German naval officers on the Dardanelles Front

The Dardanelles became the primary target of the Entente states when the Ottoman Empire involved in the First World War. The main reason for this was to capture the capital, Istanbul, and the exclusion of the Ottoman Empire from the war immediately. Thus, the German Empire would lose a major ally, the Ottoman Empire, the neutral Balkan states would join the Entente states, and the German-Austrian alliance would be defeated by trapping them inside Europe. The most important obstacle for the Entente states to achieve this goal was to cross the Dardanelles. On the other hand, the Ottoman-German alliance envisioned that Germany would protect the Ottoman Empire, which was involved in the war on its side. Moreover, the defence of the Dardanelles had become a vital issue for the German Empire due to the unfavourable course of events on the European fronts in the first months of the war. Considering this general picture, it is expected that Germany would be active in the defence of the Dardanelles. The fact that it was the first year of the war and the connection between the two allies through the Balkans could not be established is the main reason why this activity remained limited. Nevertheless, members of the German army and navy took effective positions in the military units organized for the defence of the Dardanelles, especially at the commanding level, although they did not stand out in numbers. In this study, in which predominantly German sources are used, the necessity of the alliance with the Ottoman Empire and the importance of the Dardanelles for the German Empire are presented in the first place. Then, German activity on the Dardanelles Front is examined by focusing on the German naval officers assigned to defend Dardanelles against attacks from the sea. The effects of the German naval officers, some of whom took part in the defence of the Dardanelles and some in the Ottoman Navy, on the Dardanelles naval war starting from the preparation process for the defence of the Dardanelles and their contributions to the land battles are examined in the context of the alliance relationship in the whole war.