tohelpthemselves.Germanassistancewasnotorganizedintheformofan
officialmilitarymission,butratheraloosegroupofGermanmilitaryassis-
tants.However,themostimportantmeasureprovedtobethepracticeof
sendingOttomanofficersforintensivetrainingtoGermany,wheretheyexpe-
riencedGermanmilitarystandardsfirsthandandseveralOttomanofficers
evenappropriatedpartsoftheGermanWeltanschauung.Besidestotalconsent
regardingnecessarymeasurestherewasalsoincredulousamazementandin-
directrefusalonwhatthoseOttomanofficerswitnessed,asinthecaseofGer-
manutmostimportanceofdutyandpunctuality.Inasimilarmanner,German
officerswhohadwitnessedOttomandefeatsintheBalkanWarsadmittedthat
GermanmilitaryculturewasnotasolutiontoallOttomanmilitaryandsocial
problems.
YetupontheirreturnfromGermany,theseOttomanofficersweretoactas
bearersandtransmittersofGermanmilitaryvalues.Thoughsmallinnumber,
theyalsoservedasfacilitatorsbetweentheGermanmilitarymissionandtheOt-
tomanofficercorpsfrom 1913 onwards.Withoutthiscrucialgroupofpro-German
officers,thecooperationofbothcountrieswouldhavebeenlesssuccessfulin
termsoftheachievedreforms.TheFirstWorldWarwascertainlyaturning
pointinthemilitaryrelationsofbotharmies.Duetotheneedofcoalitionwar-
fare,botharmiesreachedahighlevelofasymmetricinstitutionalinterdepend-
encebythepostureofGermanstaffofficerstoOttomanheadquarters.Thissitua-
tioncreatedresentmentanddiscordamongtheOttomanofficercorps.Attheend
ofthewar,thosedisputesintheCaucasusevenwentfarbeyondthenormal
quarrelswithinanymilitarycoalition.TheOttomanarmygainedmilitaryprac-
ticeandself-confidenceinbattleandalsobenefittedfromGermaninstructions
abouttheuseofstate-of-the-arttacticalmeasures.ThewarwaslostastheOtto-
manleadership,likeitsGermanally,hadfailedtoalignitsmilitaryabilitieswith
itsambitiousstrategicobjectives.
Duringthewarthealliesalsohadcooperatedinanotherfieldthatwasto
haveanimpactupontheOttomanandlaterTurkishsociety.TheGermanefforts
inthemilitaryeducationoftheyouthhadawakenedtheinterestoftheOttoman
militaryandcivilianauthorities.Thisinterestwasalsogeneratedbythefactthat
GeneralvonderGoltzhadpromotedtheGermansemiofficialBundJungdeutsch-
land(BJD)modeltohisfellowOttomanofficers.TheGermanassociationwasthe
GermanmilitarizedversionoftheBoyScoutmovementandfocusedonout-of-
schoolphysicalactivites,aswellaspatrioticindoctrinationcourses.Sincesim-
ilarOttomanorganizationshadremainedineffective,thecooperationinthis
fieldwasintensifiedbythedeploymentofColonelHeinrichvonHofftotheOtto-
manMinistryofWar.Hoffassistedindraftingthe 1916 lawforacompulsoryOt-
tomanyouthorganization,theOsmanlıGençDernekleri(OGD).TheGermancol-
5Conclusion 241