of loans that the Ottomans owed to the Entente Powers, complete annulment of debts owed to Germany and Austria, new non-interest loans to the Ottoman Empire, a guarantee of Ottoman Empire’s territorial sovereignty and a Russian withdrawal from Sarakamis to Selim, giving up the important fort district to the Ottomans. The Germans stuck to their offer of 1914. Whilst the Entente offer was enticing, the Ottomans had not forgiven the British for their two ships, and Portukalian demanded either the two ships be returned to the Ottomans, or appropriate compensation – 15 million pounds for each ship – be given to the Ottomans. In return, Portukalian agreed that only paramilitary forces would be present in the Ottoman Caucasus and two armies would open up a front in Thrace immediately.
Whilst Portukalian juggled negotiations with his Foreign Minister, Ali Kemal, as the 1915 Ottoman General Elections neared, the political parties banded together to discuss their future. The parties agreed whilst they would all contest the elections, the parties would remain in coalition with one another for the duration of the conflict in Europe and if possible conduct a favorable entry into the conflict for the Ottomans. As the Allies occupied Thessaloniki in a last-ditch attempt to protect Serbia whilst forcing the political intrigues in Greece to escalate, the mood among the Ottoman politicians became even more somber. As it stood, before the elections, the political parties of the Ottoman Empire favored: -
Freedom & Accord Party: Entente
Committee of Union & Progress: Central Powers
Ottoman Socialist Party: Neutrality
Armenekan Party: Entente
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party: Entente
Armenian Revolutionary Foundation: Central Powers
Al-Fatat: Central Powers
Ottoman Party for Administrative Decentralization: Entente
Whilst all the parties had varying views, with the Freedom & Accord Party, Committee of Union & Progress and Ottoman Socialists controlling 95% of the seats in Parliament, it really became a struggle between these parties instead. As negotiations between Italy and the Entente stalled due to the French reluctantly asking Italy to enforce the Dodecanese Lease in order to maintain their negotiations with the Ottomans, the Entente also weighed in heavily with the upcoming elections, as it would basically decide which side the Ottomans entered the war on. On 10 July 1915, 6.93 million Ottoman citizens went to the polls to cast their votes.
With the various Armenian parties and Arab parties running on a single ticket each, the election resulted in a devastating victory for the Freedom and Accord Party, which managed to snag 42.3% of the vote and 121 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Support for the Committee of Union & Progress had cratered after the Restoration of 1914 and compared to the elections of 1908, 1912, and 1914 where they had won great victories, they only managed to win a measly 38 seats. The social democratic party led by Huseyin Hilmi managed to come in at second place. A week later, Portukalian respected the results of the election and allowed Mehmed V to call Prince Sabahaddin the leader of the Freedom & Accord Party to become the new Grand Vizier.
Though Portukalian only served as Grand Vizier for 11 months, he is remembered fondly in modern Ottoman memory. He is, after all, the first Christian Grand Vizier, and he also deftly maneuvered the July Crisis and its aftermath in the Ottoman Empire whilst also restoring the Ottoman Armenian Parliament at the same time. And now, as the Ottomans were on the brink of entering the conflict, Portukalian had done his job. The administrative and military reforms of 1913 had been completed and now the Ottomans could enter the conflict on their own terms.
Mehmed Sabahaddin ‘The Imperial Liberal’ 17 July 1915 – 6 July 1919
ميهميد ساباهاددين
(Freedom and Accord Party – in coalition with other parties in the Chamber of Deputies)
The only member of the Ottoman royalty to ever rule the Ottoman Empire as a democratic Grand Vizier, Mehmed Sabahaddin came to power on 17 July 1915 on the coattails of a large electoral victory for his party in the 1915 Ottoman General Elections. Representing the liberal class of the Ottoman Empire and one of the Empire’s most minority-friendly politicians, Sabahaddin is remembered today in the Ottoman Empire for being the Grand Vizier who won World War I for the Ottoman Empire but lost the post-war consensus. For his exemplary handling of the Ottoman War Effort in World War I, he cannot be praised enough, but his bungling of the post-war situation in the Empire has made his legacy mixed. When he came to power on 17 July 1915, the Ottoman Empire was debating entering the Great War. But unlike the previous year in 1914 when the will of the Three Pashas and the Germans tried to forcibly steer the Ottomans to war, the Ottoman Empire was deliberating the war on its own terms and under its own volition. Immediately upon his ascension to power, Sabahadin came into crisis.
