The End of the Ottoman Empire 30 October 1918

The Armistice of Mudros, marking the Ottoman Empire’s exit from World War I, was concluded between the British and Ottoman representatives on 30 October 1918. At the time, Ottoman forces were advancing in the Caucasus, but the British had taken Damascus and the Ottomans’ Bulgarian ally had sued for peace. Having learnt from Germany that the war situation was hopeless, the Ottomans were prepared to accept any terms and the British, in tandem with the French, activated plans for the empire’s dismemberment. This was set out in the secret 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement. With this template, Britain and France partitioned the Ottoman Middle East into protectorates under their control. Mudros ordered the demobilization of the Ottoman armed forces, placed their ports and railways at the Allies’ disposal, and granted them the right to armed intervention in Anatolia ‘in case of disorder’. In the following May, the Turkish War of Independence began.