Page:Turkey, the great powers, and the Bagdad Railway.djvu/60



In a sense, German diplomacy had paved the way for the Anatolian Railway concessions. For numerous reasons, which need not be discussed here, French and British influence at the Sublime Porte gradually declined during the decades of 1870-1890. British prestige, in particular, waned after the occupation of Egypt in 1882. The German ambassador at Constantinople during most of this period was Count Hatzfeld, an unusually shrewd diplomatist, who perceived the extraordinary opportunity which then existed to increase German prestige in the Near East. His place in the counsels of the Sultan became increasingly important, as he missed no chance to seize privileges surrendered by France or Great Britain.[16]

An instance of Count Hatzfeld's activity was the appointment of a German military mission to Turkey. Until 1870 there had been a French mission in Constantinople, with almost complete control over the training and equipment of the Ottoman army. At the outbreak of the Franco-German War, however, the mission was recalled because of the crying need for French officers at the front. After the termination of hostilities, and again after the collapse of the Turkish defence against Russia in 1877, the Sultan requested the reappointment of the mission, but the French Government politely declined the invitation. The German ambassador seized upon this neglected opportunity and, in 1883, persuaded Abdul Hamid to invite the Kaiser to designate a group of German officers to serve with the Ottoman General Staff.[17]

In command of the German military mission despatched to Turkey in response to this invitation was General von der Goltz. This brilliant officer—who, appropriately enough, was to die in the Caucasus campaign of 1916—remained in Turkey twelve years, reorganizing the Turkish