The German contribution in a famous Turkish victory at Gallipoli has
been overshadowed by the Mustafa Kemal legend. The commanding presence
of German General Liman von Sanders in the operations is well known. But
relatively little is known about the background of German military
intervention in Ottoman affairs.
Klaus Wolf fills this gap as a result of extensive research in the
German records and the published literature. He examines the military
assistance offered by the German Empire in the years preceding 1914 and
the German involvement in ensuring that the Ottomans fought on the side
of the Central Powers and that they made best use of the German military
and naval missions.
He highlights the fundamental reforms that were required after the
battering the Turks received in various Balkan wars, particularly in the
Turkish Army, and the challenges that faced the members of the German
missions.
When the allied invasion of Gallipoli was launched, German officers
became a vital part of a robust Turkish defense - be it at sea or on
land, at senior command level or commanding units of infantry and
artillery. In due course German aviators were to be, in effect, founding
fathers of the Turkish air arm; whilst junior ranks played an important
part as, for example, machine gunners. This book is not only their
missing memorial but a missing link in understanding the tragedy that
was Gallipoli.
