Blog post # 2

August 15st, 1914

Each day goes by seems like an eternity Im away from my family. I miss
them so much, but ever since Cigs and Rugs Export went out of business, I
feel like its my main priority to stay here and fight for my county. Hadith got
a new job working as a farmer. He had to move to a farmhouse along with
Leyla, my wife Jasmine, and my two kids Cagan and Karmen. Im just happy
they are safe and not getting impacted by this war (so far). This war is
looking more serious then many other soldiers anticipated. Last year I was
transferred to Constantinople to join the I Corps. General Otto Van Sanders
came from Germany to get our military straightened out. Since last year, he
has taught us strategies, brought new weaponry, and expanded our Ottoman
military. Im very glad he came and gave us hope. Once we made an alliance
with Germany August 3rd, us Ottomans finally feel somewhat confident
because now we have Germany on our side for the war. We are starting to
grow our military also because now non-Muslims and Muslims are allowed to
join the fight. There were a lot of problems with our military though. As an
officer coming out of the Ottoman military college (helped educate me to be
an officer) and the Ottoman military academy (taught us the modernization
of the army) I had a lot of responsibility and I did not like how all the other
officers were sitting around the tents drinking and not caring about how
serious war time can be. I cant take it anymore. The first few weeks in l Cops
I had hopes because everyone was excited for the war. But now, soldiers are
going hungry and deserting. Living conditions were bad for soldiers are are
starting to get diseases. Morale is not high. The worst part is that our navy
was going to acquire two dreadnoughts from Britain but Winston Churchill did
not want Britain to deliver these dreadnoughts to us. Talk about a big let
down. The good news is Germany is talking about giving us some ships to
use. Who knows, maybe we will make it through this war. Even though many
soldiers are complaining and have low morale I still have hope. After all I am
an officer. If I dont show belief no one else will. Just need to stay strong.

Melik Aslan

Historical Background
1)http://islamandthegreatwar.umwblogs.org/germany-and-germany-bff/
I used this source for the Ottoman Empire- German alliance. It explained
what the German- Ottoman Alliance including Britain not giving
Dreadnoughts to Ottoman Empire, Otto Von Sanders coming down to aid and
teach the Ottoman Empire, and Ottoman military life.
2) Article- First World Studies Volume 5. Volume 1, 2014- Politics of wartime
relief in Ottoman Beirut (19141918) By: Melanie Taniellan
http://www.tandfonline.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/doi/full/10.1080/19475020.2
014.901177
This source explained the struggles of the Ottoman military like hunger and
disease spread. In my blog, I explained the hardships of the Ottoman military
and this article showed a lot of information of how the Ottoman Empire had a
weakened military but still had Germany to help them if needed.
3) The Diary of Ihsan Turjman
https://muse-jhuedu.librarylink.uncc.edu/books/9780520948785/9780520948785-7.pdf
Salim Tamari and Ihsan Turjman- Year of the locust: A Soldiers Diary and the
Erasure of Palestines Ottoman Past By: Berkeley: University of California
Press, 2011
This diary explained an Ottoman soldier during World War 1. It helps give me
a general idea of what life was like as a soldier in the Ottoman Empire during
war time. This source gave me information on how Ottoman Empire officers
would always drink and not take the war serious. I made my avatar the
opposite of that because I want Melik to want to fight for his land and his
family instead of not care. This diary also explained more in detail the highs
and lows of the Ottomans military. One thing this diary explained well was
the low morale of the soldiers during the war was. It says how some soldiers
think the Ottoman Empire has no chance and will fall before the war even
ends (no belief). I will continue using this source in upcoming blogs because
it will help me greatly.

4) Article- First World Studies Volume 5, Issue 2, 2014- The Ottoman

Mobilization of manpower in the First World War: between voluntarism and
resistance
By: Mesut Uyar
This article explained in detail the propaganda the Ottoman Empire had to
make soldiers join the war and be ready and have high morale for the war
(at first). This article also says how non-Muslims and Muslims could join the
war which increases military population.
5) http://ottomanempire.info/economy.htm
All this source gave me was the agriculture jobs in the Ottoman Empire
during the 1900s which gave me high confidence giving Hadith a new job as
a farmer. Another thing this article gave me was information on the low
schooling of soldiers and explained the Alliances the Ottoman empire had
during the war which helped give me more information on the alliance
between Germany and the Ottoman Empire.
6) Dr. Perry lecture
Dr. Perry talked about general Otto Van Sanders going to the Ottoman
Empire and teaching the Ottoman military the ways of the German military.