hisownheadquartersandthewell-beingofhisownfatherland.Theyuseupourarmywith-
outmercy,devastateourcountryandleave.[...][ToEnverPasha:]NowIamtellingopen-
heartedlythattheGermanswanttodragyouintoadventuresfortheirownbenefit[kendi
hesaplarına][...]NoweventheHolyWarwasdeclared.Nowyouhavetochoosenotonly
theheadoftheGeneralstaff,butalsothedirectorsofthe[ministry’s]departments
amongtheTurks.Today’sstateofaffairsnotonlybadlyeffectsthearmybutalsothepeople
[halk].”⁵⁰TheargumentationherewassimilartoMustafaKemal’sstatementin 1923 ,in-
cludingtheclaimthattheGermancommandersusedtheOttomansasatool.
IntheviewofKarabekir,EnverwasatoyinthehandsoftheGermans.⁵¹Sabis
feltthattheGermans“useduslikeaservant[uşak].”⁵²ForKarabekir,theOtto-
manleadershiphadsurrenderedtotheally,abidingbythecontractforthemili-
tarymissionthathadbeensignedbytheformerGrandVezirMahmudŞevketin
1913 .Karabekircouldnothidehisdisappointmentoverthereluctanceofhissu-
perior,EnverPasha,tolimitthepoweroftheGermansinthisearlystageofthe
war.Karabekiralsoexpressed(likeAliİhsanSabis)hisprofounddismayofEn-
ver’sadmirationforNapoleon.⁵³Enverevenkeptsecretsfromhisownstaffand
followedhisTuranistdreamsofconquestwhichwereunrealisticduetothepoor
stateoftheOttomanarmy.Inaddition,theGermanstaffofficershadnoclue
aboutthemilitaryandsocialrealitiesintheOttomanstate,aworryingdevelop-
mentsincetheyhadthepowertomakedecisionsnow.⁵⁴Eventhoughtheywere
pro-German,inSeptember 191 4SabisandKarabekirwerenotconvincedthatthe
GermanarmywouldwinintheWest:“WebelievedintheGermanmilitary
strength.TheGermanarmywasthestrongestoneinEurope,however,Ihad
doubtswhetherFrancewouldbedefeatedwithinsixweeks.”⁵⁵
Underthoseconditions,enteringthewaralongsidetheCentralPowerswas
notpromisingatall.Karabekirneededtogetusedtothepeculiaritiesofsomeof
theGermanstaffofficers.Karabekirhadtheutmostunderstandingforuseful
KâzımKarabekir,CihanHarbineNedenGirdik,NasılGirdik,NasılİdareEttik,vol.2:CihanHar-
bineNasılGirdik?[WhyandHowdidweentertheWorldWar,Howdidwehandleit,vol.2:How
didweentertheWar?](Istanbul:TecelliBasımevi, 19 37), 18 2, 27 4, 27 7.
Karabekir,CihanHarbineNedenGirdik, 47 0.
AliİhsanSabis,HarbHatıralarım.Vol.1:BirinciDünyaHarbindenEvvelkiHadiseler:Harbin
ZuhuruveSeferberlikİlânı;HarbeNasılSürüklendik?[MyWarMemoirs.Vol.1:Incidentsbeforethe
War:TheAppearanceofWarandMobilisation.HowdidwegetinvolvedintheWar?]2nd.ed.
(Istanbul:TanMatbaası,1 94 3),58.
Karabekir,CihanHarbineNedenGirdik, 27 1;Sabis,HarbHatıralarım,vol.1, 66.
Karabekir,CihanHarbineNedenGirdik, 287 – 28 8, 309 – 310.
Sabis,HarbHatıralarım,vol.1, 46 .KarabekirwasalsonotpersuadedbyBronsart’sconfi-
denceinvictory;Karabekir.CihanHarbineNasılGirdik,348.
172 4German-TurkishMilitaryCooperationafter 1918