In the eve of the
First World War, the Ottoman Empire was in ruinous shape. It had lost substantial territory in disastrous wars, its economy was in shambles and its subjects were demoralized. The Empire needed time to recover and to carry out reforms, but the world was sliding into war and it would need to take a position. After the
Italo-Turkish War and
Balkan Wars, the Empire's resources were completely drained. Remaining neutral and focusing on recovery became impossible on the outbreak of the First World War, so the Empire needed to ally with one camp or the other. It did not have adequate quantities of weaponry or machinery, and lacked the financial means to purchase new ones. The
Sublime Porte's only option was to establish an alliance with a European power; it did seem to not really matter which one.
Talat Pasha, the Minister of Interior, wrote in his memoirs: "Turkey needed to join one of the country groups so that it could organize its domestic administration, strengthen and maintain its commerce and industry, expand its railroads, in short, to survive and to preserve its existence."
Negotiating alliances Most European powers were not interested in joining an alliance with the ailing Ottoman Empire. Already, at the beginning of the Turco-Italian War in Northern Africa,
Grand Vizier Sait Halim Pasha had expressed need for an alliance, and asked Ottoman ambassadors to find out whether the European capitals would be interested. Only Russia seemed amenable, but only under conditions that would have amounted to a Russian protectorate over Ottoman lands. It was impossible to form an alliance with the French, as France's main ally was
Russia, the long-time enemy of the Ottoman Empire dating back to the
War of 1828. Britain declined an Ottoman request. Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed V specifically wanted the Empire to remain a
non-belligerent nation. However, he was largely a figurehead, without real control of the government. Pressure from some of Mehmed's senior advisors led the Empire to enter an alliance with Germany and the
Central Powers. Germany had harboured imperial ambitions since 1890, which had not borne fruit, and by 1909, it became clear that Germans would not prevail in the
Anglo-German naval arms race. Even with technological superiority, Germany's energy infrastructure would be unable to support battleships in distant waters. Germany was weak relative to the other European colonial powers, and sought a strategic alliance with the Ottoman Empire. The
Baghdad Railway would have advanced Germany's imperial ambitions, including the settlement of Germans in
Anatolia, and given the Germans greater flexibility in transporting their troops to the
Persian Gulf and on to
British Raj. As soon as the railway was proposed, it became a point of tension between Germany and the UK, since the latter considered southern Persia their sphere of influence, where German power shouldn't have been projected. Germany needed the Ottoman Empire on its side. The
Orient Express had run directly to
Constantinople since 1889, and prior to the First World War, the Sultan had consented to a plan to extend it through Anatolia to
Baghdad under German auspices. That would strengthen the Ottoman Empire's link with the industrialized Europe and give Germany easier access to its African
colonies and to trade markets in
British India. However, in June 1914 Berlin agreed not to construct the line south of Baghdad, and to recognise Britain's preponderant interest in the region. The issue was resolved to the satisfaction of both sides and did not play a role in causing the war. ==Treaty with Germany==