Toward
an Allied
Victory, 1917
Duringthefirstmonthsof 1917 theAlliedwaragainstTurkeytook
ona newimportance,similartothatof1915.Inresponsetothefail-
ureoftheAlliesduring 1916 toachieveanygainsinthebattlesin
France,theimperialistsinLondonwhodominatedtheLloydGeorge
ministryfocusedincreasinglyontheinterestsoftheBritishEmpire
overseas.ThegovernmentacceleratedBritain'spreviousplansto par-
titionTurkey,plansthatincludedplacingbothPalestineand
MesopotamiaunderBritishcontrol.TheEEFattackedinPalestine,
butitadvanceddeeplyintotheprovinceonlyduringthefallof1917,
afterbeingreinforcedandoverhauledby a newcommander,General
EdmundAllenby.TheEEFcapturedBeershebaon 31 Octoberand
Jerusalemon 9 December.InMesopotamia,Anglo-Indianforces cap-
turedBaghdadandadvancedfurthernorthalongtheTigrisRiver.'
Turkey,Germany,andtheArabs
TheTurkisharmieshadsufferedheavylossesinfightingatGallipoli
andin theCaucasus;during 1917 desertionsincreased,manpower
driedup,andthestrainintensifiedonOttomanresources.Afterthe
fallofBaghdadtheTurkspersuadedtheGermanstoincreasetheir
militarycommitmentintheMiddleEast.Duringthespringandsum-
mertheOttomanandGermanmilitaryleadershipsagreedtounder-
takeamajoroffensivetorecaptureBaghdadandsouthern
MesopotamiafromtheBritish.ForthispurposetheformerGerman
chiefofstaff,ErichvonFalkenhayn,assumedcommandofa newly
createdGermanArmyGroupF, or astheTurkscalledit, Yilderim
("thunderbolt"or"lightning").Thenew forceinitiallynumbered- 200 -