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swoop in there, too. But Germany and Great Britain – the true powerhouses of Europe – are unwilling to see the Balkans brought under the Russian realm and for the moment have backed the Ottomans against Russian designs, awaiting their own time to pounce.
    As the first years of the 20th century grind on, the embattled rulers in Constantinople have managed to keep their proud Empire alive. The Sick Man staggers on, though change is not only afoot, it has boots on and is marching hard, straight at the old guard …
    On 23 July 1908, a mixed bag of dissidents, intelligentsia, liberal thinkers, and modern military and naval officers, roughly united by a common desire for democratic change – a group known as the Young Turks, led by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) – succeed in a near bloodless revolution. The supreme leader of both the state and the entire Islamic community, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, agrees to the Young Turks’ proposals to work towards modernisation, so long as he can remain in power …
    This is followed by a counter-revolution, and then a counter -counter-revolution in April 1909 – yes, the Ottoman Empire is now that kind of place – led by powerful Young Turks in the army. The Sultan is deposed, and replaced by his younger and more malleable brother, Mehmed V, while a new Grand Vizier – effectively, the Prime Minister – is instated.
    A brief period of relative quiet ensues in the capital, though many continue to foment dissent in the Balkans, which grows more fervent with every passing month. And finally, the conflagration comes. The First Balkan War of 1912 sees a coalition of Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria capturing much of the European Christian territory of the Ottomans – a third of the total European territory and a fifth of its population – with the Bulgarians even advancing to within 30 miles of Constantinople, before being pushed back. It is a swift and devastating blow to the Ottomans, as in the space of just two months they must surrender two of their armies and all of the Christian Balkan states. By the end of the year, the Ottoman Government, now headed by Grand Vizier Kâmil, a man nudging 90 years old, urgently seeks the intervention of the Great Powers, Great Britain and Germany, to save them from disintegration.
    The Europeans are not long in penning their demands. The Ottomans are to cease all further military activities and hand over even more territory, including the Holy City of Edirne, which is to be given to the Balkan states. Oh, the humiliation. But do they have a choice? Without the support of the Great Powers, Constantinople itself might fall to the Bulgarians and their Balkan allies. And so, on 18 January 1913, at the Sublime Porte – the seat of Ottoman power in Constantinople for the last 400 years – Grand Vizier Kâmil meets with his Grand Council of Ministers to agree to the unthinkable …
    The scene is set. With a weak government preparing to haul up the white flag, it is time for the Young Turk leadership – mostly proud, nationalistic Turkish military men hailing from the Balkans themselves – to make a move.
    By a twist of fate, three particularly ambitious Young Turks are in Constantinople on this very day and agree to take action. They are led by a fearless firebrand like they don’t make them anymore, Lieutenant-Colonel Ismail Enver, who has lately come to public notoriety through his military derring-do. The young, energetically impulsive and aggressively nationalistic officer, with the impossibly upturned moustache – waxed to the point that it would do a candle proud – is backed by the well-liked Talaat, now Secretary-General of the CUP, and Staff-Colonel Cemal, a military man of clout.
    For these men, the mere thought of Edirne, and any further part of the Ottoman Empire, being ceded to the Europeans is anathema. They are convinced not only of their moral