"War in Orient" postcard

[DCS]

Hello, everyone

I am seeking information on some officers named on a postcard depicting Mudros (Dardanelles). This is the postcard:

In case the text is unclear, it reads:

Funeral of the Turkish Captain Medfathbey, general Baumann and the Staff officers

[Chris_Baker]

I'd be very interested to know if Gen Baumann was a relative of Lt-Col Archibald Beauman, who commanded the 1st South Staffords. He had converted his surname from Baumann for obvious reasons.

[michaeldr]

Baumann is mentioned by General Liman von Sanders in chapter 2 of his book ‘Five Years in Turkey.’ Baumann was a French general and he had command of the ‘entire Turkish police.’ What happened after the commencement of hostilities? I do not know. Presumably like the British Admiral Limpus, General Baumann went home?

Regards

Michael D.R.

[michaeldr]

This question is perhaps a little more tricky than implied by my reply above

I take it that the ‘Moudros’ mentioned is Mudros, but in 1914 that was Greek,

[taken from the Turks on 8th Oct 1912] and from 1915 onwards it was occupied by the allies. What then were a Turkish Captain and Turkey’s [French] Chief of Police doing there? Are we sure that this picture is from 1914-1915?

Puzzled

Michael D.R.

Edited 9 January , 2005 by michaeldr

[michaeldr]

One further thought and possible explanation, which perhaps a French ‘Pal’ can comment on;

This picture relates to ‘Guerre 1914-15… en Orient’ but in fact was it taken in 1918? Were General Baumann and Captain Medfathbey at Mudros for the Armistice signing 30 Oct 1918?

Lots of guess work here I’m afraid

Has anyone else any thoughts

Michael D.R.

[Dimitri]

Michael-

Just to clarify: Moudros was (and is) a harbour on the Greek island of Lemnos (Limnos) used by the Allies during WW1. I am a bit suspect on what this picture actually depicts, but I doubt it is a funeral of an enemy General. All the best

Dimitri

[michaeldr]

Dimitri,

Many thanks for your comments

It’s a French postcard and I’m fairly confidant that the General Baumann referred to was also the French general of that same name referred to by Liman von Sanders as the Turkish Chief of Police, at least until the outbreak of war. (How many French generals called Baumann can there have been?)

My schooling did not stretch to French, but in this case I am also having difficulty with the English. The English half of the text says

“Moudros (Dardanelles). Funeral of Turkish Captain Medfathbey, general Baumann and the staff officers.”

I have taken this to mean that the picture shows General Baumann and his Staff attending the funeral of the Turkish Captain Medfathbey

But who was Captain Medfathbey? Was he a Turkish officer so well known to Baumann that he and his Staff should attend his funeral? And when was that funeral? Surely not in 1914 when the Greeks controlled the island and not in 1915 either when it was occupied by the allies (Unless of course Medfathbey was a PoW). Was it perhaps in 1918 when the Turks and the allies met there for the armistice?

It would help here if someone knew what were the career and the movements of General Baumann after the outbreak of war between France and Turkey.

Regards

Michael D.R.

[DCS]

The picture does raise some questions for me too. I don't know whether the picture could have been from 1918, or even from before the war. Hopefully, there is someone on this forum who's knowledgeable in this area.

Could it be, as Michael brought up, that this Turkish captain was a POW, or that his body fell into Allied hands during the campaign? Was it common to hold funerals for enemy officers in those circumstances?

Regarding this General Baumann, an Internet search turned up very little; however, he is depicted in another postcard inscribed "At the Serbian Frontier..." This would seem to indicate that he was part of the French force in Salonika. I'm not sure whether this helps anyone, but thought I'd mention it.