"Ottoman Empire enters the First World War" Topic

"On 31 July 1914, Tsar Nicholas II ordered the full mobilisation of the Russian Army in response to Germany's obvious preparations for war in the east. Enver Pasha, the Ottoman Minister for War, reacted by ordering the full mobilisation of the Ottoman Army. On 2 August he signed a secret treaty with the German Ambassador. Although this was essentially a defensive military alliance, calling on each party to come to the other's aid against an attack by Russia, it revealed Enver Pasha's view as to who was the Ottoman Empire's most important friend – and who was its most bitter enemy.

While Enver was the de facto leader of the pro-war faction in the ‘Young Turk' government, he was opposed by the Prime Minister, Sait Halim, who was convinced that the empire's best option was to remain neutral. He was outraged that Enver had overstepped his remit as Minister for War by signing the secret defence treaty with Germany. But in the political battle that followed, Sait was outmaneuvered. Enver gained the crucial support of Cemal Pasha, the Minister of Marine (responsible for the Ottoman Navy), and Talât Pasha, the Minister of the Interior (responsible for the paramilitary Jandarma – a 40,000-strong force modelled on the French gendarmerie)…."
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