The Emperor proposed nine separate kingdoms within the empire, all to be united by a common constitution. The two principal kingdoms Austria and Hungary would each have co-equal prime ministers, and alternating national parliamentary sessions. The other kingdoms would have deputy prime ministers. Each kingdom would elect its assembly called a Diet, which would send representatives to the national Parliaments meeting of Buda Pest and Vienna.
The Emperor empowered the two Prime Ministers to assemble a convention to draft the constitution and to bring it to him before years end. The Emperor would be the king of the individual kingdoms. However, the kingdoms would have considerable latitude in self-government within the framework of the constitution.
Petrograd, July 3.
A revolution against the Provisional Government, agitated by the Bolsheviks, broke out with spontaneous demonstrations by the Petrograd Soviet, the First Machine Gun Regiment and the Kronstadt sailors who murdered their officers and an admiral. The Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky and Defense Minister Prince Lvov commanded troops which violently suppressed the rioters.
Lenin fled to Finland. However, the secret police arrested Trotsky and Stalin as they boarded a boat to follow Lenin. Private trials for both agitators led to summary execution. Guards shot both men in the back of the head, and subsequently in the back, legs, and shoulders. The official line indicated the prisoners died attempting to escape.
The Bolshevik Soviet in Moscow raised the Red Banner of revolt. Civil war engulfed Russia with each side fielding thousands of loyal soldiers. Lenin returned assuming command of the Bolsheviks. In November, at the Battle of Kursk, Prince Lvov’s Provisional Army decisively defeated the Bolsheviks, who retreated across the Ural Mountains. The Russian winter set in, eliminating further combat.
Simultaneously, independence movements broke out in Ukraine, and the Caucasus Mountains provinces of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The Caucasus provinces, united in common cause and defeated the Russian Army dispatched to bring them to heel. In Ukraine, the Russian Army suffered defeat 50-miles from Kiev.
In March and April 1918, Lenin’s Bolsheviks reinforced by Siberians launched a counter-offensive, capturing Moscow and threatening Petrograd. Fearing a Bolshevik victory in Russia, Germany intervened. General Ludendorff assembled an army of 100,000 German soldiers in Estonia. Ludendorff spread the rumor that he assigned a brigade of five-thousand German Cavalry to rescue the Tsar’s family from capture by the Bolsheviks. Lenin took the bait and rushed towards Petrograd to intercept the Germans and capture the Tsar.
Between Pskov and Gatchina Lenin’s army encountered a strongly entrenched German blocking force. Sensing a trap, Lenin retreated towards Pskov. There he met 50,000 German soldiers blocking his retreat. Blocked by the German army to his north and south, Lenin ordered a desperate attack to the north, attempting to break through to Petrograd.
German machine guns cut through the attacking Bolsheviks like a sickle through wheat. Lenin’s army, trapped between the advancing German hammer from their rear could not break through the anvil to their front. The advancing Germans virtually annihilated the trapped Red Army. Lenin ordered the remnants to retreat through the swamps. Fresh snow on the ground revealed escape routes. Pursuing German cavalry ran them down, killing most and capturing Lenin and his surviving senior staff.
Diplomatic messages sent to Kerensky arranged for the turnover of Lenin to Prince Lvov, in return for the release into permanent exile of the Royal Family. General Ludendorff met with Prince Lvov at the Alexander Palace to make the exchange. General Ludendorff then marched his army back into Estonia.
Prince Lvov empaneled a court-martial, as Lenin commanded the Bolshevik forces. The court-martial convicted Lenin and his senior staff of treason and sentenced them to death. The next morning the convicted men were publicly executed by firing squad. The Russians widely published newsreels of the execution to prove that Lenin was dead. Without their leaders, the Bolshevik movement crumbled.
In June, negotiations between Russian and Ukranian leaders resulted in a peaceful resolution. Ukraine, in return for self-government in an autonomous republic, joined a Federation of Russian Republics, with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the Far Eastern Republic led by General Alexander Kolchak, a former Tsarist general.
The Far Eastern Republic also was an autonomous, self-governing state compromising the Maritime Provinces at Vladivostok, and westward along the Manchurian and Mongolian borders. The Russian civil war ended with Tsarist Russia transformed into a democratically elected federation of republics.
