Talaat Pasha, the leader of the Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress, which was the largest and most powerful of the groups known under the umbrella term of the “Young Turks,” sat in an office within the city of Constantinople.
His face was haggard and weathered and his hair greying. He looked far older than a man his age should. For instance, though a mere five years older than Bruno, making him 41 as of this year 1915, he appeared as if were a decade older than his actual age.
This was in stark contrast to Bruno, whose naturally youthful appearance made him appear as if he were not a day over thirty, that despite being closer to the age of 40, than he was that which he portrayed.
Why was Talaat so aggressively aged? Because the last few years had not quite gone as he had expected. Since putting a fierce end to Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s reign of terror with the Young Turks Revolution during the previous decade, the Ottoman Empire, or more specifically the Young Turk, had failed to achieve the majority of their aims.
Sure, the Sultan’s autocracy came to a swift and bitter end, but the constitutional monarch who replaced him was murdered in the streets of Constantinople by Ultra-Orthodox militants who had kicked off the Balkan Wars shortly after the Ottoman Army had gotten its ass handed to them by the Italians in Libya not a year prior.
Since then, it had been a string of military disasters, substantial political losses, and now a crippling economic situation as the trade which the Ottoman Empire had largely been reliant on to keep itself stable had collapsed with the onset of the Great War.
The Ottomans owed a substantial debt to the German Reich, who was also one of their largest trading partners. But after finding themselves at war with the Germans, any and all trade was ceased, while the Naval Supremacy of the Central Powers had blockaded most of the major trade outlets between the Turks and their other trading partners.
If that weren’t bad enough, Armenia fell within the first few months of the war, and Anatolia was currently a stalemate, forcing Ottoman forces to bleed by the tens of thousands with each passing month.
Then there was the fact that the Arab peoples were in open rebellion and taking their wrath out upon Ottoman infrastructure, which was critical to keeping the war effort going. And as if things could not possibly get worse, the Greeks and Russians landed an Army on the shores of Eastern Thrace a stone’s throw away from the Capital, while the Austro-Hungarian and Germans pushed further into their lands from the west.
No matter how much the man who was the man more or less orchestrating the affairs of the Ottoman Empire tried to think through a solution to these never-ending series of crisis which no doubt threatens to tear the very fabric of his realm apart, he could not do so.
Negotiating a favorable surrender was impossible. The Greeks had never forgiven the Turks for what happened in 1453, nor had the Balkans as a whole after centuries of invasion, occupation, enslavement, and outright oppression of the region by the hands of previous Sultans.
They would not be satisfied unless the Turks were expelled from Constantinople and all lands west of its glory. And perhaps they might even try to press ancient claims to Ionia and the surrounding regions that had in the distant past been Greek colonies of the ancient Hellenic world.
While contemplating this over some hookah, one of the man’s generals who sat across from him updated the would-be ruler with some information regarding their Army currently located in Eastern Thrace.
The Greeks and Russians have cut off the route of the Army, and its attempts to return to Istanbul. They will either surrender to the Hellens, or to the Germans in the west. But I fear neither side will be so forgiving as you know who leads the German 8th Army, yes?”
Was this a rhetorical question? Or did the General think that he was simply an idiot? Talaat Pasha did not know whether or not he should be offended, but either way he forced himself to remain calm, with a slight hiss of smoke between his lips before making his thoughts on the matter known.
“A hard choice indeed. On the one hand, our historic enemies are cutting off our soldiers and their attempts to return to Istanbul to reinforce the city, and their grudges are immense. On the other side however, the Germans are led by a butcher, no matter how much the Kaiser’s propaganda may depict the man as someone of noble character, he is not afraid to obliterate hostile forces to the last man, whether as an act of retribution, strategic expediency, or outright hatred.”
This was true. Though Bruno had strong morals, he was also what one might call morally flexible. He was not the kind of man to let his emotions get in the way of whatever was the most suitable path to victory.
Terms like “war crimes” and “innocents” could change based upon whatever was necessary for him to do at the time. For example, he disregarded the idea of massacring the Red Army to the last man, despite their attempts to surrender, or even execute prisoners of war, because he did not recognize them as innocent by the very nature of the political ideology they adhered to.
Hell, it might even be accurate to say he rejected the very idea that they had the status of personhood to begin with for these very same reasons. And he was more than willing to gas the city of Belgrade and its 100,000 inhabitants because the Black Hand who was deeply embedded within the ranks of the city’s defenders, and the royal family which resided there had personally provoked his fury by attacking those related to him in some capacity.
But at the same time, Bruno did not condone the massacres committed in retaliation against innocent villagers who had nothing to do with rebel activity against his forces, and had even executed the men responsible for such reprisals.
Whether he conducted these public executions out of a genuine sense of moral outrage, or because he knew that continuing such acts would only further embolden the local population to align themselves with the militant extremists, was anyone’s guess.
Either way, the Ottoman Army was stuck between two forces, both of which had the possibility of ignoring their surrender and massacring them to the last man. And since presented with two horrible situations, the leader of the Young Turks simply sighed before giving his command.
“Tell the Army that it will be their highest honor to become martyrs, fighting against the infidels who invade the lands of our great caliphate! Any man who dares to retreat shall be shot by the officers in a position of command over him! There shall be no surrender and no retreat!”
The Generals had nothing to say, as they too understood why such an option was chosen considering the circumstances their army now found themselves in. Fight until the very last. That was their only choice now…