IOR/L/PS/18/B233

Memorandum, written by Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel, dated 25 May 1916, examining the implications of war with Turkey on Great Britain particularly the importance to Germany of a Turco-Ottoman alliance and the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, and the corresponding importance of its dissolution to Great Britain.

The memorandum discusses Germany's need for raw materials and its realisation that supplies from Asiatic Turkey may take years to establish; the German threat to the Suez Canal and the Dardanelles; the threat to India from Mesopotamia; the dangers of Pan-islamism; the potential risks of waging war on a Moslem [Muslim] power, particularly given British relations in the Persian Gulf; and the possible outcomes of the war with Germany and the likely position of Turkey in relation to them.

Enclosed with the memorandum are two appendices:

• Appendix I: Extract from an article by Dr Hans Delbrück in the Schwäbische Merkur 17 May 1916, summarising the German ideal of 'weltpolitik' (world policy);
• Appendix II: Extract memorandum by Sir Mark Sykes on "The problem of the Near East", dated 20 June 1916.

Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel is not named on the memorandum as its author, however IOR/L/PS/18/B234 refers to him as its author.