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On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire
Under the banner of a Holy War, masterminded in Berlin and unleashed from Constantinople, the Germans and the Turks set out in 1914 to foment violent revolutionary uprisings against the British in India and the Russians in Central Asia. It was a new and more sinister version of the old Great Game, with world domination as its ultimate aim. Here, told in epic detail and for the first time, is the true story behind John Buchan's classic wartime thriller Greenmantle , recounted through the adventures and misadventures of the secret agents and others who took part in it. It is an ominously topical tale today in view of the continuing turmoil in this volatile region where the Great Game has never really ceased.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Peter Hopkirk
22 books272 followersPeter Hopkirk was born in Nottingham, the son of Frank Stewart Hopkirk, a prison chaplain, and Mary Perkins. He grew up at Danbury, Essex, notable for the historic palace of the Bishop of Rochester. Hopkirk was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford. The family hailed originally from the borders of Scotland in Roxburghshire where there was a rich history of barbaric raids and reivers hanging justice. It must have resonated with his writings in the history of the lawless frontiers of the British Empire. From an early age he was interested in spy novels carrying around Buchan's Greenmantle and Kipling's Kim stories about India. At the Dragon he played rugby, and shot at Bisley.
Before turning full-time author, he was an ITN reporter and newscaster for two years, the New York City correspondent of Lord Beaverbrook's The Sunday Express, and then worked for nearly twenty years on The Times; five as its chief reporter, and latterly as a Middle East and Far East specialist. In the 1950s, he edited the West African news magazine Drum, sister paper to the South African Drum. Before entering Fleet Street, he served as a subaltern in the King's African Rifles in 1949 – in the same battalion as Lance-Corporal Idi Amin, later to emerge as a Ugandan tyrant.
Hopkirk travelled widely over many years in the regions where his six books are set – Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, and eastern Turkey.
He sought a life in dangerous situations as a journalist, being sent to Algeria to cover the revolutionary crisis in the French colonial administration. Inspired by Maclean's Eastern Approaches he began to think about the Far East. During the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 he was based in New York covering the events for the Express. No stranger to misadventure, Hopkirk was twice arrested and held in secret police cells, once in Cuba, where he was accused of spying for the US Government. His contacts in Mexico obtained his release. In the Middle East, he was hijacked by Arab terrorists in Beirut, which led to his expulsion. The PLO hijacked his plane, a KLM jet bound for Amsterdam at the height of the economic oil crises in 1974. Hopkirk confronted them and persuaded the armed gang to surrender their weapons.
His works have been officially translated into fourteen languages, and unofficial versions in local languages are apt to appear in the bazaars of Central Asia. In 1999, he was awarded the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal for his writing and travels by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.[3] much of his research came from the India Office archives, British Library, St Pancras.
Hopkirk's wife Kathleen Partridge wrote A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia, published by John Murray in 1994 (ISBN 0-7195-5016-5).
Hopkirk died on 22 August 2014 at the age of 83.
Before turning full-time author, he was an ITN reporter and newscaster for two years, the New York City correspondent of Lord Beaverbrook's The Sunday Express, and then worked for nearly twenty years on The Times; five as its chief reporter, and latterly as a Middle East and Far East specialist. In the 1950s, he edited the West African news magazine Drum, sister paper to the South African Drum. Before entering Fleet Street, he served as a subaltern in the King's African Rifles in 1949 – in the same battalion as Lance-Corporal Idi Amin, later to emerge as a Ugandan tyrant.
Hopkirk travelled widely over many years in the regions where his six books are set – Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, and eastern Turkey.
He sought a life in dangerous situations as a journalist, being sent to Algeria to cover the revolutionary crisis in the French colonial administration. Inspired by Maclean's Eastern Approaches he began to think about the Far East. During the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 he was based in New York covering the events for the Express. No stranger to misadventure, Hopkirk was twice arrested and held in secret police cells, once in Cuba, where he was accused of spying for the US Government. His contacts in Mexico obtained his release. In the Middle East, he was hijacked by Arab terrorists in Beirut, which led to his expulsion. The PLO hijacked his plane, a KLM jet bound for Amsterdam at the height of the economic oil crises in 1974. Hopkirk confronted them and persuaded the armed gang to surrender their weapons.
His works have been officially translated into fourteen languages, and unofficial versions in local languages are apt to appear in the bazaars of Central Asia. In 1999, he was awarded the Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal for his writing and travels by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.[3] much of his research came from the India Office archives, British Library, St Pancras.
Hopkirk's wife Kathleen Partridge wrote A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia, published by John Murray in 1994 (ISBN 0-7195-5016-5).
Hopkirk died on 22 August 2014 at the age of 83.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
March 16, 2023
My limited understanding of WWI, was ‘the tenches’. How little I know.
Sneaky plots and double-dealings across the deserts of Central Asia and all done to fell the British: they nearly pulled it off.
Courage and wit beyond measure, on both sides.
The telling of this saga is wonderful; rich in detail and utterly thrilling.
It leaves a girl’s heart all a flutter.
To think of what these boys willingly endured, all simply out of duty to the nation, is breathtaking.
A friend of the family, was ‘once a pilgrim’. I shall be pulling a pint for the boy, sitting on his knee, and insisting he tells me all.
This is a humdinger of a thriller. It took me into the unknown.
Sneaky plots and double-dealings across the deserts of Central Asia and all done to fell the British: they nearly pulled it off.
Courage and wit beyond measure, on both sides.
The telling of this saga is wonderful; rich in detail and utterly thrilling.
It leaves a girl’s heart all a flutter.
To think of what these boys willingly endured, all simply out of duty to the nation, is breathtaking.
A friend of the family, was ‘once a pilgrim’. I shall be pulling a pint for the boy, sitting on his knee, and insisting he tells me all.
This is a humdinger of a thriller. It took me into the unknown.
June 17, 2023
As with 'The Great Game', again, a thrilling read.
December 3, 2014
A fast paced and very illuminating book on the Turko-German plan to use Holy War to foment revolution and disruption to India and the Middle East.
Mr Hopkirk again - as in his earlier book The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia - weaves high politics and strategy with espionage and battles ably telling the story using accounts and details from those who were there.
Although having read much on WWI including the side-shows of Mespot, Gallipoli and East Africa I learnt much on the involvement and actions of Britain, Turkey, Russia and of course Germany in the high plains and mountains of Afghanistan, Persia (Iran), Mesopotamia (Iraq) and modern day former Soviet republics as plot and counter plot came to bear or fail alongside battles and actions some of high stakes that I'd read little or nothing on.
Highly recommended for all those interested in WWI and indeed on how the Great Game continued to be played throughout the war even if the old jousting partners of Russia and Britain ended up on the same side.
To close and as a taster I'd direct people to the link here to read about a young man who appears in the book and yet I'd not heard of him at all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald...
The painting in the Wikipedia article was done to deliberately show British officers at the massacre when in fact there were none present, nor had they instigated or indeed planned any part of it...but to find out more let Mr Hopkirk guide you through the exciting and treacherous waters of being On Secret Service East of Constantinople.
