Chapter 2 – Hans

Many details in this chapter, including some dialogue, are taken from Secrets of the Bosphorous , by, Henry Mogenthau, American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time of the events described (published 1918). Morgenthau describes his meeting on 11 August 1914, with Baron Hans von Wangenheim, German Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire on pages 45-46. Morgenthau’s analysis of the situation and implications is provided on p. 46-52 Some details described by Morgenthau include:

p. 45-46 – Morgenthau met with Baron Hans von Wangenheim on 11 August 1914. Much of the dialogue included is as described by Morgenthau. After announcing to Morgenthau that “The Goeben and the Breslau have passed through the Dardanelles.” Wangenheim added “Of course, you understand that we have sold those ships to Turkey.”

Morgenthau writes of Wangenheim: “All his intrigues and plottings for three years had now finally succeeded.” and “For years the  Chancellorship of the Empire had been Wangenheim’s  laudable ambition, and he behaved now like a man who saw his prize within his grasp. The voyage of the Goeben and the Breslau was his personal triumph.” Morgenthau also states that he believed it was more than a coincidence that the two fast German warships were lying close to Turkey when the war broke out.

p. 48 – “These cruisers were no longer the Goeben and the Breslau , for, like an oriental magician, Wangenheim had suddenly changed them into the Sultan Selim and the Medilli .

p. 48-52 – Morgenthau provides an assessment of the diplomatic success and implications of the manoeuvre, and how Wangenheim took advantage of the British decision to withhold two dreadnought warships she had under construction for Turkey.

p. 51 – Morgenthau describes how the Goeben sailed up the Bosphorus and dropped anchor in front of the Russian embassy. The German officers and men, in full view of the Russian ambassador, removed their Turkish fezzes and put on German caps, then spent an hour or two serenading the Russian ambassador, singing German songs loudly.

p. 2 – Morgenthau describes Wangenheim’s physical stature: “He was six feet, two inches tall; his huge, solid frame, his Gibraltar-like shoulders erect and impregnable.”

Winston Churchill’s decision to keep two dreadnought class battleships that England had been building under contract for Turkey, without refunding payment, is described in many historical accounts. Some include: Carlyon Gallipoli p. 42; Moorehead Gallipoli p. 17.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Winston Churchill claimed to have paid nearly £5,000,000 for the two dreadnought battleships purchased from Turkey (8 August 1914, p. 13).

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1278854

Andrew Mango states in Ataturk , his biography of Mustafa Kemal, that the sale of the two warships by Germany to Turkey was “ficticious” (p. 135).

A description of the transfer of the two German warships Geoben and Breslau to the Ottoman Navy is given in many historical accounts describing Turkey’s entrance to the war. Some that include a description of German Ambassador Hans von Wangenheim’s involvement in brokering the deal include: Carlyon Gallipoli pp 42-45; Moorehead Gallipoli pp 17-20