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The record is made up of 1 file (6 folios). It was created in 4 Oct 1918. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Content

This file consists of a single memorandum, produced by the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office. The memorandum provides, in great detail, a British perspective on Turco-German relations between March and October 1918, regarding their respective interests in the recently dissolved Russian Empire in the Caucasus. It is divided into sections as follows:

  • 1. the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk;
  • 2. the negotiations at Trebizond [Trabzon];
  • 3. protests to Germany against Turkish atrocities;
  • 4. the negotiations at Batum [Batumi, Georgia];
  • 5. the Georgian mission to Berlin;
  • 6. the German press campaign against Turkish policy in the Caucasus;
  • 7. the Turkish treaties of Batum and German intervention in Georgia;
  • 8. the (abortive) conference at Constantinople [Istanbul];
  • 9. Turkish and German intrigues with the three nationalities (referred to in the memorandum as the Armenian Republic of Erivan [Yerevan], the Republic of Georgia, and the Tatar Republic of Azerbaijan);
  • 10. the frustration of Turkish policy by Germany.

The memorandum opines that Turkey's [the Ottoman Empire's] aim of dominating Trans-Caucasia [Transcausasia] has been frustrated by German intervention; Germany's gains, according to the Foreign Office, are largely illusory, and come at the price of a feud with Turkey.

An addendum to the memorandum quotes from a note from the Director of Military Intelligence [William Thwaites], dated 3 October 1918, which suggests that the Turks have latterly been gaining the upper hand in the Caucasus over the Germans.

Extent and format
1 file (6 folios)
Arrangement

This file consists of a single memorandum.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 166, and terminates at f 171, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
Type
Archival file

Archive information for this record

Access & Reference

Original held at
British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.
Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference
IOR/L/PS/18/C191

History of this record

Date(s)
4 Oct 1918 (CE, Gregorian)

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'Memorandum on Turco-German Relations Over the Caucasus.', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/C191, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000833.0x000184> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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