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

186 WARBYREVOLUTION

andBritishinMesopotamiaexhausted;theBritishresumedtheirat-

tackonlysevenmonthslater,inDecember1916,aftertheappoint-

mentascommanderofMajor-GeneralSir F. S.Maude."

Mauderefusedto advanceuntilhepossessedsufficienttroops,

transport,andsuppliesanduntilhismenhadrecoveredfromthe

appallingconditionstheyhadendured.Moreover,bythentheBrit-

ishhadreaffirmedtheiralliancewithIbnSaud,thepowerfulArab

chieftainoftheNajd. AttheendofNovember 1916 theBritishhosted

himandotherPersianGulfprotegesatalavishreceptioninKuwait.

IbnSaudmadeanunprecedentedpublicdeclarationofsupportfor

theSharifofMecca, eventhoughtherewereconflictsbetweenthe

two Arableadersoverauthorityandterritory."

NotwithstandingtheimmediateadvantagesforBritainfromtheArab
revolt,oneshouldnotoverestimateitsimportanceinthegeneralhis-
toryandin theoutcomeofWorldWar1.Althoughitcontributed
eventuallytoacceleratingthemilitarydefeatofTurkey,therebel-
lion,liketheothercampaignsintheMiddleEast,remainedsecond-
ary incomparisontothehugeoffensivesofGermanyandtheWest-
ernAlliesinFrance.Nordidtherevolteverproduceanything
resemblingamassmovement,asBritishleadershadhopeditwould.
FewofhiscontemporariesagreedwithT.E.Lawrence'sobservation
inCairothat"thisrevolt,ifitsucceedswill bethebiggestthinginthe
NearEastsince1550."83
Tobe sure,duringitsfirstmonthstheuprisingachievednotewor-
thyvictories.ButdespitetherapidspreadoftherevoltintheHijaz, it
alsoproducedmuchanxietyamongBritishofficials.Thearmyhead-
quartersinCairoreceivednewsoftheuprisingwithlittleenthusi-
asm;thecommander,Murray,viewed it warily as apoliticalmatter
anda new,worrisomemilitaryfront.TheBritishgovernmentpub-
lishedin itsMuslimlandsacarefullywordedstatementdisavowing
Britishinvolvementintherevoltandpromising"toabstainfromall
interferenceinreligiousmatters"and"tosecure[the]HolyPlacesof
Islamfromallexternalaggression."8^4
Also,therevoltincreasedFrenchactivityintheMiddleEast,much
totheuneaseofBritishofficialsdeterminedto usethewar toexpand
Britain'sinfluenceintheregionevenatits ally'sexpense.Francesup-