The Origins of German Interest in the Ottoman Empire

By the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, earning the moniker “the sick man of Europe.” As other European powers—Britain, France, and Russia—jockeyed for influence in Ottoman territories, Germany emerged as an unlikely but steadfast ally of the Sublime Porte. Unlike its rivals, Germany under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had no territorial ambitions in the region. Instead, Bismarck saw an opportunity to expand German economic and political influence as British dominance waned.

Bismarck’s approach to the “Eastern Question”—the diplomatic struggles over the weakening Ottoman Empire—was cautious. At the 1878 Congress of Berlin, he positioned himself as an “honest broker,” mediating disputes among the Great Powers. His primary concern was maintaining a balance of power in Europe, particularly between Austria-Hungary and Russia. The Ottomans, in his view, were peripheral to this goal. Famously, Bismarck dismissed the Eastern Question as “not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”

Wilhelm II’s Grand Ambitions and the Baghdad Railway

The ascension of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1888 marked a dramatic shift in German policy. Influenced by Marshal Colmar von der Goltz, who had spent years modernizing the Ottoman military, Wilhelm II envisioned a far more assertive role for Germany in Ottoman affairs. Unlike Bismarck, who opposed colonial adventures, Wilhelm embraced Drang nach Osten (“Drive to the East”), seeking to establish German dominance in Ottoman Asia through economic and infrastructural projects.

The centerpiece of this strategy was the Baghdad Railway, a monumental project intended to connect Berlin to the Persian Gulf. Sultan Abdul Hamid II, eager to strengthen his empire’s infrastructure, granted concessions to German banks and companies. By the 1890s, German engineers, financiers, and merchants were flooding into Ottoman territories. Wilhelm II’s state visit to Istanbul in 1889—complete with lavish receptions at Yıldız Palace—cemented the alliance. The Sultan, who had already shifted his financial holdings to German banks, welcomed the Kaiser with extravagant gestures, including gifting the Empress a diamond hidden in a bouquet.

The Geopolitical Chessboard: Britain, Russia, and the Scramble for Influence

Germany’s growing influence alarmed other powers. Britain, which controlled the Suez Canal, initially dismissed the Anatolian Railway. However, as the Baghdad line extended toward Mesopotamia, British officials grew wary. Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, secured agreements with Kuwait and Oman to block German access to the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, Russia, fearing Ottoman military mobility, forced the Black Sea Agreement, restricting rail construction in northern Anatolia to Russian-approved consortia.

The Ottomans, meanwhile, pursued their own strategic project: the Hejaz Railway, linking Damascus to Mecca. Funded by Islamic donations and built with Muslim labor, the railway bolstered the Sultan’s claim as Caliph while tightening control over restive Arab provinces.

The Armenian Question and European Hypocrisy

Germany’s alliance came at a moral cost. While other powers condemned Ottoman atrocities against Armenians and Christians in Crete and Macedonia, Berlin remained silent. Wilhelm II, prioritizing strategic and economic gains, ignored humanitarian concerns. In Crete, where Christian rebellions erupted repeatedly, German and Austrian forces withdrew in protest when other powers backed Greek autonomy.

The Young Turk Revolution and the Fall of Abdul Hamid

The Sultan’s autocratic rule eventually sparked rebellion. In 1908, the Young Turks—a coalition of reformist officers and intellectuals—launched a coup, demanding the restoration of the 1876 constitution. Abdul Hamid, after initial resistance, capitulated. However, his covert support for a 1909 Islamist counter-revolution led to his deposition. The Young Turks, though idealistic, struggled to govern, and their Ottomanist vision collapsed as Bulgaria declared independence and Austria annexed Bosnia.

Legacy: A Precursor to Modern Turmoil

The German-Ottoman alliance had lasting consequences. The Baghdad Railway, though never completed, foreshadowed Germany’s WWI ambitions in the Middle East. The Young Turk revolution, meanwhile, set the stage for the rise of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the modern Turkish Republic.

For Germany, the alliance was a double-edged sword: it gained economic leverage but became entangled in the Ottomans’ ethnic strife. For the Turks, it was a fleeting partnership that delayed—but could not prevent—the empire’s collapse. In the end, Bismarck’s pragmatism proved wiser than Wilhelm’s overreach. The bones of Pomeranian grenadiers, it turned out, were indeed better spared.