In the summer of 1916, the First World War was not going well for the British and their allies. The previous year had seen the disaster of the Gallipoli Campaign, with around 170,000 casualties for no gain; and on 1 July 1916, during the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British suffered 57,000 casualties in fighting that would drag on until November. Yet just a few weeks earlier, on 10 June, in the Arabian holy city of Mecca, Sharif Hussein bin Ali, king of the historic western Arabian region of Hejaz, signalled a bold new initiative – the beginning of the Arab Revolt – by firing a symbolic shot towards the garrison of the Ottoman Empire. With British and French support, the Revolt aimed at defeating the Ottomans, who held power in the Middle East, and who had joined Germany and Austria-Hungary as one of the Central Powers on 29 October 1914.
Framed within the context of the First World War, the Arab Revolt of 1916-1918 was replete with geopolitical manoeuvring, imperial hubris and ambitions, military innovations, spying, and hypocrisy. For the British, the Revolt’s contribution to the downfall of the Ottoman Empire safeguarded the vital strategic artery of the Suez Canal – and thus also control not only of the imperial prize of India, but also of Mesopotamia (soon rechristened Iraq) and its oil reserves, which were fast-rising in importance. T E Lawrence, the young British officer whose part in the Revolt would see him catapulted to fame, called it a ‘sideshow to a sideshow’ – but the ultimate rewards were significant.
Strategic Threat
The focus of the Revolt was the Hejaz Railway, which snaked down from Damascus to supply the garrison of some 10,000 Ottoman troops in the Muslim holy city of Medina – the home of the Prophet’s tomb. Built between 1900 and 1908, the 800-mile railway was designed to make Hajj pilgrimages to Mecca quicker, more affordable, and safer; importantly, it could also be used to transport troops rapidly into Arabia to put down uprisings. For the British, it was viewed with suspicion as a strategic threat to the Suez Canal.
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