Mr Hopkirk again - as in his earlier book The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia - weaves high politics and strategy with espionage and battles ably telling the story using accounts and details from those who were there.
Although having read much on WWI including the side-shows of Mespot, Gallipoli and East Africa I learnt much on the involvement and actions of Britain, Turkey, Russia and of course Germany in the high plains and mountains of Afghanistan, Persia (Iran), Mesopotamia (Iraq) and modern day former Soviet republics as plot and counter plot came to bear or fail alongside battles and actions some of high stakes that I'd read little or nothing on.
Highly recommended for all those interested in WWI and indeed on how the Great Game continued to be played throughout the war even if the old jousting partners of Russia and Britain ended up on the same side.
To close and as a taster I'd direct people to the link here to read about a young man who appears in the book and yet I'd not heard of him at all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald...
The painting in the Wikipedia article was done to deliberately show British officers at the massacre when in fact there were none present, nor had they instigated or indeed planned any part of it...but to find out more let Mr Hopkirk guide you through the exciting and treacherous waters of being On Secret Service East of Constantinople.
May 1, 2023
I do believe my reading of 'Greenmantle' would have been greatly enhanced had I read this before tother.
I don't dare to detract from either; they are both jolly sumptuous reads.
I've a sense with this under my belt, I'd have enjoyed a more richer flavour when devouring 'Greenmantle'.
I highly recommend both.
I don't dare to detract from either; they are both jolly sumptuous reads.
I've a sense with this under my belt, I'd have enjoyed a more richer flavour when devouring 'Greenmantle'.
I highly recommend both.
April 13, 2023
The book, ‘The Great Game’, which I now believe was Peter Hopkirk’s first, I found breathtaking. I learnt of the dueling between Britain and Russia across Central Asian just prior to WW1.
This, which again I knew nothing of before reading, describes the contest between Britain/Russia and Germany that was enacted during the First War. The Germans wanting to incite Holy War against both the British and the Russians: instil unrest within the Muslim tribes and give better chance of invading India, wanting to divert forces from the European conflict and weaken resolve.
Cunning of them: the author does paint them, the Germans, as the out-and-out baddies in this.
This, like ‘The Great Game’, is full of adventure, daring and characters willing to pit their strength, wit and courage to further their nation’s aims.
I’ll now read, ‘Greenmantle’ a novel based on these happenings.
This was fab.
This, which again I knew nothing of before reading, describes the contest between Britain/Russia and Germany that was enacted during the First War. The Germans wanting to incite Holy War against both the British and the Russians: instil unrest within the Muslim tribes and give better chance of invading India, wanting to divert forces from the European conflict and weaken resolve.
Cunning of them: the author does paint them, the Germans, as the out-and-out baddies in this.
This, like ‘The Great Game’, is full of adventure, daring and characters willing to pit their strength, wit and courage to further their nation’s aims.
I’ll now read, ‘Greenmantle’ a novel based on these happenings.
This was fab.
July 19, 2023
An incredible tale and reads like a fiction thriller.
The events recorded here were a complete unknown to me.
Great stuff.
The events recorded here were a complete unknown to me.
Great stuff.
March 26, 2020
It took me nearly a month to read this book! I could only read and absorb about one chapter a day. This is certainly not recreational reading. I learned so much, I wouldn't know where to begin. Peter Hopkirk is a master historian and an excellent writer. This is the second book of his that I've read, and I look forward to reading more.
It's way beyond the scope of a review like this to try and tell about what's in this book. It's full of history and treachery and war and spy craft and double crossers.
During WWI, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany sought to ally with Turkey and all the other Muslim nations in the region against England. He had visions of world domination, and wanted a direct railroad route from Germany to India so he could wrest it from the British. That's how the book starts, but then it covers so many fronts that it's hard to keep track of who's doing what and who's on which side. That's what a world war is all about. Fascinating book if you have the interest and the patience to work through it.
I highly recommend Peter Hopkirk. I'm not a history buff. Many history narratives are dry and far too detailed and hard to read. Hopkirk is an exception.
It's way beyond the scope of a review like this to try and tell about what's in this book. It's full of history and treachery and war and spy craft and double crossers.
During WWI, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany sought to ally with Turkey and all the other Muslim nations in the region against England. He had visions of world domination, and wanted a direct railroad route from Germany to India so he could wrest it from the British. That's how the book starts, but then it covers so many fronts that it's hard to keep track of who's doing what and who's on which side. That's what a world war is all about. Fascinating book if you have the interest and the patience to work through it.
I highly recommend Peter Hopkirk. I'm not a history buff. Many history narratives are dry and far too detailed and hard to read. Hopkirk is an exception.
August 15, 2023
Hopkirk was a good author. He was very British, and very detailed in parts of his narrative histories that interested him. This book was the second in his The Great Game books. It falls in between The Great Game and Setting the East Ablaze . It adds to the body of knowledge on the WWI espionage and the Central Powers' attempts at creating insurgencies in the Middle east and the subcontinent by the Imperial Germans against the British. It also discusses the low-level conflict in the Caucasus region after the collapse of Imperial Russia. Along the way, Hopkirk also provides insight into the region and its numerous peoples in the early years of the 20th Century.
My dead tree copy was a healthy 450-pages. The original UK copy write was 1994. Different sections of the book went fast and slow. Hopkirk covers a lot of territory, some sections were of more interest to me, and other regions were more of an interest to him.
Peter Hopkirk was a narrative historian of the British Empire in India and Central Asia. He passed in 2014.
Hopkirk was an accomplished writer like most Oxford educated Britons. His prose was clean and easily understandable British English. I suspect his early career as a journalist taught him how to convey the maximum amount of information with the fewest words. Likewise, his histories can be more akin to journalistic stories than historical non-fiction. In addition, his original Oxford University Press produces very well edited and proofread books.
This was an intermediate-level work on the: end of the Great Game, WWI in the Middle east and Central Asia. Having a general knowledge of WW I, and particularly the history of the Middle East Theater would be needed to completely leverage its contents.
This was very much a British history. The majority of anecdotes and excerpts from correspondence, diaries, and biographies were British. However, some German and Russian historical sources have also been incorporated into the book. The author disdains Soviet Russians sources as being propaganda. He believes Russian Imperial sources are more credible. Missing were: Turkish, Persian (now Iran) and Afghan sources.
This book was a blend of military and diplomatic history, including the clandestine activities of the Central Powers and the Allies. The Central Power’s goal was to cripple the British war effort. They would do this by isolating or causing India to leave the empire by fomenting revolution. A secondary goal was territory acquisition at the expense of the Allies. The military history was at the operational level . Overall military strategy within the northern Middle Eastern theater is reasonably well covered. The northern Middle Eastern theater would include Mesopotamia, and central Asia including parts of the Russian Empire. Strategy and operations within the southern portion of the theater gets short shrift. The southern Middle Eastern theater would include Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula. Diplomatic history receives better attention. There are good descriptions of the people and their motivations for destabilizing the Muslim Middle East to threaten British India. The character studies of the folks influencing the course of events: British, German, Russian, Turkish, Persian, Afghan and Indian were good. Descriptions of British, German, Russian, Turkish ‘players’ were better than the rest. In addition, the politics of the German and Turkish Central Powers gets more attention than the Allies. British politics are covered well enough, if you're already familiar with them. The politics and political organization of the multi-ethnic and tribal Persia, Afghanistan and Caucasus region was well laid out. Politics of the Russian Revolution gets more attention than the late empire period.