The Russian Royal Family, descendants of Queen Victoria, accepted exile in Great Britain. There they resided in a wing at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. On November 15, during the worldwide flu epidemic, both Tsar Nicholas and Prince Alexi died within hours of each other. The major power world leaders all attended the state funerals, including Alexander Kerensky.
With both the former Tsar and Tsarevich dead; Prime Minister Kerensky lifted the permanent exile. The former Empress, Alexandra Feodorovna thanked Kerensky for his gesture but decided to remain at Balmoral with her daughters. Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich renounced all ambitions for the Russian throne and renounced his titles. The renunciations enabled him, and his family to return to Russia with Kerensky.
Chapter 34
Fall of the Ottoman Empire
In 1683, the Ottoman Empire was the dominant power in Europe and the Middle East. By 1914, it shrank to a middle-eastern empire consisting of Thrace, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Palestine, the Hejaz on the east coast of Arabian Peninsula including Mecca and Medina, and the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf. The Sultan was also the Caliph and titular head of Islam.
In 1909, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) won control of the government during the Young Turk Revolt. Declaring a constitutional monarchy, the CUP severely limited the powers of Sultan Mehmed V. The Sultan ordered them arrested. However, the Ottoman Army, very favorable to the Young Turks refused. The CUP then restricted the Sultan to ceremonial duties in Constantinople.
In 1915, the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali declared an Arab revolt in Hejaz and declared the Hashemite Kingdom which extended into Palestine. He then declared himself to be Caliph, as the Sultan could not fulfill those duties. The Ottoman garrison, defeated in battle outside Mecca, retreated and entrenched in Medina where the Arabs established a siege.
Hussein’s son Faisal, Sharif of Bagdad also rebelled and declared himself the King of Mesopotamia. The British assisted Faisal by landing troops at Basra drawing off Ottoman troops. The Arab Army besieged the Ottomans in Bagdad. The Bagdad Ottomans, mostly ethnic Arabs mutinied forcing their commanders to surrender. Faisal then enlisted the Arab Ottomans to force the British out of Basra.
The Kurds utilized the opportunity. Kurdish rebels defeated the Ottoman garrisons and declared the independent nation of Kurdistan. King Faisal led his Arab Army against the Kurds. However, the Kurdish Army decisively defeated Faisal’s army at the battles of Kirkuk and Mosul.
Realizing he could not defeat the Kurds, Faisal recognized their independence. He then proposed an alliance against their common enemies, the Turks, and Persians. Quoting a middle-eastern proverb: “My enemies enemy is my friend,” the Kurdish leader Simko Shikak allied Kurdistan with King Faisal and Mesopotamia.
The Ottoman empire, reduced to Thrace, Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine launched an offensive against the Suez Canal. Logistically an attack on Suez is a difficult task as there are not any railroads across the Sinai. British aerial observation detected the Ottoman Army’s approach. Thirty-thousand Indian and An-zak troops repulse the Ottoman attacks, forcing them to retreat into Palestine. The Ottomans beat back British counter-attacks at Gaza. The Ottoman attack produces a significant benefit. The British were required to leave significant forces to defend the canal, minimizing support for their offensive activities in Gallipoli.
The Armistice signed In Washington DC on May 4. 1917 ended
hostilities between the Allies and the Central Powers. However, local hostilities continued. The Ottoman Army commanded by Kemal Ataturk attempt to reclaim Kurdistan and Mesopotamia. Ataturk’s forces are successful in Western Syria, but the Kurds and Arabs repulse them at Mosul.
On July 3, 1918, Sultan Mehmed V died without a male heir. His replacement was a cousin Mehmed VI who was his closest male relative. In January 1919 Sultan Mehmed VI tried to reimpose imperial rule. The CUP opposed the Sultan as they wanted to maintain a constitutional monarchy. The former Defense Minister Enver Pasha led CUP forces.
The Nationalists commanded by Kemal Ataturk, wanted to abolish the monarchy. During the Young Turk revolt in 1908, Enver Pasha and Kemal Atturturk were friends. At the beginning of The Great War, they fought alongside each other in military activities against the Russians, British, and French. However, political differences resulted in them being on opposite sides when the Turkish Civil War erupted. Enver Pasha led the CUP forces against Kemal Attaturk’s Nationalists. The CUP and Nationalist armies fought in several inconclusive battles, bleeding the Ottoman Armies.