The Committee of Union & Progress which represented the Ottoman center-right/right-wing had cratered, winning only 38 seats and barely managing to win 14% of the national vote. Combined with the general ineptitude of the CUP governments in the past 5 years and their support for the dictatorial Three Pashas, the fact that the party had won 38 seats itself was a miracle, in hindsight. But as the hardline members of the CUP fell out over their dim showing in the elections, the party withdrew from the Democratic Coalition that had governed the Ottoman Empire since the Ottoman Coup of 1914. The Democratic Coalition was supposed to be a show of unity, to show everyone in the Empire that the political class would set apart their differences to continue fighting for the democratic will of the nation, and with the right-wing withdrawing from it after the elections as the CUP fell into tatters due to infighting sent a difficult message to the people. Recognizing that the Democratic Coalition was frozen on the issue, Sabahaddin appointed his cabinet not just from his party but from every member party of the coalition, stating that the withdrawal of the CUP did not change the coalition’s end goal. With a majority of 86 seats over the independents and now fractured right-wing Ottoman deputies, the Democratic Coalition was still unchallenged in the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies.
But Sabahaddin’s crises were far from over. As the aftermath of the 1915 Ottoman General Elections died down, the Great Powers all leaned in, pushing the Ottomans to choose a side in the Great War. The Ottoman Chamber of Deputies and Senate were equally divided between siding with the German-led Central Powers or the Entente Powers, which included their historical enemy, the Russian Empire. But even the indomitable Russians were leaning in on the Ottomans to choose the Entente Powers. Retreating all across the Eastern Front and having grasped defeat from the jaws of victory on multiple occasions against the Germans the Russians were desperate to transfer the two Caucasian Armies to the Eastern Front whilst simultaneously relieving the load on its economy to pay for the heightened fees for the Straits for trade with the rest of the world. Britain and France, desperate after the fall of Serbia alongside the Bulgarian entry into the war, wished for a new front to be opened at the behest of the Ottomans to link up with their forces in Thessaloniki. Compared to 1914, the Ottoman Empire’s position in regard to the Entente Powers was infinitely better. Sabahaddin who was more disposed to the Entente Powers, having lived in France from 1902 – 1908 and again from 1912 – 1914 nevertheless recognized that an Ottoman entry into the war would be decided by which faction the Ottomans decided to back.
While the Germans and Austrians stuck to their offers of 1914, the Entente had upped their game. In early August 1915, the Entente Powers offered to the Ottomans the handover of the Bulgarian Aegean Coast, which had a Turkish plurality, the enforcement of the Dodecanese Lease on Italy, the handover of the fort of Sarakamis from Russia to the Ottomans, a reduction of interest from 8.5% to 3.5% from France and 9% to 4.5% from Britain for the Ottoman Public Debt added with a 30 million pound compensation for the seized warships and a 50 million interest-free loan from Britain and France, which was topped off by public recognition of Ottoman territorial sovereignty by all members of the Entente Powers, including Russia. Finally, all the powers also agreed to recognize the warships Goeben and Breslau’s sale into the Ottoman Navy. While the territorial concessions gained seemed little in comparison to the grandiose ones pushed forward by the Germans and Austrians, in the long term, Sabahaddin recognized the Entente’s offers to be more advantageous for the Ottomans. Furthermore, as flashpoints between erstwhile allies Russia and Britain developed in Iran, the Ottomans also knew that the Entente alliance seemed poised to fall apart after the conclusion of the conflict. A secret vote was held on 19 August 1915 in the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies and the Ottoman Senate. The Chamber of Deputies voted in favor 234 – 41 for war based on the terms offered by the Entente. The Ottoman Senate, which was still made up mostly of independents was much more critical about the idea, but in the end they too voted 47-38 in favor as well. The die had been cast.
On the 24th of September 1915, the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Central Powers. Russia evacuated Sarakamis the very next day and an Ottoman garrison entered the fort city, raising the Ottoman crescent over the city for the first time after 37 years. The German, Austrian, and Bulgarian delegations were allowed to leave alongside the German military and naval commission. A furious Souchon was taken away from his ship and forcibly boarded across a train toward Bulgaria. The Ottoman First, Second, and Sixth Armies, which had remained partially mobilized all year long were fully mobilized in Ottoman Thrace facing the Bulgarian border and skirmishes were already starting to begin on the border. While previous governments of the Ottoman Empire had meddled excessively in the conduct of war against their opponents, Sabahaddin was of the opinion that politicians like him who knew nothing of the military conduct of war should stay out of it. Ottoman military commanders and the Ottoman General Staff were allowed to devise their best ideas without political interference.