The author root causes the WW 1 to The Kaiser , an autocrat surrounded by sycophants. The Kaiser saw the destruction of four (4) empires: Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Imperial Russian, and Imperial German. With Enver Pasha he brought the Ottoman’s into the war with the Central Powers. German diplomatic missions and agents provocateur infiltrated countries on the border of British India with the missions of inciting revolution and guerrilla action against the British under the guise of a Muslim Holy War. Britain was involved in direct military action against the Ottoman’s, counter-insurgencies against the German armed and financed ‘Freedom Fighters’ in the Middle east, Central Asia and India surroundings. Both sides violated weaker states neutrality. I found the British operations in Russia after the collapse of the Russian Empire and during the revolution to be particularly well done. In addition, the author took great pleasure in describing the adventures of the T. E. Lawrence-like characters on both the German and British sides-- of which there were several. They operated in a wilderness amongst medieval populations or in the middle of shooting revolutions. The detailed descriptions of their covert missions read like thriller-type novels. When I grow up, I want to be a 19th Century British Intelligence Officer.
The book was mixed in its use of pictures and maps. The included pictures were good. They were mostly of the major personalities. I would have liked to have seen some current photographs of existing locations. The use of maps was poor. There were a total of four (4) large scale maps. There were a lot of place names in the narrative. Period place names were used in the maps. The borders and place names have changed (or been modernized) in the past 100 years. Even the topography has changed. I found it difficult to use a modern atlas to follow the story or to get a high resolution picture of the terrain at key points in it. More and better maps would have been helpful.
The book assumes a historical background on the period and region. It was somewhat balanced in its narration, but there was a British bias. I found it very readable. I've already read several books on the WW 1. The book added a lot to my understanding of the non-military aspect of the war in Central Asia, Caucasus, and territories surrounding India. I found it a worthy read for those interested in how Fifth columns and counter-insurgency in the early part of the 20th Century operated.
Readers interested in an introduction to WW1 in the Middle east might try The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East (my review). Hopkirk has written extensively on the region, and his work was very readable. I intend to read the next book he wrote on the region Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia.
My dead tree copy was a healthy 450-pages. The original UK copy write was 1994. Different sections of the book went fast and slow. Hopkirk covers a lot of territory, some sections were of more interest to me, and other regions were more of an interest to him.
Peter Hopkirk was a narrative historian of the British Empire in India and Central Asia. He passed in 2014.
Hopkirk was an accomplished writer like most Oxford educated Britons. His prose was clean and easily understandable British English. I suspect his early career as a journalist taught him how to convey the maximum amount of information with the fewest words. Likewise, his histories can be more akin to journalistic stories than historical non-fiction. In addition, his original Oxford University Press produces very well edited and proofread books.
This was an intermediate-level work on the: end of the Great Game, WWI in the Middle east and Central Asia. Having a general knowledge of WW I, and particularly the history of the Middle East Theater would be needed to completely leverage its contents.
This was very much a British history. The majority of anecdotes and excerpts from correspondence, diaries, and biographies were British. However, some German and Russian historical sources have also been incorporated into the book. The author disdains Soviet Russians sources as being propaganda. He believes Russian Imperial sources are more credible. Missing were: Turkish, Persian (now Iran) and Afghan sources.
This book was a blend of military and diplomatic history, including the clandestine activities of the Central Powers and the Allies. The Central Power’s goal was to cripple the British war effort. They would do this by isolating or causing India to leave the empire by fomenting revolution. A secondary goal was territory acquisition at the expense of the Allies. The military history was at the operational level . Overall military strategy within the northern Middle Eastern theater is reasonably well covered. The northern Middle Eastern theater would include Mesopotamia, and central Asia including parts of the Russian Empire. Strategy and operations within the southern portion of the theater gets short shrift. The southern Middle Eastern theater would include Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula. Diplomatic history receives better attention. There are good descriptions of the people and their motivations for destabilizing the Muslim Middle East to threaten British India. The character studies of the folks influencing the course of events: British, German, Russian, Turkish, Persian, Afghan and Indian were good. Descriptions of British, German, Russian, Turkish ‘players’ were better than the rest. In addition, the politics of the German and Turkish Central Powers gets more attention than the Allies. British politics are covered well enough, if you're already familiar with them. The politics and political organization of the multi-ethnic and tribal Persia, Afghanistan and Caucasus region was well laid out. Politics of the Russian Revolution gets more attention than the late empire period.
The author root causes the WW 1 to The Kaiser , an autocrat surrounded by sycophants. The Kaiser saw the destruction of four (4) empires: Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Imperial Russian, and Imperial German. With Enver Pasha he brought the Ottoman’s into the war with the Central Powers. German diplomatic missions and agents provocateur infiltrated countries on the border of British India with the missions of inciting revolution and guerrilla action against the British under the guise of a Muslim Holy War. Britain was involved in direct military action against the Ottoman’s, counter-insurgencies against the German armed and financed ‘Freedom Fighters’ in the Middle east, Central Asia and India surroundings. Both sides violated weaker states neutrality. I found the British operations in Russia after the collapse of the Russian Empire and during the revolution to be particularly well done. In addition, the author took great pleasure in describing the adventures of the T. E. Lawrence-like characters on both the German and British sides-- of which there were several. They operated in a wilderness amongst medieval populations or in the middle of shooting revolutions. The detailed descriptions of their covert missions read like thriller-type novels. When I grow up, I want to be a 19th Century British Intelligence Officer.
The book was mixed in its use of pictures and maps. The included pictures were good. They were mostly of the major personalities. I would have liked to have seen some current photographs of existing locations. The use of maps was poor. There were a total of four (4) large scale maps. There were a lot of place names in the narrative. Period place names were used in the maps. The borders and place names have changed (or been modernized) in the past 100 years. Even the topography has changed. I found it difficult to use a modern atlas to follow the story or to get a high resolution picture of the terrain at key points in it. More and better maps would have been helpful.
The book assumes a historical background on the period and region. It was somewhat balanced in its narration, but there was a British bias. I found it very readable. I've already read several books on the WW 1. The book added a lot to my understanding of the non-military aspect of the war in Central Asia, Caucasus, and territories surrounding India. I found it a worthy read for those interested in how Fifth columns and counter-insurgency in the early part of the 20th Century operated.
Readers interested in an introduction to WW1 in the Middle east might try The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East (my review). Hopkirk has written extensively on the region, and his work was very readable. I intend to read the next book he wrote on the region Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia.
