Posted on Mar 20, 2017
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Just two days after its navy suffered a demoralizing defeat against Turkish forces at the Dardanelles, the British government signs a secret agreement with Russia regarding the hypothetical post-World War I division of the former Ottoman Empire.
By the terms of the agreement, signed on March 20, 1915, Russia would annex the Turkish stronghold of Constantinople, the Bosporus Strait (a waterway connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and marking the boundary between the Asian and European halves of Turkey), and more than half of the European section of Turkey. Britain also promised Russia future control of the Dardanelles (the crucially important strait connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean)—which the British navy had unsuccessfully attacked two days earlier—and the Gallipoli peninsula, the target of a major Allied military invasion (which would also result in failure) launched late the following month. In return, Russia would agree to British claims on other areas of the former Ottoman Empire and central Persia, including the oil-rich region of Mesopotamia.
The Anglo-Russian agreement of March 1915 illustrated the vast degree to which traditional relationships between nations had been changed by World War I. The agreement represented a complete turnaround from past British policy toward Russian control of Constantinople, which they previously thought threatened the British dominance in the region that had been achieved through its colonial administration of India. As part of a coalition including France, Sardinia and Turkey, Britain had in fact gone to war with Russia in the Crimean Peninsula in 1854 (a conflict known as the Crimean War) to prevent Russia from claiming Constantinople and the strait. In 1878, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli had sent the British fleet to the Dardanelles to warn the Russians away from Constantinople during the Russo-Turkish War. Now, in a secret agreement, Britain was promising away the very territory it had so assiduously defended—territory it was simultaneously trying desperately, with little success, to win.
By the terms of the agreement, signed on March 20, 1915, Russia would annex the Turkish stronghold of Constantinople, the Bosporus Strait (a waterway connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and marking the boundary between the Asian and European halves of Turkey), and more than half of the European section of Turkey. Britain also promised Russia future control of the Dardanelles (the crucially important strait connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean)—which the British navy had unsuccessfully attacked two days earlier—and the Gallipoli peninsula, the target of a major Allied military invasion (which would also result in failure) launched late the following month. In return, Russia would agree to British claims on other areas of the former Ottoman Empire and central Persia, including the oil-rich region of Mesopotamia.
The Anglo-Russian agreement of March 1915 illustrated the vast degree to which traditional relationships between nations had been changed by World War I. The agreement represented a complete turnaround from past British policy toward Russian control of Constantinople, which they previously thought threatened the British dominance in the region that had been achieved through its colonial administration of India. As part of a coalition including France, Sardinia and Turkey, Britain had in fact gone to war with Russia in the Crimean Peninsula in 1854 (a conflict known as the Crimean War) to prevent Russia from claiming Constantinople and the strait. In 1878, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli had sent the British fleet to the Dardanelles to warn the Russians away from Constantinople during the Russo-Turkish War. Now, in a secret agreement, Britain was promising away the very territory it had so assiduously defended—territory it was simultaneously trying desperately, with little success, to win.
Britain and Russia divide future spoils of war - Mar 20, 1915 - HISTORY.com
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Thanks for reminding us TSgt Joe C. that in 1915 a tentative agreement to divide the Ottoman Turkish Empire between Britain and Russia was secretly worked out by March 20, 1915.
Of course the Russian revolution invalidated this agreement since the Bolsheviks had no intention of honoring it.
Here is a summary of internal conflicts within the Turkish Empire which ultimately brought it down - then British and French mandates were established in much of the empire.
"From 1897 to the signing of the Lausanne Treaty in 1923, the never-ending internal and external conflicts eventually tore apart the Ottoman Empire and sent it to the graveyard of dead nations. As described in the individual sections for each conflict, the Ottomans were engaged in many conflicts, including: Uprisings in Albania (1897, 1908, 1910, 1911 and 1912), a chaotic and multi-sided uprising in Macedonia (1903-1912), a long rebellion by the people of the Yemen for self-rule (1904-1911), a political revolution by part of the Ottoman Army, led by a group called the "Young Turks."
