Mr Mehmet Ali goes to Constantinople – A Middle East TL

[Nassirisimo]

Prologue - The Battle of Artemisio

We were about a month’s march from the place where we landed when we had nearly arrived at the valley of Tripolis, where the Greek rebels had been camping. We were a secret force dispatched by Ibrahim Pasha to prevent the Greek army from escaping to the North. We were to take a defensive position near the village of Artemisio to cut off their escape route through the narrow valley we were walking through now. However, in war, almost nothing goes to plan, and the same was true for this manoeuvre. We were but a half-hours march from the village, when suddenly, we heard gunshots, and a few of us fell. Immediately, we started to panic, and some even started running away. With the next volley from our seemingly invisible foe, we found their position. They had been hiding in a forest on a hillside. Our officers gave the order to fire, and we did.

Due to their cover, we had no idea how many of them we actually killed with that volley, but we had succeeded in getting them to run out of their hiding place deep within the forest, and it was at that point the seeming hopelessness of our situation dawned on us. About 3000 Greeks, three times our number, charged at us. We heard no orders, and as I glanced to my side, I discovered why, as I saw the body of our officer lying lifeless on the ground. With the enemy charging, I took the initiative, screamed to the men to hold the line and reload, and when the enemy was but 30 meters from us, I shouted “FIRE!” as loud as my voice would allow me. Quite a number of the Greeks in front of us fell, which actually stopped their advance. Our men attached our bayonets to our guns, and charged straight into the Greeks.

The melee, which was my first ever battle, was almost intoxicating. All around me, I could hear the screams of soldiers being wounded, saw them in life or death struggles with each other, and felt the warmth of their blood on my face. A large Greek came charging at me, with his sword held over his head. Quickly, I tried to pull my bayonet out of another Greeks body to face him, but it was stuck. Just as he had reached me, I had managed to pull it out, which had made me lose my balance, and had made the Greek’s blade miss me. He swung for me again, but I had managed to parry the blow, which had momentarily knocked him off balance. I used my advantage to drive my bayonet home into his guts.

After a few minutes more, our force had managed to send the Greeks running back up their hill leaving perhaps 1000 of their men behind, dead and wounded. Our own losses had been quite severe, and a third of our men were lying dead or wounded on the battlefield. That night, the leader of our small force, an old Turk by the name of Ahmet, called me to him. He asked me questions about what I did in the battle, but I suspected he knew the answers to many of these questions already. Staring me in the eyes, he asked “So I heard you saved our left flank, eh? I admire someone who can think on his feet”. When he had finished, he bestowed upon me the rank of Miralay.

Whatever personal triumphs may have come out of that day, the overall plan of Ibrahim Pasha had been severely disrupted. The Greeks were now alerted to our presence in the north, and if beaten now, would probably try another escape route, one which was not known to us and continue their guerrilla campaign against us. And thus, Ibrahim’s plan to destroy the Greek rebellion in one swift blow was foiled before his main force had even fought them.


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So yes, incase anyone is not aware, this is a re-boot of my previous timeline, Death of the Sick man. I decided to re-boot it for a number of reasons, mainly that I wanted to incorporate different styles of writing from day one, and I wanted to keep the focus primarily on the Middle East, as I felt the previous version was focusing too much on European history. Comments/Criticisms/Death Threats are all welcomed. Exept for maybe the last one.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

I approve of this prologue. Very amazing. I liked how you successfully implemented first person perspective. I'm guessing this is told from the POV of a veteran of Ibrahim Pasha's campaign in crushing the Greeks.

Anyways I hope for more.

 

[Ridwan Asher]

This Prologue deserves 5 glasses of Cyber Chendols. Enjoy !!

 

[SavoyTruffle]

Pray continue. Balance out the narrative bits with third-person storytelling material.

 

[Nassirisimo]

The Greek Campaign Of Ibrahim Pasha

Mahmud II, the Ottoman sultan at the time of the Greek rebellion had already requested the help of his troublesome Vassal, Mehmet Ali Pasha once in the Greek rebellion. His troubles in suppressing the rebels in the Peloponnese forced him to request his help once again, in return for control over the Peloponnese itself, as well as Syria. Mehmet sent his son Ibrahim to deal with the Greeks. Ibrahim and his army landed near the village of Zacharo on the 24th of February 1825. His strategy for crushing the Rebellion was to take rebel held towns in order to supress the Guerrilla fighters. This was slowly starting to destroy the Rebellion’s support amongst the populace, so the Greek leadership decided to challenge Ibrahim Pasha in a pitched battle near Tripolis.

