A German military mission reached Constantinople in December 1913 and gained substantial influence over Ottoman forces. After war began, the Dardanelles fortifications were closed and the Ottoman fleet, operating under strong German direction, raided the Black Sea. Its bombardment of Odessa and Sevastopol turned a disputed alignment into open conflict with Russia and the other Allies. The Ottoman government then refused Allied demands to expel the German mission and formally joined the Central Powers in October 1914. This sequence explains how control of the straits, foreign military advisers, and naval action combined to bring the Ottoman Empire into World War I.
Notable Point · 1:55:53-1:57:45
German influence and the Black Sea Raid brought the Ottomans into the war
The German military mission, closure of the straits, and Black Sea Raid explain the Ottoman Empire's passage from contested neutrality into the Central Powers.