The first real fight the Ottomans gave ironically came in Adakale. A small island on the Danube bordered by Romania and Bulgaria, it had been seized in 1913 by the Austrians, but in the name of diplomacy, an Ottoman garrison of 50 soldiers had been allowed to stay on the island as the Ottomans never recognized the Austrian seizure. The 50 soldiers barricaded themselves in their barracks under the command of Suleyman Askeri as Austrian paramilitary officers and Bulgarian troops attacked the island. Though the small garrison gave a good fight, massacring an attempt to force entry by a medium-sized platoon of Hungarian paramilitary officers, they were too small in numbers and had extremely low stores of equipment and ammunition. The indomitable Suleyman Askeri who had proven his bravery in the Balkan Wars refused to give up the last remnant of the Ottoman Empire beyond Edirne without a fight and refused to surrender. On 12 October 1915, the Hungarians and Bulgarians stormed into the Ottoman barracks, and as his men either died or surrendered, Suleyman Askeri Bey committed suicide to save himself the dishonor of surrendering, something he had never done in his 13 yearlong military career. Though inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, the Battle of Adakale became a rallying cry in the Ottoman Empire. Centuries-old enmities long hidden since the last Austro-Ottoman War resurfaced as the Ottomans mobilized for conflict.
A Painting of Adakale
Following the Ottoman defeat at Adakale, the first major clash on the Thracian Front of WW1 would be the Battle of Karabulut. A small village around 20 kilometers north of Edirne, the Bulgarians intended to defeat the Ottomans quickly and take Edirne itself. The Ottoman Second Army commanded by Wehib Pasha started to dig in to fight the Bulgarians around the village. On 26 November 1915, a joint Bulgarian-Austrian assault was made on the village and soon the assault spiraled out to become a general battle with the lines stretching for miles. Domestically Sabahaddin was being pressured politically to make sure that the first serious confrontation of the Ottoman Army in the conflict was victorious, and whilst Sabahaddin stuck to his promise of non-political interference, he in turn also pressured the generals to provide him with something to show to the Chamber of Deputies. Personally staking his political reputation on the battle, Sabahaddin also oversaw the logistical operations personally, diverting foodstuffs to the battle whilst depriving the Mesopotamian garrison of many of its equipment and supplies despite probes from the Saudis in Arabia. Amidst the snow and mud, the Ottomans and Bulgarians fought in Karabulut destroying the small village to the ground. Forced by the growing political worry at the time, Wehib Pasha launched a pre-emptive attack that ended in disaster as on 2 Feb 1916, the Ottoman Second Army retreated and the Austrians and Bulgarians occupied Karabulut. With Edirne indefensible now, Sabahaddin was forced to order the general evacuation of the city’s residents to Constantinople. Trains, cars and carriages left Edirne in a hurry and three days later on 5 February, the Bulgarians occupied Edirne.
Though the Ottomans were enjoying victories on other fronts, having occupied Dedeagac (Alexandroupolis) on the Aegean Coast and Tsarevo on the Black Sea Coast, the loss of Edirne nearly cut Sabahaddin’s premiership pre-emptively as a no-confidence vote was held and defeated just barely after Edirne was occupied. Further bad news arrived for Sabahaddin two weeks later. Citing their compromised neutrality in Thessaloniki, on 19 February 1916 the Kingdom of Greece declared war on Britain, France, Russia, and the Ottomans, with King Constantine inviting the Germans and Austrians to repel the Entente and their Venezelist provisionary government in Thessaloniki. Prime Minister Metaxas of Greece who had seized power through a military coup aided by the King after the Ottomans had entered the war immediately began to plan for a big confrontation with the Ottomans. For Sabahaddin this could not have come at a worse time. The estimated foodstuffs that the Ottoman military required had proven to be a vast underestimation, and the Ottomans were compensating by using sloops and transport ships to transport food from the fertile crescent to the front via the Aegean. With the transport of food becoming exponentially slower due to fears of the Greek Navy, Sabahaddin had to introduce partial rationing in the Ottoman Empire. This policy was remarkably unpopular among the common populace and did nothing to endear Sabahaddin to the people.