In July, the Greeks and the Bulgarians took advantage of the turmoil and invaded Thrace. The Bulgarians captured the provincial capital of Adrianople. They then advanced to the Black Sea, then down the coast towards Constantinople.
The Greek army of 100,000 soldiers, led by their General Victor Angelakas advanced to the Bosporus and with the Bulgarians and laid siege to Constantinople. A second Greek army moved south and in October captured the Dardanelles Peninsula including Gallipoli.
With the Gallipoli forts silenced, the Greek Navy minesweepers cleared the mines in the Dardanelle channels, which allowed the pre-Dreadnought battleships Lemnos, KiIkis, Troas, and Smyrna plus the ironclad battleships Psara, Hydra and Spetsai to steam up the Dardanelles, bombarding the Turkish forts located in Anatolia into submission. With the forts silenced, Greek troops landed taking possession of the fortified positions, and the Anatolia coastal areas. The Greek Navy then steamed into the Sea of Marmara. Troop transports accompanied, and following the intensive, bombardment by the battleships landed 50,000 soldiers on the east side of the Bosporus.
The CUP defenders of Constantinople appealed to Enver Pasha for assistance. However, he was unable to move his army due to negotiations with King Faisal and the Kurds to jointly defeat the Nationalist Army. In return, he would recognize the independence of Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. However, he did order the Ottoman Navy to attempt to break the siege by attacking the Bulgarian Navy blockading Constantinople from the Black Sea.
On December 1, the Ottoman Navy steamed out of Trebizond. The capital warships included the pre-Dreadnought battleship TCG Turgut Reis, protected cruisers TCG Hamidive and TCG Mecidive. Smaller warships included the Torpedo cruisers TCG Berk-i Satvet and TCG Peyk-i Sevket, destroyers TCG Samsun, TCG Basra and TCG Taşoz, and torpedo boats TCG Burak Reis, TCG Kemal Reis, TCG Îsâ Reis and TCG Sakız,
The mission involved destroying the Bulgarian Navy, and the relieve of the Black Sea blockade. After resupplying Constantinople, the fleet would steam into the Sea of Marmara to confront the Greek Navy. Accompanying the fleet were four freighters loaded with ammunition and supplies for the defenders.
The Bulgarian fleet consisted of one minesweeper, three torpedo boats, and ten gunboats. These warships were no match for the high caliber gunfire from TCG Turgut Reis, TCG Hamidive, and TCG Mecidive which sank four of the Bulgarian gunboats. The others retreated but were run down by the Ottoman torpedo cruisers and torpedo boats. Within two hours, all the Bulgarian warships littered the bottom of the Black Sea. The freighters docked and unloaded the needed supplies. The Ottoman Navy proceeded through the Bosporus to confront the Greek fleet.
The Ottoman fleet’s single file battle line proceeded from the Bosporus to the Sea of Marmara, where the Greek fleet crossed their T. The Greek pre-Dreadnought battleships Lemnos, KiIkis, Troas, and Smyrna steamed on a perpendicular course firing broadsides into the Ottoman ships. The Ironclad battleships Psara, Hydra, and Spetsai added their weight of fire to the battle. Within thirty-minutes, TCG Turgut Reis, TCG Hamidive, and TCG Mecidive sustained four high caliber hits each, suffering substantial damage before being able to steam a parallel course to bring all their guns to bear. The uneven gun battle continued with the Ottoman warships out-gunned two to one.
The torpedo boats TCG Burak Reis, TCG Kemal Reis, TCG Îsâ Reis and TCG Sakız, charged the Greek battleships firing torpedoes. Multiple hits from the Greek battleships sank TCG Kemal Reis, TCG Îsâ Reis, and TCG Sakız. Two torpedoes struck the Troas resulting in a ten-degree list, which reduced her speed to twelve-knots. The Psara, Hydra, and Spetsai fired at the remaining Ottoman torpedo boat, driving it away from the stricken Troas.
The torpedo cruisers TCG Berk-i Satvet and TCG Peyk-i Sevket entered the battle shooting torpedoes from three tubes and firing their four-inch guns. Psara and Hydra, each struck by two torpedoes fell out of the battle line. TCG Berk-i Satvet struck multiple time by high-caliber shells exploded. TCG Peyk-i Sevket and TCG Burak Reis attacked Psara and Hydra, striking them with one torpedo each. Unable to contain the flooding from three torpedo hits both warships rolled over and sank.
