Bruno entered the headquarters of the German Army’s Central Division where he found that for the first time in a while, things seemed rather exciting, with calls being connected and telegrams coming in from all over.
Having not been aware of the declaration of war between the Young Turk rebels and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, he was surprised to find that war broke out in the near east several months earlier than it had in his previous life.
On January 12th, 1908, a formal memorandum was drawn up by the Committee of Union and Progress, which was the largest of the Young Turk groups rejecting foreign intervention and nationalist activism. They also called for constitutional government and equality amongst Ottoman citizens.
Copies of this message were sent to the consuls of the Great Powers, and the Sultan himself, where the Young Turks were swift and decisive in their aggressive actions. Raiding Ottoman armories and caches for weapons to use in battle if their demands were not met.
Frankly speaking, there were two ways to treat this act. One was to ignore it and let the Ottomans handle the battle themselves, or two was to send a punitive expeditionary force to put down these rebels, who had essentially insulted the Great Powers.
Considering these rebels had yet to attack the German Consulate, unlike the Boxers in the Far East eight years prior, sending a punitive expedition was deemed to be a bit overkill, and instead methods of dealing with this crisis in the near east was being discussed by the various generals.
Bruno stepped forward after listening in long enough to understand the situation and immediately made his opinion known. Causing all the other generals to silence themselves and heed his words as if they were coming from some divine authority.
“I am forced to agree with Generalfeldmarschall von Mackensen. Sending a punitive expedition at this time without provocation could be taken as an act of unnecessary aggression by the other powers at best, and an outright act of war at worst.
Simply put, we need to defend our assets in the region, dispatch the Seebataillon to protect the Consulate, and issue a travel warning to all of our citizens. The Ottoman Empire, for the foreseeable future, is in a state of potential civil war and it is ill advised to travel there. Also, we should begin evacuation operations for all of our citizens currently within their borders.
Our first priority should be the safety and wellbeing of our citizens. Anything else can wait until this objective has been secured. Or is there any disagreement among the rest of you?”
Though Bruno had yet to even reach the rank of GeneralOberst, which was technically the third highest rank in the German Army, behind Generaloberst mit dem Rang als Generalfeldmarschall and Generalfeldmarschall.
Despite the fact that Bruno wasn’t the highest ranking general in the room, his words were worth their weight in gold. By now, every man in this room had immense respect for the young prodigy, who seemed to understand warfare on a level comparable with history’s greatest conquerors.
And because of this, they quickly whispered among themselves, before Helmuth von Moltke spoke up. He was, after all, the one who had replaced Alfred von Schleiffen as the German General Chief of Staff in 1906 and was now in charge of the German Army and its functions.
Dispatching the Seebataillon to protect the German Consulate in Constantinople would require the permission of the Kaiserliche Marine, which was the Naval component of the Imperial German Military. However, von Moltke generally agreed with Bruno’s assessment, as they would be the ones most likely to handle such a task.
And was quick to voice his support of Bruno’s suggestions overall.
“General der Infanterie von Zehntner is right, it would be most wise to focus on protecting our own people in the region first before deciding on any foolish and hateful action regarding how we deal with the fact that the Ottoman Empire appears to be collapsing around us at this very moment.
I will contact the Großadmiral and request his immediate support in this operation. As for the rest of you, I want you on standby until we have secured the Consulate and evacuated our citizens from the Ottoman Empire.”
Frankly speaking, waiting around the Central Division of the German Army’s high command until further orders were given was less than ideal for Bruno, who had many, many important matters to attend to. But orders were orders, and he was not yet at the rank where he answered only to the Kaiser, and hence he did as commanded.
—
Germany wasn’t the only nation concerned about the Young Turk Revolution. After all, the Bosphorus strait was critical for shipping in and out of Russia. Naturally, the Tsar was also wary of what was happening in the region, and was quick to contact the Kaiser.
It did not take long before the German Kaiser, the Austro-Hungarian Kaiser, and the Russian Tsar were all conversing with one another via a series of telegraphs. The immediate plan of action was to follow the example of Germany had set. Fortifying the Consulates in Constantinople and evacuating the citizens of the three empires from Ottoman Territory.
Even though this meant shutting down trade with the Ottomans until this matter was concluded, that was less of a concern for these three major emperors than it was for the Sultan. And naturally the Sultan was pissed when he learned of how swiftly the Great Powers had begun to move.
The rebels were one thing, but from his perspective, this was a complete and total over-reaction by Germany, Austro-Hungary, and the Russian Empire. So, what if the Young Turks had basically threatened their consulates? Their activities were currently isolated in Albania, which was a far cry away from Constantinople!
He was so outraged by this that he couldn’t help but scream at his generals, who were more focused on how to deal with the uprising in Albania than they were on dealing with the European Powers.
“Do these fuckers have any idea what they are doing to my economy? One little rebellion in Albania, and all of a sudden, they are fortifying their consulates and withdrawing their citizens from my empire? Travel notices have been posted across Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Russia telling their citizens to avoid traveling to the Ottoman Empire, if at all possible, even for commercial activities!?! What kind of bullshit is this?”
The Generals were obviously less concerned about the effect this little rebellion which was still in its early stages was having on the economy, and Moreso how they could route and destroy these rebels, who were now sufficiently armed, before they could enforce their demands on the Sultan.
But at the end of the day, the Sultan was an autocrat, and he needed to be appeased. Because of this, one of his leading generals stepped forward and made a bold suggestion. That was all in an attempt to appease the Sultan.
“Well, perhaps we need to just make sure the European Powers know that the city of Istanbul is unaffected by this little rebellion? I say that we dispatch the Bostanji to the city’s streets in a show of force to these damned traitors, so that they know the capital of our Great Empire will always remain beneath the control of the Sultan!”
It was, frankly speaking, a move dedicated purely to pageantry. The Bostanji was the Sultan’s personal guard. There were about 600 of them in total at the moment, and they were little more than glorified bodyguards.
But they could be used to keep the peace in the city of Constantinople, and of course, be used as a means of propaganda to ensure the European powers that trade in the Capital of the Ottoman Empire was still perfectly safe.
Hence why the Ottoman General suggested this, whereas the majority of his actual forces would be sent to Albania to confront the Young Turks whose numbers were still small enough to crush with overwhelming military might.
The Sultan was quick to agree to his general’s suggestion, believing it would be the best course of action to appease the European powers. If they deemed the Ottoman Empire too unsafe to continue investing in, then the entirety of the Ottoman state would collapse practically overnight.
After all, the Ottoman Empire currently owed a substantial debt, which by 1914 would amass to a whopping sum of 139.1 million Turkish pounds. As a result, the Ottoman government was completely reliant upon European financiers.
Hence why the members of the Sultan’s personal guard began deploying to the streets of Constantinople in an attempt to crack down on any sentiment that was remotely revolutionary in nature.
Meanwhile, the Ottoman Army would begin deploying troops to Albania to confront the Young Turks in the region led by the Ahmed Niyazi Bey. Either way, the current chaos was only just beginning, and Bruno could only hope that it would end as swiftly as it had in his past life.