Ibrahim saw this as an opportunity to quickly and easily destroy the rebels. He marched his army to Tripolis, but had also sent a smaller detachment to cut of the escape of the rebels to the north, but this detachment was discovered and was ambushed by the Greeks, though the ambush failed. Even though the Greeks were surrounded by Ibrahim’s army, they still decided to fight, hoping that their superior numbers and knowledge of the local terrain would pay off. However the quality of Ibrahim’s army was proved in this battle, as his artillery ripped the Greek formations to pieces, and Ibrahim’s infantry quickly managed to mop up those who didn’t already run away. The Greek forces, which outnumber Ibrahim’s army nearly 2 to 1, had been swept from the field in about 3 hours, which had surprised even Ibrahim.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Greeks managed to escape through the mountains that surrounded Tripolis, into the town of Megalopoli. However, Ibrahim’s army managed to follow them surprisingly fast, and reached the town only a few days after the Greek army. The subsequent battle was another victory for Ibrahim. Mahmud II was increasingly becoming wary of the success of Mehmet Ali and his son, who together had almost become as powerful as the Sultan himself. Ibrahim’s speedy crushing of the Greek rebels was another blow to Mahmud, as instead of having to deal with a force limping from a hard war, he was faced with an efficient force that had sky high morale after its string of victories. Despite this, Mahmud had spent nearly his entire reign dealing with political crises, and many were confident that he had the skill to overcome this one, severe as it was.

However, he also faced diplomatic problems in Europe. The Europeans had ignored the fact that it was his vassals who had mainly supressed the Greek rebellion, and held Mahmud’s government directly responsible for the “Greek atrocities”. Although there had been some violence towards civilians, the scale and brutality of it had been grossly exaggerated by those sympathetic to the Greek cause in England and France, as well as by those with Orthodox sympathies in Russia. Nevertheless, there were significant tensions between the Ottomans and the great powers, and it would be a problem for Mahmud in the future. Russia had moved troops towards Ottoman borders in 1827 in an attempt to threaten the Ottomans, but the Ottomans offered economic concessions in the Danubian principalities.


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Well, sorry about the length of time it took me to finally upload this update, but God willing, the next one will be faster. As always, comments/criticisms are welcomed.

 

[EvolvedSaurian]

Mmm, very nice...

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

The wait was very much worth it now that I've read this.

 

[Nassirisimo]

From Crisis to Crisis

The Ottoman sultan Mahmud II "The Unfortunate"


After the defeat of the Greek rebels in 1825, Mahmud had to deal with the division of the spoils of victory. He had promised Mehmet Ali Syria and The Peloponnese in return for his help in Greece, but he was unwilling to part with either. In the spring of 1826, he invited Mehmet to Constantinople to discuss a settlement, and the two men came to an agreement. Mehmet himself would only gain the Sanjak of Jerusalem, leaving the majority of Syria still in Ottoman hands, while his son Ibrahim would get the Peloponnese as his own possession. Mahmud had given the son separate possessions from his father in an attempt to divide the two, but as time went on, it became apparent that they governed their territories more or less together, and what may have been a lifesaving gambit on Mahmud’s end turned out to be ineffectual.

Further bad news for Mahmud came when it appeared that Mehmet still entertained designs on the rest of Syria. He tried to gain support from European nations against Mehmet, but many were unwilling to help the man who had supressed the Greek rebellion with such apparently brutality (Stories of Ottoman atrocities had been spread in Europe, particularly in Britain and France, but modern historians now think that the scale of these may have been grossly exaggerated). Despite the fact that it was Mehmet’s troops that had done most of the suppression, he escaped blame in the Britain, and was still actually supported by many circles in France.

Mehmet was not the only problem that Mahmud faced. The Ottoman state was weighed down by the Janissaries, who in the past had been the crack soldiers of the empire, but were now a drain on the finances and mostly useless for actual combat. In the event that Mahmud actually came to blows with his rebellious vassal, they would be at best a distraction and at worst, a threat. He came with a unique solution to the Janissary problem. He announced both the creation of a new main army, and severe pay cuts to the Janissaries, hoping that this would provoke them into open revolt. It worked, and being prepared, he crushed most of them within a month. Although it caused some tensions amongst more conservative circles in society, reformers (at this time, only a small group of elites) hailed Mahmud’s destruction of the Janissary corps as a removal of a major block to reform.

