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The Ottoman Empire's entry into World War I came in November 1914, after three months of official neutrality. The reasons for the Ottoman action that precipitated war were not immediately clear, since the empire was not formally allied with any of the great powers. This decision would ultimately lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ottomans and the eventual dissolution of the empire.〔''Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', by Huseyin (FRW) Kivrikoglu, Edward J. Erickson Page 211.〕〔"Military Casualties-World War-Estimated", Statistics Branch, GS, War Department, 25 February 1924; cited in ''World War I: People, Politics, and Power'', published by Britannica Educational Publishing (2010) Page 219〕〔Totten, Samuel, Paul Robert Bartrop, Steven L. Jacobs (eds.) ''Dictionary of Genocide''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008, p. 19. ISBN 978-0-313-34642-2.〕 == Background == The Young Turk Revolution, which restored the Ottoman constitution of 1876 and reconvened the Ottoman parliament, effectively started the Second Constitutional Era. Young Turk movement members once underground (named committee, group, etc.) established (declared) their parties. Among them, the "Committee of Union and Progress" (CUP) and the "Freedom and Accord Party"—also known as the Liberal Union or Liberal Entente (LU)—were major parties. A general election was held in October and November 1908 and CUP became the majority party. A myriad of Ottoman military reforms paved the way for the transformation of the Ottoman Classical Army into the Ottoman Modern Army that would see the combat of the First World War. During this period the Ottoman Army faced many challenges including the Italo-Turkish War (1911), the Balkan Wars (1912–13), unrest on the periphery (such as in the Yemen Vilayet and the Hauran Druze Rebellion), and continuous political unrest in the empire: the 1909 counter coup had been followed by a restoration, and then another coup d'état in 1912, which was followed by a raid on Porte in 1913. Thus, at the onset of the First World War, the Ottoman Army had already been involved in continuous fighting for the previous three years. The international political climate at the beginning of the twentieth century was a multipolar one, with no single or two states pre-eminent. Multi-polarity traditionally had afforded the Ottomans the ability to play-off one power against the other, which, according to author Michael Reynolds, they did on a number of times with consummate skill. Germany had supported Abdul Hamid II's regime and acquired a strong foothold. Initially, the newly formed CUP and LU turned to Britain. The empire hoped to break France and Germany's hold and acquire greater autonomy for the Porte by encouraging Britain to compete against Germany and France. Hostility toward Germany increased when her ally, Austria-Hungary, annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The pro-CUP Tanin went so far as to suggest that Vienna's motive in carrying out this act was to strike a blow against the constitutional regime and provoke a reaction in order to bring about its fall. Two prominent CUP members, Ahmed Riza and Dr Nazim, were sent to London to discuss the possibility of cooperation with Sir Edward Grey and Sir Charles Hardinge. At the start of 1914, in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars (1912–13), CUP became convinced that only an alliance with Britain and the Entente could guarantee the survival of what remained of the Empire. Britain's response, Sir Louis Mallet, who became Britain's Ambassador to the Porte in 1914, noted that The CUP could not possibly accept such proposals. They felt betrayed by what they considered was the European Powers' bias against the Ottomans during the Balkan Wars, and therefore they had no faith in Great Power declarations regarding the Empire's independence and integrity on the abstract; the termination of European financial control and administrative supervision was one of the principal aims of CUP's movement. Sir Louis Mallet, Ambassador, seemed totally oblivious to that. The response of Louis du Pan Mallet was not based on an ignorance. Though these imperial powers had experienced relatively few major conflicts between them over the previous hundred years, an underlying rivalry, otherwise known as "the Great Game", had exacerbated the situation to such an extent that resolution was sought. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 brought shaky British-Russian relations to the forefront by solidifying boundaries that identified their respective control in Persia (the eastern border of the Ottomans) and Afghanistan. Overall, the Convention represented a carefully calculated move on each power's part in which they chose to value a powerful alliance over potential sole control of various parts of Central Asia. The Ottoman Empire lay on the crossroads of Central Asia. The Convention served as the catalyst for creating a "Triple Entente", which was the basis of the alliance of countries opposing the Central Powers. The Ottoman Empire's path into World War I was set with this agreement, which represented the culmination of the Great Game's grand posturing and politicking. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ottoman entry into World War I」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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