- Teşkilât-ı Mahsûsa
Teşkilat-ı Mahsûsa (Special Organization) was an Ottoman imperial government
special forces unit under the "War Department", which dealt with both Arab separatism and Western imperialism. [Stoddard, Philip Hendrick. (1963) "The Ottoman Government and the Arabs, 1911 to 1918: A Study of the Teskilat-i Mahsusa", Princeton University. (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation) pn] It was used to suppress subversion and possible collaboration with the external enemy.History
The first record of the organization dates back to 1903 and 1907. The official status was established in 1913, under the direction of
Enver Pasha in the War department. [cite journal|url=http://www.aksiyon.com.tr/detay.php?id=20339
accessdate=2008-09-05
date=1995-11-11
title=Cumhuriyeti Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa kurdu
volume=49
author=Eren, M. Ali
language=Turkish
journal=Aksiyon
publisher=Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş] It was deployed for the establishment of theRepublic of Gumuljina . During World War I, the Ottoman command used it for special military operations in the Caucasus, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.The institutionalization was accelerated after the
Balkan Wars .Activities
In 1915, for example, Special Organization units seized key oases along the Ottoman line of advance against the
Suez Canal .Leadership
During the
World War I Eşref Sencer Kuşçubası was the director of operations in Arabia, the Sinai, and North Africa. [cite journal|title=Kuşçubaşı Eşref’in Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa Anıları|journal=Virgul|language=Turkish|url=http://www.network54.com/Forum/121213/message/1028587101/Derin+Devlet|volume=2|pages=33|author=Köker, Osman] He was captured at Yemen in early 1917 by the British military and was aPOW until 1920.Its last director, Hüsamettin Ertürk, who wrote a memoir called "İki Devrin Perde Arkası" (Behind the Scenes of Two Eras), [cite news|url=http://taraf.com.tr/haber.asp?id=16668
accessdate=2008-09-13
title=Yakup Cemil: Devlet içinde devlet olan adam
date=2008-09-13
work=Taraf
language=Turkish
first=Öner
last=Özbek] later worked as an agent in Istanbul of the Ankara government following the Armistice. [cite journal
title=2 Devrin Perde Arkası
first=Niyazi
last=Berkes
journal=Oriens
publisher=BRILL
volume=12
issue=1/2
date=1959-12-31
pages=202-202
url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1580200]ee also
*
Three Pashas References
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