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

148 WARBYREVOLUTION

As fortheGermans,Mannesmannanda fellow spy,BaronOttovon
Gumppenberg,whohadpreviouslyworkedin Egypt, attemptedto
smugglethroughCreteandnearbyislandssmallshipmentsofarmsto
thecoastofCyrenaica.'?'Thefirstcargoesofweaponsandmoneyar-
rived byGermansubmarine.r"ButGumppenberg,travelingonaforged
Americanpassporttoal-Sallum,neartheShaykhal-Sanussi'shead-
quarters,ranafoulofEnverPasha'sbrother,Nuri.v-Nuri'slarge pay-
mentsofmoneytotheshaykhassistedthechiefinacquiringfoodand
suppliesfor hishungrypeople,andtheyhadincreasedtheTurkish
officer'sprestigewithhim.AlsotheSayyidAhmadreliedonNuriand
theotherTurkishofficers toassisthimintraininghismotleyBedouin
army.TheYoungTurksstillviewed Libya as aTurkishland,andal-
thoughtheyneededGermannavalandothermilitaryassistanceto
sendsuppliestotheSanussis, theyresentedGermaninterferencewith
Turkishpolicythere.'?'In ameetingwithHumannon 4 JulyEnver
PashadenouncedGumppenberg,whohadservedinI9UwithEnver in
theLibyan war, forunderminingNuri'simportancewiththeShaykh
al-SanussiandforallowingthelattertoplayoffGumppenbergand
Nuriagainstoneanotherbyraisinghisdemandstothem.'?'
ButtheBritishcapturedGumppenbergonIIJuly, as heleftthe
LibyancoastonanOrientalschoonerthathadlandedmorearms
andTurkishofficersatal-Sallum.TheGermans,insteadofacceding
toEnver'swishes,transferredroMannesmanntheirsmugglingac-
tivitiesinCyrenaicaandtheircontactswiththeShaykhal-Sanussi.
Mannesmann,whoestablishedhis headquartersatDfna,asmall
coastaltownwestofal-Sallum,alsoarguedwithNuriPashaandin
dispatchestoBerlindisparagedtheTurkishinfluenceontheSayyid
Ahmadal-Sanussi.TheYoungTurks,fortheirpart,apparentlytried
toflattertheshaykhintoattackingEgypt;theynominatedhimfor
governorofTripolitaniaanditsdependentregions.Stilltheshaykh
hesitatedtoopenhostilitiesandorderedhisBedouinsnottoshoot
atBritishshipspatrollingthecoast."?
On 15 AugustMannesmannattemptedto force theshaykh's
hand.TheGermanagentandseveralArabsluredthecommander
ofaBritishsubmarineintoboardingasmallboatandapproaching
theshorenearal-Sallum.Theythenshotatthecommander,result-
inginanexchangeofgunfirewiththesubmarinethatkilledaBritish