waronthesideoftheTripleEntenteinMay 1915 ,asduetoitslongandvulner-
ablecoastline,itcouldhavefaceditsownGallipoli.²¹¹TheGermanstrategyre-
liedonareplacementforthereluctantallyalreadyintheautumnof 191 4.The
OttomantheaterofwarrelievedtheGermanandAustrianfrontsandbecamea
testinggroundformodernwarfareforbothallies.ItshouldbenotedthattheGer-
mancontributionstotheOttomanwareffortsdidnothaveanydevastatingef-
fectsontheGermanarmyandwerequitebearablecomparedtothelossesat
otherfronts.²¹²
BysigningthealliancetreatywithGermanyon2August 191 4,Ottomanmo-
bilizationbegan.PrioritywasgiventothedefenseagainstaRussianattack,how-
ever,theOttomanEmpireremainedneutraltopreventaRussianpreemptive
strikeonOttomanterritory.
LimanvonSandersassuredtheGermanhighcommandthattheOttomanarmy
wouldbeabletofield1 20 ,0 00 menwithinthefirstmonthofwaragainstRussia.²¹³
Thisprovedtobeahighlyoptimisticestimation,sincethelossesoftheBalkan
Warswerenotyetovercomeyet.²¹⁴ThustheOttomandelayinopeninghostilities
withRussiaeasedthedeploymentoftheOttomanforces.Withthereinforcementof
theOttomanfleetbythetwoGermanbattleships,BreslauandGoeben,theOtto-
manself-esteemrose.TheshellingofRussianBlackSeaportsbythosetwoGerman
vesselson 29 October 1914 ledtheOttomanstatetojointhewar.
Regardingtheinnercohesionofthealliance,ColmarvonderGoltzremained
acrucialfigureofOttomanadmirationofGermany.Thiswasalsothecaseafter
theGermancampaignintheWesthadfailed,quitecontrarytoGermany’sboast-
ingbeforethewar.Meanwhile,theformerleadingfigureoftheGerman-Ottoman
relations,ColmarvonderGoltz,hadbecomeanoldman.²¹⁵
HolgerAfflerbach,“Italy’sDecisionnottogotoWarin1 91 4,”inTheSerbsandtheFirst
WorldWar 1914 – 1918 ,ed.DragoljubR.Živojinović(Belgrade:SerbianAcademyofSciences
andArts,2015), 175 – 186.
Foraone-sidedGermanaccountseeKarl-HeinzHildebrandt,“DasOsmanischeReich:
DeutschlandsVietnamimErstenWeltkrieg?,”AlteKameraden 43 – 7/8( 199 5), 13 – 17.
UlrichTrumpener,“LimanvonSandersandtheGerman-OttomanAlliance,”JournalofCon-
temporaryHistory 1 – 4(1966), 18 2.
Uyar,OttomanStrategyandWarAims,1 69 – 171.
Krethlow,GeneralfeldmarschallGoltz,2 77 .VerymuchinthesenseofGoltz’owndictumon
theRussianGeneralCountNikolayKamensky( 1776 – 1811):“Once[...]hehadbeenadistinguish-
edcommander.However,nowhewasanantediluvianandwhimsicalmaninhisseventies,nei-
therphysicallynormentallyabletocommandabigarmy[...].”ColmarvonderGoltz,VonJena
bisPreußischEylau:DesaltenpreußischenHeeresSchmachundEhrenrettung,Einekriegsge-
schichtlicheStudie(Berlin:Mittler,1 90 7), 89 .EvenEnverratedGoltzasbeingoveraged;cf.
Trumpener,GermanyandtheOttomanEmpire,89.
ReluctantAlliesandDisappointedExpectations,JulytoNovember 1914 75