World War 1 Live
Posts about Ahmed Djemal written by ianmoore3000
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World War 1 Live
Britain has made a few too many promises about how Turkey’s territories in the Middle East are to be carved up after the war ends. Sharif Hussein of Mecca was given to understand that he would become ruler of a vast Arab kingdom stretching from the north of Syria to the Arabian peninsula, but in the Sykes-Picot agreement British and French diplomats agreed to divide the region into French and British spheres of influence. Then last year Britain’s foreign minister declared that Britain supported the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine.

On the ground it is British and Commonwealth forces who are doing most of the fighting against the Turks, although Arab forces loyal to Sharif Hussein have established themselves in Damascus. Britain’s contradictory agreements mean that it will have to disappoint someone; to make sure it is not them, the French today land in Beirut. The French have long cultivated links with Lebanon, particularly with the region’s Christian communities, and they are determined to stake their claim to the region and use it as base to assert their rights in Syria.

Turkey is now in a desperate state. The British have overrun Palestine and Syria and will soon be in a position to press on into the Anatolian heartland. No help can be expected from Germany, which has requested an armistice from the Allies and has been separated from Turkey by the surrender of Bulgaria. Realising that they are staring defeat in the face, the Turkish government resigns, with the ruling triumvirate of Enver (war minister), Talaat (Grand Vizier and minister of the interior) and Djemal (proconsul in the Middle East) departing the political stage. Now the delicate process of forming a new government to negotiate an armistice with the Allies begins.

British progress in Palestine has slowed somewhat since the capture of Jerusalem. Allenby‘s focus now is on advancing through the Transjordan region rather than directly up through Palestine itself. As a prelude to this, his men are advancing towards the Jordan river. Today they capture the ancient city of Jericho, said by some to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world.

Meanwhile Allenby’s enemies are reorganising. When Falkenhayn arrived in the Middle East to head the Turkish Yildirim group, Enver Pasha (Turkey’s war minister and paramount leader) had hoped that he would lead the recapture of Baghdad. Instead he found himself unable to prevent Allenby’s advance into Palestine. Now Falkenhayn is dismissed. His successor is Liman von Sanders, the German general who had commanded Turkish forces at Gallipoli. Liman von Sanders has worked with the Turks for some time now; unlike more recently arrived German officers he understands the importance of treating Turkish officers with respect.

Falkenhayn has one achievement to his credit from his time in Palestine: the salvation of the region’s Jewish community. The Jewish minority there comprises a long-standing indigenous community together with more recently arrived Zionist pioneers. Turkish leaders, particularly Djemal Pasha, the Middle Eastern proconsul, had become convinced that the Jews were inveterately disloyal and were aiding the Allies. Djemal decided to deport the entire Jewish community from the region. Falkenhayn realised that such a deportation would effectively mean the community’s extermination, as the previous deportation of Armenians from Anatolia had done. Fearful of the consequences of such an action, Falkenhayn was able to block the removal of the Jews.

image source:

Erich von Falkenhayn (Wikipedia)

Enver Pasha, the most prominent of the triumvirate that leads Turkey, has formed a new army group known in Turkish as Yildirim (Lightning Force). With a German senior staff, headed by none other than Falkenhayn, the group has been assembling in Aleppo in preparation for an offensive in Mesopotamia to recapture Baghdad and turn the tables on the British there.

Djemal Pasha, Turkey’s proconsul in Syria, is concerned about the threat of a British advance into Palestine. Enver has no time for naysayers and relieves him of his command, but Djemal’s concerns are heeded by Falkenhayn. He becomes convinced that an offensive in Mesopotamia would be foolhardy when his rear in Palestine is threatened. The British have also just pushed on successfully from Baghdad to Ramadi (after their previous failure), making a Turkish Mesopotamian offensive there that bit more difficult.

Enver would not listen to his Turkish colleague but he heeds the German. With his grudging acquiescence Yildirim now begins to redeploy to southern Palestine to meet the British threat there.

In Aleppo today Enver Pasha, Turkey’s paramount leader, meets with senior military figures including Djemal Pasha, the Proconsul of Syria, and Kemal Pasha, whose star has been on the rise since the Turkish victory at Gallipoli. Enver has a big plan to reveal. He is forming a new army group to be called Yildirim (Lightning Force), combining formations commanded by Kemal and Halil Pasha with German units. The overall commander will be none other than Germany’s Falkenhayn, the former German commander in chief who recently presided over the conquest of Romania.

