The Effects of German Military Commission and Balkan Wars on the Reorganization and Modernization of the Ottoman Army
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2013-12 The effects of German Military Commission and Balkan wars on the reorganization and modernization of the Ottoman Army Topal, Ali E. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/39026 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS THE EFFECTS OF GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION AND BALKAN WARS ON THE REORGANIZATION AND MODERNIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY by Ali E. Topal December 2013 Thesis Advisor: Victoria Clement Second Reader: Daniel Moran Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202–4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704–0188) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2013 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS THE EFFECTS OF GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION AND BALKAN WARS ON THE REORGANIZATION AND MODERNIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY 6. AUTHOR(S) Ali E. Topal 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943–5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis investigates the consequences of the Ottoman Army reform initiatives from the establishment of German Military Commission (1882–1918) to the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918). The Ottoman Army undertook huge change, supported by the German Military Commission, for the survival of the Empire. During this period, the results of the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) provided a critical impetus to accomplish these reforms efforts. The effects of the German Military Commission and Balkan Wars on the Ottoman Army have not been studied by scholars in detail. Furthermore, most of the literature about this period only focuses on the Balkan Wars and German Military Commission separately; however, it is crucial to consider these subjects together to evaluate the effectiveness of the reform initiatives correctly. This thesis research uses a historical study approach to attempt to fill this lacuna. Generally speaking, this examination of the German Military Commission and Balkan Wars will provide a broader view on military reforms between 1882 and 1914. Although these initiatives were not enough to improve the Ottoman Army because of wars (Balkan Wars and World War I) and Ottoman financial problems, this period was the watershed for the Ottoman Army in terms of military renaissance. 14. SUBJECT TERMS German Military Commission, Balkan Wars, Reorganization, Modernization, 15. NUMBER OF Ottoman Army, Ottoman officer corps, Abdulhamid II, Enver Pasha, Colmar von der Goltz, Mustafa PAGES Kemal Ataturk, Liman von der Sanders. 123 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540–01–280–5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2–89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239–18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THE EFFECTS OF GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION AND BALKAN WARS ON THE REORGANIZATION AND MODERNIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY Ali E. Topal First Lieutenant, Turkish Army B.S., Turkish Military Academy, 2005 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (DEFENSE DECISION MAKING AND PLANNING) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 2013 Author: Ali E. Topal Approved by: Victoria Clement Thesis Advisor Daniel Moran Second Reader Mohammed Hafez Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the consequences of the Ottoman Army reform initiatives from the establishment of German Military Commission (1882–1918) to the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918). The Ottoman Army undertook huge change, supported by the German Military Commission, for the survival of the Empire. During this period, the results of the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) provided a critical impetus to accomplish these reforms efforts. The effects of the German Military Commission and Balkan Wars on the Ottoman Army have not been studied by scholars in detail. Furthermore, most of the literature about this period only focuses on the Balkan Wars and German Military Commission separately; however, it is crucial to consider these subjects together to evaluate the effectiveness of the reform initiatives correctly. This thesis research uses a historical study approach to attempt to fill this lacuna. Generally speaking, this examination of the German Military Commission and Balkan Wars will provide a broader view on military reforms between 1882 and 1914. Although these initiatives were not enough to improve the Ottoman Army because of wars (Balkan Wars and World War I) and Ottoman financial problems, this period was the watershed for the Ottoman Army in terms of military renaissance. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 II. THE ORIGIN OF THE GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION AND ITS EARLY EFFORTS ......................................................................................................5 A. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................5 B. THE ROOTS OF GERMAN INFLUENCE IN THE OTTOMAN ARMY ...............................................................................................................6 C. THE OTTOMAN RUSSIAN WAR, 1877–78 ................................................8 D. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION ..............................................................................................11 E. THE REORGANIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY, 1886–97 .......14 F. THE REARMAMENT PROCESS OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY ...........18 G. GERMAN ECONOMIC PENETRATION: THE BAGHDAD RAILROAD ....................................................................................................22 H. THE DEVELOPMENTS IN MILITARY EDUCATION ..........................24 I. THE INCREASING MILITARY EXPENDITURES ................................28 J. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................29 III. THE EFFECT OF THE GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION IN THE REORGANIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY IN 1910 ..............................33 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................33 B. THE JAPANESE ARMY AS A ROLE MODEL .......................................34 C. THE CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION OF 1908................................39 D. THE COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING: 31 MARCH INCIDENT......................................................................................................41 E. THE POLITICIZATION PROBLEM IN THE OTTOMAN ARMY ......42 F. THE CONSCRIPTION PROBLEM IN THE OTTOMAN ARMY .........45 G. THE OTTOMAN GENERAL STAFF AND ITS STAFF OFFICERS ....47 H. MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING ............................................49 I. WAR PLANNING AND MANEUVERS .....................................................52 J. THE REORGANIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY IN 1910 ........54 K. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................58 IV. THE EFFECT OF BALKAN WARS IN THE REORGANIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY..........................................................................................63 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................63 B. THE BALKAN WARS, 1912–13 ..................................................................64 C. THE MAJOR REASONS FOR THE DEFEAT IN THE BALKAN WARS..............................................................................................................69 D. THE INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL CLIMATE IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ...................................................................................73 E. THE REORGANIZATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMY, 1913–14 .......75 F. THE GERMAN MILITARY COMMISSION IN 1913 .............................81 vii