The military party at Constantinople, headed by Enver Pasha, was now practically dominant, and it was declared that if the Grand Vizier raised objections he would be replaced. This party had come to the conclusion, in which it was carefully supported by Germany, that the time was ripe for throwing its full fighting force into the balance and securing the restoration of Macedonia--at any rate of the whole Salonika district, as well as the islands which were conquered by Greece in the war. German officers and men in large numbers were now pouring into Constantinople to help the Turkish army and navy in the coming campaign. Germany was practically taking over the control of the fleet as well as of the army, and it was thought that Turkey would thus be able to meet the Greek navy on the open sea. Turkey, too, apparently counted on the fact that if she declared war the Balkan States would quarrel among themselves. On the contrary, it was held in Triple Entente circles that the Balkan Alliance against her, which had been so successful in the first war, would be once again called into existence. Moreover, the intervention of Turkey into the sphere of hostilities, although nominally directed against Greece only, would have been regarded as a declaration of war by the Powers of the Triple Entente. They would have lent the Balkan Powers the support of their fleets in the Mediterranean, in which case they would soon have disposed of all the Turkish and German ships. The British Government was fully aware, as were all the other Allies, of the gravity of the situation, and of the fact that attempts would be made to create trouble in Egypt, in India, and elsewhere. They warned Turkey that in starting on any such campaign she would be signing her own death-warrant. The suggestion that an attempt would be made to stir up an insurrection in Egypt was certainly plausible, though it may be pointed out that the German diplomatists at the same time made another suggestion which, if carried out, would have been equally effective or ineffective. Although England is practically mistress of Egypt, Egypt is nevertheless in all strictness not British territory, but Turkish territory, administered by British officials. It might, therefore, have been argued with some show of reasonableness that any movement of troops against Egypt on the part of Turkey could not be construed by us in an unfriendly sense, as Turkey would, after all, merely be moving troops from one part of her own territories to another.