Chapter XI: Turkey, Crushed to Earth, Rises Again (2)

With this amazing program Mustapha Kemal Pasha undertook to liberate Turkey. In April, 1920, the government of the Grand National Assembly was instituted in Angora and proceeded to administer those portions of Anatolia which were not under Allied or Greek occupation. The proposed Treaty of Sèvres—which was handed to the Turkish delegates at Paris on May 11—was condemned as inconsistent with the legitimate national aspirations of the Turkish people. The Allies and the Constantinople Government were denounced—the former as invaders of the sacred soil of Turkey, the latter as tools of European imperialists. Then followed a series of successful military campaigns: by October, 1920, the French position in Cilicia had been rendered untenable, the Armenian Republic had been obliterated, the British forces of occupation had been forced back into the Ismid peninsula, and the Italians had withdrawn their troops to Adalia. In the spring of 1921 separate treaties were negotiated with Russia, Italy, and France, providing for a cessation of military operations and for the evacuation of certain Turkish territories.[43] Then came the long, bitter struggle against the Greeks, terminating with the Mudania armistice of October 10, 1922, which assured to the Turks the return of Smyrna and portions of Thrace. On November 1, the Sultanate was abolished, and Turkey became a republic. Four days later the Turkish Nationalists entered Constantinople in triumph. The struggle for the territorial and administrative integrity of a New Turkey seemed to be won.

The victory of the Nationalists scrapped the Treaty of Sèvres and called for a complete readjustment of the Near Eastern situation. When the first Lausanne Conference for Peace in the Near East assembled on November 20, 1922, there were high hopes that a just and lasting settlement might be arrived at. The conference was only a few days old, however, when the time-honored obstacles to peace in the Levant made their appearance: the rival diplomatic policies of the Great Powers; the desire of the West, by means of the Capitulations, to maintain a firm hold upon its vested interests in the East; the imperialistic struggle of rival concessionaires, supported by their respective governments, for possession of the raw materials, the markets, and the communications of Asiatic Turkey. Once more the Bagdad Railway, with its tributary lines in Anatolia and Syria, became one of the stakes of diplomacy!

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

[1] C. J. H. Hayes, _A Brief History of the Great War_ (New York, 1920), pp. 71–72; “A Rival to the Bagdad Line,” in _The Near East_, May 25, 1917.

[2] _Supra_, Chapter V.

[3] Regarding the diplomatic situation at Constantinople during the critical months of July to November, 1914, _cf._ “Correspondence respecting events leading to the rupture of relations with Turkey,” _Parliamentary Papers_, No. Cd. 7628 (1914); C. Mehrmann, _Der diplomatische Krieg in Vorderasien_ (Dresden, 1916); J. Aulneau, _La Turquie et la Guerre_ (Paris, 1916); C. Strupp, _Diplomatische Aktenstücke zur orientalischen Frage_ (Berlin, 1916); Historicus, “Origines de l’alliance turco-germanique,” in _Revue_, 7 series, Volume III (Paris, 1915), pp. 267 _et seq._; Ostrorog, _op. cit._, Chapters XII-XVI; footnote 40, Chapter X, _supra_.

[4] Quoted from _Current History_, Volume I (New York, 1915), p. 1032.

[5] _Die deutsch-türkische Waffenbrüderschaft_, p. 30.

[6] Notably Dr. Ernst Jäckh and Dr. Hugo Grothe.