May 29, 2014
An absolutely cracking read. The book gives an account of Germany's 'drive to the East' under the command of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the aim being to destabilise the British Empire,even if this meant forming an unholy alliance with the Muslim Turks. I learned a lot, for example about the Berlin to Bhagdad railway; about the young Turks rise to power, and about the Battle of Sarikamish in the mountains of North Eastern Turkey, where Enver Pasha's pig-headedness led to the loss of thousands of his own troops. I have also remembered a fair bit, which is a tribute to the author's absolutely lucid style and masterly command of a wealth of information. It's enough to make me wonder what on earth they taught us at school that was masquerading as History. My one quibble is that the tale dribbles away a bit at the end with an account of what happened to a single British officer. This didn't seem to be in keeping with the broader brush approach that had been taken up till then.
This book has inspired me to want to track down two feature films about the Battle of Sarikamish.Well worth reading!
This book has inspired me to want to track down two feature films about the Battle of Sarikamish.Well worth reading!
March 19, 2016
A couple weeks ago I caught a bad end-of-winter cold, the perfect excuse for holing up on the weekend with a good book, ideally something completely engaging but not too taxing – and so I grabbed Hopkirk's history of British/German/Turkish/Russian shenanigans during World War I off the shelf. It was as satisfying as his other books on the permutations of the Great Game between Britain and Russia.
In this book his focus is on Kaiser Wilhelm's hopes of inciting jihad against the British, replacing their empire in the Middle East with his own. Hopkirk's wide cast of characters is, as usual, fantastic, starting with Wilhelm himself and concluding with British agents of daring-do scrambling around Persia and the Caspian Sea, tangling with Turks, Persians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Bolsheviks, Afghanis, as well as with German agents as wily as themselves. Hugely entertaining tales, the stuff of history and fiction (John Buchan's Greenmantle), and the distant origin of the political nightmares that still bedevil the Middle East and Central Asia. Hopkirk has made this remote corner of history his own.
In this book his focus is on Kaiser Wilhelm's hopes of inciting jihad against the British, replacing their empire in the Middle East with his own. Hopkirk's wide cast of characters is, as usual, fantastic, starting with Wilhelm himself and concluding with British agents of daring-do scrambling around Persia and the Caspian Sea, tangling with Turks, Persians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Bolsheviks, Afghanis, as well as with German agents as wily as themselves. Hugely entertaining tales, the stuff of history and fiction (John Buchan's Greenmantle), and the distant origin of the political nightmares that still bedevil the Middle East and Central Asia. Hopkirk has made this remote corner of history his own.
February 27, 2018
Although this is the first time I have read one of the author's books, I should note that he is a well-regarded historian with expertise in writing about the "Great Game" between Russia and the United Kingdom over control of Central Asia, the subject of one of his previous books. Although my interest in World War I history is perhaps broader than most [1], there was a lot in this book that I was not aware of and I found this book to be very helpful in looking at the reasons why the twentieth century (and so far the twenty-first century) have seen such a scourge of political Islam. While British diplomacy (see the Balfour Declaration) has traditionally been blamed for this, the author manages to show that the Germans bear some heavy responsibility as well in attempting to inflame the people of the Middle East and Central Asia against European and American powers. This book is like finding missing pieces of a puzzle one might have been only half aware of, and that makes for pretty remarkable reading.
As a volume, this book is a sizable one at 400 pages, and is certainly no read to simply race through. The prose is gripping, but the author focuses on a few stories rather than attempting to give the same level of detail for the whole period of World War I. The book opens with a discussion of how it was that the Ottoman Empire, under the rule of some particularly wicked Sultans and the Young Turks, dropped their historic alliance with Great Britain and chose to ally itself somewhat tepidly with Germany. The book spends a lot of time talking about the importance of various secret agents and their missions in diplomacy, views Afghanistan as an important power broker in the Middle East, and also has a lot to say about the rise of communism and the efforts to contain it. The author shows himself to be clear-eyed about the historical sins of the people of the Middle East and the Caucasus and does not dwell on the Armenian genocide as much as one would expect given the focus of the book. Overall, though, this book reads like source material for spy novels aplenty, and readers who have an interest in diplomatic and military history as well as espionage will find a lot of material here of great interest and perhaps even literary inspiration.
The subtitle of this book is at least a little bit misleading. The first part of the book, to be sure, focuses on the attempts of Germany and the Turks to bring down the British Empire, and also spends a lot of time discussing skulduggery with various Indian nationalists, but the rest of the book focuses on the efforts of able and daring British agents to try to salvage something out of the destruction of Tsarist Russia and the temporary, if dramatic, gains of Germany and Turkey in the region. Ultimately, the fate of Central Asia and the Middle East during the latter part of World War I depended on a few people who sought to preserve the British position under extreme duress as well as the events that went on outside of the region that brought the United States into war alongside the Entente Powers--Zimmerman comes of particularly poorly here--and brought the Central Powers to their knees after four years of titanic struggle. This book shines a light on a small part of that struggle, in an area of the world where World War I proved to be immensely significant but not well understood.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
As a volume, this book is a sizable one at 400 pages, and is certainly no read to simply race through. The prose is gripping, but the author focuses on a few stories rather than attempting to give the same level of detail for the whole period of World War I. The book opens with a discussion of how it was that the Ottoman Empire, under the rule of some particularly wicked Sultans and the Young Turks, dropped their historic alliance with Great Britain and chose to ally itself somewhat tepidly with Germany. The book spends a lot of time talking about the importance of various secret agents and their missions in diplomacy, views Afghanistan as an important power broker in the Middle East, and also has a lot to say about the rise of communism and the efforts to contain it. The author shows himself to be clear-eyed about the historical sins of the people of the Middle East and the Caucasus and does not dwell on the Armenian genocide as much as one would expect given the focus of the book. Overall, though, this book reads like source material for spy novels aplenty, and readers who have an interest in diplomatic and military history as well as espionage will find a lot of material here of great interest and perhaps even literary inspiration.
The subtitle of this book is at least a little bit misleading. The first part of the book, to be sure, focuses on the attempts of Germany and the Turks to bring down the British Empire, and also spends a lot of time discussing skulduggery with various Indian nationalists, but the rest of the book focuses on the efforts of able and daring British agents to try to salvage something out of the destruction of Tsarist Russia and the temporary, if dramatic, gains of Germany and Turkey in the region. Ultimately, the fate of Central Asia and the Middle East during the latter part of World War I depended on a few people who sought to preserve the British position under extreme duress as well as the events that went on outside of the region that brought the United States into war alongside the Entente Powers--Zimmerman comes of particularly poorly here--and brought the Central Powers to their knees after four years of titanic struggle. This book shines a light on a small part of that struggle, in an area of the world where World War I proved to be immensely significant but not well understood.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
April 19, 2022
I remember reading Greenmantle years and years ago. I'm not sure I was too taken by it, I will need to read it once again: I was at school at the time.
I am hugely taken by this book:
devious plotting by those dastardly Germans when trying to wrestle our hard-earned Empire from our sticky-mitts; how dare they?
I got such a thrill from this, it is told so well. Spying as I never imagined spying.
I can recall, spying being talked of as the oldest or second oldest profession and never really thought of it as anymore than a glib remark.
