War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

ASenseofCrisis

on Both Sides,

Fall 1915

Duringthefallof 1915 afeelingofurgencyregardingthewar inthe
MiddleEastgrippedbothBritishandGermanleaders.Oneaspectof
thecrisisfacingBritain-attheDardanelles,inMesopotamia,and
fromthewide-ranging"warbyrevolution"wagedbytheGermans
andTurks,whosepan-IslamismplayedonthedeeplyimplantedBrit-
ishfears forthesafetyofIndiaandEgypt-wouldhave amostimpor-
tantbearingonthesituationintheregion.ThebeliefofkeyBritish
leadersthatBritainstoodatacriticalpointinthewar intheMiddle
Eaststrengthenedanideathathadmushroomedwiththestartof
theDardanellescampaign.ThiswastheviewthatBritaincouldun-
dermineGermany'sthrustthroughTurkeyintotheMiddleEastas
well asmakesubstantialstrategicandterritorialgainsintheregion
bydestroyingandthenpartitioningtheTurkishempireamongthe
AlliesandArabs.

BritainMovesClosertotheArabs

EvenbeforethewarthisideahadexistedamongBritishleaderslike
KitchenerandGrey,whoworriedaboutthesteadilyexpandingGer-
maninfluenceinTurkey.'Thecourseofthewarhadconfirmedthem
in thethoughtthattheOttomanEmpiremustnotsurvivein its
presentform.Butin 1915 BritainhadtotakeintoaccountitsEuro-
peanallies'interestsintheMiddleEastas well as its own. InMarch,
LondonandParishadconcludedtheConstantinopleAgreementwith
Russia;itpromisedtheBlack SeastraitsandtheTurkishcapitalto
theRussiansintheeventofan Alliedvictory.Thecrucialstep,how-
ever,towardbreakinguptheOttomanEmpireoccurredon 24 Octo-

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