As the Ottomans dug into a defensive line from Dedeagac to Tsarevo, abandoning 4770 square kilometers southeast of Edirne to gain defensive depth, the biggest problem looming for Sabahaddin’s government was Greece’s entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers. Food riots had erupted throughout the Ottoman Empire, and Kurdish militias were once again marauding in eastern Anatolia, stealing produce and crops from whomever they could, regardless of their victim’s ethnic or religious background. Furthermore, instigated by German and Austrian agents, rebellious Kurdish tribes and the Idrisid Emirate of the Asir rose up in rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Emir Al-Idrisi proclaimed the independence of all of Asir and Yemen from the Ottomans and the British whilst the Kurdish tribes which had been suppressed in 1914 ran amok, killing Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and civilian Kurdish citizens alike. This forced Sabahaddin to order the Ottoman 4th Army to move north from Hejaz to reinforce Thrace to move back to defeat Al-Idrisi whilst the Ottoman 3rd Army was ordered to protect the civilians of eastern Anatolia and suppress the Kurdish tribes. These behind-the-line attacks on the Ottoman Empire did nothing to aid the food situation and worsened the transport periods of food throughout the Empire. In Jeddah, a food riot turned so violent that Sharif Hussein himself had to intervene to make sure that the situation did not boil over. Furthermore, to make things worse, Kaymakam (Autonomous Governor) Ibn Saud of Southern Arabia declared himself independent and declared independence, attacking Turkish garrisons in the Arabian interior.
As the domestic mood plummeted to the ground, Sabahaddin recognized that the Empire needed a victory. As thousands of Greeks reinforced Bulgarian lines in Thrace, only the arrival of British and French colonial troop reinforcements had prevented the Ottomans from buckling as without sea access Ottoman logistics were buckling. The Ottomans turned to the sea to give them their first victory in the conflict. Admiral Fuat Husnu Bey, now commanding the SMS Goeben now renamed OIG Yavuz Sultan Selim (Yavuz for short) was aware of the fact that the difference in quality between the Ottoman crews and Greek crews was as large as day and night. Compared to 1911-12, Ottoman crews were definitely better, but the Greeks still held an advantage, despite the efforts of the British and French to hastily bring Ottoman crew members up to standard after the Ottoman entry into the war. Admiral Husnu devised a daring plan to attack the main Greek fleet which was operating in the middle of the Aegean Sea, blocking Ottoman logistical ships from Arabia from passing through. From Smyrna, led by OIG Barbaros Hayrredin a fleet of 1 battleship, 3 destroyers, and 1 cruiser was to move towards the Greek island of Skyros, baiting the superior Greek Navy to follow them before turning north towards Efstratios. The main Ottoman fleet consisting of 1 Battlecruiser, 3 destroyers, and 3 cruisers would depart from the Sea of Marmara commanded by Husnu himself would attack the baited Greek fleet in a wide pincer movement. On the 21st of March 1916, the Ottoman fleet commanded by Admiral Husnu decisively defeated the Greek fleet at the Battle of Lesbos. Despite losing 2 destroyers and having 1 cruiser disabled by the Greeks, the Ottoman gamble had succeeded. The Greeks lost their battleship Lemnos and several other surface vessels. Greece withdrew most of its fleet from forward actions to prevent naval landings from the British after the battle. As news of the victory spread throughout the Empire, Admiral Husnu returned to Constantinople to be personally greeted by Sabahaddin and Sultan Mehmed V, congratulating him on the victory.
Ottoman Ships during the Battle of Lesbos
Sabahaddin used the rallying cry of Adakaleh and Lesbos to rally the population of the Empire behind the war effort gracefully. Giving impassioned speeches, the polyglot showed his linguistic skills when he went to Van and appealed to the populace in Armenian whilst going to Damascus a week later and giving impassioned speeches in Arabic. The withdrawal of the Greek fleet also allowed Ottoman vessels to resume the transfer of foodstuffs and equipment from Syria and the Levant to Thrace without any threat of interception, lightening the load of Ottoman logistics in the region. Following the defeat of the Greeks at Lesbos, Sabahaddin opened diplomatic channels to open the question of the Greek Aegean Islands as well. It was well known that the Ottomans wished to see Imbros, Samothraki, Lesbos, Samos, and Chios under its control ever since the Ottomans had lost them to Greece in 1912-13. The British had backed the Ottomans in the 1914 Aegean Crisis and backed the Ottomans to take the islands. Russia and France who did not have an opinion beyond increasing the pressure on the Central Powers left the topic to Britain to discuss. Two weeks later, Sabahaddin gave the order for Ottoman troops to land in Lesbos and three days later, the Ottomans disembarked on Mitilini.
