Mush less known than his compatriot Lawrence, Lt. Garland was one of the British officers attached to the Arab forces in the Middle East during World War I. He developed a mechanism known as the ‘Garland Device’, allowing for contact detonation of a moving locamotive, which was instrumental in the Arab forces ability to attack the trains on the Hejaz line. He first tested it out successfully in February, 1917, the first allied officer to make an attack on a movie train during the war.
Pictured – Nomadic tribesmen on horseback made up the bulk of the rebel Arab armies, striking Ottoman forces in hit-and-run attacks.
The Ottoman Empire had long been known as the “Sick Man of Europe,” but in 1914 it was still a vast state spreading from the Balkans to the Suez to Baghdad. And despite its reputation as a declining power, Ottoman leaders in the late 19th and early 20th century were committed to a program of modernization and centralization. These policies were aimed both at allowing the Ottomans to compete with the other great powers, but also at strengthening control throughout the empire.
Arabia and the Levant were chief targets of this program. The use of the Turkish language became mandatory, and the government began constructing a railway through the Hejaz from Constantinople, allowing religious pilgrims easy access to holy sites. Arabs chafed under these reforms, which contained a large element of Turkish chauvinism and threatened their own cultural identity. Moreover, the Hejaz railway cut Bedouins out of an ancient trade of escorting (and sometimes robbing) travelers. Political expressions of Arab independence were voiced in the lead up to World War One, and loopholes found cut into railways stations show that Bedouins were already targeting them in raids before 1914.
Hussein bin Ali.
The Great War, however, turned Arab discontent into the Arab Revolt.
Britain fought against the Ottomans in Mesopotamia and Egypt and was in
the market for allies. The Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, looked a
likely one. Involved with Arab nationalists and fearful the Ottomans
might depose him, Hussein corresponded with the British High
Commissioner in Egypt about military support for a revolt. The British
promised money, guns, and in incredibly vague terms hinted they would
back Hussein as Arab king. At the same time, Britain promised control
of Palestine to Zionists after the war, while also secretly dividing up
the Middle East with France as post-war spoils.
Unware of
Allied secret diplomacy Hussein went ahead with his revolt. His son
Faisal took military command, rallying thousands of Bedouin tribesmen
for hit-and-run attacks on the Hejaz railway. British naval and air
forces offered support, and key cities like the ports of Jeddah and
Aqaba fell to the rebels, from which the British could pour in more aid.
British officers also offered their support, the most well-known being
the eccentric ex-archaeologist T.E. Lawrence, who became a close friend to Faisal and an expert at guerilla warfare.
Soldiers of the Arab Army. Although most rebels were Bedouin irregulars, some Arabs in the Ottoman army deserted and turned their guns
against the empire.
When Allenby’s army blitzed its way through Palestine in
1918 it had bountiful support from Arab forces. The greatest triumph
came in October, when the rebels entered Damascus, where Faisal was
proclaimed King of Syria. But a bitter blow soon fell when the Paris
Peace Conference revealed the Allies’ imperial intentions in the Middle
East. The new League of Nations became a colonialist tool, awarding
France a mandate over Syria and Lebanon, Britain a mandate over
Palestine and Mesopotamia. Only Hussein in the Hejaz became an
independent king. Despite this blow Arab nationalists resisted the
French and British, but were crushed throughout the Middle East. For the
moment Arab dreams of independence died, but a legacy of distrust with
the West was born which would have (and continues to have) long-reaching
consequences.
The Arab delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. Faisal is in front, Lawrence right of him.
Pictured – Nomadic tribesmen on horseback made up the bulk of the rebel Arab armies, striking Ottoman forces in hit-and-run attacks.
The Ottoman Empire had long been known as the “Sick Man of Europe,” but in 1914 it was still a vast state spreading from the Balkans to the Suez to Baghdad. And despite its reputation as a declining power, Ottoman leaders in the late 19th and early 20th century were committed to a program of modernization and centralization. These policies were aimed both at allowing the Ottomans to compete with the other great powers, but also at strengthening control throughout the empire.
Arabia and the Levant were chief targets of this program. The use of the Turkish language became mandatory, and the government began constructing a railway through the Hejaz from Constantinople, allowing religious pilgrims easy access to holy sites. Arabs chafed under these reforms, which contained a large element of Turkish chauvinism and threatened their own cultural identity. Moreover, the Hejaz railway cut Bedouins out of an ancient trade of escorting (and sometimes robbing) travelers. Political expressions of Arab independence were voiced in the lead up to World War One, and loopholes found cut into railways stations show that Bedouins were already targeting them in raids before 1914.
Hussein bin Ali.
The Great War, however, turned Arab discontent into the Arab Revolt.
Britain fought against the Ottomans in Mesopotamia and Egypt and was in
the market for allies. The Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, looked a
likely one. Involved with Arab nationalists and fearful the Ottomans
might depose him, Hussein corresponded with the British High
Commissioner in Egypt about military support for a revolt. The British
promised money, guns, and in incredibly vague terms hinted they would
back Hussein as Arab king. At the same time, Britain promised control
of Palestine to Zionists after the war, while also secretly dividing up
the Middle East with France as post-war spoils.
Unware of
Allied secret diplomacy Hussein went ahead with his revolt. His son
Faisal took military command, rallying thousands of Bedouin tribesmen
for hit-and-run attacks on the Hejaz railway. British naval and air
forces offered support, and key cities like the ports of Jeddah and
Aqaba fell to the rebels, from which the British could pour in more aid.
British officers also offered their support, the most well-known being
the eccentric ex-archaeologist T.E. Lawrence, who became a close friend to Faisal and an expert at guerilla warfare.
Soldiers of the Arab Army. Although most rebels were Bedouin irregulars, some Arabs in the Ottoman army deserted and turned their guns
against the empire.
When Allenby’s army blitzed its way through Palestine in
1918 it had bountiful support from Arab forces. The greatest triumph
came in October, when the rebels entered Damascus, where Faisal was
proclaimed King of Syria. But a bitter blow soon fell when the Paris
Peace Conference revealed the Allies’ imperial intentions in the Middle
East. The new League of Nations became a colonialist tool, awarding
France a mandate over Syria and Lebanon, Britain a mandate over
Palestine and Mesopotamia. Only Hussein in the Hejaz became an
independent king. Despite this blow Arab nationalists resisted the
French and British, but were crushed throughout the Middle East. For the
moment Arab dreams of independence died, but a legacy of distrust with
the West was born which would have (and continues to have) long-reaching
consequences.
The Arab delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. Faisal is in front, Lawrence right of him.