[7] The following list of books is given without any pretence that it is a complete bibliography of German publications on the Near Eastern question during the year 1914–1915: A. Ritter, _Berlin-Bagdad, neue Ziele mitteleuropäischer Politik_ (Munich, 1915) and _Nordkap-Bagdad, das politische Programm des Krieges_ (Frankfort a. M., 1914); Hugo Grothe, _Die Türken und ihre gegnerkriegsgeographische Betrachtungen_ (Frankfurt a. M., 1915), _Deutsch-türkische wirtschaftliche Interessengemeinschaft_ (Munich, 1915), and _Deutschland, die Türkei und der Islam_ (Leipzig, 1915); C. A. Schäfer, _Deutsch-türkische Freundschaft_ (Stuttgart, 1915); Carl H. Becker, _Deutschland und der Islam_ (Leipzig, 1914); J. Ritter von Riba, _Der türkische Bundesgenosse_ (Berlin, 1915); J. Hall, _Der Islam und die abendländische Kultur_ (Weimar, 1915); Ernst Marré, _Die Türken und wir nach dem Kriege_ (Leipzig, 1916); Tekin Alp, _Türkismus und Pantürkismus_ (Weimar, 1915); R. Schäfer, _Der deutsche Krieg, die Türkei, Islam und Christentum_ (Leipzig, 1915); W. T. Vela, _Die Zukunft der Türkei in Bundnis mit Deutschland_ (Berlin, 1915); W. Blanckenburg, _Die Zukunftsarbeit der deutschen Schule in der Türkei_ (Berlin, 1915); H. Schmidt, _Das Eisenbahnwesen in der asiatischen Türkei_ (Berlin, 1914); H. Margulies, _Der Kampf zwischen Bagdad und Suez in Altertums_ (Weimar, 1915); M. Horten, _Die islamische Geisteskultur_ (Leipzig, 1915); Fritz Regel, _Die deutsche Forschung in türkische Vordasien_ (Leipzig, 1915); M. Roloff, _Arabien und seine Bedeutung für die Erstärkung des Osmanenreiches_ (Leipzig, 1915); A. Paquet, _Die jüdische Kolonien in Palästina_ (Weimar, 1915); C. Nawratzki, _Die jüdische Kolonisation Palästinas_ (Munich, 1914); D. Trietsch, _Die Juden der Türkei_ (Leipzig, 1915). Two notable magazine articles are: R. Hennig, “Der verkehrsgeographische Wert des Suez- und des Bagdad-Weges,” in _Geographische Zeitschrift_, 1916, pp. 649–656; A. Tschawisch, “Der Islam und Deutschland—Wie soll man sich die Zukunft des Islams denken?”, in _Deutsche Revue_, 1915, Volume III, pp. 249 _et seq._

[8] See advertisements regarding the society and its work in a series of pamphlets _Länder und Völker der Turkei_, edited by Dr. Hugo Grothe (Leipzig, 1915, _et seq._), and descriptions of similar organizations in a series _Orientbücherei_, edited by Dr. Ernst Jäckh (Stuttgart and Berlin, 1914, _et seq._).

[9] “Report of the Commission Appointed by Act of Parliament to Enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia,” _Parliamentary Papers_, 1917, No. Cd. 8610.

[10] W. S. Churchill, _The World Crisis, 1910–1915_ (New York, 1923), pp. 529–535; A. MacCallum Scott, _Winston Churchill in Peace and War_ (London, 1916), Chapter X.

[11] C. C. Repington, _The First World War, 1914–1918_ (2 volumes, London, 1920), Volume I, pp. 42, 51, etc. _ad lib._; Churchill, _op. cit._, pp. 537–538.

[12] The italics are mine. The proposed debarkation of troops, however, was certain to involve a breach of Persian neutrality. _Cf._ _Parliamentary Papers_, 1917, No. Cd. 8610.

[13] _Ibid._ Regarding the Franco-German agreement of February 15, 1914, _cf._ _supra_, pp. 246–250.

[14] The text of the agreement between England, France and Russia regarding the disposition of Constantinople and other portions of Turkey is to be found in _Full Texts of the Secret Treaties as Revealed at Petrograd_ (New York, _The Evening Post_, 1918); _cf._, also, R. S. Baker, _Woodrow Wilson and World Settlement_ (3 volumes, Garden City, 1922), Volume I, Chapter III. The text of the Treaty of London between Italy and the Allies is to be found in _Parliamentary Papers_, 1920, No. Cmd. 671, Miscellaneous No. 7.