The gun battle between the Greek and Turkish battleships continued. The Greek battleships closed the distance to less than one-mile. At the point-blank range, they could not miss, and high-caliber hits struck the Turkish warships turning them into burning wrecks. KiIkis, Troas, and Smyrna finished them off with torpedoes.
Observing the destruction of the other Ottoman warships, TCG Peyk-i Sevket and TCG Burak Reis fired torpedoes in the at the Greek battleships and escaped into the Bosporus as the battleships maneuvered to avoid the torpedoes.
With the Greek and Bulgarian Armies in control of Thrace, The Greek Army controlling the Dardanelles, and the land access from Anatolia, the capture of Constantinople became inevitable. Sultan Mehmed VI and his household boarded the royal yacht and escorted by TCG Peyk-i Sevket and TCG Burak Reis evacuated to his summer palace in Trebizond.
The Greek Navy swept through the Aegean capturing most of the Ottoman-held islands including Crete. On January 15, 1920, Constantinople fell from combined assaults from the land, and naval bombardment from the Sea of Marmara. For the first time since 1451 Christian religious services took place in Santa Sophia. The Greek and Bulgarian armies controlled the access to the Black Sea. The fall of the Ottoman Empire became a reality.
Chapter 35
Kemal Ataturk faced the problem of the CUP armies to the north and the alliance of the Kurds and Mesopotamians from the east. Ataturk attacked King Faisal’s army, calculating it was the weakest. Ataturk’s offensive drove the Mesopotamians back towards Bagdad. The Kurds attacked Ataturk’s flank, allowing a Mesopotamian counter-attack to relieve the pressure on Bagdad.
Sealing Ataturk’s fate, Caliph Hussein bin Ali declared Holy War against Kemal Ataturk and any who fought for him. The Hashemite Army of Hejaz marched through Palestine and attacked Syria from the south.
On March 25, the final battle occurred outside Damascus. Realizing that the allied armies outnumbered Ataturk’s army by four to one, almost one-half of Ataturk’s army deserted him, and melted away. Surrounded, the Nationalists attempted a breakout attacking to the north. Enver Pasha’s CUP army, held, then counter-attacked. Ataturk’s loyal Nationalist divisions fought to the end. The Mesopotamian camel-mounted cavalry overran the final positions, capturing Kemal Ataturk. Together with Enver Pasha, Hussein bin Ali ordered the seriously wounded, Ataturk to kneel, then beheaded him with a single sword cut.
Hussein bin Ali carved out the province of Syria as a kingdom for his eldest son and heir Abdullah. His kingdom extended from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Sea. With religious zeal, Abdullah began persecutions and forced conversions of the substantial Christian and Jewish populations in Syria. The Ottomans traditionally tolerated Christians and Jews as long as they paid the temple tax. Many Christians and Jews rose to
high positions in the Ottoman government. The CUP also contained many Christian and Jewish members.
Great Britain, Italy, and France intervened, landing troops in Beruit, pushing Abdullah’s forces out of the province of Lebanon. Negotiations with Abdullah established a French protectorate over an independent Lebanon. French troops remained as a garrison to protect Lebanon’s majority Christian and substantial Jewish populations.
The Greco-Bulgarian alliance did not survive the fall of Constantinople. Arguments over who controlled which religious sites soon resulted in conflict. In a lightning 30-day war, the Greek army isolated the Bulgarian Army in Thrace, forcing its surrender. The Greek Navy bombarded the Bulgarian seaports along the Aegean Sea supporting a landing by Greek troops. Other Greek naval units established a blockade of the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. Bulgaria sued for peace ceding Thrace and the Aegean coast to Greece.
Enver Pasha attacked the Greek conquests in western Anatolia. The Ottoman armies suffered defeats in their attempts to recapture Constantinople and Smyrna. They were more successful in the southwestern province of Antalya driving the Greeks back towards the sea until Greek trenches, mountain fortifications, and naval bombardment stopped the Ottoman advance. Both sides, exhausted by war agreed to a peace treaty sponsored by Germany and Austria-Hungary. Greece gave up their territory in Antalya province, in return for the Dedodanese Islands including Rhodes. Both sides agreed to a transfer of national minorities.
Manifest Destiny: HEGEMONY Page 16