History told in such a way that you become captured by the thought of how these brave and resourceful 'defenders of their nation' survived.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like to live in such circumstances; I become flustered reading of their exploits - I get the impression these gallant adventurers were far more excited by the thrill of it all than ever in fear of their lives.
I am hugely taken by this book:
devious plotting by those dastardly Germans when trying to wrestle our hard-earned Empire from our sticky-mitts; how dare they?
I got such a thrill from this, it is told so well. Spying as I never imagined spying.
I can recall, spying being talked of as the oldest or second oldest profession and never really thought of it as anymore than a glib remark.
History told in such a way that you become captured by the thought of how these brave and resourceful 'defenders of their nation' survived.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like to live in such circumstances; I become flustered reading of their exploits - I get the impression these gallant adventurers were far more excited by the thrill of it all than ever in fear of their lives.
June 12, 2012
What's not to like. The overall narrative involves Imperial German and Ottoman attempts to harness militant Islam against the British and Russian Empires in Asia during the First World War. Though allies, the Germans and Ottomans had separate and sometimes conflicting foreign policy aims. Germany sought to use Indian revolutionaries to stir up insurrection in Britain's key colony so as to distract her in war time, while trying to enlist Persia and Afghanistan to achieve the same ends. Their efforts in Persia also included the exploits of Wassmuss, the "German Lawrence," who did his best to stir up revolt among Persian tribes in the British sphere of influence along the Persian Gulf. Some in Germany also saw the provinces of the decaying Ottoman Empire as suitable future colonies or pseudo-colonies ripe for economic penetration (Berlin-Baghdad Railway, etc.)Meanwhile, Enver Pasha, chief member of the Young Turk triumvirate, hoped to spread the Ottoman Empire into the Russian-held Caucasus and Central Asia, with fatwas and daring military campaigns. Both of these thrusts to the East ultimately failed, and with the collapse of the war both Imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist.
Hopkirk does an excellent job of seamlessly weaving together various narratives of this era together, including: the Russian revolution and subsequent civil war in the Caucasus and Central Asia (including the British and Ottoman interventions in these areas); the Armenian Genocide of 1915; the Zimmerman telegram, it's connection with Wassmuss, and it's role in bringing the U.S. into the war; the siege of Kut; the "Christmas Day Plot" in British India; the Battle of Baku; and the murder of the 26 Soviet commissars in Transcaspia.
This is my favorite era in history, and Hopkirk deals with all my favorite regions (Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia...and even Mexico). My only criticism is that Hopkirk's narrative tends to wander from his original purpose near the end. that is, he ceases talking about attempts to ignite a holy war, and spends the last several chapters talking about British intervention in the Russian civil war. I certainly don't mind reading those chapter, it's good stuff, but somewhat off-track.
Hopkirk does an excellent job of seamlessly weaving together various narratives of this era together, including: the Russian revolution and subsequent civil war in the Caucasus and Central Asia (including the British and Ottoman interventions in these areas); the Armenian Genocide of 1915; the Zimmerman telegram, it's connection with Wassmuss, and it's role in bringing the U.S. into the war; the siege of Kut; the "Christmas Day Plot" in British India; the Battle of Baku; and the murder of the 26 Soviet commissars in Transcaspia.
This is my favorite era in history, and Hopkirk deals with all my favorite regions (Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia...and even Mexico). My only criticism is that Hopkirk's narrative tends to wander from his original purpose near the end. that is, he ceases talking about attempts to ignite a holy war, and spends the last several chapters talking about British intervention in the Russian civil war. I certainly don't mind reading those chapter, it's good stuff, but somewhat off-track.
April 28, 2012
If you're familiar with Hopkirk's work you know roughly what to expect from this book. If not, this is a fascinating exploration of a relatively unknown power struggle between the great powers in Central Asia at the turn of the 20th century. Hopkirk's signature style combines strong scholarship with an easily read style that resembles an old adventure novel, which makes the end product very readable even for those unfamiliar with the subject. This is as true of On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire as it is of his other books such as The Great Game: the Struggle for Empire in Central Asia and Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet, and it is definitely recommended.
February 28, 2011
Peter Hopkirk takes a madly complicated subject – a German plot to incite rebellion in British India during the First World War – and produces an exciting and thoroughly readable history. The bulk of the action takes place in an unfamiliar part of Central Asia that is now Turkmenistan. German spies, fierce Turks, brave Brits and warlike Cossacks abound. And towards the end the mad Bolsheviks turn up to complicate things still further. At times, perhaps inevitably, it can all get a little overwhelming. But a cracking read nonetheless; a book to admire and enjoy.
June 5, 2013
This is an incredible story thus far. I am reading this before Buchan's "Greenmantle." The time period is prior to WWI and following. Although this was written as a documentary, it reads as beautifully as any novel. Mr. Hopkirk writes in a captivating manner while supplying valuable details and information. It is well worth the time to be better educated about this time period. I look forward to the reading of "Greenmantle."
November 30, 2021
Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire picks up where The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia ends in early Twentieth century Central Asia / Middle East. Having been entertained by their Asian quarrels, the British and Russian Empires haven't paid attention to the trouble that is brewing in continental Europe.
The second half of the Nineteenth century saw the unification of many duchies and principalities into a single German state. Such new country wasted no time in implement their own imperial ambitions, as everyone else in Europe at the time was doing.
The process is accelerated by Kaiser Wilhelm II, monarch with delusional dreams of establishing an Empire that would reach, then called, Mesopotamia (nowadays Irak). This would lead to Germany to establish ties with the Ottoman Empire, if only as a relationship of mutual interest as at the time the Ottoman Empire was backwards and barely held together. At the time, this policy of expansion to the East became known as Drang nach Osten. Among other projects, the Germans wanted to build a railway from Berlin to Baghdad in order to compete against the British Empire commercially in the region. It goes without saying, this in turn excited the Britons' old fear of someone else scheming against British India and having other more aggressive intentions than trading.
The struggle would come to a head with WWI. And it is in this period that this book develops most of its narrative, as German sought to unleash a Muslim Holy War against British domains in Central Asia. Names such as Wilhelm Wassmuss, Oskar von Niedermeyer, Werner von Hentig, Hans von Wagenheim are long forgotten in history. These were the people who conspired to entice the Muslim in Central Asia to turn against the British in the vain hope it would alleviate Germany's Western Front.
As war progressed and the Russian revolution took place, Germany became less of a concern as it weakened. For the British, the newly established Bolshevik government became another problem. Large Central Asian regions belonging the the former Russian Empire got embroiled in turmoil and disorder. This presented an excellent opportunity for the Turks and Enver Pasha's (de-facto dictator of the Ottoman Empire) dreams of a Pan-Turkic Empire extending to the East. It was now the turn of the British to conspire themselves against Soviet Russia to fill the void created by the revolution and prevent the Turks from getting hold of key areas such as the oil fields of Baku, in Azerbaijan. Ranald MacDonell and Reginald Teague-Jones were two of the most prominent British agents in the region at the time, and their exploits are told in detail in this book.
