Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 146: The End of Autocracy



Shemsi Pasha was the Ottoman General chosen to pacify the uprising in Albania led by the Young Turk revolutionary leader Ahmed Niyazi Bey. Currently, he and his men were passing through the Macedonian city of Monastir.

In an effort to discourage recruitment for the Union and its forces. Shemsi Pasha had begun to tell Albanian Muslims that the Young Turk movement was massacring them, and on his journey to the region had picked up a small number of Albanian volunteers to aid with the two battalions of Ottoman Troops he had brought into the region.

Though the Ottoman General did not realize it, his personal bodyguard, the Albanian volunteers, and even the two battalions beneath his command were more or less in league with the Young Turks. Frankly speaking, Shemsi Pasha was a dead man walking. He just didn't know it yet.

And because of this, he was walking right into a trap, organized in part by the men beneath his command, the men who had sworn to protect him. Because of this, he and his men stopped in the city of Monastir. Particularly with the purpose of sending a telegraph to troops in Albania to make ready for their punitive expedition.

The telegraph was sent, and the orders were received, and because of that, the Ottoman General rather conceitedly stepped out of the Telegram station with a smug smirk on his face. His words were equally arrogant, entirely unaware of what fate had in store for him.

"Well... Gentlemen, this is our last stop before our campaign begins. By my estimates, this little rebellion will be put down before the month even expires. So, shall we get a move on?" The guards were not looking at their general, rather the man who had approached him in the streets, who Shemsi Pasha was currently entirely unaware of as he was looking at his bodyguards. It was not until he felt a tap on the shoulder, and turned around, did he realize what was happening.

Before he could say another word, the stranger who had approached him in the street pointed a pistol to his face and said a single phrase before pulling the trigger.

"General Shemsi Pasha, the Union sends their regards!"

*bang!*

The Ottoman general was shot square in the forehead, his dead body dropping to the ground as his bodyguards reacted by unslinging their rifles and firing in the general direction of the assassin, who had begun running off into the distance.

Because they were secretly in league with this assassin, the soldiers easily missed their marks, having not even really aimed for the man, but rather in the air above him. Ultimately, the assassin escaped.

And word was quick sent to Constantinople that the General they had chosen to lead the efforts to squash the revolution before it really began had been killed in the streets of Northern Macedon.

Sultan Abdul Hamid II stood in disbelief as his generals relayed the news to him. Shemsi Pasha was dead, shot dead in the streets of Macedon while his bodyguard looked dumbstruck at the sudden attack.

Though shots were reported to have been exchanged with the assassin, the only body recovered from the incident was that of the murdered general. This was a disaster of the highest caliber. Or it would have been if worse news did not begin flooding in immediately thereafter.

The slain general's troops had defected to the opposition and had begun to march on Monastir with the remainder of the rebels, who had long since spread throughout the mountains of Macedon. Soon enough, the city would fall.

Aggrieved by the loss of a loyal compatriot and close friend, the Sultan immediately broke out into hysterical rage as he gave the command to deal with these rebels before they seized the city. They had, of course, been spreading rapidly throughout the Balkans since first making their demands. Sending these same demands over and over again with each post office taken. "I want them dead! The traitors! The traitors' families! Hell, even the entire villages these bastards originate from! I want them all dead and left the wolves like the wretches they are! Kill them all! Every last one of them!"

The generals looked over at the Sultan. Many of them were already either sympathetic towards the Young Turks, or were outright conspiring along with them. The Sultan's most recent rage did nothing to calm their worries towards his autocratic rule.

If anything, they became even more concerned about the future of the Empire should the constitution not be restored. Nevertheless, none of them spoke of these concerns immediately. Rather, one was quick to volunteer to replace the recently assassinated general and take charge of the Sultans' demands for retribution. His name was Hayri Pasha.

"Your majesty, I will gladly replace our fallen comrade and bring justice to the Balkans even if I must burn it to the ground to do so! Give me command over the Third Army and I assure you victory in this petty conflict!"

The Sultan nodded his head, and quickly agreed to this, promising the Field Marshal great rewards should he emerge successful, all while patting his shoulder with a proud look on his face.

"I have little doubt about your success! Go forth and bring the Balkans back into order! If you do so, and swiftly at that, I promise you more fortune and glory than you and your family could ever spend in a hundred generations!"

This in and of itself was supposed to be the motivation to drive the Ottoman General to victory in the Balkans. Unfortunately, this motivation would not extend to his own forces. Who may or may not have already been infiltrated by the Young Turk Movement?

As in Bruno's previous life, the Young Turk Revolution lasted less than a month. In fact, by the end of January, the Sultan had voluntarily given up his autocratic rule, and declared the constitution restored, along with a new series of elections.

Frankly speaking, the Third Army was forced into cooperation with the Young Turk Movement, or more specifically, the group known as the Committee of Union and Progress, also known simply as the "Union" or sometimes abbreviated as CUP.

So many members of the Third Army were secretly members of CUP that all they needed to do was threaten the Field Marshal who was leading them into battle with a similar fate as his predecessor, and he was forced into submission.

Shortly thereafter, Monastir was seized by the Union and its forces. And the Second Army defected following that. With two whole armies, and thousands of volunteers on their side, the Young Turks threatened to march on Constantinople, ultimately forcing the Sultan to abdicate his throne, or concede to all demands.

Naturally, he chose the latter. And in doing so, the entirety of the Ottoman Empire broke out into celebration. Christians, Muslims, and Jews celebrated together in each other's holy places. And groups of armed brigands who had been killing one another, and were at odds with the government forces, surrendered their arms and joined together as brothers to celebrate the constitution being restored, and praises to the Sultan for his "wisdom."

Not a single citizen of the League of the Four Emperors and the Nations it composed of were harmed in the fighting. And the troops dispatched to their consulates in Constantinople returned home. Any merchants, or expatriates living in the borders of the Ottoman Empire who had evacuated from the region as a result of the conflict quickly returned. Bruno couldn't help but read about the surrender of the Sultan, and the restoration of the Ottoman constitution within the papers. He had a smirk on his face while drinking from a cup of coffee. He knew the revolution would last less than a month, and had thus spent the last 20 or so days of his life working on tasks either partially related or unrelated altogether to the

German military.

As his days at the Central Division were spent waiting in silence as the Young Turk Revolution developed. Many had feared that this conflict would turn into a bloody civil war like the one that had been fought in Russia a mere four years prior.

Bruno had of course spent close to two years in Russia fighting the Marxists, and the

devastation that war caused while not as great as the one in his past life, was worrisome enough that the major powers were planning to take action if necessary, in order to ensure that the Balkans did not descend into total chaos.

Luckily, this was not the case. However, Bruno was indeed surprised by one thing. His quick thinking in securing the Consulates and evacuating German citizens from the region had helped bolster friendly ties between the militaries of the German Reich, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire, all of which had participated jointly in these efforts. And as a result, he soon found himself being awarded with a promotion, the same day that the Sultan declared his autocracy having come to an end.