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

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TheOttomanYouthMovementbeforetheDeploymentofHoff,


1910 – 1916


AnincreasingnumberofWestEuropeantrendsfoundtheirwayintotheOtto-
manEmpiresincetheYoungTurkrevolutionin1908.Amongthemwasalso
theBoyScoutmovementthathadbeenadoptedbyteachersintheOttomancap-
italin 1910 underthetermkeşşaflık.Thosegroupsmainlyconsistedofboysfrom
theurbanhigherclasses.⁴⁸Thiswaseasedbythepost-revolutionaryOttoman
lawonassociationsin 1909 that,forthefirsttime,allowedthefoundationof
apoliticalyouthclubs.⁴⁹
Thepoliticalsituationoftheempireremainedcriticalalsoaftertheeventsof
1908 /09.Asareactiontoforeignthreatandtheperceivedinternalenemies,Na-
tionalistTurkish groupsstartedtofocusonthemobilizationoftheMuslim
youth.⁵⁰TheproblemoftheOttomanarmywasobvious:avastEmpirehadto
bedefendedbyalimitednumberofMuslimmeneligibleformilitaryservice.⁵¹
TheintroductionofgeneralconscriptionforNon-Muslimsin 1909 onlybrought
shortrelief,sincemanyofthosenewrecruitsprovedunreliableintheBalkan
Wars.⁵²TheperformanceofMuslimtroopsin1912/ 13 alsofailedtofulfilltheex-
pectationsoftheOttomanmilitaryhighcommand.Wholeunitsfleeingthebat-
tlefieldinpanic,regardlessoftheirethnicorreligiousaffiliation,hadadevastat-
ingeffect,especiallyonthemoraleoftheMuslimpartoftheOttomansocietyat
home.⁵³
AfterthedefeatintheBalkanWars,theorganizationofyouthassociations
becamemoremilitaryoriented.⁵⁴DuetotheirseizeofpowerinJanuary 1913 ,


ZaferToprak,“II.MeşrutiyetDönemindeParamiliterGençlikÖrgütleri”[ParamilitaryYouth
OrganizationsintheSecondConstitutionalPeriod],inTanzimat’tanCumhuriyet’eTürkiyeAnsi-
klopedisi,vol.2(Istanbul:İletişim, 198 5), 531.
ZaferToprak,“ 1909 CemiyetlerKanunu”[The 1909 LawonAssociations],inTanzimat’tan
Cumhuriyet’eTürkiyeAnsiklopedisi,vol.1(Istanbul:İletişim, 198 5), 205 – 20 8.
Ginio,TheOttomanCultureofDefeat,1 71 – 17 5.FortheOttomaneducationaldiscoursbefore
therevolutionseeFortna,ImperialClassroom,2 24 – 23 5.
Cf.ColmarvonderGoltz,“StärkeundSchwächedestürkischenReiches,”DeutscheRun-
dschau 93 (1897),118.
Cf.Hartmann,DieReichweitedesStaates.
FundaSelçukŞirin,“TheTraumaticLegacyoftheBalkanWarsforTurkishIntellectuals,”in
WarandNationalism,ed.HakanM.Yavuzetal., 679 – 70 3.
ForthelatestresearchontheOsmanlıGençDernekleriseeAkcan,İttihatveTerakkiFırkası’-
nın;MehmetBeşikçi,“Militarizm,TopyekünSavaşveGençliğinSeferberEdilmesi:BirinciDünya
Savaşı’ndaOsmanlıİmparatorluğu’ndaParamiliterDernekler”[Militarism,TotalWarandMobi-
lizingtheYouth:ParamilitaryAssociationsintheOttomanEmpireintheFirstWorldWar],Tarih


114 3German-Ottoman/TurkishCooperationintheMobilizationofYouth

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