Mahmud now had to set his pieces in place for the destruction of his rebellious vassal in Egypt, Mehmet Ali and his son, Ibrahim. He knew he would have to do something quick, as Ali’s increasing revenues were enabling him to further increase the size of his armies. Mahmud had a plan, however. He wanted to appear as a saviour from Mehmet’s heavy handed rule, which was not appreciated by the peasants of Egypt (his conscription policy for the army and public works was particularly unpopular, and peasants would often mutilate themselves or run away to escape the recruiters). However, that idea would only work if Mahmud could actually get his troops into Egypt, which looked difficult with 60,000 of Mehmet’s battle hardened troops in Palestine opposing him. Mahmud also had to consider what Ibrahim in Greece would do if he attacked his father. He would need to split his forces, which would be difficult as he needed all the men he could get in Syria.

Another factor Mahmud had to take into account were the Russians, who were looming to his north, and still were angry at the Ottomans for fighting fellow Orthodox Christians in Greece. Mahmud knew that Austria was opposed to any Russian expansion, and sent his grand Vizir, Mehmet Selim Pasha, to (successfully) negotiate a defensive alliance with the Austrians against Russia. Now with his northern flank defended, he felt in a strong enough position to finally deal with Mehmet Ali. Although his troops outnumbered the forces of Mehmet Ali in both Syria and Greece, Mehmet’s troops were more experienced, and Mahmud’s army was still relatively new, inexperienced as well as having a number of organisational problems.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

I see Mahmud is setting his own demise. I liked the update. I really can't wait until you cover the war between Mehmet and Mahmud.

 

[Sadr-ı Azam]

If "Sultan Mahmud II Khan" did not abolished Janissary Corp and made alliance with Tepedelenli Ali Pasha against the Mehmed Ali Pasha.He will be re-take the Egypt.

 

[Nassirisimo]

If "Sultan Mahmud II Khan" did not abolished Janissary Corp and made alliance with Tepedelenli Ali Pasha against the Mehmed Ali Pasha.He will be re-take the Egypt.

Problem is, he died before the POD (Mahmud made it his highest priority to defeat him). Also, the Janissaries were in no fighting condition. Although there were hundreds of thousands of them on the payrolls, few of them ever turned up for military service.

 

[Sadr-ı Azam]

Problem is, he died before the POD (Mahmud made it his highest priority to defeat him). Also, the Janissaries were in no fighting condition. Although there were hundreds of thousands of them on the payrolls, few of them ever turned up for military service.

I think experienced Janissaries fight better than newly created Asakir i Nizamiye.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

I'm a bit curious. This is a rather insignificant issue but Bartholdi, the sculptor behind the Statue of Liberty, approached Ismail Pasha, the son of Ibrahim Pasha and the Khedive of Egypt, with a plan to construct a giant lighthouse in the form of an ancient Egyptian female peasant, robed and holding a torch aloft, at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal in Port Said. It was never constructed though sketches and models were made of the proposed work.

It would be nice as a public works project for Port Said as in OTL for TTL or maybe as a lighthouse for Aghayid Constantinople?

 

[Sadr-ı Azam]

I'm a bit curious. This is a rather insignificant issue but Bartholdi, the sculptor behind the Statue of Liberty, approached Ismail Pasha, the son of Ibrahim Pasha and the Khedive of Egypt, with a plan to construct a giant lighthouse in the form of an ancient Egyptian female peasant, robed and holding a torch aloft, at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal in Port Said. It was never constructed though sketches and models were made of the proposed work.

It would be nice as a public works project for Port Said as in OTL for TTL or maybe as a lighthouse for Aghayid Constantinople?

This is cool "Aghayid Constantinople".Janissary Corps seizes Ottoman Empire completely.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

This is cool "Aghayid Constantinople".Janissary Corps seizes Ottoman Empire completely.

What are you talking about? The Janissary Corps are gone.

 

[Nassirisimo]

What are you talking about? The Janissary Corps are gone.

And as I pointed out before, the Janissaries of the 19th century wern't exactly the elite battle winning force of earlier centuries. The Ottoman empires military would pretty much suck if they were kept as the backbone.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

And as I pointed out before, the Janissaries of the 19th century wern't exactly the elite battle winning force of earlier centuries. The Ottoman empires military would pretty much suck if they were kept as the backbone.

Would some of the remaining Janissaries that weren't captured or killed flee to Egypt and the Morea for refuge?