[15] The best single work on military operations in Turkey during the Great War is Edmund Dane’s _British Campaigns in the Nearer East, 1914–1918_ (2 volumes, London, 1919). Regarding the Caucasus campaigns of 1914–1915 _cf._ M. P. Price, _War and Revolution in Asiatic Russia_ (London, 1918), Chapter I; R. Machray, “The Campaign in the Caucasus,” in the _Fortnightly Review_, Volume 97 (1915), pp. 458–471. Excellent accounts of the first Turkish offensive against the Suez Canal are to be found in G. Douin, _Un épisode de la guerre mondiale: l’attaque du canal de Suez, 3 Fevrier, 1915_ (Paris, 1922); C. Stiénon, “Sur le chemin de fer de Bagdad,” in _Revue des deux mondes_, 6 series, Volume 5 (1916), pp. 148–174; T. Wiegand, _Sinai_ (Berlin, 1920); N. Moutran, _La Syrie de demain: France et Syrie_ (Paris, 1916); R. Hennig, _Der Kampf um den Suezkanal_ (Stuttgart, 1915); E. Serman, _Mit den Türken an der Front_ (Berlin, 1915); J. Walther, _Zum Kampf in der Wüste am Sinai und Nil_ (Leipzig, 1916); P. Schweder, _Im türkischen Hauptquartier_ (Leipzig, 1916); _Eine Geschichte der Türkei im Weltkriege_ (Munich, 1919). For the Mesopotamian expedition of 1914–1915 consult _Despatches Regarding Operations in the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia_ (London, the War Office, 1915); G. M. Chesney, “The Mesopotamian Breakdown,” in the _Fortnightly Review_, Volume 102 (1917), pp. 247–256; H. B. Reynardson, _Mesopotamia, 1914–1915_ (London, 1919); C. H. Barber, _Besieged in Kut and After_ (Edinburgh, 1917). Of the great quantity of material available on the Dardanelles campaign, _cf._, in particular, the following: _Gallipoli: der Kampf um den Orient, von einem Offizier aus dem Stab des Marschalls Liman von Sanders_ (Berlin, 1916); General Sir Ian Hamilton, _Gallipoli Diary_ (London, 1920); H. W. Nevinson, _The Dardanelles Campaign_ (London, 1918); S. A. Moseley, _The Truth About the Dardanelles_ (London, 1916); John Masefield, _Gallipoli_ (London, 1916).

[16] _Parliamentary Papers_, 1917, No. Cd. 8610; C. V. F. Townshend, _My Campaign in Mesopotamia_ (London, 1920).

[17] Regarding renewed German activity and interest in the Near East after the elimination of Serbia from the war seemed to bring the _Drang nach Osten_ within the realm of practical politics, _cf._: R. Zabel, _Im Kampfe um Konstantinopel und die wirtschaftliche Lage der Türkei während des Weltkrieges_ (Leipzig, 1916); C. H. Müller, _Die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung der Bagdadbahn_ (Hamburg, 1917); R. Junge, _Die deutsch-türkischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen_ (Weimar, 1916); E. Marré, _Die Türken und wir nach dem Kriege: ein praktisches Wirtschaftsprogramm_ (Berlin, 1916); H. Rohde, _Deutschland in Vorderasien_ (Berlin, 1916); H. W. Schmidt, _Auskunftsbuch für den Handel mit der Türkei_ (Leipzig, 1917); E. Mygind, _Anatolien und seine wirtschaftliche Bedeutung_ (Berlin, 1916); C. V. Bichtligen, “_Die Bagdadbahn, eine Hochstrasse des Weltverkehrs in ihrer wirtschaftliche Bedeutung_,” in _Soziale Revue_, 16 year (1916), pp. 1–11, 123–139; F. C. Endres, _Die Türkei_ (Munich, 1916); A. Philippsohn, _Das türkische Reich_ (Weimar, 1916); H. Kettner, _Vom Goldenen Tor zum Goldenen Horn und nach Bagdad_ (Berlin, 1917). For the point of view of Allied sympathizers, _cf._: E. F. Benson, _Deutschland über Allah_ (London, 1917), and _Crescent and Iron Cross_ (New York, 1918); E. A. Martel, _L’emprise austro-allemande sur la Turquie et l’Asie Mineure_ (Paris, 1918); H. C. Woods, _The Cradle of the War_ (New York, 1919), and an article, “The Bagdad Railway in the War,” in the _Fortnightly Review_, Volume 102 (1917), pp. 235–247; J. Thureau, “La pénétration allemande en Asie Mineure,” in _Revue politique et parlementaire_, Volume 86 (1916), pp. 19–44; R. Lane, “Turkey under Germany’s Tutelage,” in _Unpopular Review_, Volume 9 (1918), pp. 328 _et seq._; N. Markovitch, _Le pangermanisme en Orient_ (Nice, 1916); A. J. Toynbee, _Turkey, a Past and a Future_ (New York, 1917).

