World War I offered the Young Turk dictatorship (Committee on Union and Progress; CUP) an opportunity to realize its nationalist aims. Already inclined toward Germany due to economic ties, close relations between the two militaries, and compatible territorial ambitions for a war against Russia, the Young Turk government concluded a secret military agreement with the German government on August 2, 1914, and formally entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on November 11.
