The \'German Spirit\' in the Ottoman and Turkish Army, 1908-1938. A History of Military Knowledge Transfer - Gerhard Grüßhaber

wasinasimilargeographicalpositionandhadalreadyoncefacedatwo-front
warin 1877 /78.FortheOttomanofficercorps,thesimilaritiesoftheirmilitarysit-
uationwiththeGermancasewereevident.However,theOttomanswerenoten-
tirelycorrectintheirassumptions.TheGermanwarfarewasbasedonawellde-
velopedroadandrailwaynetworkandplannedoperationsduetotheCentral
EuropeanmoderateclimateformedthebasisoftheGermangrandstrategy.⁶
ThelackofthisprerequisitebecameevidentintheOttomantheatersofwarbe-
tween 1912 and1918.
ButwhydidtheOttomansideprefertheʻGermanwayofwar’andleaveaside
theFrenchmodelthathadservedasthemainsourceofinspirationsincethe
18thcentury?TheGermancasewashighlyattractivetomostoftheOttomanmili-
taryleadership.ThiswasespeciallyvalidfortheworkofthePrussianGeneral
Staff.Theapplicationoflessonsfrompastcampaigns

“madePrussianreactiontotheexperienceofwarsomuchmorerapid,rational,andthor-

oughthananythingotherEuropeanarmiesweretoachieve.[...]By1 871 ,therefore,thePrus-

sianshadtwicedemonstratedhowtowinawaragainstagreatpowerinjigtime.Ithad

takenthemjustthreeweekstodefeattheAustriansandonlysixweekstocaptureNapoleon

III.ItwasimpossiblenottoprefersuchamodeltothebumblingagonyoftheAmerican

CivilWarortheyear-longstandstillatSevastopol.Prussianmilitaryprestigerocketedac-

cordingly.”⁷

Besidesitsoperationalappeal,theGermanmilitaryplayedapoliticalroleinthe
society.Whatdoesthereforeraisethequestionofwhatkindofmilitarysystem
theGermansidewantedtoconveytotheOttomanlands,andinhowfartheGer-
manophilepartsoftheOttomanofficercorpswillinglyappropriatedthem.The
emphasisofthemilitaryclasswithintheGermansocietywasnothingtobeover-
seeneasilyanditwasalsothetargetofconsiderablenationalcriticism.Some
featuresofWilhelmineGermany’smilitarycouldalsobedetectedintheOttoman
andlaterTurkisharmedforces:

“[T]hearmyhadbecomeastatewithinthestate,claimingtherighttodefinewhatwas,or

wasnot,tothenationalinterestandtodispensewiththosewhodidnotagreewiththedef-

inition[...],claimedimmunitytothelawthatgovernedtherestofthenationand[...]asig-

nificantpartoftheofficercorpslookeduponciviliansocietywithamixtureofcontempt

Citino,TheGermanWayofWar,2 005 ,XV.
WilliamHardyMcNeill,ThePursuitofPower:Technology,ArmedForce,andSocietysinceA.D.
1000 (Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress, 198 2),2 52 – 25 3.

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