[18] Quoted in _The Near East_, November 12, 1915. For other material regarding construction of the Bagdad Railway during the war and its utilization for military purposes, _cf._: _Report of the Bagdad Railway Company_, 1914, pp. 6–7; 1915, pp. 3–6; _The Engineer_, February 4, 1915; “Transportation in the War—The Railways of Mesopotamia,” in _Modern Transport_ (London), November, 1919; D. G. Heslop, “The Bagdad Railway,” in _The Engineer_ (London), November 12 and 26 and December 3 and 17, 1920; “Railways of Mesopotamia,” in the _Railway Gazette_ (London), War Transportation Number, September 21, 1920, pp. 129–140; “Die Bagdadbahn und der Durchschlag des letzten grossen Tunnels,” in _Asien_, 14 year (1917), pp. 97–101.

[19] Dane, _op. cit._, Volume I, Chapters VIII-XII, inclusive; “The German-Turkish Expedition Against the Suez Canal in 1916,” in _Journal of the United Service Institution_, Volume 65 (London, 1920), pp. 353–357.

[20] Hayes, _op. cit._, pp. 142–143.

[21] Quoted from the official text as given in E. E. Robinson and V. J. West, _The Foreign Policy of Woodrow Wilson, 1913–1917_ (New York, 1917), pp. 403–405.

[22] _The New York Times_, November 13, 1917.

[23] _Supra_, p. 285.

[24] Baker, _op. cit._, Volume I, Chapter IV, contains an excellent account of the inter-Allied negotiations of 1916–1917 regarding Asiatic Turkey, based upon the private papers of Woodrow Wilson. _Cf._, also, _Full Texts of the Secret Treaties as Revealed at Petrograd_.

[25] The Treaty provided that the Bagdad Railway should not be extended southward from Mosul or northward from Samarra without the express consent of both France and Great Britain and in no case before the construction of a railway from Bagdad to Aleppo _via_ the Euphrates Valley—the purpose being, as far as possible, to develop southern Mesopotamia and the Syrian coast rather than Kurdistan. By a subsequent agreement of December, 1918, between Messrs. Lloyd George and Clémenceau, Mosul was transferred to Great Britain.

[26] W. L. Westermann, “The Armenian Problem and the Disruption of Turkey,” in _What Really Happened at Paris—The Story of the Peace Conference, 1918–1919, by American Delegates_, edited by E. M. House and C. Seymour (New York, 1921), pp. 176–203. _Cf._ p. 183.

[27] The text of the Sykes-Picot Treaty was first published by _The Manchester Guardian_, January 8, 1920, and was reprinted in _Current History_, Volume XI (1920), pp. 339–341. _Cf._, also, Bowman, _The New World_, pp. 100–104; Baker, _op. cit._, pp. 67–69.

