Such indeed became the position that even the Turco-Italian war, which might have been expected to shake the confidence of the Ottoman Government in the bona fides of Italy's then ally, did not seriously disturb the intimate relations which were gradually developing between Berlin and Constantinople. Here again enemy intrigues were to the fore, for in addition to Austria's objecting to the inauguration of any Italian operations in the Balkans, the German Government, when the position of its representative in Constantinople had become seriously compromised as a result of the Italian annexation of Tripoli, which he could not prevent, suddenly found it convenient to transfer von Bieberstein to London and to replace him by another, perhaps less able, but certainly none the less successful in retaining a grasp over everything which took place in the Ottoman capital.
Before and particularly after the accession of the Kaiser to the throne, the Germans gradually furthered their program by a system of railway penetration in the East. In the late '60s Baron Hirsch secured a concession for the construction of lines from Constantinople to what was then the north-western frontier of Eastern Rumelia, and from Saloniki to Mitrovitza, with a branch to Ristovatz on the then Serbian frontier. At first these lines were under French influence, but they subsequently became largely an Austrian undertaking, and considerably later the Deutsche Bank secured a predominating proportion of the capital, thus turning them practically into a German concern. In Asia Minor the British, who were originally responsible for the construction of railways, were gradually ousted, until, with the signature of the Bagdad Railway agreement in 1903, the Germans dominated not only that line, but also occupied a position in which, on the one hand, they had secured control of many of its feeders, and, on the other, they had jeopardized the future development and even the actual prosperity of those not already in their possession.
Fruits of the Balkan Wars
This brings us up to the second phase in the development of Pan-Germanism in the East—the period of the Balkan wars—toward two aspects of which, as Prince Lichnowsky says, the Central Powers devoted their attention. "Two possibilities for settling the question remained." Either Germany left the Near Eastern problem to the peoples themselves or she supported her allies "and carried out a Triple Alliance policy in the East, thereby giving up the rôle of mediator." Once more, in the words of the Prince himself, "The German Foreign Office very much preferred the latter," and as a result supported Austria on the one hand in her desire for the establishment of an independent Albania, and on the other in her successful attempts to draw Bulgaria into the second war and to prevent that country from providing the concessions which at that time would have satisfied Rumania.
So far as the first of these questions—that connected with Albania—is concerned, while the ex-Ambassador admits the policy of Austria was actuated by the fact that she "would not allow Serbia to reach the Adriatic," the actual creation of Albania was justified by the existence of the Albanians as a nationality and by their desire for independent government. Indeed, that the régime inaugurated by the great powers on the east of the Adriatic, and particularly the Government of William of Wied, proved an utter failure, was due not so much to what Prince Lichnowsky describes as the "incapacity of existence" of Albania as to the attitude of the Central Powers, and especially to that of Austria, who, having brought the new State into being, at once worked for unrest and for discord in the hope of being able to step in to put the house in order when the propitious moment arrived.
Promoting Balkan Discord
The second direction in which the enemy devoted his energy was an even larger, more German and more far-reaching one. "The first Balkan war led to the collapse of Turkey and with it the defeat of our policy, which has been identified with Turkey for many years," says the memorandum. This at one time seemed destined to carry with it results entirely disadvantageous to Germany. Thus, if the four States, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia, who fought in the first war had continued on good terms with one another, the whole balance of power in Europe would almost certainly have been changed. Instead of the Ottoman Empire, which prior to the outbreak of these hostilities was held by competent authorities to be able to provide a vast army, then calculated to number approximately 1,225,000 men, there would have sprung up a friendly group of countries which in the near future could easily have placed in the field a combined army approximately amounting to at least 1,000,000, all told. As the interests of such a confederation, which would probably have been joined by Rumania, would have been on the side of the Triple Entente, the Central Powers at once realized that its formation or its continued existence would mean for them not only the loss of the whole of Turkey, but also the gain for their enemies of four or five allies, most of whom had already proved their power in war,
German Power in Turkey
Between the Balkan wars and the outbreak of the European conflagration, but as part of the former period, there occurred two events of far-reaching significance. The first, which is mentioned by Prince Lichnowsky, was the appointment of General Liman von Sanders practically as Commander in Chief of the Turkish Army—an appointment which Mr. Morgenthau rightly tells us constituted a diplomatic triumph for Germany. When coupled with the fact that Enver Pasha—an out-and-out pro-German—became Minister of War about the same time, the military result of this appointment was an enormous improvement in the efficiency of the Ottoman Army. Its political significance, on the other hand, was due to the fact that it carried with it a far-reaching increase of Pan-German influence at Constantinople.
The second event in progress during the interval of peace was connected with the Aegean Islands question. Germany, having first utilized her diplomatic influence in favor of Turkey, later on encouraged the Government of that country in its continued protests against the decision upon that question arrived at by the great powers. Not content, however, with this, the Kaiser, who has now adopted the policy of deportation in Belgium, in Poland, and in Serbia, definitely encouraged the Turks in a like measure in regard to the Greeks of Asia Minor in order to be rid of a hostile and Christian population when the time for action arrived. That this encouragement was given was always apparent to those who followed the course of events in 1914, but that it was admitted by a German Admiral to Mr. Morgenthau constitutes a condemnation the damning nature of which it is difficult to exaggerate.