lectedconceptsthaninimitatingonesinglerolemodel.¹⁷³Inareactiontothe
BulgariandeclarationoffullindependencefromOttomanrulein1908,anOtto-
manofficernotedthattheOttomanstatehadtotakethesamemeasuresasthe
defeatedFrancein 1871 toregainitsstrength.However,theywereinclinedto
seekoutothersourcesofinspirationforthenationalresurgence:“Wehaveto
beorderly[intizamperver]astheGermans,sobre[itidal]astheEnglish,hard-
working[gayrettar]astheJapanese!”¹⁷⁴
Beyondtheseidealistdebates,therewasalsoastalwartinterestinthe
FrenchandGermanarmamentindustryontheOttomanmarket.Thesituation
wasadvantageoussinceFrenchbankswerethebiggestcreditorsoftheOttoman
state,whichwasoftenclosetobankruptcy.¹⁷⁵In 1910 theGermanambassador
complainedaboutthestrongFrenchimpactonOttomaninteriorpolitics:
“InMoroccoonetalkedabout‘pénétrationpacifique’,inPersiathemottowasto‘protect
themerchantroutes’,inTurkey,Francefinallyappearedas‘tuteurdel’épargnefrançaise’.
Thosearefinewords.Thepracticalaimisalwaysthesame:tosecurepoliticaloreconom-
icalguardianshipoverasinglepoweroragroupofpowerstotheeffectthattheGerman
rival,withitsinconvenienteconomicexpansionforces,ispushedaside.”¹⁷⁶Nonetheless,theGermandominationofarmssalesontheeveofWorldWarI
wasneverendangered.Germanmanufacturerscouldevenextendtheirleadin
exportstotheOttomanarmy.¹⁷⁷ColmarvonderGoltzstatedthereasonsfor
thisdominantpositionquiteopenly:
“ThereisnodoubtthatifSultanAbdülhamidin 188 2hadsentaFrenchinsteadofaGer-
manmilitarymissiontoConstantinople,theextensivearmamentorderswouldnothave
beenplacedinGermany,butinFrance.”¹⁷⁸SeetheanalysisofAhmedRıza’sreadingofColmarvonderGoltz’‘nationinarms’concept
inErdalKaynar,“LesJeunesTurcsetl’Allemagneavant1908,”Turcica 38 (2006), 315 – 319.
AhmedNaci,“Bulgaristan’ınİlan-ıİstiklalıHaberiÜzerine”[AbouttheAnnunciationof
Bulgaria’sDeclarationofIndependence]Asker(1324/1908), 49 1.
Foranoverview,especiallyregardingtheFranco-GermanrivalryduringtheBaghdadrail-
wayproject,seeL.BruceFulton,“FranceandtheEndoftheOttomanEmpire,”inTheGreat
PowersandtheEndoftheOttomanEmpire,ed.MarianKent(London:GeorgeAllen&Unwin,
1984), 141 – 16 1.
AmbassdorMarschalltoAA:“Diefranzösisch-türkischenAnleiheverhandlungen,”8No-
vember 1910 ,10.AA-PAR 13313.
NaciYorulmaz,ArmingtheSultan:GermanArmsTradeandPersonalDiplomacyintheOtto-
manEmpirebeforeWorldWarI(London:I.B.Tauris, 2014 ), 230 – 25 0.
ColmarvonderGoltz,“Militär-MissioneninfremdenStaaten,”DerTag,27November 1913.
66 2ThePeakofKnowledgeTransfer