[28] Baker, _op. cit._, pp. 68–70. The negotiations concerning the St. Jean de Maurienne Agreement extended from the autumn of 1916 to August, 1917. The agreement appears to have been negotiated with the Italians by Mr. Lloyd George, in April, 1917, while Mr. Balfour was in America with the British Mission. It was amended in August, as a result of the insistence of the Italians that they had not received an adequate share of the spoils.

[29] President Wilson’s address to a joint session of the Congress of the United States, January 8, 1918, setting forth the famous Fourteen Points of a durable peace. Quoted from James Brown Scott, _President Wilson’s Foreign Policy_ (New York, 1918), pp. 354–363.

[30] Regarding General Maude’s brilliant campaign in Mesopotamia, _cf._: Dane, _op. cit._, Volume II, Chapters II, III, XII; E. F. Eagan, _The War in the Cradle of the World_ (London, 1918); Kermit Roosevelt, _War in the Garden of Eden_ (New York, 1919); Sir Charles Collwell, _Life of Sir Stanley Maude_ (London, 1920); E. Betts, _The Bagging of Bagdad_ (London, 1920); E. Candler, _The Long Road to Bagdad_ (London, 1920); C. Cato (pseudonym), _The Navy in Mesopotamia_ (London, 1917); F. Maurice, “The Mesopotamian Campaign,” in _Asia_, Volume 18 (New York, 1918), pp. 933–936.

[31] British intrenchment in Mesopotamia, 1917–1920, is described in the following: “Review of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia,” _Parliamentary Papers_, No. Cmd. 1061 (1920); R. Thomas, _Report on Cotton Experimental Work in Mesopotamia_ (Bagdad, 1919); “Cotton Growing in Mesopotamia,” _Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, Volume 18 (London, 1920), pp. 73–82; _Mesopotamia as a Country for Future Development_ (Cairo, Ministry of Public Works, 1919); “Transportation and Irrigation in Mesopotamia,” _Commerce Reports_, No. 50 (Washington, 1919), pp. 948–954; Sir H. P. Hewett, _Some Impressions of Mesopotamia_ (London, 1919); C. R. Wimshurst, _The Wheats and Barleys of Mesopotamia_ (Basra, 1920); _Review of the Civil Administration of the Occupied Territories of Irak_ (Bagdad, 1918); L. J. Hall, _Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia_ (London, 1921); Sir Mark Sykes, _The Commercial Future of Bagdad_ (London, 1917); “Turkish Rule and British Administration in Mesopotamia,” in The Quarterly _Review_, Volume 232 (1919), pp. 401 _et seq._; W. Ormsby Gore, “The Organization of British Responsibilities in the Middle East,” in _Journal of the Central Asian Society_, Volume 7 (1920), pp. 83–105; I. A. Shah, “The Colonization of Mesopotamia,” in _United Service Magazine_, Volume 179 (1919), pp. 350 _et seq._

[32] Townshend, _op. cit._, pp. 375 _et seq._; Djemal Pasha, _op. cit._, Chapter VII; _Current History_, Volume XII (1920), pp. 117–118; A. D. C. Russell, _loc. cit._, pp. 325 _et seq._; F. C. Endres, _Der Weltkrieg der Türkei_ (Berlin, 1919).

[33] Regarding General Allenby’s campaigns in Palestine and Syria, see: H. Pirie-Gordon, _A Brief Record of the Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force_ (London, 1919); W. T. Massey, _Allenby’s Final Triumph_ (London, 1920); C. C. R. Murphy, _Soldiers of the Prophet_ (London, 1921); H. O. Lock, _The Conquerors of Palestine Through Forty Centuries_ (New York, 1921); R. E. C. Adams, _The Modern Crusaders_ (London, 1920); H. Dinning, _Nile to Aleppo: With the Light Horse in the Near East_ (London, 1920); P. E. White, _The Disintegration of the Turkish Empire_ (London, 1920); C. T. Atkinson, “General Liman von Sanders and His Experiences in Palestine,” _Army Quarterly_, Volume 3 (London, 1922), pp. 257–275; A. Aaronsohn, _Mit der türkischen Armee in Palästina_ (Berne, 1918); J. Bourelly, _Campagne d’Égypte et de Syrie contre les Turcs_ (Paris, 1919); G. Gautherot, _La France en Syrie et en Cilicie_ (Paris, 1920); C. Stiénon, _Les campagnes d’Orient et les intérêts de l’entente_ (Paris, 1918), and _La défense de l’Orient et le rôle de l’Angleterre_ (Paris, 1918); A. Mandelstamm, _Le sort de l’Empire Ottoman_ (Paris, 1917); G. A. Schreiner, _From Berlin to Bagdad: Behind the Scenes in the Near East_ (New York, 1918).

