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1. Surprise Attack
- Enver Pasha, minister of war for the Ottoman Empire, agrees to a
secret alliance with Germany in August 1914. Istanbul mobilizes its
army but remains neutral for nearly three months. Eager for a fight
against Russia, Enver orders the Turkish Black Sea Fleet to bombard
Russian seaports on October 29th. The Triple Entente – France,
Russia and Great Britain – reacts swiftly and declares war against
the Turks within a week.
2. Military Disaster -
Enver Pasha takes personal command of the Ottoman Third Army (95,000
men) and sends it to attack Russian forces in the Caucasus. German
military advisor, General Liman von Sanders, advises against a
mountain offensive in winter. On December 29, 1914, the Ottoman
advance is halted by about 100,000 Russian troops at Sarikamesh. Six
days later, the Turks have lost 30,000 men and reel back toward the
city of Erzurum. More soldiers desert or die of frostbite; more than
half of the Third Army is lost.
3. The Dardanelles - A
Franco-British fleet under Admiral Sackville Carden bombards Ottoman
fortifications along the Dardanelles Straits, hoping to break
through to Istanbul. Carden has a nervous breakdown and Rear Admiral
John de Robeck takes charge of the 16-battleship task force. On
March 18th, three Allied battleships are sunk by mines and three
others are disabled. De Robeck fears losing more ships and decides
to call off the attack. Despite the pleas of First Admiralty Lord
Winston Churchill, the Allied Fleet withdraws. If only one British
battleship had made it to Istanbul, the entire course of the war
might have changed.
4. Suez Advance - Less than two
weeks after the disaster at Sarikamesh, Minister of the Navy Jemal
Pasha leads 20,000 men in a secret operation across the Sinai
Peninsula -- the target is the Suez Canal, British lifeline to the
Persian Gulf and India. A Turkish assault against the canal is
broken up by the British defenders with the loss of 2,000 men.
London sends so many troops to Egypt that the Ottoman Army will
never attack the Canal again.
5. Gallipoli - April 25, 1915:
78,000 British and Anzac troops land on two beachheads on the
Gallipoli peninsula. They are opposed by 60,000 Ottoman troops,
commanded by German General Liman von Sanders. At Anzac Cove, the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps move up the slopes and are
stopped by Colonel Mustafa Kemal and men from his 19th Division. On
the other beach, Cape Helles, British troops land in broad daylight
and pay a heavy price. As the Turks encircle the small beachheads
with fortified positions, the British find themselves in the same
kind of trench warfare that exists on the Western Front.
The second Gallipoli landing takes place during August 6-8th at
Suvla Bay, just to the north of Anzac Cove. British attacks bog down
and the entire operation fails. After four more months of stalemate,
the Royal Navy evacuates all troops without the loss of a single
man. But tremendous tragedy has not been averted: the Allies and
Ottomans lose about 250,000 men apiece.
6. Iraq Expedition - The
British land near Basra in southern Iraq to protect the oil fields
in nearby Iran. British General John Nixon sends General Charles
Townshend and his troops up the Tigris River Valley in the spring of
1915. After beating the Turks at Kut-el-Amara, Townshend is stopped
in November at the Battle of Ctesiphon, only 25 miles from Baghdad.
With supplies and ammunition running low, the British retreat
downriver to Kut. The Turkish forces pursue Townshend and surround
the city. They intend to starve the British into surrender.
7. Caucasus Front - After the
disaster at Sarikamesh, Russian troops arrive in force by February
1915 and begin an advance into eastern Turkey. In a series of
battles, control over the region seesaws between the opposing
forces. In September, Grand Duke Nicholas (uncle of Tsar Nicholas
II) arrives to take command of the Caucasus front and plans a new
offensive for the following year. In January 1916, the Russians
advance again and capture the fortress city of Erzurum. By the end
of August, Nicholas and his army have eastern Turkey firmly in their
grasp.
8. Iraq Revisited - General
Townshend's troops, besieged by the Turks at Kut, wait in vain for
rescue in the spring of 1916. British forces under the command of
General Aylmer try to break through the Turkish ring, but fail
repeatedly. As Townshend’s troops run out of food and ammunition,
the situation becomes critical. On April 29th, about 13,000 British
soldiers surrender to the Turks. The campaign to capture Baghdad has
ended in disaster.
