War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

THETHICKENINGPLOTANDHOLYWAR 85

steadtheyadoptedamodifiedformofOppenheim'soriginalplan.

TheydispatchedKleinandasmallcontingentoftwelve officers,not

to try tocapturetheBritishoilfieldsandrefinerybuttoattackand

destroythem,withtheassistanceoflocalpro-GermanPersian

gendarmerieandwellarmednomadsliketheBakhtiaris,Qashgais,

andArabs."KleinarrivedinConstantinoplefive dayslater,to acool

receptionfromtheTurks.InDecemberheassembledhis forces in

Aleppo;fromthere,despiteobstaclesplacedintheirway by localTurk-

ish commanders,theyaccompaniedNiedermayerandhisAfghani-

stanexpeditiontoBaghdad.

TheGermansandtheCalltoHolyWar

On 17 and 21 October1914,aloanfromGermany,twotrainloadsof
Turkishpoundsingold,arrivedsafely inConstantinople.Thetrans-
ferofthemoneyremovedthefinalobstacletoTurkey'sentryinto
theworldwar;EnverPashanowusedhispositionas warministerto
drawtheTurksintothefighting.Heurgedthecommanderofthe
GermanMediterraneannavalsquadrontoopenhostilitiesagainst
Russia.TheGoebenandBreslaubombardedRussianBlack Seaports
on 29 October;St.PetersburgdeclaredwaronTurkeyon 2 Novem-
ber;threedayslater,LondonandParisjoinedtheirRussianally.
TheOttomansultan,MehmedV,tooweak tochallengethewar
factioninthegovernmentandactingascaliphofallMuslims,de-
claredajihadagainsttheAllies.Unconcernedbythefact-peculiar
fromanIslamicperspective-thatTurkeyhadjoinedcertainChris-
tianpowersin waragainstothers,hecalledonMuslimstodefend
theirfaithagainstits"mortalenemies?"Government-sponsored
demonstrationsfloodedthestreetsofConstantinople.TheYoung
Turksunleashedintheirheavilycensoredpressabarrageofpan-
Islamicpropaganda,hopingtherebytoovercomethedifficultiesthat
hadpreventedaspontaneousrevolutionarymovementofMuslims
againstBritainandits allies. IntheShiitecitiesofNajafandKarbala
ineasternMesopotamia,thepressandulamas(personslearnedin
Islamictheologyandlaw)emphasizedthecommunityofShiitesand
Sunnis."