the ottoman specıal organızatıon - teşk lat-ı mahsusa

179 Pages·2006·2.68 MB·English

THE OTTOMAN SPECIAL ORGANIZATION - TEŞKİLAT-I MAHSUSA: A
HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO ITS
OPERATIONS AGAINST BRITISH OCCUPIED EGYPT
(1914-1916)

A Master’s Thesis

by

POLAT SAFİ

THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
BİLKENT UNIVERSITY
ANKARA

September 2006

To my family
THE OTTOMAN SPECIAL ORGANIZATION - TEŞKİLAT-I MAHSUSA: A
HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO ITS
OPERATIONS AGAINST BRITISH OCCUPIED EGYPT
(1914-1916)

The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences
of
Bilkent University

by

POLAT SAFİ

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS

in

THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
BİLKENT UNIVERSITY
ANKARA

September 2006
I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and
in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History.

Assist. Prof. Oktay Özel
Supervisor

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and
in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History.

Prof. Dr. Stanford J. Shaw
Examining Committee Member

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and
in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History.

Assist. Prof. Nur Bilge Criss
Examining Committee Member

Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Erdal Erel
Director
ABSTRACT

THE OTTOMAN SPECIAL ORGANIZATION - TEŞKİLAT-I MAHSUSA: A
HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO ITS
OPERATIONS AGAINST BRITISH OCCUPIED EGYPT
(1914-1916)

Safi, Polat
M.A., Department of History
Supervisor: Ass. Prof. Oktay Özel

September 2006

The present level of the knowledge about the plans and operations of the
Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa forces against Egypt during World War I is very poor in terms of the
analysis of this phenomenon at a micro level in different localities. This study, in this
context, is an attempt through the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa concentration, nourished mainly
from Sinai, Libya, and to a lesser extent Sudan, against Egypt between 1914 and 1916 to
further our understanding of not only the details of the Teşkilat’s activities in these
regions but also its administrative and operational characteristics.

Keywords: Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, Umur-i Şarkiye Dairesi, Sinai, Egypt, Libya,
Sudan, Süleyman Askeri, Mümtaz Bey, Hasan Efendi, Eşref Kuşçubaşı, Nuri Paşa,
Cafer el-Askeri, Afrika Grupları Kumandanlığı.
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ÖZET

TEŞKİLAT-I MAHSUSA: İNGİLİZ İŞGALİ ALTINDAKİ MISIR’A
KARŞI YÜRÜTTÜĞÜ EYLEMLERE MAHSUS ATIFLA TARİHİ BİR
DEĞERLENDİRME (1914-1916)

Safi, Polat
Yüksek Lisans, Tarih Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Oktay Özel

Eylül 2006

1. Dünya Savaşı esnasında, Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa kuvvetlerinin Mısır’a karşı
planları ve operasyonları hakkındaki mevcut bilgi düzeyi bu hadisenin değişik
mahallerde mikro bir seviyede analiz edilmesi bakımından oldukça fakirdir. Bu çalışma,
bu bağlamda, Mısır’a karşı başlıca Sina, Libya ve daha az ölçüde Sudan’dan beslenen
Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa konsantrasyonu yoluyla yalnızca Teşkilat’ın bu bölgelerdeki
faaliyetlerinin ayrıntılarına ilişkin değil aynı zamanda idari ve eylemsel özelliklerine
ilişkin anlayışın ilerlemesi için bir girişimdir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, Umur-i Şarkiye Dairesi, Sinai, Egypt,
Libya, Sudan, Süleyman Askeri, Mümtaz Bey, Hasan Efendi, Eşref Kuşçubaşı,
Nuri Paşa, Cafer el-Askeri, Afrika Grupları Kumandanlığı.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to many people for help, both direct and indirect, in writing this
thesis. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Oktay Özel for his support and
guidance in the last three years. Without his enthusiasm, critical comments, analytical
questions, and constant encouragement, I would have never been able to complete this
dissertation. I would also like to thank Stanford Shaw for commenting on an early draft
of the work and letting me make use of his valuable library. Moreover, I have to express
my gratitude to Nur Bilge Criss for enhancing the quality of this thesis with her critical
comments on the final draft. I am also thankful to Eugenia Kermeli, Hasan Ünal, and
Hakan Kırımlı for encouraging me to become an historian for four years ago.
This thesis would have never come into existence without the liberal attitude of
the present ATASE administration. Therefore, I would like to express my thanks to Col.
Dr. Ahmet Tetik, departmental chief of ATASE archive, not only for facilitating my
research but also for his constructive comments on my thesis as an exact scholar. I am
also greatly indebted to Arzu Yoğurtçuoğlu and Şeyda Büyükcan, archive experts in
ATASE, for helping me in reading the materials and their entertaining friendship.
My family, Macit, Sevgi, and Esra Safi, deserves the most profuse gratitude for
spiritually and materially supporting me during my entire life. I would also like to
express my gratitude to my uncle, Sacit Safi. I feel, moreover, obliged to voice my
gratefulness to Eren Safi whose support, good will, and patience, as well as intellectual
remarks has greatly contributed to the complementation of this study. I also thank the
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staff of the periodical, Kılavuz, especially Turan Kandemir and Hakan Arslanbenzer, for
supporting and critically evaluating my studies for years.
Furthermore, I feel compelled to appreciate the close and exciting
companionship of Emrah Safa Gürkan for almost eight years. My thanks also go to my
friends, Fatih Durgun, Alphan Akgül, and M. Burak Özdemir, for not only generating
new psychoanalytical methods to put up with my constant complaints about this study
but also playing an active part in the realization of this thesis by their invaluable analysis
and criticism.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ……..............................................................................................iii
ÖZET .................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................1
A) Intelligence Studies in Turkey ...........................................................1
B) Literature on the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa Revisited .................................6
C) Sources .............................................................................................23
CHAPTER TWO: THE TEŞKİLAT-I MAHSUSA FORCES IN SINAI ..........35
A) The Mission of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa in the 1st Canal Campaign ...39
1. Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa in the Turkish Plan of Attack ……………….....39
2. Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa Forces in the Region ……………….………….42
3. Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa’s Missions Across the Frontier: Military Activities
and Intelligence .....................................................................................46
4. Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa’s Involvement in Local Conflicts .......................50
5. Formation of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa Units in the Districts ..............53
6. Concentration in Yafa .......................................................................55
7. The Situation in Egypt ......................................................................62
8. The Attack on the Suez Canal ……………………………………...70
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