Ottoman Empire Partitioned

POD is 1915, where Mustafa Kemal is killed at the Battle of Gallipoli. Although the battle is still a victory for the Ottoman Empire, with Ataturk dead there is no leader to lead the new Turkey against the Treaty of Sèvres. Thus Turkey is swallowed by the victors of World War 1.

My question is how would this affect the way the world develops? Do we still get Mussolini taking power in Italy? Will we see German Panzers driving into Iraq and Syria through Italian Turkey? Will we still have the modern, western, secular Turkey we have today?
 
Somebody will take Kemal's role in the upcoming Turkish War of independence. Kemal wasn't actually the best candidate for freeing Turkey anyway... Not that I'm saying that he's bad, it's just there was many other talented people as him or even more that time.
 

Rockingham

Banned
Just wait until Abdul sees this thread... :cool:

My guess.... if it somehow happens, and WW2 and Hitler aren't butterflied away, then the Turks join the Axis....
 
The one comment I have to make is Wilson not going for such large sections being given to European control. At the very least a mandate of sorts would be mapped out for the areas.
 
At the risk of claiming nations just exist, it seems likely that a 'Turkish nation' would emerge from WW1 and having emerged it seems likely they would overturn this settlement. Someone would have stepped up.

They can defeat the Greeks.
The rest of the Europeans don't want to fight a major war over it and you might argue they would be on a hiding to nothing if they tried for a more acceptable 'colonial' level of war.

I suppose a run of bad luck (lots of untimely deaths for example) could throw a spanner in the works, but such a carve up looks very artifical and the nations in question, with the exception of Greece, don't have the motivation to rigorously enforce it.
 

Keenir

Banned
POD is 1915, where Mustafa Kemal is killed at the Battle of Gallipoli. Although the battle is still a victory for the Ottoman Empire, with Ataturk dead there is no leader to lead the new Turkey against the Treaty of Sèvres. Thus Turkey is swallowed by the victors of World War 1.

interesting version of Sevres...how did you talk the Russians out of the north coast & the Greeks out of the southern coast?
 
interesting version of Sevres...how did you talk the Russians out of the north coast & the Greeks out of the southern coast?

It's no version, it's the official plan. (Except that, like a lot of maps, it ignores the area "reserved" for Georgia.) The Russians aren't there because of a little known event known as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
 
It's no version, it's the official plan. (Except that, like a lot of maps, it ignores the area "reserved" for Georgia.) The Russians aren't there because of a little known event known as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Dr PH

Not too different to a TL I've played about with, apart from that having a better organised Gallipoli and diplomacy. The latter means that Bulgaria is lured into the war on the allied side. As such after the Russian collapse into civil war Bulgaria controls the straits. [Not something the Greeks are happy about but since both of them and the Italians are very busy fighting the Turkish rebels there not in a position to object too much.

Just to clarify in my TL, initially the early defeat means a moderate settlement with the Ottomans. However once the Sultan is overthrown by rebels in spring 1917 it re-opens the war in Anatolia resulting in a bitter conflict that finally ends in borders like in your map by about 1923, partly dictated by mutual exhaustion amongst the combatants.

I think something like the Treaty of Sèvres would be possible if the allied powers are less exhausted and possibly more anger about Turkish massacres. Possibly a couple of terrorists attacks blamed on the Turkish nationalists which also cause anger. Also maybe a quicker resolution for the Russian revolution, with a victory by moderates, or avoiding it altogether. That would give support for an Armenian state which distracts the Turks in the eastern region and also means the allies are not as distracted by the Communists. You would probably see an even bloodier conflict than the historical one but its definitely possible.

Steve
 
Top