Yildirim’s mission is a simple one: the recapture of Baghdad. Enver hopes that by doing so Turkey’s prestige in the Middle East will be restored. His audience are more sceptical, fearing that it would be foolhardy for Turkey to launch an offensive in Mesopotamia when the British are threatening to advance into Palestine. And the Turkish officers do not relish the prospect of being commanded by Falkenhayn. The Turks are increasingly resentful of the perceived arrogance of their German allies and suspect that Falkenhayn will be cut from the same cloth as the various German officers they have had to deal with. But Enver is insistent and with Germany providing considerable financial and military resources to Yildirim they are able to call the tune.

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Enver and Djemal visiting Jerusalem last year (Wikipedia)

From their new base in Wajh, Arab rebels are able to threaten the railway line from Damascus to Medina, where Fahreddin commands a large Turkish force. Today an Arab raiding party succeeds in derailing a Medina-bound train with a mine exploded underneath it. The attack emphasises the isolation of Fahreddin’s force and the difficulty of keeping them supplied.

Djemal Pasha, one of the triumvirate that effectively rules Turkey, is the Ottoman proconsul in the Levant. Based in Damascus, he fears that the Medina garrison will be cut off. He would rather it was withdrawn. But Fahreddin is determined to stay in Medina, preventing the Arab rebels from establishing complete control over the Hejaz region. And truth be told the Arabs’ British friends are happy for Fahreddin to stay there. The British are preparing an offensive into Palestine and they do not want Fahreddin’s men joining the Turks there. So through liaison officers like Captain Lawrence they arrange for the Arabs to continue their attacks on the railroad, disrupting travel along it sufficiently that it will be nigh impossible for Fahreddin to extract his garrison.

image source: (Weapons and Warfare; I think the image is a still from Lawrence of Arabia)

The revolt against the Turks in western Arabia has enjoyed some successes, but Medina remains firmly in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish garrison under Fahreddin Pasha is too strong for the rebels to dislodge. Fahreddin hopes to crush the rebellion and restore Turkish rule over Mecca and the entire Hejaz region.

The Turks are pursuing a military strategy but they are also trying to undermine the Arab Revolt by destroying the religious credibility of the rebel leader, Sharif Hussein, the Emir of Mecca. The Turkish Sultan claims the title of Caliph, which would make him the successor to the Prophet and the leader of all true Muslims. The Sultan has already declared a Jihad against the Allies, but instead of joining this holy war Sharif Hussein has entered into an alliance with the infidel. Turkish propaganda proclaims that such a man is unfit to be the guardian of the holy places.

The Turks have already declared Hussein to be no longer the Emir of Mecca. Now his intended replacement arrives in Medina. Sharif Ali Haydar is a distant relative of Sharif Hussein. He had been considered for the emirate when it last became vacant, but at that point Sharif Ali seemed like a safer pair of hands. Now that Haydar is in Medina, Fahreddin hopes to have him installed in Mecca before the Hajj in October.

The Turkish authorities do not entirely trust Haydar, who was previously considered to be a liberal and an anglophile (his wife, Isobel Duncan, is Irish and his eldest son was educated in Britain). There are rumours that Djemal Pasha, Turkey’s proconsul in Syria, has sent Colonel Nurredin to Medina to keep an eye on Haydar. At the first sign that Haydar is intriguing with the British, Nurredin is apparently under orders to kill him.

image source:

Fahreddin Pasha inspecting troops in Medina

Ahmed Djemal Pasha is one of the three most powerful men in the Ottoman Empire. He is Turkey’s naval minister but it is as Ottoman proconsul in Syria that he wields powers of life and death over a vast territory stretching from the southern edge of Anatolia to the borders of Egypt. He strives to preserve a cosmetic distance from the extermination of the Armenians (for all that the final destinations of the deported Armenians are death camps in his territory) but he is not averse to the shedding of blood.

Arab nationalism has started to make inroads into Syria. Djemal fears that Arab nationalists are conspiring with the French and British enemies of the Ottoman Empire, lured by false promises that these powers will free Syria from Turkey. So he decides to show what happens to traitors. Today in Beirut and Damascus public executions take place of nationalists accused of intriguing with Turkeys’ enemies. The 21 victims are hanged in the central squares of the two cities. Many of them are from well-connected local families but they are strung up together with their fellows of more humble background.

