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June 24 1917, Aleppo–Shocked at the loss of Baghdad, the Germans had sent Falkenhayn to Turkey in May to discuss the prospects for its recapture–and to exile him even further from any military decision-making in Germany. He met with Enver in Constantinople, and Enver soon came around to the idea of giving Falkenhayn command of a new army group tasked with retaking Baghdad. While Falkenhayn probably had something to do with this, more important was the material help Germany agreed to provide in the task–a full division (later a corps) and nearly $25 million in gold.
On June 24 in Aleppo, Enver met with his chief army commanders: Djemal Pasha, his usual political ally, commanding forces in Syria and Palestine; Izzet Pasha and Mustafa Kemal, from the Caucasus; and Halil Pasha, from Mesopotamia. He proposed to place Halil and Kemal’s armies under Falkenhayn’s command in the new Yildirim (“Lightning”) Army Group, which would prepare for an offensive towards Baghdad.
Most of the commanders there were not receptive to Enver’s idea; Halil knew the area and the opponent best and did not think recapturing Baghdad was feasible. Kemal bristled at being placed under the command of Falkenhayn, worrying that Turkey was becoming a “German colony,” and pointed out that Turkish reserves were exhausted and could not sustain an offensive. Djemal, worried about a renewed British offensive in Palestine, wanted to keep Yildirim as a reserve, ready to face any new Allied attacks in Palestine, Mesopotamia, or the Caucasus. Nevertheless, Enver refused to back down; Djemal appealed to Grand Vizier Talaat, but was overruled.