9. Desert War - Beginning in
early 1917, British troops under General Archibald Murray clear the
Sinai Peninsula of Turkish forces. Murray begins a limited offensive
into Palestine, where the Turks have built defensive positions along
the ridges between Gaza and Beersheba, two natural gateways into the
region. The British advance is slow and methodical; a railroad is
built for supplies and reinforcements, and a pipeline is built to
carry water for the troops and animals. But the searing Sinai Desert
has a fierce effect on the British soldiers, and the sun’s terrible
heat becomes their worst enemy.
10. Baghdad Taken - Following
the British surrender at Kut, General Frederick Maude gets
permission to resume an advance up the Tigris. He sets out in
December 1916 with 166,000 men -- two-thirds of them East Indians.
The Turks are beaten at the second Battle of Kut in February and
fall back toward Baghdad. In March, the British continue their
advance up the Tigris River and drive the Turkish army north, taking
Baghdad on March 11th. With his supply line stretched thin, and the
disease-laden summer approaching, Maude decides to dig in at Baghdad
and build up the strength of his forces.
11. Gaza Battles - In March
and April of 1917, the Turks win the first and second battles of
Gaza, driving back the forces of General Archibald Murray. In June,
the War Office in London removes Murray from command. In his place,
General Edmund Allenby arrives with the succinct orders to "take
Jerusalem by Christmas." October 31, 1917: in the Third Battle of
Gaza, Allenby’s army battles all day against the Turks at Beersheba,
when a furious charge by the Australian Light Horse Regiment finally
breaks the Turkish line. The British advance and capture Gaza soon
after.
12. Jerusalem Falls -
Allenby pursues the retreating enemy, splitting the two Turkish
armies -- the Eighth retreats up the coast and the Seventh falls
back to Jerusalem. Turning toward Jerusalem, Allenby's troops
advance and drive the enemy northward. On December 8th, civil
authorities surrender the Holy City to the British. Three days
later, General Allenby walks into Jerusalem as the city’s 34th
conqueror; Prime Minister Lloyd George and the British public have
their “Christmas present” two weeks early.
13. Arab Revolt - On June 5,
1916, Sherif Hussein proclaims Arab independence from the sultan in
Istanbul; five days later, the Turkish garrison at Mecca surrenders.
The Cairo Bureau assigns Major T.E. Lawrence to coordinate military
operations with the Arab rebels. Yet much confusion exists as to the
revolt's actual strength; British intelligence relies on a single
Arab source whose information is suspect.
Promoted to colonel, "Lawrence of Arabia" and Prince Feisal lead the
Arab Revolt in earnest by the start of 1918. His guerrillas attack
the Hejaz Railway, running some 600 miles from Medina to Amman.
Lawrence's actions pin down 25,000 Ottoman troops in blockhouses and
outposts along the train line. By September, Lawrence and his
guerrillas move north to operate on Allenby's right flank. Arab
strength never totals more than 6,000 men, but they are bolstered by
British armored cars and light machine guns; British gold helps to
keep them fighting.
14. Palestine Front -
Reinforced during the summer of 1918, General Allenby plans a
decisive drive against Istanbul. Utmost secrecy is maintained.
British air power clears the sky of enemy observers. Dummy camps and
horse lines help to obscure Allenby's intentions. The military
balance is tipped heavily in favor of the British: 70,000 men and
540 guns against 8,000 Ottoman troops and 130 guns. At the Battle of
Megiddo (September 19-21, 1918), the British drive the Ottoman
Seventh and Eighth armies back in disorder toward the Jordan River.
15. Oil in Baku - By 1918, the
oil fields of Baku become the objective for British, Turkish, and
even Bolshevik forces. In January, General L.C. Dunsterville leads
his troops ("Dunsterforce") from Baghdad to the Caspian Sea and into
Baku by August. Meanwhile, the Turks finally drive Armenian rebels
from Eastern Anatolia (March-April) while German troops land from
the Black Sea and capture the city of Tiflis in the Caucasus
(June12th). The Turks win the race to Baku and vigorously attack the
British, who evacuate the city on September 14th. Two months later,
a British naval flotilla on the Caspian Sea drives the Turks out of
Baku.