 

[Nassirisimo]

Mehmet's Triumph

The arid center of Anatolia, where Mahmud II fled after his defeats


After the defeat of the Greek rebellion Mehmet Ali had gained the Sanjak (Province) of Jerusalem and the Morea in return for his efforts, but he was still hungry for more territory. He and the Ottoman sultan, Mahmud II, had played the diplomatic game of shoring up support in Europe and at home for the war, and both had rather grand aims for the coming war. Mahmud wanted to take all the territories of Mehmet Ali back into the Ottoman Empire, while Mehmet aimed to found a new empire in on the ruins of the Ottoman one. One of the most effective actions Mehmet took was to slander the Ottomans in Western Europe, sending envoys to tell various politicians about the “Greek atrocities” and explaining how the Ottoman Empire was almost certainly doomed to fall (Though Mehmet knew that the Ottoman Empire was growing in strength, and thus was determined to act as quickly as possible). The biggest obstacle however would likely come not from Britain, but from the Russians, who were in no mood to have the Ottomans replaced with a potentially stronger regime that could block their hoped for expansion in the Middle East. Mehmet solved this by sending an envoy to negotiate with Russia in secret in order to make them more accepting of a regime change, promising Silistra and the Danubian principalities in the event of a total Egyptian victory. Mahmud, meanwhile, hedged his bets on his numerically superior army, and the possibility of European intervention to preserve his throne, as he had assumed the Mehmet would try to attack sooner rather than later.

The war itself began on the 25th of February 1831, when Mehmet rejected a request from Mahmud to allow him to leave a garrison in Jerusalem. By the 10th of March, both Mehmet’s Greek army and his main army had both marched into Ottoman territory. Mahmud II himself accompanied the imperial force that was heading towards the Greek army lead by Ibrahim Pasha, though most command decisions were left to Abdul-Kerim Pasha, an Ottoman General. The Southern army facing Mehmet himself in the south was commanded by Reshid Mehmet Pasha.

In some initial skirmishes in Thessaly, the Ottomans preformed quite well, killing a few hundred Egyptian soldiers. However, this buoyed the confidence of the Ottoman army too far, and when Ibrahim set his army up in a seemingly poor position, on a plain near Larissa, Abdul-Kerim and Mahmud attacked. In the resulting battle, the Egyptians showed that the backbone of their army was their artillery, which tore up attacking Ottoman formations as easily as it had done with the Greeks over half a decade earlier. To prevent a bad day from getting worse Abdul-Kerim called back his troops, with the intention to go back to skirmishing once he had escaped the Egyptian forces. Unfortunately for him, he had no such luck, and the Egyptian infantry counter attacked and followed his retreating troops back to his camp. By the end of the day, Abdul-Kerim and Mahmud had escaped with barely 20,000 men left, leaving 50,000 dead, wounded or captured on the fields near Larissa.

The Ottoman army in Syria fared little better. An initial battle was rather inconclusive, but the army mostly was demoralised after Damascus was taken, and was beaten quite easily by Mehmet Ali near mount Lebanon. There were now too few Ottoman troops to oppose Mehmet Ali’s army. The Ottoman navy mostly defected to Mehmet after hearing about the disaster for the Ottomans, and Mahmud was beginning to lose the confidence of the ruling classes, but as long as he still had 20,000 veteran soldiers, they would stay loyal in at least action, if not in spirit. Mehmet’s army encountered little resistance in Syria and Anatolia, though Ibrahim’s was constantly harried in its journey through Greece and Roumelia. It arrived in Adrianople on the 16th of May 1831, when his father’s army was in Konya. Instead of waiting for his father to arrive at Üsküdar, Ibrahim quickly pushed towards Konstantiniyye.

After two weeks of marching, he had arrived outside the Walls of Konstantiniyye, where he was greeted with the news that Mahmud had already took the remains of his army into Anatolia, leaving his eight year old son on the throne. However, the fate of the Ottoman dynasty would not be decided until Mehmet Ali arrived in Konstantiniyye, which would take a while, as Mahmud was trying to raise a new army in Anatolia, and with around 40,000 men following him, he could hardly considered to be a totally defeated force just yet. Mehmet decided to leave the bulk of his army in Anatolia under the command of Suleiman Pasha, another Albanian, so he could meet up with Ibrahim. He arrived in Konstantiniyye in June, though his post victory plans for the fate of the Ottomans had to be postponed when disastrous news arrived from Anatolia. Near the city of Afyon, his army had been severely mauled by Mahmud’s forces.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

I do wonder what will Mehmet Ali Pasha do to the eight year old son of Sultan Mahmud? I don't think he'll kill him but that's up to you Nassir. I'm guessing there's a possibility of Mehmet controlling him as a puppet while he runs things from the side as Grand Vizier and then when he has concentrated enough power in his hands that he won't need the Sultan, he can overthrow him.

Either way, good update.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

Bumped. You plan on updating this?