Ottoman Empire in World War I

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The Ottoman Empire was one of the Central Powers of World War I, allied with the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria. It entered the war on 29 October 1914 with a small surprise attack on Russian ports in the Black Sea, prompting the Russian Empire—and its allies France and Great Britain—to declare war the following month. World War I had erupted almost exactly three months prior, on 28 July, following a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The Ottoman Empire, which had no stake in the immediate causes and considerations of the conflict, declared neutrality and negotiated with nations on both sides. Though regarded by the great powers as the "sick man of Europe" due to its perceived decline and weakness, the empire's geostrategic location and continued influence had nonetheless...

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