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British naval missions to the Ottoman Empire

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British naval missions to the Ottoman Empire

In the lead-up to World War I, there were three British naval missions to the Ottoman Empire, sent to help modernize and reform the Ottoman Navy. The missions were led by admirals Douglas Gamble (February 1909 – March 1910), Hugh Pigot Williams (April 1910 – April 1912), and Arthur Limpus[3] (May 1912 – September 1914). Despite enjoying extensive formal authority, with the heads of the mission serving concurrently as Fleet Commanders of the Ottoman Navy, the success of the mission was limited due to political instability, pro-German tendencies within the leadership of the Young Turks, and the involvement of the Ottoman Empire in the Italo-Turkish War and the two Balkan Wars in 1911–1913, which led to naval defeats and the loss of several smaller units.

İn 1913 The Turks were suffering from their defeat in Balkan Wars. The conflict with Greece for Aegean islands was still continuing. Turks were determined to equalise their naval position in the Aegean and bought a battleship from Brazil. Despite the protests of Djemal pasha to the U.S. Ambassador, Henry Morgenthau, a violent Phil Hellene who rejoiced in his discomfiture, U.S.A. immediately sold two modern ships, the Idaho and the Mississippi, to the Greeks.  

With the advice and assistant of British Naval advisors Turks ordered two modern battle ships to England, Sultan Osman and Reshadieh. Both had been built in British shipyards and were immensely powerful; the Sultan Osman mounted more (including 13.5 inch) guns than any battleship ever built before. The Sultan Osman was completed in May and the Turks had paid half of her purchased price; the Reshadieh was ready in early July.


Their overall cost was 7.500.000. Pound. The money had been raised from the people voluntarily and every Anatolian peasant felt he had a share in these magnificent new ships, which at one move would wipe out of the Greeks’ sharp deal over the Idaho and Mississippi. It is well known that; women had sold their jewellery and school children had given up their pocket money to contribute to the popular subscription. Istanbul was ready to meet the arrival of the ships. Admiral Limpus had put out to sea from Istanbul on 27 July 1914, with ships of the Turkish Navy, waiting to greet the Sultan Osman I, and escort her back through the Straits of Dardanelle to the Ottoman capital, where a “Navy Week” had been scheduled with lavish ceremonies for the Minister of Marine, Ahmet Djemal, and for the cause of British- Ottoman friendships. In early July Turkish crew (about 500 soldiers under the command of Captain Rauf Bey) were ready to take over the ships.

[1] Admiral Sir Douglas Austin Gamble KCVO (8 November 1856 – 23 May 1934) was a Royal Navy officer who commanded the 4th Battle Squadron. Gamble became Naval Advisor to the Turkish Government in 1909 and Commander of the 6th Cruiser Squadron in 1910.

[2] Admiral Hugh Pigot Williams (1 September 1858 – 28 June 1934) was a British officer of the Royal Navy. In 1910–1912, while a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy, he served as head of the British naval mission to the Ottoman Empire and Fleet Commander of the Ottoman Navy, at the rank of Liva Amiral. After his work with the Ottomans, he was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1913 and retired in 1915. His rank was advanced to full Admiral in 1917 while on the retired list.

[3] Admiral Sir Arthur Henry Limpus, (7 June 1863 – 3 November 1931) was a Royal Navy officer who became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard. He was appointed head of the British naval mission to the Ottoman Empire in May 1912.

Sources

Ewin, Toby (2023-07-03). "Time to Talk Turkey: The British Naval and German military missions to the Ottoman Empire in 1912–14". The Mariner's Mirror. 109 (3): 365–369. doi:10.1080/00253359.2023.2225320. ISSN 0025-3359.

Langensiepen, Bernd; Güleryüz, Ahmet (1995). The Ottoman Steam Navy, 1828–1923. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-610-8.

Rooney, Chris B. (1998). "The International Significance of British Naval Missions to the Ottoman Empire, 1908-14". Middle Eastern Studies. 34 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1080/00263209808701207. JSTOR 4283915.

See also: The Entrance of the Ottoman Empire to the World War I and the British Naval Mission
June 2022Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi (HÜTAD) DOI:10.20427/turkiyat.981676
Author:  Dilara DAL 

ABSTRACT

After the proclamation of the Constitutional Monarchy in 1908, Admiral Arthur Henry Limpus was the last British adviser appointed as the naval adviser and the commander of the navy to the Ottoman Ministry of Marine. This study examines his efforts to establish a new naval base in the Gulf of Izmit and the end of his service period in the Ottoman Government after the outbreak of World War I. As the Imperial Naval Arsenal’s condition was far from meeting the repair and maintenance needs of both the naval warships and of the Reşadiye and Sultan Osman-ı Evvel dreadnoughts under construction in Britain, important steps were taken to realize a project for the establishment of a new naval base in the Gulf of Izmit with the cooperation of Armstrong-Vickers group and the Ministry of Marine. During the process that started with the confiscation of the Reşadiye and Sultan Osman-ı Evvel dreadnoughts by the British Government in July 1914 and the purchase of the German battlecruisers Goeben and Breslau by the Ottoman Government in August 1914, the British naval mission led by Admiral Limpus played an active role in the British Government's diplomatic campaign for the preservation of Ottoman neutrality. Based on Admiral Limpus’ private documents kept in the Caird Archive of the British National Maritime Museum the paper examines these developments.

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