Arab Revolt
In June 1916, Sharif Hussein of Mecca proclaimed a revolt against Ottoman rule in the Hejaz, encouraged by British promises — conveyed in the McMahon-Hussein correspondence — of support for Arab independence. British officers, most famously T. E. Lawrence, helped transform the revolt into an effective guerrilla campaign against the Hejaz railway and Ottoman garrisons, culminating in the capture of Aqaba in July 1917 and the entry of Arab forces into Damascus alongside General Allenby's army in October 1918. The revolt tied down tens of thousands of Ottoman troops and protected the right flank of the British advance through Palestine and Syria. Its political legacy was bitter: the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 had already divided the Arab lands between Britain and France, and the post-war mandate system disappointed the independence the Arabs believed they had been promised — a contradiction at the root of much subsequent Middle Eastern history.
- Year: 1916 CE
- Category: Military
