Page:Turkey, the great powers, and the Bagdad Railway.djvu/292

 effects. It strengthened German influence at Constantinople, indirectly because of the increased Turkish hostility to Russia and suspicion of France and England, directly because of the presence of hundreds of German staff and regimental officers who used every opportunity to increase German prestige in the army and the civil services. The German ambassador at the Sublime Porte, Baron von Wangenheim, readily capitalized this prestige in the interest of German diplomacy. A formal Turco-German alliance was rapidly passing from the realm of the possible to the realm of the probable.

In the meantime feverish efforts were being made to complete Turkey's military preparations. In March, 1914, at the request of the Minister of War, a conference was held of representatives of all railways in Asiatic Turkey to discuss the utilization of Ottoman rail communications for mobilization in the event of war. Under the guidance of German and Turkish staff officers a plan was adopted by which the respective railways agreed to merge their services into a unified national system for the transportation of troops. Throughout the spring of 1914 the defences of the Dardanelles were being strengthened, schools were being conducted for junior officers and non-commissioned officers, the General Staff was reorganized, new plans for mobilization were in process of completion. On July 23, 1914, the handiwork of Field Marshal Liman von Sanders Pasha was exhibited in a great national military review. On that occasion Baron von Wangenheim said to the Ottoman Minister of Marine: "Djemal Pasha, just look at the amazing results achieved by German officers in a short time. You have now a Turkish army which can be compared with the best organized armies in the world! All German officers are at one in praising the moral strength of the Turkish soldier, and indeed it has proved itself beyond all expectation. We could claim we have