The Struggle for The Dardanelles: The Memoir of a German Officer in Ottoman Service.

[Crunchy]

The Struggle for the Dardanelles: The Memoir of a German Staff Officer in Ottoman Service. Major Erich Prigge. Edited and translated by Phillip Rance. Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, 2017. 317pp

 

The Struggle for the Dardanelles delivers three short works under one cover. The first, is an extensive Introduction from the editor and translator Phillip Rance, The other two, and main subjects of this volume, were written by Major Erich Prigge, who served on the staff of General Otto Liman von Sanders, Head of the German Military Mission to the Ottoman Empire prior to and during the Great War, and who commanded the Ottoman Fifth Army during the Gallipoli campaign.

In the Introduction Rance provides an excellent account of the background to and the establishment  of the German Military Mission to the Ottoman Empire prior to the outbreak of the Great War, together with an overview and evaluation of German accounts of the Gallipoli campaign. Rance then follows these with a short biography of Major Erich Prigge, and a discussion and analysis of his two works: The Struggle for the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, the Struggle for the Orient.

The Struggle for the Dardanelles, Prigge’s first work, covers the campaign in 61 pages and was written while it was being fought up until November 1915. The manuscript was, sent for publication before the Allies withdrew from the peninsula, and was published in January 1916. It caused controversy with the Ottomans, who requested it be withdrawn from publication due to the sensitive military information they claimed was revealed within its pages. Prigge commences his narrative with a description of the terrain on the Asiatic shore bordering the Dardanelles and of the Gallipoli Peninsula, followed by an overview of the principal Ottoman defences along the strait and at Bulair. He then begins his account of the campaign. Rather than recounting the events as a serious study, he resorts to a rather dramatic and emotive style, evoking an aura of gallant deeds and sensational events. Much of it relies on second-hand information, rather than being an account of the the campaign as Prigge observed it. Sadly, it is also littered with errors which call into question the validity of his other observations and recollections. As Rance himself notes in one of the many footnotes, ‘it is difficult to reconcile Prigge’s selective and highly inaccurate version of events …’ To give a few examples. He claims an Allied submarine was sunk at Canakkale in 15 December 1914, but there is no record of any being lost at that time. At the landing at Cape Helles he has the SS River Clyde beaching itself on V Beach at midday, when in fact this occurred before 7am. Similarly, he recounts that the first regiment from the Ottoman 7th Division arrived in the south of the peninsula on the morning of 26 April, when it didn’t arrive until the the afternoon of 27 April. In relating the August Offensive he writes that the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) disembarked at Suvla Bay. He includes scenes of individual feats of which he would not have seen himself, and which are clearly anecdotal. Additionally, large quotes, drawn from Allied letters, dairies, newspaper accounts and reports, are spaced throughout the work drawing from some of them selective and questionable conclusions.

His second narrative, Gallipoli: The Struggle for the Orient was a revised edition published later in 1916, taking the campaign up to the evacuation from Helles in January 1916. Covering 60 pages, it omits those details of the terrain and major Ottoman defences that caused the controversy with his Turkish allies, and some of the errors contained in The Struggle for the Dardanelles.  Its style is similar to that of his first work, with at times a rather romantic and travelogue quality about it. While it is a reasonable but very brief account of the campaign, its accuracy is again called into question, especially when he relates the evacuation of Suvla and Anzac. In Prigge’s version, the Ottomans become aware of the withdrawal on the night 19/20 December, and attack immediately. The withdrawing troops are overwhelmed and massacred, with the survivors fleeing for the boats, leaving behind large casualties. Those familiar with the evacuation know better, and that its success has been hailed as a triumph. Clearly, Prigge wrote both versions with a public relations and propaganda focus in mind, extolling the central role of Liman von Sanders and his contribution to the Ottoman victory.

Each of the sections, the Introduction and Prigges two versions, are accompanied by extensive footnotes that not only mention sources, but also expand information on certain people and events, and provide analysis and corrections.  Overall, this book is of interest value only, and while it offers insights into relationships between Liman von Sanders and his Ottoman colleagues, it has little to recommend it to those with a strong interest in the campaign. Sorting the actual facts from the errors and fiction as far as the Ottoman events are concerned, requires a sound knowledge the Ottoman sources. Far better accounts in English are Edward J Erickson’s Gallipoli: The Ottoman Campaign, and Gallipoli: Command Under Fire.

[josquin]

Crunchy,

A discerning, informed and balanced review and critique, as always, and a sound caution addressing the uneasy coexistence of history and propaganda/

Josquin

[Crunchy]

Thank you for your kind words Josquin.

[Jeff Pickerd]

Hi Chris,

May I also extend my congratulations on another thoughtful and in-depth critique. I would take it that your recommendation of using the work for its ‘interest value only’ due to the errors and propaganda elements from 1915/1916, should be considered, but not necessarily so when there are far better published works of the campaign to be had. If I can be so bold, in addition to your reference to the better account from the Turkish side would be the very good books by Edward J Erickson, that also ‘The Ottoman Defence Against The Anzac Landing, 25th April 1915, by Professor Mesut Uyar, is a must to be consulted , and along side that, your very fine account of ‘The Landing At Anzac, 1915’, both books from the Australian Army Camp series, numbers 12 & 16.

Your fine efforts to delve far deeper into many aspects of the Anzac Gallipoli campaign have been an inspiration, my many thanks.

Jeff

[Crunchy]

Hi Jeff,

Many thanks for your very kind comments, and for your endorsement of Mesut's and my work. Yes Prigge's works are of interest only but the book does give insights into the the German-Ottoman relationships.

I might add that your very considerable assistance during my research has been extraordinarily useful and greatly appreciated. Your help in unravelling the myth of the seven minute artillery delay at the Nek was instrumental for that chapter in Paul's and my The Artillery at Anzac: Adaptation, Innovation and Education. For those interested the works are here:

https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/the-ottoman-defence-against-the-anzac-landing/

https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/the-landing-at-anzac-2/

https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/artillery-at-anzac/

Warmest regards

Chris

Edited 4 November , 2022 by Crunchy