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

THETHICKENINGPLOTANDHOLYWAR 89

MajorNuriPasha,alongwithotherTurkishofficers, to Libya."But
twiceduringNovemberRomerefusedtoallowNuriPashaeven to
enterthecountry,arguingostensiblythatBritainwouldviewsuch
permissionas abreakofItaly'sneutrality.DespitetheItalianatti-
tude,theYoungTurkspreparedtosendNuri'smissionsecretlyby
GreekorItalianfreighter,departingfromTriesteandmovingalong
thecoastsofItalyandSicily toLibya."
Inmid-DecembertensionbetweenBerlinandRomeworseneddra-
maticallyoveranincidentinvolvingMannesmannandtheGerman
consulateinTripoli.LocalItalianauthoritiescapturedaletterfrom
MannesmannandtheconsulatetotheShaykhal-Sanusi,andalong
withit abundleofmanifestoesintendedforArabsneartheEgyptian
border,urgingthemtoattacktheBritish."Theforeignministryand
GeneralStaffimmediatelyattemptedtocontrolthedamageby re-
turningDr.AlfredTilger,theGermanconsul,toTripoli.Tilgerre-
ceivedthenearlyimpossibleordertoendtheundeclaredwarbetween
theItaliansandSanussisandtherebycreateafriendlierattitude
amongtheItaliansinTripolitowardGermany'srevolutionaryactivi-
tiesaimedatBritain.Wangenheim,however,arguedthatsendinga
GermantotheSanussiswouldnothavethesameeffectasusinga
MuslimorTurk,andheremindedtheforeignministryofEnver
Pasha'sintentiontosendhisbrothertoLibya.s-
Also,attheyear'sendtheGermansexperiencedotherfrustrations
intheirMiddleEasternpolicy.Forexample,theReich wasunableto
persuadethePortetoreconciletheEgyptiankhedive,AbbasHilmiII,
withtheEgyptiannationalistswho,likeMuhammadFarid,resided
inConstantinopleandhopedtoparticipateintheupcomingTurk-
ishattackonEgypt.TheOttomansignoredarequestfromtheGer-
manembassyon 25 Novembertoplacethekhedivebackinpower
onceTurkishtroopsinvadedEgypt.Instead,accordingtoHumann,
theTurksplannedtonameaskhediveeitherSaidHalim,thegrand
vizier, ortheLibyanBedouinleader,theShaykhal-Sanussi."
TheGermansalsoworriedaboutBritain'srumoredties toAbbas
Hilmi.Infact,however,theBritishhadrefusedcontactswithAbbas
Hilmisincethewar'sbeginning.ThekhedivehadapproachedBrit-
ainthroughtheItalianambassadorinConstantinople,expressing
hiswishto settleinItaly,buttheForeignOfficeinLondonhad