Whilst these victories for the Ottoman Empire saw renewed vigor in the conflict, Sabahaddin’s greatest achievement in the war effort was the seamless integration of conscription without upsetting the general population. After the initial mobilization saw the Ottoman Empire deploy 910,000 soldiers and use moral social pressures to maintain a steady supply of volunteers to replenish numbers on the front, as the Greeks added themselves to the frontlines in Thrace, it became clear to the Ottomans that they were soon going to be at a numerical disadvantage on the Thracian front. Coupled with three armies operating in Asia to deal with the Kurdish tribes, Idrisid Asir and Ibn Saud, they were going to be outnumbered fast. With no trained reserves left, on 28 April 1916, the Ottoman Empire declared that every male citizen from the ages 20 to 45 (with exceptions for married people, people with important civilian jobs, and people with health concerns) would be mobilized and conscripted. On the advice of Sabahaddin on 4 May 1916, Sultan Mehmed V declared Jihad on the Central Powers to liberate the Muslim Bosniaks and Albanians under Austrian occupation, Muslim Swahili under German Occupation in East Africa, and Muslim Turks and Pomaks in Greece and Bulgaria, uniting the Muslim population under the banner of the new mobilization scheme.
Furthermore, Sabahaddin used intellectual literary propaganda to boost the morale of the population in regard to conscription. Focusing on civic Ottomanism, the Empire focused on unity among its various peoples with examples of the Jewish Battalions and Kavala Greeks in the First Balkan War, Armenian Regiments in the Second Balkan War, and Arab troops in the Italo-Turkish War used as brave examples of the Ottoman minorities fighting for the Empire with their heads held high. The literary portion of this internal propaganda war was ineffective as most of the Empire was illiterate outside of the cities, but to overcome this hurdle, Sabahaddin enlisted the aid of religious officials – Muslim, Jewish, and Christian alike – throughout the Empire to spread the message amongst the population. As the Empire surged to gather more than 2.3 million soldiers by the end of World War I, Sabahaddin managed to integrate conscription seamlessly and without any problem.
In addition to the manpower conscription, Sabahaddin also introduced partial rationing of the railway networks. With the infrastructure of the Ottoman Empire relatively weak in comparison to the rest of the great powers, the Ottomans needed every infrastructure they could possibly spare for the war effort. Sabahaddin also used around half of the 80 million pounds the Empire received to enter the war to create a tacit ‘contract’ between the soldiers and the state. For those who were drafted into the military, allowances were guaranteed for their families until 1920 with every family getting an extra allowance of 1000 Lira per year on average, leading to an average increased income of 12% for the average household in the Ottoman Empire at the time. In order to prevent the lowering or adding to the age requirements to the conscription from 20 – 45 like in Britain and France, Sabahaddin also instituted Albanian, Pomak, and Bosniak regiments made from Bosniak, Pomak and Albanian prisoners of war captured from the opposing enemies. They were grouped together under the banner of Ebedi Muminlerin Ordusu or the grandiose ‘Army of the Eternally Faithful’ with its regiments attached to the five Ottoman armies fighting in Thrace.
Despite these successes, Sabahaddin’s government came to fight under crisis in August 1916 when Romania joined the Central Powers. The Russians were buckling on the Eastern Front, and the French were insistent that the Ottomans who could spare a few army corps move them to the Eastern Front to stabilize the lines in Moldavia and Bessarabia. Though ostensibly allies, both the Russian government and Sabahaddin were wary and privately aghast at the idea. But as the Romanians broke the Russian lines at Yakovlivka and directly threatened Odessa, Britain, and France increased their pressure on both Constantinople and St. Petersburg. Finally, both governments acquiesced and on 28 October 1916, two Ottoman army corps, mainly made up of Ottoman Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and Pontic Greeks were deployed to the eastern front under the command of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Almost immediately after the transport ships left Trabzon for Sevastopol in Crimea, the Bulgarians and Greeks managed to break the line at Babaeski and advanced towards Corlu, threatening to break the Ottoman front in half with Mehmed Esad Pasha’s army in Komotini threatened to be encircled.
Mehmed Muhtar Pasha, who was commanding the Sixth Army managed to halt the Greco-Bulgarian advance at the outskirts of Corlu with heavy casualties and managed to stabilize the line. Now just some 75 kilometers away from Constantinople, the uncomfortable question about relocating the capital from Constantinople to Bursa in case of the worst was raised in the Chamber of Deputies. Despite recognizing that it would be a safe option to conduct, Sabahaddin also recognized that the morale of the army and the population would plummet if they relocated from the 463-year-old capital of the Ottoman Empire. Sabahaddin’s government made a conscious effort to stop any rumors about relocation to Bursa and made public statements that the government would not relocate outside of Constantinople. Nevertheless, Sabahaddin made sure to make the trains and ships ready in case of such a situation. Nevertheless, the facts were clear, as the Greco-Bulgarians had advanced 70 kilometers in one month after the breakthrough at Babaeski. Ottoman plans to invade Chios and Samos after the completion of the Lesbos Campaign on 21 November 1916 after a brutal slog with its Greek garrison was shelved as its troops were transferred to reinforce the frontlines in Thrace.