16. Istanbul Surrenders
- As Turkish troops retreat toward Istanbul, Allenby's army marches
into Damascus on October 1, 1918 and takes Beirut the next day. The
Desert Mounted Corps continues to spearhead the advance, reaching
Aleppo on October 25th.
In Mesopotamia, a British force hurries north to secure the Mosul
oil fields before the Ottomans can surrender. British General A.S.
Cobbe speeds his cavalry to the outskirts of Mosul; they arrive on
November 1st, two days after the Sultan has signed an armistice in
Istanbul. Despite the fact that the war is officially over, Cobbe
receives orders to take Mosul. After some squabbling, Halil Pasha
agrees to evacuate his garrison from the city on November 14th. The
British now control most of the oil reserves in the region.
17. Mustafa Kemal - Leaving
Istanbul under the ruse of disarming Ottoman forces in the Anatolian
interior, Colonel Mustafa Kemal lands at the Black Sea port of
Samsun on May 19, 1919. He rallies patriotic Turks in a nationalist
front and solidifies his efforts at two separate conferences, one at
Sivas and the other at Erzurum. Kemal works ceaselessly in building
a new army and government to preserve the Turkish nation.
18. Spoils of War - Since the
Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, France and Great Britain have planned
to carve up the Ottoman Empire between them. On August 20, 1919, the
Treaty of Sevres strips the Ottoman Empire of all its holdings
outside Anatolia, except for a small piece of European land. France
and Great Britain claim huge areas of Ottoman territory as “spheres
of influence” in the Middle East, and guarantee British control of
oil supplies in Iraq. On paper, the Armenians are promised an
independent republic. Kemal's nationalists reject the treaty as they
prepare to fight British, Armenian, French, and Greek invaders.
19. Turkey Fights Back -
Turkish forces under General Kazim Karibakir go on the offensive
against Armenia in October 1919. They capture the city of Kars on
October 21st and steadily push the Armenians back toward Yerevan in
the Caucasus. Establishing a new nationalist government at Ankara in
April 1920, Mustafa Kemal and his generals pursue their offensive
against Armenian forces in eastern Turkey. On December 3, 1920, the
Kemalist government signs a peace treaty with Armenia and
hostilities are officially ended.
20. Greco-Turkish War -
The Allies, exhausted from four years of total war, readily accept
Greece's offer to suppress the Turkish nationalist movement. On May
15, 1919, a Greek Army lands on the western coast of Turkey, with an
Italian force also landing farther south. By July, Greek forces have
captured a large portion of western Turkey, encountering little
opposition.
Having disposed of the Armenian threat in the east, Turkish forces
turn toward the Greek army in the west. In August 1922, the Turks
launch a counter-offensive and drive the Greeks back toward Izmir
(Smyrna) on the southwest coast of Turkey. On September 11th, the
Turks recapture Izmir, and Kemal advances toward British forces at
Istanbul.
21. New Nations - The British
negotiate a truce with the Turkish nationalists and withdraw from
Istanbul. Superseding the Sevres accord, the Treaty of Lausanne
(July 24, 1923) ends hostilities between the Allies and the Turkish
nationalists. Territory is restored to Turkey and the Allies
evacuate Istanbul on August 23rd. Mustafa Kemal, hero of Gallipoli,
becomes the first president of the new Turkish Republic on October
29th.
Other nations are created by Great Britain and France, intended to
secure their influence in the oil-rich region: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq,
Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
22. Hollow Victory - The
creation of artificial states by the Western Powers gives rise to a
Middle East characterized by military conflict and political
instability. Beginning in 1920 with a Muslim revolt in Iraq against
British rule, the region is plagued by wars, revolts, coups, and
interventions up to the present day. The need for oil to fuel
Western economies, and the need for pro-Western governments in the
Middle East, has been a constant political reality since the end of
World War I.
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