A life sacrificed for the homeland: “ENVER PASHA”
Hello history lovers. At the moment, you are reading my second article. My first article was about Saladin Ayubid, as you know. Today, I have decided to write about a very important person. We can say he is one of the most impressive pashas for the late Ottoman period, with his full title, the great martyr, renowned veteran, and champion of freedom, Ismail Enver Pasha, the Conqueror of Edirne. Historians still have many different opinions about his mistakes or achievements, but we know that he is definitely a patriot.
The 19th century was so important for the Ottoman Empire. The empire fought to survive and lost economic power. In this situation, from the Sultan to the people, everybody had just one target: to save the Ottoman Empire. And everybody did something for this target (but from different ways). Some people say “We should unite with all Muslims.” And some people say “We should follow the West.” Enver Pasha represented the idea of Turkish-Islamism among these views.
THE LIFE OF OUR HERO OF FREEDOM
This huge adventure started in Istanbul, Divanyolu, on 23 November 1881. He was the first son of “Hacı Ahmet Bey” and the oldest one between the five brothers. He attended elementary school in both Istanbul and Manastir. In the beginning, he was calm and a responsible student, but towards the end of school, he became one of the most successful students in Manastir elementary school. Finally, he graduated from Istanbul War Academy and started a job in Manastir as a captain (actually, he could go to any city he wanted because he was a very successful student in his school life, but he chose the most complicated and dangerous one. This is proof of his modesty and patriotism.) During this period, he fought against foreign gangs in so many wars, and history books have never written that he lost the war against a foreign gang. With these successes, he became a famous Pasha around the empire. Of course, not only foreigners were affected by nationalist ideas in Europe. Also, the group known as the “Young Turks” (Jön Türkler) whom the Great Sultan Abdülhamid (may Allah be pleased with him) sent to Europe for education, were also influenced by this, and they returned to the empire with the idea of Turkish nationalism. And with this opinion, many societies were established in the Balkans. Over the years, they merged to form the “Committee of Union and Progress.” The Committee of Union and Progress had enough support in the army, but in villages, progress stayed weak. In a few years, this progress has become very popular in the Balkans because of Enver Pasha. Of course, Sultan Abdülhamid saw a possible rebellion and took precautions to stop it. During this time, society members suspected Nazım Pasha (Enver Pasha’s brother-in-law), and finally, the society decided to assassinate him, but they failed. After this big event, everybody suspected Major Enver. When he was called from Istanbul, he went to the mountains of Macedonia instead of Istanbul with some soldiers and opened a way for constitutionalism. After these rebellions, the emperor changed his decision and declared constitutionalism. Yes, our hero earned the nickname ‘Hero of Freedom’ in this way. After the rebellion, he worked in Sofia and Berlin. The empire was not calm because not everyone supported constitutionalism. Different groups rebelled in various places for different reasons. As the rebellion reached Istanbul, Mahmut Şevket Pasha (with Enver Pasha as Staff Captain, led the Hararet Army), and they strongly surpassed the uprising. After the revolts and the removal of Sultan Abdülhamid from power, our brave and romantic hero experienced another important event in his life:
HIS LOVE STORY WITH NACİYE SULTAN
Enver Bey became engaged to Naciye Sultan, who was the granddaughter of Sultan Abdülmecid, thanks to his mother’s connections to the palace. This enduring love, along with his status as a member of the royal family (the sultan’s son-in-law), added to his respect and remained a significant part of his life. During this time, something happened that Enver Pasha did not plan: “Tripolitanian War.” Of course, our brave hero didn’t wait for even a minute, and the Palace decided to send some Pashas to Tripolitania (with Enver Pasha’s suggestion). Enver Pasha and other young Pashas were very successful in Tripolitanian. In a short time, Enver became a leader in Tripolitanian. Finally, they returned to the country with The Balkans War.