But while the fronts had stabilized, despite thoughts to the contrary, by December 1916, Sabahaddin was handling negotiations with Italy as the lease on the Italian Dodecanese ended on December 31, 1916. The Italian government led by Paolo Boselli was reluctant to honor the agreement, but with guarantees from the rest of the Entente that appropriate compensation would be forthcoming from the Austrian coastline and Dalmatia, Italian eventually acquiesced and on December 31, 1916 the Sanjak of Rhodes was returned to the Ottoman Empire. This event was a popular domestic victory for Sabahaddin as this boosted his personal image in front of even the right wing, who normally did not like to credit Sabahaddin. However it did make Boselli’s government unpopular in Italy and led to his downfall when the Italians lost the Battle of Capporetto. The outbreak of the February Revolution in Russia also saw initial panic, as many feared that the force commanded by Mustafa Kemal would be trapped in Ukraine. But in comparison to the Tsarist government which was now deposed, the new Russian Republic was far more reconciliatory with the Ottoman Empire and assured Sabahaddin that Kemal’s Corps would not be in any non-frontline danger. The new Russian government asked the Ottomans to coordinate with them for a general offensive as the Russians geared for the Kerensky Offensive. Sabahaddin who was hoping to deal with the irritant Kurdish rebels, and Idrisid rebels, reluctantly agreed. As 1.4 million Ottoman troops concentrated on the front, on 1 July 1917, timing their attack simultaneously with the Russians, the Ottomans launched a general offensive against the Bulgarians and Greeks (as well as the small contingents of Romanians, Austrians and Germans at the opposing frontlines).
In comparison to the Kerensky Offensive, the Thracian Offensive (1917) was comparatively more successful. Mehmed Muhtar Pasha drove the Bulgarians out of Corlu’s outskirts and pushed them back to Edirne whilst Wehib Pasha’s forces occupied Primorsko, only 35 kilometers away from Burgas. Mehmed Esad Pasha’s forces defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Xanthi and occupied Xanthi and Kavala. Though the stated goals of liberating Edirne and capturing Thessaloniki to avenge the withdrawal of the allied French and British in early 1916 and to capture Burgas did not materialize as the Bulgarians and Greeks held on doggedly, the Ottomans held on to their gains whilst the gains of the Kerensky Offensive were retaken by the Austrians and Romanians in quick succession.
One of the reasons why Sabahaddin is well remembered for his premiership conduct during the war is also related to his quick and seamless acceptance of women as breadwinners in the absence of men during World War I. Previously in the Ottoman Empire, women of Orthodox background were the only women involved in donating and contributing to any war effort. The consciousness of the majority Muslim women was lacking in this regard. But as education slowly spread even among the women, Muslim women organizations had long tried to contribute but had been hamstrung during the Balkan Wars when the Ottoman government had been suspicious about their motives. In July 1917, the Workshop Initiative called for impoverished and beleaguered women to work in Ottoman workshops working to assemble weapons and goods and prepare food for the troops. Workshops to make replacement clothing for the troops and nurses were also opened at Sabahaddin’s initiative. At Sabahaddin’s request, the British sent several trained doctors and nurses to teach willing Ottoman women to become nurses for the troops on the frontline. Sabahaddin’s Nurse Initiative 1917 led to female nurses becoming the norm in the Ottoman Empire as well, much like as it was in the rest of Europe. Previous to that, most Ottoman nurses had been male nurses and their absence due to their duties at the frontlines had hurt the Ottoman war effort. All of this eventually led to Sabahaddin establishing the Women’s Workshop for the War Front (Savas Cephesi Icin Kadin Atolyesi (SCIKA)).
As the Americans entered the conflict in 1917, it was clear to Sabahaddin that for the Ottomans to take advantage of said American entry into the conflict, he needed to deal with the Kurds, Idrisids, and Sauds first so that he could focus the Empire’s full attention on the Thracian Front. The Kurdish rebellion was this time brutally suppressed as unlike the last time, the Ottomans did not allow the Kurdish rebels to simply slink off into the mountains and captured and imprisoned all they could find. Similarly, the Ottoman 4th Army, combined with Sharif Hussein’s personal retinue marched into the Asir and by late 1917 had managed to reconquer the urban areas and the roads connecting them. Without the support of the Asir, Ibn Saud retreated back to Najd and stayed put, allowing the Ottomans to focus on Thrace once more. But in November 1917, the internal instability of Russia boiled over into a communist revolution. 50,000 Ottoman soldiers on the eastern front under the command of Mustafa Kemal were suddenly cut off from the rest of the world and now became a priority. The new Soviet government allowed Ottoman soldiers to evacuate from Ukraine in a similar manner to that of the Czechoslovak Legion but in Russia, tensions began to mount as Kemal urged Soviet chairmen to arrange his troop's transport to the Caucasus from where they could return to the Ottoman Empire.
