PEEBLES PROFILES
EPISODE XXIV
Otto Liman von Sanders
FAMILY AND RISE THROUGH THE RANKS
Otto Viktor Karl Liman von Sanders was born on February 17, 1855 in Stolp (now Słupsk, Poland) in the province of Pomerania. He was the son of Carl Leonhard Liman and his wife Emma née Michaelis. Carl Liman was a prosperous businessman, who purchased the lordship of the manor of Schwessin (now Świeszyno, Poland). Although different details of Carl Liman’s paternal ancestry are recorded, it is generally agreed that his father and Otto’s grandfather were born to a Jewish family by the name of Liepmann and later baptized in the Christian faith.
After graduating from the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium in Berlin, Otto Liman entered the army on March 13, 1874 as a Fahnenjunker in the Leibgarde-Infanterie-Regiment (1. Grossherzöglich Hessisches) Number 115. From 1878 to 1881 he attended the Berlin Military Academy (Kriegsakademie) and was subsequently transferred to Garde-Dragoner-Regiment (1. Grossherzöglich Hessisches) Number 23.
In 1885, Otto Liman was promoted to Oberleutnant. Two years later, he was seconded to the General Staff, then promoted to Hauptmann (captain) in 1889. Another two years passed before Otto Liman became a squadron commander.
As the 20th century began, Otto Liman was assigned command of Husaren-Regiment “Graf Goetzen” (2. Schlesisches) Number 6 with the rank of major. He was promoted to Oberst in 1904.
With the rank of Generalmajor in 1908, Otto Liman was given command of the 22nd Division, based at Kassel. He attained the rank of Generalleutnant in 1911.
On June 16, 1913, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Liman was ennobled. He chose the maiden name of his late first wife, Amelie von Sanders (1858–1906), as his nobiliary suffix. He was thereafter known as Otto Liman von Sanders. In accordance with the rules of German nomenclature, this surname is correctly abbreviated “Liman” (not “von Sanders” or “Sanders”, as is often the case in English language publications).
TURKEY AT WAR
That same year, like several other Prussian generals before him (such as Moltke and Goltz), Liman was appointed to head a German military mission to the Ottoman Empire. For nearly eighty years, the Ottoman Turks had been trying to modernize their army along European lines. Liman von Sanders would be the last German to attempt this task.
On July 30, 1914 (two days after the outbreak of the war in Europe), the Ottoman leaders agreed to form an alliance with Germany against Russia, although it did not require them to undertake military action. A little over three months later, the Ottoman Empire officially entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. Britain and France declared war on November 5th, and the Ottoman Turks declared jihad (holy war) later that month. However, the call for jihad failed, as many of the Arab nationalists formed an alliance with the British (which led to the Arab Revolt).
FIGHT FOR THE STRAITS
The first proposal to attack the Ottoman Empire was made in November 1914 by the French Minister of Justice, Aristide Briand, but it was rejected. Later that month, First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, proposed a naval attack on the Dardanelles, which was based in part on erroneous reports of the Ottoman troop strength. An initial attempt to force the Dardanelles by sea failed on March 18, 1915 due to gunfire from Ottoman forts on both sides of the strait. The Allies then turned to planning amphibious operations to capture the forts and clear the strait, which led to the Battle of Gallipoli.
Liman had little time to organize defenses, but he had two things in his favor. First, the Turkish Fifth Army on the Gallipoli peninsula was the best army they had (84,000 well-equipped soldiers in six divisions). Second, he was helped by poor Allied leadership.
On April 23, 1915, the British landed a major force at Cape Helles. Liman’s decision to pull back the strong line of coastal defenses the local Turkish commanders had established and group them inland in preparation for the Allied attack almost gave an early victory to Allies. Liman was also convinced that the Allied landings would take place at Saros Bay, and he did not believe for a long time the landings at Arıburnu was the main assault. He did not release the main troops in the critical first day of the landings.
One of Liman’s best decisions during this time was to promote Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk) to command the 19th Division. Kemal’s division was crucial to the Ottoman defenses. His troops marched up on the day of the landings and occupied the ridge line above the ANZAC landing site (just as the ANZAC troops were moving up the slope themselves). Kemal recognized the danger, and he personally made sure his troops held the ridge line. They were never forced off despite constant attacks for the next five months!
From April to November 1915 (when the decision to evacuate was made), Liman had to fight off numerous attacks against his defensive positions. The British tried another landing at Suvla Bay, but this too was halted by the Ottoman defenders. The only bright spot for the British in this entire operation was that they managed to evacuate their positions with small losses. However, this battle was a major victory for the Ottoman Army, and some of the credit is given to the generalship of Otto Liman von Sanders.
END OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Early in 1915, the previous head of the German military mission to the Ottoman Empire (Baron von der Goltz) arrived in Constantinople as military advisor to the essentially powerless Sultan, Mehmed V. The old Baron did not get along with Liman von Sanders, nor did he like the three Pashas (Enver, Cemal, and Talaat) who basically ruled the Ottoman Empire during the war. The Baron proposed some major offensives against the British, but these proposals came to naught in the face of Allied offensives against the Ottoman Turks on three fronts: the Dardanelles, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia. Liman was rid of the old Baron when Enver Pasha sent him to fight the British on the Mesopotamian Front in October 1915. Goltz died there six months later, just before the British Army surrendered at Kut.
In the final year of the war, Liman von Sanders took over command of the Ottoman Army during the Sinai and Palestine campaign. He replaced General Erich von Falkenhayn, who had been defeated by General Allenby at the end of 1917.
Liman was hampered by the significant decline in power of the Ottoman Army. His forces were unable to do anything more than occupy defensive positions and wait for the British to strike. The attack was a long time waiting, but when General Allenby finally unleashed his forces, the entire Ottoman Army was destroyed in one week of fighting at the Battle of Megiddo (Armageddon) in October 1918. In the rout, Liman was nearly taken prisoner by British soldiers!
A WAR CRIMINAL?
Liman von Sanders was accused of perpetrating war crimes in his dealings with the Greek civilian population of Aivali. He proposed to the Ottoman authorities that the Greeks be deported “for the security of the army”. The deportation occurred in 1917, and it led to the death of many. As such, British admiral, Somerset Gough-Calthorpe accused Liman of being behind the deportation of 35,000 Greeks from Aivali “under horrible conditions”, which was also part of the deportation and partial assassination of 300,000 Ottoman Greeks under Liman’s complete authority.
To add to the horror, one and a half million Armenians and 450,000 Greeks were subsequently “removed”, and von Sanders was named the responsible party. Liman was also accused of “deliberately” cutting a trench system through the British war cemeteries at Gallipoli and mistreating captured British soldiers.
As a result, British authorities arrested Liman in early 1919 for war crimes, concretely for sanctioning the massacre of Greeks and Armenians. They kept him imprisoned for half a year on Malta, but Liman was eventually released.
DEATH
After being released, Liman von Sanders returned home and retired from the German Army. In 1927, he published a book that he had written as a captive in Malta about his experiences before and during the war.
Otto Liman von Sanders died in Munich on August 22, 1929 at the age of seventy-four.