All in all, Like Hidden Fire makes for another compelling read by Peter Hopkirk. A lot has been said and written about WWI, but Hopkirk managed to bring to life and make justice to one key theater of war in that conflict. Outside the main narrative, there's an interesting analysis in the first quarter of the book explaining the origin and evolution of Drang nach Osten. Which tenets are eerily similar to what Nazism would proclaim and implement 30 years later after the WWI ended.
The book nonetheless is not perfect. There are times where the narrative jumps back and forth, and the last number of chapters focus too much, in my view, of the events that took place in Baku in 1918-1919. So the narrative goes beyond a "plot to bring down British Empire". I can see how Hopkirk felt compelled to include it in the book as the developments the tells were indeed hair-raising.
When I read this book I was immersed in a personal goal of reading the so-called "Great Game Trilogy". Although I think that's how readers refer to The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia, Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia and Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire. I read the books in chronological order by publication date. Mistake!
Something I have come to appreciate is that the Great Game exists in a continuum of sorts. It didn't end with the 1907 Anglo-Russian entente, it certainly still exists these days (see what happened in Afghanistan occupation force in 2021).
So I dare to suggest, that it is perhaps a better idea to read the three books in the following order:
1. The Great Game (tells the story from 1800s to 1907)
2. Like Hidden Fire (picks up around mids 1800s and ends in 1919)
3. Setting the East Ablaze (picks up in 1919 and goes all the way 'till WW2)
The second half of the Nineteenth century saw the unification of many duchies and principalities into a single German state. Such new country wasted no time in implement their own imperial ambitions, as everyone else in Europe at the time was doing.
The process is accelerated by Kaiser Wilhelm II, monarch with delusional dreams of establishing an Empire that would reach, then called, Mesopotamia (nowadays Irak). This would lead to Germany to establish ties with the Ottoman Empire, if only as a relationship of mutual interest as at the time the Ottoman Empire was backwards and barely held together. At the time, this policy of expansion to the East became known as Drang nach Osten. Among other projects, the Germans wanted to build a railway from Berlin to Baghdad in order to compete against the British Empire commercially in the region. It goes without saying, this in turn excited the Britons' old fear of someone else scheming against British India and having other more aggressive intentions than trading.
The struggle would come to a head with WWI. And it is in this period that this book develops most of its narrative, as German sought to unleash a Muslim Holy War against British domains in Central Asia. Names such as Wilhelm Wassmuss, Oskar von Niedermeyer, Werner von Hentig, Hans von Wagenheim are long forgotten in history. These were the people who conspired to entice the Muslim in Central Asia to turn against the British in the vain hope it would alleviate Germany's Western Front.
As war progressed and the Russian revolution took place, Germany became less of a concern as it weakened. For the British, the newly established Bolshevik government became another problem. Large Central Asian regions belonging the the former Russian Empire got embroiled in turmoil and disorder. This presented an excellent opportunity for the Turks and Enver Pasha's (de-facto dictator of the Ottoman Empire) dreams of a Pan-Turkic Empire extending to the East. It was now the turn of the British to conspire themselves against Soviet Russia to fill the void created by the revolution and prevent the Turks from getting hold of key areas such as the oil fields of Baku, in Azerbaijan. Ranald MacDonell and Reginald Teague-Jones were two of the most prominent British agents in the region at the time, and their exploits are told in detail in this book.
All in all, Like Hidden Fire makes for another compelling read by Peter Hopkirk. A lot has been said and written about WWI, but Hopkirk managed to bring to life and make justice to one key theater of war in that conflict. Outside the main narrative, there's an interesting analysis in the first quarter of the book explaining the origin and evolution of Drang nach Osten. Which tenets are eerily similar to what Nazism would proclaim and implement 30 years later after the WWI ended.
The book nonetheless is not perfect. There are times where the narrative jumps back and forth, and the last number of chapters focus too much, in my view, of the events that took place in Baku in 1918-1919. So the narrative goes beyond a "plot to bring down British Empire". I can see how Hopkirk felt compelled to include it in the book as the developments the tells were indeed hair-raising.
When I read this book I was immersed in a personal goal of reading the so-called "Great Game Trilogy". Although I think that's how readers refer to The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia, Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia and Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire. I read the books in chronological order by publication date. Mistake!
Something I have come to appreciate is that the Great Game exists in a continuum of sorts. It didn't end with the 1907 Anglo-Russian entente, it certainly still exists these days (see what happened in Afghanistan occupation force in 2021).
So I dare to suggest, that it is perhaps a better idea to read the three books in the following order:
1. The Great Game (tells the story from 1800s to 1907)
2. Like Hidden Fire (picks up around mids 1800s and ends in 1919)
3. Setting the East Ablaze (picks up in 1919 and goes all the way 'till WW2)
June 3, 2019
Decent non-academic account but now partly outdated, and with strange focuses
One very odd thing about this book is the way it jumps about. The book begins by exploring the Turco-German friendship, then the Hindu-German conspiracy, then the Afghanistan mission of Niedermayer and the activities of agents in Persia, then the battles for Baku, and finally affairs in Transcaspia. None of these threads is followed all the way through- Hopkirk explores each area when it is most relevant, but each thing is dropped. You learn the important bits of each region's experience, but never a whole picture of the war in any given place. It works as a readable introduction to these separate aspects of the war, but no more than an introduction to each; you can't be an expert on the Caucasus on the war by reading a book where the Caucasus is barely mentioned until 1918!
In some regards the book is outdated, too. Hopkirk's confident condemnation of Indian nationalists, as if no readers would view the British Empire as anything but an undisputed good, is rather jarring. So too is his depiction of Enver Pasha as a nationalist fanatic, with most modern works being rather more nuanced. Hopkirk devotes a whole chapter to the Zimmermann telegram, based on an alleged link to a German agent in Persia- but Sean McMeekin in his "The Berlin -Baghdad Express" argues that this is entirely founded on a misconception. The book should be praised for its examination of Captain Teague-Jones and the Baku commissars (Hopkirk tells us that, in the former case, he was the first to uncover much of the truth, which I have no reason to doubt) but I believe there may also be some more modern work on this too.
If you don't care too much about being up to date with the latest WW1 scholarship, then the book is fine as a popular history, telling engaging stories about several fronts of the war in the east where secret agents and Lawrence-like figures take centre stage. But I think a modern expert in these areas would find a lot to pick holes in here, and so I think those with a serious interest in the war might want to look elsewhere, or at least treat this only as an introduction to these facets of the war.
One very odd thing about this book is the way it jumps about. The book begins by exploring the Turco-German friendship, then the Hindu-German conspiracy, then the Afghanistan mission of Niedermayer and the activities of agents in Persia, then the battles for Baku, and finally affairs in Transcaspia. None of these threads is followed all the way through- Hopkirk explores each area when it is most relevant, but each thing is dropped. You learn the important bits of each region's experience, but never a whole picture of the war in any given place. It works as a readable introduction to these separate aspects of the war, but no more than an introduction to each; you can't be an expert on the Caucasus on the war by reading a book where the Caucasus is barely mentioned until 1918!
