ottoman empire
Map of the ottoman empire 1914
ottomans before the war
Before the war, the Ottoman Empire was in debt of $716,000,000. Of this, France held 60 percent of the total, Germany held 20 percent, and the United Kingdom comprised 15 percent. Siding with Germany, with the minimum debt holder (20 percent compared to 75 percent), put the Empire in the position to settle its debts or even receive a war indemnity.
Before WW1, the ottoman empire had 4 centuries of continuous rule. However, it was starting to falter as they lost much territory and resource during the Balkan wars 2 years prior to the great war.
Ottoman relations with Germany
The ottomans joined Germany and her allies in the war as they not only found German industrial and military power impressive, but was also motivated by the fact that winning the war would enable them to reap plenty of rewards such as regaining lost territories and incorporating new lands and nationalities into the ottoman empire, allowing it to grow. Furthermore, An Ottoman army could provide the Germans with additional troops for overseas deployment and the Ottoman Empire’s territory would allow the German army access to land routes into Africa and Central Asia.
The war for the Turks
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In early 1917, the ottomans were constantly attacked and taken over by british forces. On march 11, British forces took over Baghdad. Two weeks later, even more Ottomans were cleared out of the Sinai
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Developments in Southeast Europe squashed the Ottoman government's hopes. In September 1918, the Allied forces under the command of Louis Franchet d'Espèrey mounted a sudden offensive at the Macedonian Front, which proved quite successful.
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This development undermined both the German and Ottoman cause simultaneously - the Germans had no troops to spare to defend Austria-Hungary from the newly formed vulnerability in Southeast Europe after the losses it had suffered in France, and the Ottomans suddenly faced having to defend Istanbul against an overland European siege without help from the Bulgarians
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Talaat Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the ottomans realised and managed to convince the members of the ruling party that there was no chance for the ottomans to win the war, pointing out how doing this will cause the ottomans to receive less harsh punishments.
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On 30 October 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed, ending ottoman involvement in WW1.
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In December 1917, the Ottomans signed a treaty with the Russians, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
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On 11 May, a new peace conference opened at Batum. The Treaty of Batum was signed on 4 June 1918, in Batum between the Ottoman Empire and three Trans-Caucasus states: First Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Democratic Republic of Georgia.The goal was to assist Azerbaijan Democratic Republic at Battle of Baku, then turn north to assist the embattled Mountainous Ottoman's goal to side with Muslims of Azerbaijan and MRNC managed to get Bolsheviks of Russia, Britain and Germany on the same side of a conflict box at this brief point in the history.
Republic of the Northern Caucasus and then sweep southward to encircle the British in Mesopotamia and retake Baghdad