Posthumous Memoirs of Talaat Pasha/Germany forces the Issue
Day by day our position became more and more difficult. The addition of the German naval mission to the German military organization, the increasing number of German officers and crews, and their ever-growing influence in Constantinople rendered the situation very critical. Just at this moment the incident of the Black Sea occurred. The German Admiral Sushon, taking some of the strongest ships of the Turkish fleet, went out on the Black Sea, attacked the Russian fleet and bombarded some of the Russian ports. Contrary to the general belief, this incident had not taken place with the knowledge of the Porte. During the war I did not deny the rumor that it had; but now that the war is over, and I am not in power, I most emphatically declare that I learned, as everybody did, of this regretful incident just after it happened, and that no one of the Cabinet members gave his consent to this sudden attack on the Russian fleet. This incident caused the Porte real anxiety. All the members of the Cabinet were angry. Some of them, such as Mahmoud Pasha Churuk-soulou, Minister of Public Works; Mr. Suleiman Elbustany, Minister of Agriculture; Mr. Oskan, Minister of Posts and the only Armenian member of the Cabinet, resigned as a protest, and Djavid Bey, Minister of Finance, threatened to resign if the incident was not closed amicably in a short time. Even Said Halim Pasha, the Prime Minister, consented to keep his place for only one session of the Cabinet, in which we were to discuss the matter at length, and to reach a final decision. This incident had created great surprise and excitement, not only in political circles, but among the people as well, who followed with enthusiasm the German victories at the front. The situation had become exceedingly critical. We had to decide whether to admit this incident as an accomplished fact and to side with Germany, or to apologize for the sudden attack of the German Admiral and try to close the incident peacefully. We immediately convoked an extra session of the Cabinet at the home of Said Halim Pasha. At the end of a long and animated discussion, we authorized Said Halim Pasha, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, to see the allied representatives, particularly the Russian Ambassador, and to try to settle the matter peacefully. At the same time Djavid Bey, who was known as pro-ally, was to see Mr. Bompar, the French Ambasador at Constantinople, and to ask his help.