In some regards the book is outdated, too. Hopkirk's confident condemnation of Indian nationalists, as if no readers would view the British Empire as anything but an undisputed good, is rather jarring. So too is his depiction of Enver Pasha as a nationalist fanatic, with most modern works being rather more nuanced. Hopkirk devotes a whole chapter to the Zimmermann telegram, based on an alleged link to a German agent in Persia- but Sean McMeekin in his "The Berlin -Baghdad Express" argues that this is entirely founded on a misconception. The book should be praised for its examination of Captain Teague-Jones and the Baku commissars (Hopkirk tells us that, in the former case, he was the first to uncover much of the truth, which I have no reason to doubt) but I believe there may also be some more modern work on this too.
If you don't care too much about being up to date with the latest WW1 scholarship, then the book is fine as a popular history, telling engaging stories about several fronts of the war in the east where secret agents and Lawrence-like figures take centre stage. But I think a modern expert in these areas would find a lot to pick holes in here, and so I think those with a serious interest in the war might want to look elsewhere, or at least treat this only as an introduction to these facets of the war.
January 26, 2021
I spent three years studying European History-Medieval to Modern. An entire block was devoted to WW1: the causes, events and key figures in the lead up to and eventual breakout of war. No mention of a Holy War in Europe during late 19th and early 20th C. and German perfidy (hands up, we are as guilty as they'll ever be). I’m tempted to ask for my money back. I spent two years studying Counter-Terrorism, not a thing mentioned about a Holy War in Europe during late 19th and early 20th C and the terrorism waged by Germany in support of their notions of stealing India from 'The Empire'. I was of the belief Europe’s wars of religion came to an end long before that. This book is an eye-opener and I am so glad to have picked it up. Any thoughts on the research behind this work are mind-boggling. I recommend this to anyone with an eye on what went on in modern Europe and why we are where we are. I’ve read Mr Hopkirk’s, ‘The Great Game’ and was more than impressed. This takes the biscuit.
July 12, 2013
Another excellent history from Peter Hopkirk told in a similar way to The Great Game. Again, this is another part of history I knew little about, and Hopkirk tells the story very well, enlightening the reader along the way. I had no idea that the more things change in the world, the more human nature remains the same.
March 30, 2021
Trust Peter Hopkirk for a true Boys' Own type adventure. I didn't find this one quite as engaging as some of his others, though. Here, individual derring-do was rather eclipsed by the large-scale movements of armies, which I don't find as entrancing. Nonetheless, it opened up for me an aspect of the First World War that I had been hitherto unaware of.
September 20, 2011
peter Hopkin's books give me a new view or different view of the events and hapenings in recent history of the middle east-afghanistan and pakistan and russia. i like his books,which are full of facts and history of spys in the region
July 27, 2021
This is a fairly long-winded book as it concerns itself with two distinctly different operations. The first of these is the German-Turkish intelligence strike against Persia and Afghanistan, who the Central Powers hoped to bring into the Great War on their side; the second is the British/Russian/Turkish fighting south of the Caucasus. I found the first part disappointing on the whole while the latter more than compensated for the lacklustre appeal of the former.
Part of the problem with the first half is that the author writes British people very well. The Germans, spectacular people as they must have been to thrive in the hostile environments of the East, are in contrast dull. Hostilities within the German party are mentioned numerous times, but generally without much emphasis on what they disagreed about or about the specifics of their arguments. These gaps leave the Germans who led the operations—Wilhelm Wassmuss, Werner Otto von Hentig, and Oskar Niedermayer—much more of an enigma than their contemporary British officers.
The British, amongst whom Reginald Teague-Jones, Edward Noel, and Ranald MacDonell stand out most, were cast much more fully: the reader really learns about their achievements in detail and these people become more than just names on paper. In this way, it is also possible to cheer on the Brits much more than it ever was the Germans. Teague-Jones is the chief protagonist amongst these, as the author recognises by devoting a few extra chapters to him—including his later life as Ronald Sinclair—at the end of the book. The other officers, however, appealed to me more by their actions and determination in Baku.
The author also describes in relatively good detail the controversy surrounding the execution of Stepan Shaumian and his comrade commissars towards the end of 1918. This sounded like an episode on which more comprehensive modern narratives could be written, especially with reference to the importance the event later played in Anglo-Russian relations, though general awareness of the incident remains low.
None of the Russian or Turkish intelligence staff feature in the book. I suspect this is due to the the author favouring his preferred subject (the Great Game) and not venturing too far into other territories, but there could be other reasons for this as well. I was also not treated—though fervently hoping I would be—to a description of the cloak-and-dagger game in the prized jewel of the East, Constantinople, itself. However, I was very pleased to be directed towards John Buchan’s ‘Greenmantle’ which is now waiting to be read in my library.
Overall, I’ve got some gripes with this, but the good far outweighs the bad!
This review was originally posted on my blog.
Part of the problem with the first half is that the author writes British people very well. The Germans, spectacular people as they must have been to thrive in the hostile environments of the East, are in contrast dull. Hostilities within the German party are mentioned numerous times, but generally without much emphasis on what they disagreed about or about the specifics of their arguments. These gaps leave the Germans who led the operations—Wilhelm Wassmuss, Werner Otto von Hentig, and Oskar Niedermayer—much more of an enigma than their contemporary British officers.
The British, amongst whom Reginald Teague-Jones, Edward Noel, and Ranald MacDonell stand out most, were cast much more fully: the reader really learns about their achievements in detail and these people become more than just names on paper. In this way, it is also possible to cheer on the Brits much more than it ever was the Germans. Teague-Jones is the chief protagonist amongst these, as the author recognises by devoting a few extra chapters to him—including his later life as Ronald Sinclair—at the end of the book. The other officers, however, appealed to me more by their actions and determination in Baku.
The author also describes in relatively good detail the controversy surrounding the execution of Stepan Shaumian and his comrade commissars towards the end of 1918. This sounded like an episode on which more comprehensive modern narratives could be written, especially with reference to the importance the event later played in Anglo-Russian relations, though general awareness of the incident remains low.
None of the Russian or Turkish intelligence staff feature in the book. I suspect this is due to the the author favouring his preferred subject (the Great Game) and not venturing too far into other territories, but there could be other reasons for this as well. I was also not treated—though fervently hoping I would be—to a description of the cloak-and-dagger game in the prized jewel of the East, Constantinople, itself. However, I was very pleased to be directed towards John Buchan’s ‘Greenmantle’ which is now waiting to be read in my library.
Overall, I’ve got some gripes with this, but the good far outweighs the bad!
This review was originally posted on my blog.
February 3, 2024
The rise of a united Germany in the late 19th century led to a diplomatic realignment in Europe in the years before WW1. Alarmed by the new threat, the UK concluded the “Triple Entente” with its previous rivals France and Russia. One feature of that was a cooling in relations between Britain and the Ottoman Empire, who had traditionally been allies against Russia. This in turn presented an opportunity for Germany. The British, French and Russian empires all had millions of Muslim subjects. Germany had few colonies and those it did have had either no Muslims or only a small Muslim population. From this set of circumstances, Germany saw the prospect of using its Ottoman ally to unleash “the entire Mohammedan world” against its enemies.