In addition to the internal rebellions, foreign enemies picked apart the Ottoman Empire through land seizures, attacks and invasions. A list of these foreign wars and foes includes: the annexation of Ottoman Bosnia by Austria (1909), Bulgaria declaring full independence from the Ottomans (1909), war with Italy (1911-1912), wars with Greece (1897, 1912-1913, 1920-1922), Montenegro (1912-1913), Serbia (1912-1913), Bulgaria (1912-1913, and a second Balkan War in 1913), the Arab tribes ruled by the al-Saud family (1913), the World War One Allies (Britain, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Russia) from 1914 to 1918.
The climax to this long list of wars and conflicts was the Turkish War of Independence. This struggle by the Turks to create a non-Ottoman Turkish nation was opposed by Greece, Britain, France, and Italy. In addition to all the military actions mentioned above, several coups and uprisings among the Turks themselves took place, as well as the infamous "Armenian Massacres."
*The modern nation of Greece was born after its long War of Independence from the Ottoman Turks (1821-1832). In the eyes of most historians, the Greece of today is different from the Greek Byzantine Empire of the Middle Ages (also known as the Medieval Period). That Greek empire fought many wars against the young Ottoman Empire. The Turks finally completed their conquest of the medieval Greeks in 1453, when they captured the Greek capital of Constantinople. The Turks turned the city into their capital, later renaming it Istanbul. The Turks then ruled the Greeks for nearly 400 years."
http://www.historyguy.com/fall_of_the_ottoman_empire.htm#.WNGHpjvytaQ
Of course the Russian revolution invalidated this agreement since the Bolsheviks had no intention of honoring it.
Here is a summary of internal conflicts within the Turkish Empire which ultimately brought it down - then British and French mandates were established in much of the empire.
"From 1897 to the signing of the Lausanne Treaty in 1923, the never-ending internal and external conflicts eventually tore apart the Ottoman Empire and sent it to the graveyard of dead nations. As described in the individual sections for each conflict, the Ottomans were engaged in many conflicts, including: Uprisings in Albania (1897, 1908, 1910, 1911 and 1912), a chaotic and multi-sided uprising in Macedonia (1903-1912), a long rebellion by the people of the Yemen for self-rule (1904-1911), a political revolution by part of the Ottoman Army, led by a group called the "Young Turks."
In addition to the internal rebellions, foreign enemies picked apart the Ottoman Empire through land seizures, attacks and invasions. A list of these foreign wars and foes includes: the annexation of Ottoman Bosnia by Austria (1909), Bulgaria declaring full independence from the Ottomans (1909), war with Italy (1911-1912), wars with Greece (1897, 1912-1913, 1920-1922), Montenegro (1912-1913), Serbia (1912-1913), Bulgaria (1912-1913, and a second Balkan War in 1913), the Arab tribes ruled by the al-Saud family (1913), the World War One Allies (Britain, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Russia) from 1914 to 1918.
The climax to this long list of wars and conflicts was the Turkish War of Independence. This struggle by the Turks to create a non-Ottoman Turkish nation was opposed by Greece, Britain, France, and Italy. In addition to all the military actions mentioned above, several coups and uprisings among the Turks themselves took place, as well as the infamous "Armenian Massacres."
*The modern nation of Greece was born after its long War of Independence from the Ottoman Turks (1821-1832). In the eyes of most historians, the Greece of today is different from the Greek Byzantine Empire of the Middle Ages (also known as the Medieval Period). That Greek empire fought many wars against the young Ottoman Empire. The Turks finally completed their conquest of the medieval Greeks in 1453, when they captured the Greek capital of Constantinople. The Turks turned the city into their capital, later renaming it Istanbul. The Turks then ruled the Greeks for nearly 400 years."
http://www.historyguy.com/fall_of_the_ottoman_empire.htm#.WNGHpjvytaQ
The Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Analysis, information, and links on the disintigration and fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of modern Turkey.
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It is amazing how many of today's world issues can be attributed to the Great War!
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