Britain asWartime
"Revolutionary"
TheArabRevolt, 1916
Duringthefirstweeksof1916,deeplydiscouragingnewsarrivedin
LondonfromtheMiddleEast.Britainwithdrewitslastforcesfrom
Gallipolion 8 January.InMesopotamia,nearlyeightythousandTurks
oftheSixthArmy,commandedbytheGermanfieldmarshalvonder
Goltz,besiegedatKutal-AmaraamuchsmallernumberofAnglo-
Indians.'Further,theBritishreceivedwordthatGermanynotonly
intendedtoexpanditscontrolinTurkeybuttoseizethemilitary
initiativeintheMiddleEastandEastAfrica.Britain and NewsoftheGerman-TurkishPlan
ThissituationpersuadedmoreBritishleadersthaneveroftheneces-
sity forBritaintodestroytheOttomanEmpire.Whenduringthe
springrumorscirculatedofaseparatepeacebetweentheAlliesand
Turkey,evencertainofficialsintheIndiaOfficeabandonedtheirtra-
ditionalsupportforkeepingtheempireintactafterthewar. SirArthur
Hirtzel,theIndiaOffice'spoliticalsecretary,warnedin alengthy
memorandum:
BehindthemilitarythreatintheneighborhoodofEgyptandin
MesopotamiaisthecommondangerofPanislamism....Ofthe Mos-
lempopulationoftheworldsome 100 millionsareBritishsubjects,
andthisfactnecessarilyinveststheTurco-Germanalliancewitha new
significance,andmakesthesurvivaloftheOttomanEmpire,in any
shapeinwhichit canagainbecomeaGermantool,apeculiarmenace
tous.'- 17° -