Gen. Otto Liman von Sanders
Sunday was the 92nd anniverary of the Battle of Beersheva in WWI, and it was commemmorated there with joint ceremonies of former foes, Australia, New Zealand and Britain, and Turkey and Germany. This proves that peace can prevail in time when former enemies proclaim their friendship. A memorial to the Australian Light Horsemen was unveiled in a new peace park for children. The success of the Allies in the Battle of Beersheva led the way for the collapse of the Turkish forces and the British Mandate that led eventually to the foundation of Israel.
Who was in command of the Turkish Army in Palestine that opposed British Gen Allenby in WWI? The answer is surprising, a German General was in charge of the Turkish Army and he was partly Jewish!
Otto Liman von Sanders (1855-1929) was made head of the German military mission to Constantinople to reorganize the army of the Ottoman Empire in 1913. His appointment caused a diplomatic crisis between Germany and Russia, which suspected German designs on the Ottoman capital. A compromise was reached when the Germans agreed that Liman become "inspector general" of the Turkish army, a post with less extensive authority.
In World War I, Liman commanded Turkish armies in the Gallipolli campaign (1915-16) in which he inflicted severe casualties on the allies, and was given supreme command in Palestine (1918), where he was defeated by Allenby. He wrote Five Years in Turkey (1920) about his experiences.
The General's name is rather odd, his original family name was Liman, and his father was a Prussian. He was an Anglophile, and so when he was raised to the peerage by the Kaiser, who recognized his ability, he added the English name "Sanders" to the aristocratic "von". However, he was opposed by many Prussian Generals, who used his rumored Jewish ancestry against him. So the German Chief of Staff in 1913 sent him off to Turkey. One of the Turkish officers he promoted there was Kemal Attaturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Gen. Allenby, with larger forces and superior soldiers, outmaneuvered the Turks in Palestine in WWI. First, Allenby outflanked the Turkish defenders in Gaza by capturing Beersheva in 1917, forcing the Turks to withdraw up the coast. As a result Gen von Falkenhayn was replaced by von Sanders, who was put in charge of theTurkish forces in 1918, but it was too late. Allenby's forces won the crucial battle of Megiddo in Oct 1918, yes the final major battle of WWI in the area took place at the famed site of Armageddon, thus defeating the Turks and capturing all of Palestine. Allenby took the title of Viscount Allenby of Megiddo amd Liman von Sanders was captured in Istanbul and returned to Germany where he retired. The rest, as they say, is history.
Who was in command of the Turkish Army in Palestine that opposed British Gen Allenby in WWI? The answer is surprising, a German General was in charge of the Turkish Army and he was partly Jewish!
Otto Liman von Sanders (1855-1929) was made head of the German military mission to Constantinople to reorganize the army of the Ottoman Empire in 1913. His appointment caused a diplomatic crisis between Germany and Russia, which suspected German designs on the Ottoman capital. A compromise was reached when the Germans agreed that Liman become "inspector general" of the Turkish army, a post with less extensive authority.
In World War I, Liman commanded Turkish armies in the Gallipolli campaign (1915-16) in which he inflicted severe casualties on the allies, and was given supreme command in Palestine (1918), where he was defeated by Allenby. He wrote Five Years in Turkey (1920) about his experiences.
The General's name is rather odd, his original family name was Liman, and his father was a Prussian. He was an Anglophile, and so when he was raised to the peerage by the Kaiser, who recognized his ability, he added the English name "Sanders" to the aristocratic "von". However, he was opposed by many Prussian Generals, who used his rumored Jewish ancestry against him. So the German Chief of Staff in 1913 sent him off to Turkey. One of the Turkish officers he promoted there was Kemal Attaturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
Gen. Allenby, with larger forces and superior soldiers, outmaneuvered the Turks in Palestine in WWI. First, Allenby outflanked the Turkish defenders in Gaza by capturing Beersheva in 1917, forcing the Turks to withdraw up the coast. As a result Gen von Falkenhayn was replaced by von Sanders, who was put in charge of theTurkish forces in 1918, but it was too late. Allenby's forces won the crucial battle of Megiddo in Oct 1918, yes the final major battle of WWI in the area took place at the famed site of Armageddon, thus defeating the Turks and capturing all of Palestine. Allenby took the title of Viscount Allenby of Megiddo amd Liman von Sanders was captured in Istanbul and returned to Germany where he retired. The rest, as they say, is history.
posted by Jack Cohen at 1:08 PM
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