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

ASENSEOFCRISISONBOTHSIDES 163

favorableimpressiononthecommitteemembers,mostofwhom,
becauseoftheirlongtimepreoccupationwiththedefenseofIndia,
helddeeplyengrainedattitudesthatlinkedeventsgeopolitically
throughouttheEastandheldpan-Islamismandajihadto be fear-
someprospects."
Butironically,byDecember1915,thevery crisisthatSykespor-
trayedsopassionatelytoLondonandwhichBritishofficialsinCairo
believedsurroundedthem,a crisiscausedbytheenemy'span-Islamic
activitiesandbymilitarydefeatintheDardanelles,hadalreadybe-
gunto ease.Britishforces inwesternEgyptturnedbacktheSanussi
uprising,andinPersiatheBritishandRussiansregainedsubstantial
controloverthepoliticalsituation.Moreover,theamirofAfghani-
stanhadrejectedtheeffortsoftheGermanexpeditioninKabulto
persuadehimtodeclarewarontheBritishinIndia."Howmuchthese
considerationsinfluencedthemajormilitarychangesmadein Lon-
donattheyear'send,changesthatresultedinthetransferofgreater
numbersofBritishtroopsfromEgypttoFrance,isunclear.In any
case,Asquithnowappointeda newheadoftheImperialGeneralStaff,
WilliamRobertson.Robertson,aso-called"Westerner"whobelieved
thearmyshouldconcentrateonthemainwartheaterinFrance,
termedthemilitaryandpoliticaleventsin theMiddleEast"side-
shows,"unworthyoffurtherimportantoperations.
Robertsonsoonreplacedthe"Easterner"Kitcheneraschiefmili-
taryadvisertotheBritishCabinet.Robertson,displeasedatthelarge
numbersofBritishtroopsretainedintheMiddleEast,orderedMax-
well inEgypt"togeteverypossibleman,horseandgunontheWest-
ernFront."44OfthefourteenBritishdivisionsthenin Egypt, nine
weresenttoFrancebeforetheopeningoftheSommecampaignon 1
July1916.InbothEgyptandMesopotamiaRobertsondirectedhis
commanderstofollowadefensivepolicy."

TheGermanViewoftheMoment

Berlin,too,concludedduringthefinalmonthsof 1915 thatmatters
intheMiddleEasthadreachedacrucialjuncture.TheTurkshad
deniedmilitaryvictorytoBritainontheGallipoliPeninsulaandin
Mesopotamia,andtheCentralPowerswerestillintheascendancyat