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

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ForhisGermanfellowofficers,hewasonlypostedtotheOttomanarmyin
December 191 4becauseofoldsentimentalities.Hewasaccusedofsugarcoating
negativemilitarysituationsandbeingeconomicalwiththetruth,whichearned
himthenicknamedofa“storytellingfairylady”.²¹⁶In 1915 theGermanemperor’s
aidedecampevenaccusedhimofhavingliedaboutthestateofOttomanrein-
forcementstotheGallipolipeninsula:“ThetroopsofTurkeywhichhavebeen
broughtfromAnatoliadonotevenhaverifles!!!OhGoltz!Howyouhavemisre-
ported!”²¹⁷OttoLimanvonSandershadadislikefortheoldFieldMarshaland
refusedtotalktohim.FortheheadoftheGermanmilitarymission,Goltzwas
atheoretician,unabletocommandarmies:“GoltzPashaisaninstructor.Teach-
ingisonething,commandershipisanother.HowcanIteachGoltzPashacom-
manding[skills]atthisage–heisover 70 ?”²¹⁸SoitisnowonderthatmostGer-
manofficershadanopendislikeforthe“drivelofanoldman.”²¹⁹Goltzwas
eventuallysenttotheIraqfronttoavoidfurtherconflictswithLiman.²²⁰Howev-
er,thelatterwasalsoasourceofmanyconflictsamongtheGermanmilitaryper-
sonnelinOttomanservice²²¹andEnver,theOttomansupremecommander.One
ofthesourcesofdisputebetweenthetwomenwereLiman’scontinuouslydirect
reportstotheGermanhighcommandasEnverinsistedofreportingtotheOtto-
manministryofwarfirst.²²²
AfterthedefeatinthebattleofSarıkamış²²³inlate 191 4,thefollowingyear
wastobecomethemostsuccessfulduringtheGerman-Ottomanalliance.The
battleofÇanakkalewastohaveanimpactonthemilitarythinkingofbothcoun-
triesafterthewar.


Trumpener,“Suez,Baku,Gallipoli,” 35 ;Krethlow,GeneralfeldmarschallGoltz,4 43.
HolgerAfflerbach,KaiserWilhelmII.alsObersterKriegsherrimErstenWeltkrieg:Quellen
ausdermilitärischenUmgebungdesKaisers; 1914 – 1918 (Munich,Oldenbourg, 20 05), 806.
ŞevketSüreyyaAydemir,İkinciAdam, 1884 – 1938 [TheSecondMan(İsmetİnönü), 1884 –
1938 ],vol1,14thed.(Istanbul:RemziKitabevi, 20 11), 89.
Okday,DerletzteGroßwesirundseinepreußischenSöhne,62.
Trumpener,German-OttomanAlliance,85.
SeeOttovonFeldmann’sdemissionafterquarrelswithhisdifficultsuperior;cf.Feldmann,
Türkei,Weimar,Hitler,7 3 – 75.
LetterofEnvertoLiman,7December 1916 .ATASE-BDHK1 800 Gö 315 Fi 1 – 11.Cf.forthis
disputealsoReichmann,TapfereAsker,3 56 – 35 9.
Cf.Feldmann,Türkei,Weimar,Hitler,7 6 – 79 .OttovonFeldmannwasfortunatethatheonly
lostonefootinthecold,whereastheOttomanforceslosttwothirdsoftheircombatstrengthof
around118, 000 men.MesutUyarandEdwardJ.Erickson,AMilitaryHistoryoftheOttomans:
FromOsmantoAtatürk(SantaBarbara:PraegerSecurityInternational, 20 09), 24 8.


76 2ThePeakofKnowledgeTransfer

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