AFTER THE BALKANS WAR
Enver and other young Pashas solved the panic problem in the capital with a new coup (Because the first Balkan Wars were a huge defeat for the Ottoman, and the government was refusing to resign). On January 23, 1913, a group of Ittihatist soldiers under the command of Enver Pasha stormed the parliament during a government meeting. After a brief conflict, Enver Pasha forced Kamil Bey to sign his resignation letter. And he presented it to the Dolmabahçe Palace. With this situation, a new government was formed under the leadership of Mahmut Pasha.
During the First Balkan War, Bulgaria got more land than other countries, and this made other small Balkan countries mad. So Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro attacked Bulgaria. Turkey used this Second Balkan War to take back Edirne, which they lost in the first war. Enver Pasha led the winning army. Then he became the Minister of War quickly. He was only 30 but knew he had more to do for his country. When Enver Pasha was the Minister of War, Europe heard about a big war. Turkey got ready for war fast because of Enver Pasha. People were deciding which side to join in the war. But then the heir to the throne died, and the war started. Even if many big German people said no, the Kaiser wanted Turkey to be friends with Germany. They made a secret deal that said Turkey would join the war with Germany. But Turkey couldn’t stay out of the war. They took Goben and Breslav ships and renamed them Yavuz and Midilli. They attacked Russia with their navy, and that’s how the war started for the Ottoman Empire. Enver Pasha’s first target was to attack Russia from the Balkans (they were suffering heavy casualties during this time). The first step for this plan had been very disappointing. Enver Pasha went to Erzurum on December 6th after making preparations. The operation started on December 22nd. Enver Pasha’s target was clear: the Ottoman Army would capture the Russians, and they would not be ready because of the Germans. The operation started well, but because of the bad weather, the Russians became stronger, and the Ottoman army returned without success and with losses. But despite all of this, at the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire was defeated due to several reasons, such as Arab rebellions, the wrong decisions of German generals, and internal unrest…
On October 30, 1918, the war ended with a peace agreement signed in Mudros between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire. Afterwards, the British issued arrest warrants for leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress party. In response, on November 2, 1918, Talat, Cemal, and Enver Pashas left the country aboard a German battleship. Enver Pasha’s goal was to meet with his uncle, Halil Pasha, in the Caucasus and continue the struggle. However, due to bad weather, he first went to Crimea and later settled in Berlin. During that time, he looked for ways to support the national struggle.
Realizing that victory in the Turkish War of Independence would come with the Battle of Sakarya, Enver Pasha understood that there were challenges in Turkmenistan for the Turkish-Islamic cause. In October 1921, when he entered Bukhara, it brought new hope for Turkestan.
Despite pressures in Turkestan, Enver Pasha worked for unity. However, faced with these pressures, he left Bukhara and went to meet with Lakar Ibrahim Bey, where he encountered a surprise. Ibrahim Bey, who did not believe that he was the real Enver Pasha, imprisoned him (45 days from December 1, 1921, to January 15). After days of captivity, with his Korbaşı units, he fought against the Russians and achieved many successes (such as the liberation of Dushanbe, etc.). By April 1922, the Turkestan fighters under Enver Pasha’s leadership had defeated the Red Army in centers like Bukhara and Samarkand. However, the Russian propaganda against Enver Pasha started to take effect, leading to a reversal of fortunes within two months. Enver Pasha was losing the cities he had won one by one, feeling that the end was near.
Nevertheless, he rejected an invitation from the Prime Minister of Afghanistan who offered to take him in, saying, ‘I have dedicated myself to this cause, and I will gladly sacrifice myself for it. I cannot go anywhere else. You have also served the Turkish cause as brothers in faith. For months, you have worked hard for me; I ask for your forgiveness.’
After an Eid prayer, Enver Pasha was celebrating with his soldiers and giving gifts when a sudden Russian attack occurred, and they all rushed there. They resisted the Russian machine gun fire until the end. Thus, a life that began in Istanbul’s Divanyolu with patriotism ended heroically in Turkestan, leaving behind a legacy of love for the homeland, Turkishness, and Islam.
May the souls of all our martyrs, including Enver Pasha, rest in peace 🇹🇷.
