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

128 WARBYREVOLUTION

convincedhimselfthatapublicstatementofGermansupportfor
theIndianprinceswouldignitetheirrebellion.
TheGermansplacedgreatconfidencein Pratap,aprincefrom
MursanandHathrasin India'sUnitedProvincesandafriendof
ChattopadhyayaandBarkatullah;hehadcontactedBerlinin]anu-
ary 1915 fromSwitzerland."TheforeignministryandGeneralStaff
acceptedPratap'sproposalthathetraveltoKabul,togetherwithhis
friendBarkatullah,topersuadetheamirofAfghanistan,Habibullah,
toattackIndiaandsupporttherebellionoftheprinces.Pratap,with
thehelpofChattopadhyayaandBarkatullah,receivedanaudience
withthekaiser,withwhomheagreedtodeliverlettersfromtheGer-
mangovernmenttotheamirandleadingIndianprinces,including
theMaharajahofNepal.
TheforeignministryandNadolnyassignedWernerOttovon
Hentig,aformerconsularofficialinWashington,D.C.,andan ac-
quaintanceofBarkatullahandotherIndianrevolutionaries,to es-
cortPrataptoAfghanistan.Originallytheministryintendedforthe
grouptojointheNiedermayerexpeditionheadedforAfghanistan,
whichhadalreadyreachedBaghdadandwas toproceedtogetherwith
asimilarTurkishmission.Instead,duringthepreparationsforthe
Pratap-Hentigexpedition,theministryorderedHentig,oncehe ar-
rived in Kabul, toopenofficialrelationswithAfghanistanandestab-
lishaGermandiplomaticpresencethere."
PratapandHentigarrivedinConstantinopleonI7Aprilandmet
withEnverPashaandthesultan.BeforetheyleftConstantinoplefor
theeasttheyreceivedlettersfromWilhelmIIandBethmannHollweg
todelivertoHabibullahas well as totwenty-sixprincesinIndiaand
theMaharajahofNepal.Whentheirsmallbandtraveledfurtherto
AleppoandBaghdad,however,itsuffereddelaysandotherdifficul-
ties likethoseexperiencedbytheNiedermayermission,causedmainly
byconflictswiththeYoungTurks.Thelatter,principallybecauseof
thefanaticalpan-TuranianambitionsofthefactionaroundEnver
PashaandTalaatPasha,viewedPersia,Afghanistan,andcentralAsia
astheOttomansphereofinfluence;theyopposedGermanactivity
eastofTurkey.TheGermans,however,sawPersiaas a keylinkto
AfghanistanandIndia,andhopedtopersuadeit toabandonitsneu-
tralityandjointheCentralPowers inthewar."