At the outbreak of WW1 Germany’s aims in Asia were to support and supply Indian nationalists (of whatever religion) to enable them overthrow the Raj, and to bring Persia and Afghanistan into the war on their side. The first half of this book tells the extraordinary story of the machinations of diplomats and spies on both sides, with the German side seeking to achieve these aims and the British trying to prevent them. Much of the book features events in Persia, which seems to have been in a semi-colonial position at the time, with both British and Russian troops in parts of the country.
Whilst the German agents did cause the British a great deal of trouble, by 1917-18 it was clear Germany had failed to achieve its main objectives in Asia. The second half of the book moves away from the Turco-German initiatives in Persia and India and looks instead at events in the Caucasus and Central Asia following the Bolshevik Revolution.
As is usually the case with Hopkirk, the book concentrates on the activities of individual agents, who, whether British or German, were a remarkable bunch. By necessity they were the sort of people who thrive on travel to remote locations, and they had to be outstanding linguists. They also had to be the type who are unfazed at being alone whilst carrying out extremely dangerous missions. Anyone who has read Hopkirk’s books will know that he’s extremely good at this type of tale. This is a lively read and sheds light on a little known aspect of the Great War.
At the outbreak of WW1 Germany’s aims in Asia were to support and supply Indian nationalists (of whatever religion) to enable them overthrow the Raj, and to bring Persia and Afghanistan into the war on their side. The first half of this book tells the extraordinary story of the machinations of diplomats and spies on both sides, with the German side seeking to achieve these aims and the British trying to prevent them. Much of the book features events in Persia, which seems to have been in a semi-colonial position at the time, with both British and Russian troops in parts of the country.
Whilst the German agents did cause the British a great deal of trouble, by 1917-18 it was clear Germany had failed to achieve its main objectives in Asia. The second half of the book moves away from the Turco-German initiatives in Persia and India and looks instead at events in the Caucasus and Central Asia following the Bolshevik Revolution.
As is usually the case with Hopkirk, the book concentrates on the activities of individual agents, who, whether British or German, were a remarkable bunch. By necessity they were the sort of people who thrive on travel to remote locations, and they had to be outstanding linguists. They also had to be the type who are unfazed at being alone whilst carrying out extremely dangerous missions. Anyone who has read Hopkirk’s books will know that he’s extremely good at this type of tale. This is a lively read and sheds light on a little known aspect of the Great War.
July 6, 2021
Peter Hopkirk was an extraordinary historian and writer. Having read his classic "The Great Game" I was greatly looking forward to reading this book - and was not disappointed. A thrilling book from cover to cover, Hopkirk relays in tremendous detail Germany's intense effort to create a Holy War in Central Asia to their efforts in World War I in an effort to both defeat Great Britain but also massively expand their political reach around the world.
Hopkirk tells the story from both sides having done voluminous research into Germany's considerable strategic planning to inflame the region and Britain's intense efforts to counter it. What really stuns me as a student of history is how little attention has been paid to Germany's efforts to create an Islamic revolution in the region. You cannot help but wonder how Germany's efforts then helped create a spark that has led to the rise of radical, violent Islam today.
Overall, what Hopkirk sheds light on is the end days of the Great Game as we knew it then (of course, we have entered into a new Great Game in the region with China joining Russia, the United States and, still to some degree, Great Britain struggling to influence the still rugged and dangerous region.
On Secret Service East of Constantinople is a must read for anyone wanting to fully understand all the factors that have created the Central Asia we know today.
Hopkirk tells the story from both sides having done voluminous research into Germany's considerable strategic planning to inflame the region and Britain's intense efforts to counter it. What really stuns me as a student of history is how little attention has been paid to Germany's efforts to create an Islamic revolution in the region. You cannot help but wonder how Germany's efforts then helped create a spark that has led to the rise of radical, violent Islam today.
Overall, what Hopkirk sheds light on is the end days of the Great Game as we knew it then (of course, we have entered into a new Great Game in the region with China joining Russia, the United States and, still to some degree, Great Britain struggling to influence the still rugged and dangerous region.
On Secret Service East of Constantinople is a must read for anyone wanting to fully understand all the factors that have created the Central Asia we know today.
November 11, 2018
As usual, Peter Hopkirk's work is excellent, enlightening, and enthralling. He makes the characters come alive and tells the untold stories so you don't want to put his books down. LIKE HIDDEN FIRE covers World War One in the Middle East and India. Stories range from terrorist training camps in California to Germans in Afghanistan and Brits in Baku. Much of the action in this book is diplomatic, as diplomat-spies jockey for influence across thousands of miles in Turkey, Persia, and Afghanistan. At the same time, the real-world implications were gigantic--with these covert actions preventing a British collapse in India and ultimately providing the intelligence coup that brought America into the war on the side of the Allies (the Zimmerman Telegram). Hopkirk shows how World War One unleashed two new ideologies into the region--Communism and Islamic Jihad--and the successes and failures men made while trying to implement those goals. I'm a history nerd, but most of the material in this book was new to me and an exciting read.
June 30, 2019
Sprawling, readable account of a lot of stuff that happened in the Caucasus and central Asia between the British on one side and the Germans and Ottomans on the other during World War I, from an unashamed British partisan. Lots of names and places and characters whiz by fairly quickly, and even those heroes and villains we spend more time with rarely come to life, but the account is pacey enough to keep the pages turning. Best for those already interested in the subject. Something I wish I had read before I lived in Baku, and dramatically interesting enough to send me back to Ali and Nino for a second read.
June 16, 2023
Just as in The Great Game Hopkirk delivers a wonderfully exciting narrative on the race to control the Middle East during the first world war. Just as agents of the British and Russian Empires raced to influence these areas in the second half of the 19th century, British and German agents competed in many of the same places at the start of the 20th. Hopkirk's writing brings these stories to life and it is easy to get sucked into the "wild west" world of espionage, conspiracy, and adventure.
September 9, 2022
Another rollick through the history of Central Asia, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and, of course, Russia and England, with the added spice of a persistant Germany in WW1.
As always, Peter Hopkirk delivers an engaging story, fleshing out the characters and facts so as to not overwhelm or confuse.
An enjoyable spin-off to the Great Game story, and I’m looking forward to diving into Setting the East Ablaze soon.
9/10
As always, Peter Hopkirk delivers an engaging story, fleshing out the characters and facts so as to not overwhelm or confuse.
An enjoyable spin-off to the Great Game story, and I’m looking forward to diving into Setting the East Ablaze soon.
9/10
May 1, 2023
1914. War has just broken out in Europe, which gives Kaiser Wilhelm II a long-plotted opportunity - bring the British and Russian Empires to their knees, by allying with the Ottoman Empire and causing uprisings in the Central East and especially India.
Thanks to Topkirk's hard-to-put-down narrative history, what unfolded during the next four years - and at times came very close to succeeding - makes for astonishing reading indeed. Yet again, truth is much stranger and wilder than fiction.
Thanks to Topkirk's hard-to-put-down narrative history, what unfolded during the next four years - and at times came very close to succeeding - makes for astonishing reading indeed. Yet again, truth is much stranger and wilder than fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews