The Ottoman Empire enters World War I with an unauthorized attack on Russia
Two German warships flying Ottoman flags shell Russian Black Sea ports without the Ottoman parliament's knowledge or approval.
Quick facts
- Key figure
- Enver Pasha, Ottoman War Minister
- Attack
- Black Sea Raid, 29 October 1914
- Ships used
- Former German Goeben and Breslau, renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli
- Result
- Russia, Britain, and France declare war on the Ottomans
What happened
War Minister Enver Pasha had signed a secret alliance with Germany on 2 August 1914, before the Ottoman Empire had entered the war, committing the empire to fight Russia once hostilities began. Two German warships, the battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau, sailed into Ottoman waters and were nominally transferred to Ottoman command as the Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli, still crewed largely by German sailors under German Admiral Wilhelm Souchon. On 29 October 1914, these ships and other Ottoman naval units bombarded the Russian Black Sea ports of Sevastopol, Odessa, Novorossiysk, and Feodosia. A study published by the Turkish Historical Society notes the attack was carried out without the authorization of the Ottoman Parliament or cabinet, a decision effectively made by Enver Pasha and his German allies alone. Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 2 November, and Britain and France followed on 5 November.
Why it matters
The empire's entry into the war on the losing side ended with the loss of its Arab provinces, the Armenian Genocide, and the eventual partition and abolition of the sultanate, making the decision one of the most consequential in Ottoman history despite having been made by a faction rather than through any broader deliberation. The war set in motion the chain of defeat, occupation, and nationalist resistance that produced the modern Republic of Turkey within a decade.
How we know
The Turkish Historical Society's Belleten journal documents the bombardment as undertaken without Ottoman parliamentary or cabinet authorization, attributing the decision to Enver Pasha's authority over the German-linked warships.
Sources
- Turkish Historical Society (Belleten). The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I · Peer-reviewed (author-declared)belleten.gov.tr · Cited as a "journal" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Ottoman Empire · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Related timelines
- World War I → · See the World War I timeline for the wider war the Ottoman Empire joined on the Central Powers' side.