Germany -- Foreign relations -- Turkey; Turkey -- Foreign relations -- Germany; World War, 1914-1918 -- Turkey
Wangenheim had another reason for wishing an immediate peace, and it was
a reason which shed much light upon the shamelessness of German
diplomacy. The preparation which Turkey was making for the conquest of
Egypt caused this German ambassador much annoyance and anxiety. The
interest and energy which the Turks had manifested in this enterprise
were particularly giving him concern. Naturally I thought at first that
Wangenheim was worried that Turkey would lose; yet he confided to me
that his real fear was that his ally might succeed. A victorious Turkish
campaign in Egypt, Wangenheim explained, might seriously interfere with
Germany’s plans. Should Turkey conquer Egypt, naturally Turkey would
insist at the peace table on retaining this great province and would
expect Germany to support her in this claim. But Germany had no
intention then of promoting the reëstablishment of the Turkish Empire.
At that time she hoped to reach an understanding with England, the
basis of which was to be something in the nature of a division of
interests in the East. Germany desired above all to obtain Mesopotamia
as an indispensable part of her Hamburg-Bagdad scheme. In return for
this, she was prepared to give her endorsement to England’s annexation
of Egypt. Thus it was Germany’s plan at that time that she and England
should divide Turkey’s two fairest dominions. This was one of the
proposals which Germany intended to bring forth in the peace conference
which Wangenheim was now scheming for, and clearly Turkey’s conquest of
Egypt would have presented complications in the way of carrying out this
plan. On the morality of Germany’s attitude to her ally, Turkey, it is
hardly necessary to comment. The whole thing was all of a piece with
Germany’s policy of “realism” in foreign relations.
Nearly all German classes, in the latter part of 1914 and the early part
of 1915, were anxiously looking for peace and they turned to
Constantinople as the most promising spot where peace negotiations might
most favourably be started. The Germans took it for granted that
President Wilson would be the peacemaker; indeed, they never for a
moment thought of any one else in this capacity. The only point that
remained for consideration was the best way to approach the President.
Such negotiations would most likely be conducted through one of the
American ambassadors in Europe. Obviously, Germany had no means of
access to the American ambassadors in the great enemy capitals, and
other circumstances induced the German statesmen to turn to the American
Ambassador in Turkey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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