[34] H. Charles Woods, _The Cradle of the War_, p. 271.

[35] See a suggestive article by Hilaire Belloc, “Europe’s New Paths of Empire,” in _Our World_ (New York), October, 1922, pp. 41–46; _The Evening Post_ (New York), January 3 and March 27, 1919.

[36] _The Treaty of Peace with Germany_, Articles 155, 258, 260, 261, 297.

[37] “Treaty of Peace with Turkey, Signed at Sèvres August 10, 1920,” _Parliamentary Papers_, No. Cmd. 964, Treaty Series No. 11, 1920; “Tripartite Agreement Between the British Empire, France, and Italy, Respecting Anatolia, Signed at Sèvres, August 10, 1920,” _Parliamentary Papers_, No. Cmd. 963, Treaty Series No. 12, 1920. An official summary of the Sèvres treaty was published in _The Nation_ (New York), International Relations Section, Volume 111 (1920), pp. 21–28, and in _Current History_, Volume XIII (1921), pp. 164–184. An excellent discussion of the main provisions of the treaty and its probable effects is to be found in Bowman’s _The New World_, Chapters XXIV and XXVI.

[38] Regarding the negotiations at the Paris Conference by which the claims of Italy were disregarded in favor of those of Greece, _cf._ Baker, _op. cit._, Volume II, Chapter XXXII, and Volume III, Documents Nos. 1, 31–41.

[39] Preamble to the Tripartite Agreement of August 10, 1920.

[40] Regarding the Turkish Nationalist movement, see: Major General James G. Harbord, “Mustapha Kemal Pasha and His Party,” in the _World’s Work_, Volume 36 (London, 1920), pp. 470–482; M. Paillarès _La kémalisme devant les Alliés_ (Paris, 1922); “The Recovery of the Sick Man of Europe,” an excellent review, with a colored map, in the _Literary Digest_, November 11, 1922, pp. 17 _et seq._; M. K. Zia Bey, “How the Turks Feel,” in _Asia_, Volume XXII (1922), pp. 857 _et seq._, and “The New Turkish Democracy,” in _The Nation_, Volume 115 (New York, 1922), pp. 546–548; Major General Sir Charles Townshend, “Great Britain and the Turks,” in _Asia_, Volume XXII (1922), pp. 949–953; Clair Price, “Mustapha Kemal and the Angora Government,” in _Current History_, Volume XVI (1922), pp. 790–800; Ludwell Denny, “The Turk Comes Back,” in _The Nation_, Volume 115 (1922), pp. 575–577; “The New Epoch in Turkey,” in the _Muslim Standard_ (London), November 9, 1922.

[41] A. J. Toynbee, _The Western Question in Greece and Turkey: A Study in the Contact of Civilizations_ (New York, 1922), p. 190. Professor Toynbee’s book is the most noteworthy of recent contributions to the history of Turkey since the Great War.

[42] The text of the National Pact, as translated from the French, is to be found in _The Nation_, Volume 115 (1922), pp. 447–448, in _Current History_, Volume XVII (1922), pp. 280–281, and in Toynbee, _op. cit._, pp. 207–211 (in both French and English).

[43] _Infra._, pp. 316–317, 323–324.