Forcing Bulgaria Into War: North Macedonia Operation of the Ottoman Special Organization (Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa) (1914-1915)

Murat Aydoğdu

Article Details

Forcing Bulgaria Into War: North Macedonia Operation of the Ottoman Special Organization (Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa) (1914-1915)

Authors:

Murat Aydoğdu

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Journal:

Tarih Dergisi Issue 86, pp.210-245

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001355417

pISSN:

1015-1818

Keywords:

Abstract:

 This article aims to clarify the grounds, aims, phases and results of the joint operation of Ottoman Special Organisation OSO Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa with the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization IMRO against the Serbian administration in North Macedonia as a reflection of the rapprochement between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria after the Balkan Wars. The article basically draws the following conclusions: 1- At the beginning, the main purpose of cooperation with the Bulgarians for the Committee of Union and Progress was to ensure the autonomy of Macedonia and the return of Western Thrace to Turkey. 2- Following the Turkish-German alliance, Enver Pasha, the Minister of War, took control of the operation and assigned it the functions of urgently forcing Bulgaria into war against Serbia, which was at war with Austria, and preparing the ground for a future Turkish-Bulgarian invasion of the region. 3- In the first phase of the operation, the propaganda activities of the OSO gangs to incite the Muslims of the region against the Serbian rule were successful, but this brought about a campaign of violence by the Serbs against the Muslim population. In addition, the Turkish gangs, which did not receive the expected support from the Bulgarians, who were experiencing political hesitations, were neutralized by the Serbian forces in a short time. 4- Despite the situation, Enver Pasha did not back down, he deployed new and larger gangs to the field, and with the Bulgarians developing a closer cooperation attitude, highly effective operations could be carried out together with the IMRO. 5- Although these operations played an important role in further distancing the Entente from Bulgaria, they were not enough to achieve Enver Pashas goal of bringing Bulgaria into the war urgently.

 This article aims to clarify the grounds, aims, phases and results of the joint operation of Ottoman Special Organisation OSO Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa with the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization IMRO against the Serbian administration in North Macedonia as a reflection of the rapprochement between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria after the Balkan Wars. The article basically draws the following conclusions: 1- At the beginning, the main purpose of cooperation with the Bulgarians for the Committee of Union and Progress was to ensure the autonomy of Macedonia and the return of Western Thrace to Turkey. 2- Following the Turkish-German alliance, Enver Pasha, the Minister of War, took control of the operation and assigned it the functions of urgently forcing Bulgaria into war against Serbia, which was at war with Austria, and preparing the ground for a future Turkish-Bulgarian invasion of the region. 3- In the first phase of the operation, the propaganda activities of the OSO gangs to incite the Muslims of the region against the Serbian rule were successful, but this brought about a campaign of violence by the Serbs against the Muslim population. In addition, the Turkish gangs, which did not receive the expected support from the Bulgarians, who were experiencing political hesitations, were neutralized by the Serbian forces in a short time. 4- Despite the situation, Enver Pasha did not back down, he deployed new and larger gangs to the field, and with the Bulgarians developing a closer cooperation attitude, highly effective operations could be carried out together with the IMRO. 5- Although these operations played an important role in further distancing the Entente from Bulgaria, they were not enough to achieve Enver Pashas goal of bringing Bulgaria into the war urgently.

