The Teskilat-i Mahsusa and World War I

Abstract

This article seeks to answer four interrelated questions: What was the organizational nature of the Tes, kilat-i Mahsusa (TM)?; Was it an intelligence organization or a vigilante band?; What was the political and military context within which the organization evolved?; and What was the role of the organization in World War I? I argue that the TM evolved out of the revolutionary guerilla activities in the Balkans and became a special force organization during World War I. It evolved in response to a semi-colonial and collapsing Ottoman state with little military capacity to protect its borders. The TM participated in a number of covert operations to instigate Islamic insurrections in India, Africa, and Russia, and its methods included the killing of Muslim as well as Christian opponents of the CUP government during World War I.