TNT History Archives: Ottoman Army's Retreat From Palestine (1918)/Part XIV

//Ed. note: Major Vecihi vents once again about the 
Germans, their domination of Turkish railways - to 
the pronounced disadvantage of the Turks - their
greed and avarice and their 'colonization' of Turkey.//


The "Turkish line of retreat" is shown at 
right-center, heading towards Damascus.

With the dawn of the day on 26 September, the cavalry division reached
İrbid (73 kilometers northwest of Amman), the center of Aclun district.
This was one of the Yıldırım Army Group (YAG)'s way-stations in the
Havran area.  There were more than a million kilograms of barley, the
same amount of wheat and 5-600,000 kilograms of other grains here in
the depots, which were filled to the brim.  This amount was left over
even after other detachments had taken a share and passed by.

By the time we reached Damascus we found that the other way-stations
along the way had about the same amount of provisions and grains.  So
we wondered how it was that with these way-stations in the rear of the
Palestine Front filled with provisions, we were having such a hard time
feeding ourselves at the front!  Why was there no barley and straw for
the animals?



The reason given was that there wasn't sufficient transportation
capacity.  This was because the Anatolian railroads were busy moving
the Germans' wine, champagne, beer and God knows what else. In
addition, it was said that wheat and barley were being transported to
Germany from Anatolia and Arabia.  Just about every German soldier
and officer was sending 5-kilogram packages of meat, eggs, beans,
olive oil, cheese, etc. back to their families in Germany every week.

It was as if the Germans had come to our country more to nourish
themselves and their families than to perform military service.  They
ate the best grapes and figs from Izmir and Syria, Turkey's best bread
and drank Bomonti beer.  So while a Turkish soldier would get by with
salted fish in Istanbul, a German youth would dine on sizzling steak.



The Germans controlled all the railroads in Turkey, arranging and
organizing all rail transport.  Turks, whether irregulars or officers, and
their goods, might be given permission for rail transport or they might
not.  And those who were allowed to ride the trains could not sit where
they wanted to - sometimes in third class, but more often the Turks
were stacked in the cargo wagons.

As for the Germans, though, they got the best seats for themselves and
even soldiers rode in officers' seats.  If two or three German officers
boarded a train and there wasn't a first-class compartment available
for them, a hospital wagon would be added to the train so they could
ride in comfort and they wouldn't even give it up for a Turkish general.

All Germans who entered the domains of the Sultan were not just those
dressed in military uniforms.  Actually, most were commission agents or
specialists in agriculture, mining and forestry.  Some of them came to
find sources of nourishment for trees in Germany and others were busy
investigating our soil for farming and searching for as-yet undiscovered
mineral banks. 

As the result of the war Turkey had seemingly become a German colony.
There is no need to keep on describing the greed and avarice of the
Germans - even Turkish villagers came to know them well. 

//END of PART XIV//