goingtoFrancefornotbeingthe“mosttalented”ones.IntheOttomanarmyof
thefutureitwouldbe“aquitedifferentrecommendationtoknowtheGerman
fieldregulationsandtheGermanlanguageasreturningtoOttoman service
withpreviouslyaccumulatedknowledgeoftheFrenchlanguage.”¹⁶⁶
AlreadyundertheruleofSultanAbdülhamidII,FrenchGendarmeriein-
structorshaddominatedinthereformoftheOttomanJandarmatroopsinMac-
edonia.ThisprojectcontinuedintheSecondConstitutionalPeriod.¹⁶⁷Duringthe
openingcampaignoftheFirstBalkanWar,theOttomansupremecommander,
GeneralNazım,hadfollowedtheFrenchmodeloftheforcedoffensive,which
hehadacquiredduringhisstudiesinSt.Cyr,theFrenchwaracademy.¹⁶⁸
TheGermanarmycarefullymonitoreditssphereofinfluenceintheOttoman
army.ThefearofgrowingFrenchinfluencewasevidentintheevaluationofthe
invitationofOttomanofficerstothe 1910 maneuversinFrance.Militaryattaché
Strempel confessedthatthe Ottomansfavored partsof theFrenchmilitary
knowledgeas“theTurkishcavalrywouldn’tfindabetterrolemodelthanthe
Frenchlightcavalry”andwouldbenefitfromtheFrenchlanguage,whichwas
muchmorecommonamongOttomanofficers.¹⁶⁹Therewerealsoattemptsin
theOttomanmilitarypresstopromotetheFrenchmilitarysystem¹⁷⁰andthe
FrenchmilitaryattachéintheOttomancapitalcriticallymonitoredtheactivities
oftheGermanmilitaryinstructors.¹⁷¹ThusGermandiplomatsrefrainedfromacts
thatcouldbeinterpretedasprovocative.WhentheGermaninstructorSchlichting
waskilledin1911,theGermanstatepaidhiswidow’spension.TheIstanbulem-
bassytherebyhopedtopreventprotestsamongFrancophileOttomancircles
againstobligationsresultingfromafatalmistakebyaGermaninstructor.¹⁷²
However,despitesuchpowerstruggles,mostOttomanofficershadarather
pragmaticview.Theyweremoreinterestedintheappropriationofpartiallyse-
Militär-BerichtNr.2 04 ,dated7July1909:1.AA-PAR1 3359.
SeetheintroductioninAugusteSarrou,LeCapitaineSarrou:UnOfficierFrançaisauService
del’EmpireOttoman;DixAnsdeSéjourenTurquie,oulaRéorganisationdelaGendarmerieOt-
tomane 1904 – 1914 (Istanbul:EditionsIsis, 2002 ), 30 – 46.
Hall,BalkanWars,24.
Militär-BerichtNr.3 00 ,dated20June 1910 ,2.AA-PAR1 33 11.
M.W.-L.George,“LeSoldatFrançais:LeMeilleurGuerrierdel’Europe,”DieNationalvertei-
digung 1 – 19 /20( 15 January1912), 380 – 381.
ForthosereportsseeLoubnaLamrhari,“L’ObsessionAllemandedanslaProductionduSa-
voirMilitaireFrançaissurl’ArméeOttomaneetTurque(188 3 – 1933 ),”inTurcsetFrançais:Une
HistoireCulturelle, 1860 – 1960 ,ed.Güneİkseletal.(Rennes:PressesUniversitairesdeRennes,
2014 ), 156 – 157.
Kiderlen-WächtertoJenisch, 12 April 1910 ,AA-PAR1 3255.
TheFrenchversustheGermanWayofWar,1 908 – 1914 65