10th June 1916: Arab Revolt begins with the Battle of Mecca when Sharif Hussein attacks the Ottomans

Описание к видео 10th June 1916: Arab Revolt begins with the Battle of Mecca when Sharif Hussein attacks the Ottomans

Through correspondence with Sir Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner of Egypt at the time, Sharif Hussein had become convinced that a revolt by the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula would be rewarded with an independent Arabian empire stretching through the Middle East.

Hussein’s troops, drawn from his own tribe, significantly outnumbered the Ottoman soldiers but were considerably less well equipped. Consequently, despite impressive initial gains, Hussein was unable to win the battle until Egyptian troops sent by the British arrived to provide artillery support. The British supported the Revolt as it distracted tens of thousands of Ottoman troops from joining other fronts in the First World War.

Captain T. E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia following his involvement in the Revolt, did not join with the Arab forces until October 1916. Although he was just one of many British and French officers who worked closely with the Arabs during the Revolt, newspaper reports of his guerrilla tactics and close relationship with Hussein’s sons Faisal and Abdullah earned him fame.

The Revolt was an enormous success, but the outcome was not what was agreed in the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence. The British and French instead divided the land according to the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement that they had negotiated between themselves in 1916. Hussein was given the Hejaz region in the Arabian Peninsula, but was driven out in 1925 by Ibn Saud.

Комментарии

Информация по комментариям в разработке