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

212 WARBYREVOLUTION

oftheirfollowerssufferingfromhunger,offeredtosurrenderin re-
turnforfoodstuffsandsubsidies."
InPalestineandSyria theBritishandArabmilitarycampaignforced
theTurksandGermanstointensifytheirpoliticaleffortstokeepthe
local Arabs loyal toTurkey.UponthearrivalofYilderiminPalestine
andFalkenhayn'sassumptionofcommandtheGermansassumed-
apparentlywiththeapprovaloftheOttomans-agreaterrole in ap-
pealingtotheArabs.TheyestablishedaspecialbureauinDamascus
tospreadanti-Britishpropagandaanddispatchagentswithgoldto
sowdiscontentamongthesharif'sfollowers."
OskarvonNiedermayer,theleaderofpreviousGermanexpedi-
tionstoPersiaandAfghanistan,alsoarrivedin Syria. Hetriedunsuc-
cessfullytobribethesharif'sson,Faysal, toconcludeanagreement
withtheGermansandOttomans.vStillanothersignofGermanin-
terestin thesharifianswasPrufer'sdeludedsuggestiontothefor-
eignministrythatGermanyusetheSanussisinLibya-withwhom
infacttheGermanshadlostallinfluence-toinducethesharifto
halthisrevolt.>
Thepro-ArabpolicyoftheTurksandGermansseemedevenmore
evidentwhentheanti-ArabJemalPashalostmuchofhismilitary
commandinPalestinetoFalkenhayn.TheBritishandArabadvance
intoPalestineplacedextraordinarypressureonJemal'sFourthArmy,
whichdefendedtheprovince;weakenedbythreeyearsofwar, deser-
tion,andseriousdeficienciesofarmaments,food,andotherwar
materiel,theFourthArmyhadonlytwenty-fivethousandtroopsto
facetheeighty-fourthousandintheEEF.Thentoo,theBritishof-
fensivethreatenedtherearandflankoftheGermanandTurkish
militaryoperationsinMesopotamia.
ThissituationpersuadedEnverPashaandFalkenhayn,theGer-
mancommanderinMesopotamia,to shelvemomentarilytheirplan
forthereconquestofBaghdadandtotransferthenewlyestablished
YilderimandtheTurkishSeventhArmyfromMesopotamiato Pal-
estine.Inaddition,GermanysenttoPalestinea heavilyarmedAsia
Korps, or"PashaII," astheTurkscalledit.Therewereproblems,how-
ever,transportingtheGermanforces toTurkey,andalsobittercon-
flictsbetweenEnver,Falkenhayn,Jemal,andKress overissuesofau-
thorityandstrategy.Atthelowerlevelsofcommandthearrogance