rails against the Germans and Enver Paşa and prepares
to describe the retreat from Palestine, while promising to
later write about the Galicia and Çanakkale fronts, where
he very likely saw action, as well.//
As we Turks celebrated the stunning and heroic defense of Çanakkale,
another enticing goal appeared, labled the "common goal" that had a
very different meaning in Berlin, in Vienna, in Sofia and in Istanbul.
Oh! What a sugar-coated composite! But how were we supposed to
achieve this dreamy goal of pan-Turanism or who knows what?
To salve their war-wounded pride, Ludendorff and others have
portrayed the Austrians as unimportant and us as weak and needy
allies. Yet, we must admit that from the beginning we missed out on
what we hoped to gain from an alliance with Germany. In the name
of the "common goal", we were made to march obediently like a herd
of sheep to slaughter, gaining nothing and losing what we already had.
Because, we have evidence that even more than the Germans, their
admirers were to blame for this. I won't say it was malicious, but our
leader (Enver Paşa), through ignorance and ineptitude, embraced this
empty promise wholeheartedly for his own dreams. So who's fault was
it? Wasn't it we who roamed from region to region to lighten the
calamitous load the Germans had assumed, challenging enemy armies
and being attacked in turn? Wasn't it we who crossed the burning
desert of Sahra-ı Tih (Sinai Desert) to shut off the way to India, and we
who set out on expeditions to Iran and Iraq to defend our borders as
far away from the homeland as possible?
A large portion or our army was marched off to Galicia, Romania and
Macedonia. In short, for the sake of the "common goal", we enabled
the Germans to hang on for four years. Unfortunately, today, with that
same haughtiness and rashness, these same Germans won't even show
us a smiling face. Nevertheless, we should be thankful to the German
generals for teaching us a lesson about going blindly off to battles
and adventures without anyone's respect or accountability, as we did
yesterday - but won't do tomorrow.
We Turks should now know these realities better than the Germans or
anyone else. In fact, by now we should have learned the lessons and
written about them. But now, unfortunately, our nation, which was
turned upside down by the "common goal", is desperately trying to
save the real Turkish homeland in our struggle for independence.
After this short introduction, I begin with the story of the woeful
retreat from Palestine, because I am afraid that re-telling tales of
victories would be palliative, at a time when we need vigilance and
circumspection. Subsequently, I plan to write about the battles in
Galicia and the defense of Çanakkale.
Before delving into the retreat from Palestine, though, it is important
to know about the situation and the losses on that front a few months
prior. Only then can one really understand the reasons and the facts
about the retreat.
//END of PART III//
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