That night in Damascus Djemal is fêted at a banquet held in his honour by the city’s leading citizens.

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Executions (The Orange Room)

In tradition and stereotype Arabs are noted for their hospitality. Yet Sharif Hussein, emir of Mecca and ruler of the surrounding Hejaz region, may be less than pleased to be entertaining the guests who have joined him today. They are none other than Ismail Enver and Ahmed Djemal, two of the three most powerful men in the Ottoman Empire of which Hussein is a subject. Enver and Djemal are preparing for a new attempt to attack the Suez Canal from the east. They are also concerned about the loyalty of their Arab subjects and are touring the region to assess the reliability of their various clients.

Sharif Hussein is engaging in secret negotiations with the British but he protests his loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Djemal and Enver give no impression of doubting his assurances, though they are probably aware of his treacherous intrigues. Their visit serves to intimidate Hussein, an unsubtle warning against rebellion.

Enver & Djemal do not need to mention the ace card they can play against Hussein: his son Faisal is in Damascus, effectively under arrest by Djemal. He would face an uncertain fate should his father ever break with the Turks.

image sources:

Sharif Hussein (Wikipedia)

Enver Pasha & Djemal Pasha (Karanlığı Aydınlatan Işık)

Ahmed Djemal Pasha is one of the triumvirate who effectively rule the Ottoman Empire; he is also the Minister of the Navy and mayor of Constantinople. He has personally led an invasion of Egypt, hoping to drive the British out of that country. As the Ottoman Sultan has declared a Jihad against the empire’s enemies, Djemal hopes that the Egyptians and any Muslim troops in the British army will side with the Turks and turn on the British. To accentuate its Jihadi credentials, his invasion force comprises only Muslim troops from the Ottoman Empire, with the exception of a small number of German staff officers.

The advance across the Sinai has been meticulously planned. Thanks largely to the preparations of Djemal’s German chief of staff, Friedrich von Kressenstein, the army has not lost any men in the desert and arrives at the Suez Canal intact. But then the problems begin. Thanks to aerial reconnaissance, the British know the Turks are coming. The Canal is defended too strongly for Djemal’s men to cross over to the west bank in force. Britain’s Indian troops show no signs of being about to join the Turkish Jihad.

Even without crossing the Canal, the Turkish army is able to close it off to enemy shipping. But Djemal’s army cannot remain in the Sinai desert for an extended period of time. Djemal orders a retreat back to Palestine. The British let them go unopposed.

So the attack has been a failure. The Turks have suffered a few thousand casualties in their attempt to force a crossing of the Canal, but at least Djemal’s army has not suffered the annihilation endured by Enver’s at Sarikamish.

images source (Wikipedia)

The Ottoman Empire is effectively ruled by the “Three Pashas”: Ismail Enver Pasha (Minister of War), Mehmed Talaat Pasha (Minister of Finance and Minister of the Interior) and Ahmed Djemal Pasha (Minister of the Navy and mayor of Constantinople). Enver led the disastrous attack on the Russian town of Sarikamish. Now Djemal is making his own bid for military glory. He is leading a force from Palestine to attack the Suez Canal and invade Egypt.

British troops have been occupying Egypt for decades, but until the war started it was notionally part of the Ottoman Empire. Britain deposed the pro-Turkish khedive and installed the more pliant Hussein Kamel as sultan, declaring Egypt a British protectorate. The Suez Canal is a vital link between Britain and its empire in India; it is to defend the canal that Britain has been occupying Egypt.

Djemal’s invasion force is small. He must leave substantial forces behind to defend the Levantine coast from any possible amphibious attack by the Allies. But geography also dictates that he marches at the head of a modest force. Between Palestine and the Suez Canal is the Sinai desert, a barren region in which no large army can live off the land. Turkey’s ability to keep a field army supplied are limited. Djemal does not want his soldiers to die before they can fight, so he brings no more than be can kept in food and water.

The British forces in Egypt are much larger than Djemal’s, but they are spread out throughout the country. Djemal hopes that when his force crosses the canal the Muslim population of Egypt will heed the call of Jihad and rise up against the occupiers.

Ahmed Djemal (Wikipedia)

Suez Canal and northern Sinai (Wikipedia)