With Ottoman troops strung out over the railways in Russia on the way to the Caucasus and the Bolsheviks brutally putting down a rebellion in Azerbaijan, tensions were mounting. Coinciding with the Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legions, the Ottoman Expeditionary Army in Russia (OEAR) revolted in what became known as the Revolt of Mustafa Kemal. Fighting erupted between the OEAR and Bolsheviks along the Volga-Caucasus Railway. Unlike the Czechoslovak Legions who would fight the Bolsheviks for years more, the Revolt of Mustafa Kemal was short, but just as audacious as his troops moved south and made it to Georgia. The support of Mustafa Kemal, who had taken independent autonomous command galvanized the Caucasian political elite to declare the independence of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from Russia. Soon after, Mustafa Kemal and his forces returned to Ottoman territory aided by the Georgians where they were welcomed as heroes for their heroics before joining the front in Thrace.
Mustafa Kemal Pasha checks his troops before the OEAR's revolts against Bolshevik Russia
With the arrival of the OEAR back into the normal Ottoman Armed Forces and with new reinforcements, the Ottoman high command was smelling blood in the water as they wanted a final blow to defeat the Greeks and Bulgarians. With 1.7 million Ottoman Troops and 200k allied Entente Troops along with them, on 2 July 1918, the Ottomans launched the Balkan Offensive 1918. Ottoman force of arms, alongside British and French naval and aerial support was too much to bear for the Greeks and Bulgarians, and the Ottomans broke through at multiple parts of the frontlines. Sabahaddin also ordered the attacks on the Greek islands to re-start and the Ottoman Navy bombarded Constanta. On 17 July, the Ottomans liberated Edirne after 2 years of occupation and Mehmed Esad defeated the Greek Army at the Battle of Thessaloniki, occupying Greek Macedonia, whilst the Serbian exile troops, under Ottoman command for the previous 3 years veered north in Serbian Macedonia and started to liberate village after village. Wehib Pasha entered Burgas on the 31st. Ottoman troops, aided by the British and French Navy managed to defeat the surprised Romanians and occupy Constanta as well. Realizing that the war had ended for all intents and purposes, Greece accepted defeat and first surrendered on 17 August 1918. Three weeks later, on 9 September 1918, Bulgaria surrendered as well. World War I came to an end for the Ottomans with the Bulgarian surrender. Romania remained nominally belligerent until 27 September 1918 as well before surrendering.
With 276,087 Ottoman soldiers having been martyred, the war had come to an end for the Ottomans. Two months later on 11 November 1918, the First World War came to an end entirely. Like other leaders of the Entente, Sabahaddin traveled to France to take part in the Paris Peace Conference. For the Ottomans, Sabahaddin had only one singular goal in mind. The territorial concessions promised by the Entente in 1915, the Greek islands of Imbros, Samothraki, Lesbos, Samos, and Chios, and the Bulgarian Aegean portion of Thrace alongside the return of Adakale to Ottoman rule. Similarly, Sabahaddin supported the independence of the Principality of Transylvania, which had reasserted its independence after 300 years after the political deadlock between Romania and Hungary, as both had been Central Power members. Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary had fled to Transylvania and had been proclaimed Prince of Transylvania. Sabahaddin regarded Transylvania as a reasonable block to both Hungarian and Romanian nationalists that they would be distracted with the region to do anything regarding everything else. The Treaty of Matelots (1919) secured Bulgarian Aegean Thrace, Imbros, Samothraki, Lesbos, Samos and Chios to the Ottoman Empire alongside bulky reparations from Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. The Ottomans would also continue to occupy Thessaloniki and Burgas until the end of 1919 and Ottoman troops alongside British and French would occupy Ploesti’s oil fields until 1922 when the new Romanian Republic stabilized itself. The Ottomans also regained Adakale as an exclave.
The Ottoman Empire after WW1
But while Sabahaddin had won the Ottomans the peace as well, he was ignoring the domestic political winds. Sabahaddin had supported Mehmed V in declaring Jihad against the Austrians, and now instead the Ottoman public was not happy to see Bosnia subsumed into Yugoslavia which the Ottoman public just believed to be a greater Serbia. Similarly, the Pomak and Turkish majority regions in Bulgaria had been left alone, angering the general public. Furthermore, due to war concerns, the funeral for Sultan Mehmed V’s death had been postponed angering the religious conservatives in the Empire. Sultan Mehmed VI’s formal coronation was still delayed as well. These actions coupled with Sabahaddin’s ignorance of the domestic political scene as a consequence of his handling of the war led to the former disparate Ottoman Right Wing starting to re-group. The CUP had been dissolved in 1916 after months of infighting after the disastrous 1915 General elections, and now religious conservatives and formerly moderate conservatives of the CUP rallied around a new banner.
