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Ottoman-German aid to Moroccan local resistance to French colonisation during the Great War
Abstract
This paper will analyse 1) Ottoman-German support to foment anti-imperialist movements in the Muslim world during the First World War especially uprisings against the French colonial power in Morocco and 2) how they managed the mobilisation of local leaders and tribes against the French. In October 1914, the Ottoman War minister, Enver Pasha, planned to send a group of Ottoman officers to the Ottoman Embassy in Madrid. This kind of Ottoman military mission in Spain was official and organized in collaboration with the German Embassy. I will present the various actors and their activities, in connection with « Teskilât-ı Mahsusa », the Ottoman Intelligence Service, and the German officials. In fact, they were sent to organize war operations in North Africa, especially to stir up a general insurrection in Morocco, and to contribute to the underground activities of the Central Powers. The Spanish Morocco was used to launch hostilities against the French forces further south. These operations were carried out under the banner of Pan-Islam. Clearly, one of the key actors they wanted to get involved was Mawlay Abd-al Hafiz, the former Moroccan sultan based in Spain. This paper draws from various archives and documents throughout the different areas of the conflict, such as France, Morocco, Germany, the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Maghreb
Sub Area
Middle East/Near East Studies