 This article aims to clarify the grounds, aims, phases and results of the joint operation of Ottoman Special Organisation OSO Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa with the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization IMRO against the Serbian administration in North Macedonia as a reflection of the rapprochement between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria after the Balkan Wars. The article basically draws the following conclusions: 1- At the beginning, the main purpose of cooperation with the Bulgarians for the Committee of Union and Progress was to ensure the autonomy of Macedonia and the return of Western Thrace to Turkey. 2- Following the Turkish-German alliance, Enver Pasha, the Minister of War, took control of the operation and assigned it the functions of urgently forcing Bulgaria into war against Serbia, which was at war with Austria, and preparing the ground for a future Turkish-Bulgarian invasion of the region. 3- In the first phase of the operation, the propaganda activities of the OSO gangs to incite the Muslims of the region against the Serbian rule were successful, but this brought about a campaign of violence by the Serbs against the Muslim population. In addition, the Turkish gangs, which did not receive the expected support from the Bulgarians, who were experiencing political hesitations, were neutralized by the Serbian forces in a short time. 4- Despite the situation, Enver Pasha did not back down, he deployed new and larger gangs to the field, and with the Bulgarians developing a closer cooperation attitude, highly effective operations could be carried out together with the IMRO. 5- Although these operations played an important role in further distancing the Entente from Bulgaria, they were not enough to achieve Enver Pashas goal of bringing Bulgaria into the war urgently.

 Bu makale Balkan Savaşlarının ardından Osmanlı Devleti ve Bulgaristan arasında meydana gelen yakınlaşmanın bir yansıması olarak Teşkilat-ı Mahsusanın İç Makedon Devrimci Örgütü ile Kuzey Makedonyada Sırp yönetimine karşı giriştiği ortak harekâtın zeminini, amaçlarını, safhalarını ve neticelerini açıklığa kavuşturmayı hedeflemektedir. Araştırma neticesinde şu sonuçlara varılmıştır: 1- İlkin İttihat ve Terakki erkânı için Bulgarlarla iş birliğinin temel amacı Makedonyanın muhtariyetini ve Batı Trakyanın Türkiyeye iadesini sağlamaktı. 2- Türk-Alman ittifakının ardından Harbiye Nazırı Enver Paşa harekâtın kontrolünü ele almış ve ona Bulgaristanı acilen Avusturya ile savaş hâlindeki Sırbistana karşı savaşa zorlama ve bölgeye yönelik müstakbel Türk-Bulgar işgaline zemin hazırlama işlevlerini yüklemiştir. 3- Harekâtın ilk safhasında Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa çetelerinin bölge Müslümanlarını Sırp yönetimine karşı kışkırtmaya yönelik propaganda faaliyetleri başarılı olmuş ama bu durum Sırpların Müslüman ahaliye yönelik şiddet kampanyasını beraberinde getirmiştir. Ayrıca politik tereddütler yaşayan Bulgarlardan beklenen desteği alamayan Türk çeteler Sırp kuvvetlerince kısa sürede etkisiz hâle getirilmiştir. 4- Ortaya çıkan tabloya rağmen Enver Paşa geri adım atmamış, sahaya yeni ve daha kalabalık çeteler sürmüş, Bulgarların daha yakın bir iş birliği tavrı geliştirmesiyle de İç Makedon Devrimci Örgütü ile birlikte son derece etkili operasyonlar yapılabilmiştir. 5- Bu operasyonlar İtilaf Devletlerinin Bulgaristandan daha da uzaklaşmasında önemli rol oynasa da Enver Paşanın Bulgaristanı acilen savaşa sokma amacının gerçekleşmesine yetmemiştir.

Article Details

Forcing Bulgaria Into War: North Macedonia Operation of the Ottoman Special Organization (Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa) (1914-1915)

Authors:

Murat Aydoğdu

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Journal:

Tarih Dergisi Issue 86, pp.210-245

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001355417

pISSN:

1015-1818

Ottoman Special Organisation

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation

Bulgaria

Macedonia

First World War

Turkish-Bulgarian AllianceTeşkilat-ı Mahsusa

İç Makedon Devrimci Örgütü

Bulgaristan

Makedonya

Birinci Dünya Savaşı

Türk-Bulgar İttifakı

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Murat Aydoğdu

Publisher: Istanbul University

Main Topics: Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Journal: Tarih Dergisi Issue 86, pp.210-245

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 4/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001355417

pISSN: 1015-1818

Issues

Authors:

Murat Aydoğdu

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Journal:

Tarih Dergisi Issue 86, pp.210-245

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001355417

pISSN:

1015-1818