The 1912 Ottoman coup d'état (17 July 1912) was a military coup in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

against the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) government (elected during the 1912 general elections) by a group of military officers calling themselves the Saviour Officers ( ota, Halâskâr Zâbitân; Modern tr, Kurtarıcı Subaylar) during the dissolution era of the

The Saviour Officers are often referred to as the military wing of the

Freedom and Accord Party The Freedom and Accord Party ( ota, حریت و ایتلاف فرقه‌سی, Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası, script=Arab), also known as the Liberal Union or the Liberal Entente, was a liberal Ottoman political party active between 1911 and 1913, ...

(Liberal Union or Liberal Entente), the main opposition party after the 1912 election, which became notorious for electioneering and

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

by the CUP. Freedom and Accord members recruited elements such as the officers to their cause in protest. The coup was one of the central events of the politically volatile 1912–13 years, which saw political instability due to the power struggle between the CUP and Freedom and Accord, as well as the newly sparked

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...

Background

The Young Turks were a revolutionary movement that was the main force behind the Young Turk Revolution. The revolution resulted in the Sultan Abdulhamid II announcing the restoration of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 on 3 July 1908. The 1908 election put the CUP into the government as majority party, while the main minority was the LU. The 31 March Incident (13 April 1909) was an attempt to dismantle the Constitutional Era and replace it with an

autocracy Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except per ...

under Sultan/Caliph

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

. The countercoup was put down by the Action Army (''Hareket Ordusu''). However, the CUP didn't fully control the government, and elements in the country became alarmed at the manner in which the CUP had rigged the elections in their favor. Moreover, because of the Italo-Turkish War in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and the start of

Albanian revolt The Albanian Revolt may refer to: *The Albanian Revolt of 1432–36 *The Albanian Revolts of 1833–39 *The Albanian Revolt of 1843–44 *The Albanian revolt of 1845 *The Albanian Revolt of 1847 *The Albanian Revolt of 1910 *The Albanian Revolt ...

, CUP lost its former support and prestige. A group of officers lead by CUP member Mehmed Sadık would separate from the CUP, accusing central committee members Mehmed Talat,

Mehmed Cavid Mehmet Cavit Bey, Mehmed Cavid Bey or Mehmed Djavid Bey ( ota, محمد جاوید بك; 1875 – 26 August 1926) was an Ottoman economist, newspaper editor and leading politician during the dissolution period of the Ottoman Empire. A founding ...

, and Hüseyin Cahid of being seduced by

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

and

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Cavid would subsequently resign his post as

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

. A meeting in October by all of the parliament's major politicians thwarted cooperation between liberals and the CUP, thus increasing polarization and resulted in the creation of the

, also known as the Liberal Union. After the notoriously contested and violent 1912 elections against the LU, CUP increased its power and formed the vast majority of the parliament. Talat, who was suspicious of war minister Mahmud Şevket Pasha, urged for his resignation which offended parts of the army. That summer, another Albanian revolt broke out, this time with support of Albanian officers in the army.

Coup

By June, Colonel Sadık and staff major Gelibolulu Kemal (

later Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...

surnamed Şenkil) would form the Savior Officers (''Halâskâr Zâbitân'') clique, and requested President of the Ottoman Assembly

Halil Bey Halil Sami Bey (1866 – 1925) was an Ottoman Army colonel, who served in the First World War. He successfully managed to fend off British forces during the Landing at Cape Helles. Career Halil Sami was in charge of the Ottoman 9th Divi ...

to disband the CUP dominated parliament. Mahmud Şevket Pasha's resignation in support of the Savior officers left the CUP isolated, and the Unionists acquiesced. The new government, known as the "Great Cabinet", was formed by Gazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, a war hero. The members of the government were prestigious statesmen, and they easily received the vote of confidence. The CUP, notwithstanding its majority in the parliament, lost its executive power. Although Ahmed Muhtar Pasha and his cabinet were non-partisan, the Saviour Officers pressured Ahmed Muhtar Pasha's government to adjourn the parliament, losing CUP its last stronghold.

Aftermath

Beginning in the summer of 1912, Ottoman Empire was governed by Saviour-backed governments. However, in October, the

began, and the Ottoman Empire was defeated on all fronts. This gave CUP chance to regain strength. In January 1913, the leadership of the CUP staged a coup, forcing the Saviour-backed Freedom and Accord government to resign at gunpoint. The leaders of the Saviour Officers escaped to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

. CUP governments continued up to the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

References

Sources

*
Google Books
* {{Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire Coup July 1912 events Military coups in the Ottoman Empire Ottoman coup 1910s coups d'état and coup attempts