The Berlin-Baghdad Railway
-Jason

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/ufpearth/hwts075

The centuries-long collapse of the Ottoman Empire provided growing European empires with territorial and economic opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa.  No Great Power wished to see the Ottomans disappear, rather they sought to tie the Sultan and his people to their own ends: despite this decline, the Turks still controlled an enormous empire with valuable economic resources and zones.  Great Britain, France, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire all sought to weaken the Ottomans and the same time prevent their rivals from demolishing the “Sick Man of Europe.”

Great Britain and France had coordinated the excision of Khedivate of Egypt away from the Ottomans once the Suez Canal was completed.  Both powers poured loans into the Egyptian government to finance this technological wonder through its completion in 1869.  The Suez Canal cut thousands of miles, and weeks, off oceanic trade going between Europe and Asia.  This was of strategic use for Great Britain as it tightened its control over the Indian Raj.  But this generosity was not altruistic: Britain and France understood that the Egyptians, and their Ottoman masters, would never be able to pay back those loans.  As Egypt fell further and further into debt, British and French banks demanded that their money be repaid.  This led to Britain taking over the finances, and eventually the government, of Egypt in 1882.  The French and Ottomans were enraged by this but had no way of pushing the British out of Egypt.

The Ottoman Empire had been looking to replace Britain and France as their patrons: the newly formed German Empire seemed to be the best option.  The German Empire had officially been declared on 18 January 1871 in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War.  The German states, led by Prussia, crushed the French Empire in a short war.  While Paris was under siege, King Wilhelm of Prussia was crowned as Kaiser Wilhelm I of German Empire.  Kaiser Wilhelm I controlled the largest and most powerful army in Europe.  In addition to his military, he ruled one of the biggest growing industrial powers in the world.

Kaiser Wilhelm I died on 9 March 1888 and his crown was passed to his son Frederick III.  Tragedy struck the family once again as Frederick was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx, dying 99 days into his reign.  The German Empire was then passed to Wilhelm II, the son of Frederick III and English Princess Victoria, on 15 June 1888.  This swift dynastic succession left an unprepared Wilhelm II in control of a powerful state that was in competition with the other empires of Europe.  He immediately came into conflict with the man who had steered German internal and foreign policy, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.  Bismarck attempted to bluff the new Kaiser by tendering his resignation and was “retired” from office in 1890.  

Wilhelm II perceived Germany as surrounded by hostile empires and sought new allies to combat them.  His country, along with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy were members of the defensive alliance called the Central Powers, they were looking for another partner.  Seeing that the Ottoman Empire had been repeatedly savaged by attacks from the Russian Empire and internal revolts in their Southeastern European territories from the 1870s onwards, Kaiser Wilhelm II and a succession of new chancellors became more receptive to the idea of tying a weakened Ottoman Empire to the Central Powers.  

The Ottomans lacked the infrastructure and finances to industrialize their economy and update their military.  The loss of Egypt to the British prompted the sultan’s government to seek aid from Germany.  New railways, roads, factories, shipyards, and other modern infrastructure potentially could save the Ottomans from disintegration.  German companies and banks were pushed by the Kaiser to give large loans to the Turkish government to help them jumpstart their economy.  Germany did not seek to directly strip territory away from the Ottomans, rather they asked for economic access to resources and markets inside that empire.

Deutsch Bank provided funding for the engineering and construction costs for an awe-inspiring project: the Berlin-Baghdad Railway.  This was to be an extension of the Anatolian Railway that the Germans helped build which connected the Ottoman cities of Constantinople, Ankara, and Konya.  The Berlin-Baghdad Railway would extend over 2,000 miles from Germany to the Ottoman territory of Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq.  German manufactured goods and weapons could be exchanged for raw materials, and a new port at the city of Basra would be opened for German merchant ships and warships.  If Germany could woo the Ottomans with aid, they could very well develop powerful economic and military bases throughout the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

If the dual scenario of a German-Turkish alliance and the Berlin-Baghdad Railway were completed, this presented major strategic problems for the British Empire.  The British Royal Navy was dependent on the Persian petroleum fields that had been recently developed.  The potential of German and Turkish troops using the Berlin-Baghdad Railway as invasion jumping off point was all too real.  There were also major petroleum fields yet to be discovered in Mesopotamia: this strategic resource could help fuel the German economy and military if they were developed.  The threat of German naval units operating in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean also threatened Great Britain’s supply lines with India and this could be used to move materials and soldiers to the German colonies in East Africa while avoiding the Suez Canal.

The so-called Baghdad Concessions of 1898 and 1899 ensured that the Germans had unfettered access to the Ottoman regions and resources.  Great Britain, France, and Russia all protested the German scheme to bolster the Ottoman Empire at their expense.  Despite this international pressure, the Germans and Turks pushed for the project to begin after 1903.  Construction of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway began in 1910 and made good progress until they were stopped by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, leaving 600 miles unfinished.  

After the war, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled by the British and French who divided the territories of Trans-Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Mesopotamia between them.  As part of the 1916 Sykes-Picot Treaty, Trans-Jordan, Palestine, and Mesopotamia became mandates of Great Britain and Lebanon and Syria went to France.  The modern state of Turkey was created from the Anatolian territories following the Turkish War of Independence, fought between 1919 and 1923.  Following the creation of the Republic of Turkey, the British, French, Italy, and Turkey negotiated with each other to complete the railway.  It took until 15 July 1940 for the railway, now known as the Baghdad Railway, to finally be completed.