 On 18 April 1915 he was promoted to the German rank of Generalmajor and thus automatically attained the higher Ottoman rank of Ferik (= German Generalleutnant), along with the honorific Ottoman title of Pasha.On 5 May Weber was appointed commander of South Group, on the southern part of the Gallipoli peninsula, during a phase of heavy fighting in this sector.Following criticism of his performance, however, Weber quarreled with Liman von Sanders and was relieved of this command on 8 July.