Rafiq Bey Al-Azm had left the Ottoman Party for Administrative Decentralization after its demands were accepted. With Arab becoming a recognized language and the autonomy of the Sanjaks and Vilayets restored after the 1914 Ottoman Coup and its subsequent governments, the need for the party had been thrown out of the window. Instead, Al-Azm founded the Unity Party (Birlik Partisi/Hizb Alwahda/Komma Enonitas/Miasnut’yun Kusakts’ut’yun) as a direct successor to the CUP, but as a moderate conservative party that was founded on the principles of Islamic democracy, religious unity, conservatism, constitutional monarchism, Ottomanism, Ottoman Nationalism and ethnic unity. In essentiality, Al-Azm had shed the radical aspects of the CUP and rebranded a more moderate CUP into the new Unity Party. Al-Azm publically asked the acquisition of Pomak and Turkish lands in the Balkans and denounced Sabahaddin’s ignorance of the issue.
Sabahaddin continued to ignore the threat the new Unity Party was for his own party in the upcoming 1919 General Elections. Instead, as a sociologist at heart, Sabahaddin turned to new pet projects. Knowing that the Democratic Coalition was set to expire at the onset of the new elections, Sabahaddin wished to pass laws as fast as he could. Fashioned like the British education system, Sabahaddin passed the Ottoman Education Act (1919) which standardized and streamlined the Ottoman education system. The Ottoman University Grants Committee was also formed to allow the establishment of new universities in the Ottoman Empire for the creation of an educated literate and professional middle class. While the Ottoman Education Act (1919) was an important watershed moment for Ottoman educationalists, it meant Sabahaddin had thoroughly ignored the issue of demobilization. In May 1919, Ottoman troops mutinied, wishing to return home, and soon mutinies spread to Burgas and Thessaloniki. Hastily Sabahaddin started the process of demobilization, but the damage was done. Similarly, Sabahaddin also refused to participate in the campaigning season, leaving it to his party colleagues, believing they would do their jobs properly. Furthermore, the update to the suffrage laws after World War I saw the reduction of the voting age from 20 to 18, and fervent nationalistic 18 and 19-year-olds at the time did not agree with Sabahaddin’s liberal ideas either.
Despite warnings from many sources, the 1919 Ottoman General Elections saw the Freedom and Accord Party lose their majority and the new Unity Party become the largest political party in the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies as the Ottoman right wing made a political comeback as a result of the aftermath of the First World War. Sabahaddin blamed his electoral loss on his colleagues inside the Freedom and Accord Party and was reportedly miserable at the loss, having previously believed that his heroic handling of the Ottoman war effort would see him win the election. Nevertheless, unwilling to flout the burgeoning democracy of the Ottoman Empire in the Third Constitutional Era, Sabahaddin respected the results of the elections and allowed Sultan Mehmed VI to call Al-Azm to become the fourth Arab Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire on 6 July 1919.
Today, Sabahhadin’s legacy is mixed. It cannot be denied that he led the Ottomans through World War I efficiently. His handling of the home front during World War I was legendary in its efforts and its success cannot be denied. Similarly, the Ottoman Education Act (1919) revolutionized Ottoman education and allowed the Empire to grow its professionals and intellectuals domestically without having to rely on its citizens to gain a foreign education for domestic professional opinions. His University Grant from the Ottoman University Grants Committee oversaw the construction of Gallipoli Institute of Technology (GIT), Damascus University of Economics (DUE), Baghdad Institute of the Social Sciences (BISS), and Smyrna State University (SSU), all of which rank in the top 75 universities to study in the entire world today. The Ottoman University Grants Committee also continues to oversee academic grants to academics throughout the Ottoman Empire and the Ottoman Association of Suzerain Nations allowing millions of academics to conduct their research and work without the constraints of finances making the Ottoman Empire one of the destinations for academics worldwide. But his ignorance of the demobilization process as well as his willful ignorance of domestic political shifts make his legacy muddled. In the end, most Ottoman historians believe the man to be a great man, but one who had been blessed/cursed with a one-track mind that eventually led to his premiership ending prematurely in 1919. Nevertheless, he is ranked among one of the best Ottoman Grand Viziers in the Third Constitutional Era.
