Gertrude (code name)

The Gertrude or Gertrud was the code name of the joint invasion plan for Turkey by Nazi Germany and Bulgaria, the idea began forming in the beginning of the summer of 1942. This code name was eventually changed.

The project was abandoned because of the rapid advance of the Red Army in the Caucasus region, and the Allied invasion of Sicily.

According to the documents that were supposedly found in the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories, Nazi leaders knew very well that sooner or later Pan-Turkism would be a danger to Germany if they allowed Turkey and Azerbaijan to join together. This danger of Turkic and Azerbaijani collaboration under a 'Great Turan' in Ankara was actually a perceived threat among Nazi leaders in 1942 and 1943. The idea of Greater Armenia and its realization was a counterbalance to Turkish desires in the Caucasus.

The long yearning of the Armenian people for independence was addressed by the establishment of the Free Caucasus Movement, which by the claims of some had been personally suggested and approved by Adolf Hitler.