The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920

Great historical account

The Ottoman Empire was a multinational and pluralist empire spanning 6 centuries. Even at the onset of the First World War, the empire controlled around 2.4 million square km of area that includes modern day Turkey and most of the Middle East. The Islamic caliphate ruled empire was dominated by the Turks and also includes Arabs, Kurds, Greeks, Armenians and other ethnic minorities. During it’s prime , it surpassed even European power both in terms of military strength and wealth. Why and when the empire of such magnitude started to wane? What were the stimuli that caused its downfall? What were the flash-points? The lookout for these answers pulled me towards this book. The 17-18th century is an era which coincided with technology and enlightenment advancement. The benefit was reaped by European power and they left Ottoman Empire far behind. In the last few centuries, Ottoman Empire had lost significant territories to others. They lost almost every war with their Eastern neighbour Russia and with its territories too. In the year 1911, they fail to prevent Italy from annexing Libya. In 1912, the Balkan League comprising of Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria waged a war on the Empire with the objective of driving them away from Europe. It was a major fiasco for the Empire. The morale and confidence of military was in tatters. Still, what bought them to the war ? First and foremost, it was Russia’s territorial ambition. In Ideal circumstance, the Empire would have relied on Britain or France to keep Russia in Check. Now neither of the two nations can be counted on as they along with Russia are allies in Triple Entente. In trouble time, the Empire needed a strong friend to counteract them and it turned out to be Germany. The empire’s entry into the war was an acquiesce , resulting out of this alliance driven by circumstances. With more than 7500 miles of border and coastlines spanning Black Sea, The Persian Gulf, The Red Sea and the Mediterranean, the Ottomans presented their enemies with many points vulnerable to Allies attack. This was further exacerbate by nascent Arab revolt, where sizable numbers turned against them. Despite odds and colossal damage, the stultifying Ottoman forces surprisingly were able to thwart Allied forces and the war extended to 4 years. However, they ended up on the defeated side, gaining nothing from the tenacity. The war imposed greater hardship and bought greater despair. The upshot of the War is the creation of modern Middle East, divided under British or French dominion. The empire hold on Balkan region dwindled to naught. One of the gruesome and horrifying event has been genocide which was perpetrated by the Ottoman force on hapless Armenians in Anatonia ; allegation being disloyalty and treason. There were deep seated antipathy towards the Armenians. Males from 12 onwards were killed within sight of horrified womenfolk in smaller town. While in larger town, they were killed at a location where murder could not be witnessed by foreigners. The survivors were escorted out of the town under armed guard, where they faced robbery and wholesome massacre. Sick and elderly were killed as they fell behind. Though the death has been presented as negligence due to war ,but the fact is that top military brass were involved in the shenanigans. The genocide has left an indelible mark on the history and still etched on mind of Armenian generation that followed. The key subjects which did not find a mention in the review here includes , The rise of Young Turks , How Germany bolstered Empire army, Call for jihad to bring Muslims to Ottoman side, menace of flies, Russian withdrawal from war after Tsar was overthrown, unhygienic condition of trances, Arab revolt, contribution of Australian, New Zealand and Indian forces to Allied victory . Also excluded are episodes of humanity showed by both the sides. The Ottoman soldiers occasionally used to throw raisins , hazelnut and almonds to enemy side while invaders reciprocated with cans of fruits of jam. The book is all about infantry, cavalry, artillery , and everything related to war front. The events were placed chronologically and the author has been through giving with facts. It’s not easy to hold on to readers attention, even for history buffs , to such war chronicles. The author proves otherwise. The book has managed to answer every questions that I had in mind prior to reading it. This is a decent but painstaking job done on an egregious subject. The research done is commendable. There is so much to write on the subject that even shortening the review has been a difficult task.

Nice printing quality. Quality pages. Overall a quality book.

One of the best works on this subject. The period covered and the empire covered has a lot of relevance for historians and the experts of management too. The book actually confirms a lot principles enunciated in Jim Collins book how the mighty fall. It would be an interesting read for any management expert.

INTERESTING BUT STOPS SHORT OF EXAMINING FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The book takes you the actual battle field. You can feel the movement of the armies. The pain of treason and losses. The joy of winning and the suffocation of the treaties

Extremely detailed insight on not only the fall of the ottomans but also the impact it had on the world war and its ramifications on the current plight of the Middle East. Also gives extremely harrowing facts of some of the war atrocities and consequences which clearly shows how war ravages common man for the greed of the few on high echelons.An absolute must read for all given the current precarious situations around the world. Having said that I also found the book a tad bit tedious with too much details of war policies and strategies and details of military campaign which I thought would be an interesting read to a student of military warfare but to tedious for a common reader. Personally I think the book could have been around 100 pages shorter if it avoided these military details but all and all the reader will come out immensely well informed about the fall of caliphate and also the details of ww1 in the Middle East.

A book for history lovers.The mighty Ottoman Empire in all its glory.One cannot imagine it falling-bit it does,and sadly so.This book describes it in full detail.You will enjoy it

This was my introduction to the Middle Eastern front in the Great War, and it turned out to be one of the most interesting books I have read in quite some time. The author presents the facts from both sides, and manages to do so in a detailed manner without the book ever feeling tedious or excessive, despite the amount and seriousness of the topics covered. I absolutely recommend it to anyone willing to explore this often forgotten side of the first world war, which still matters greatly to this day for the immense changes it brought.

The fall of the Ottomans - The great war in the Middle East presents an engaging history of the final years of the Ottoman Empire which was dismantled at the end of the first world war. The book gives a comprehensive overview of the political environment both prior to and during the war. It provides details on the major battles fought as well as an overview on the tragedy of the Armenian genocide that occurred. It is highly readable and the author has the readers attention throughout the entire book. The dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the forming of the modern Middle East is of fundamental historic importance and much of what decided that is contained in this book. The Fall of the Ottomans begins while the empire is in terminal decline The weak Ottoman state had been in decline for a long time but the author begins with the domestically politically challenging period of 1908-13 while the Sultan had reclaimed authority due to a weak parliamentary government. The author introduces the political movement of the Young Turks who were focused on bringing back the parliamentary process to Turkey and create a stronger national voice for the people. The author details how the weakness of the state and the hostile borders the Ottomans faced led to a Young Turk bargain with the Germans's after the start of the first world war to become allies. In particular Turkey felt threatened by Russia which had long outstanding border and citizen disputes due to orthodox and muslim rivalries near Serbia. The author gives the reader insight into the German's perspective on the value of the Ottomans and in particular how a jihad could help catalyze local rebellions throughout the colonial empires of France and in particular Great Britain. The author discusses how the Turkish helped disrupt the Italian conquest of Libya initially with the help of religious ties (though this ended badly) and how such a model was seen as a force that could help throughout the war. The author then starts giving the details of the major battles in the Near East between the Allies and the Turks. The Turks initially lost a sequence of battles and territory in Egypt and modern Iraq. The perspective that the Turks were a military liability for the Germans and an easy target for the Allies led to the move to take Istanbul via the Dardanelles. The strategy and history is given of Gallipoli is then given which marks the turning point for the Turks. The battles were horrific for both sides with mass loss of life on both sides but the retreat by the British at Gallipoli was a major setback. The author discusses how the fractured Ottoman empire was creating rifts in the local populations where people's allegiances were torn. In particular many Orthodox Armenians favored Allied victory as they felt repressed and underrepresented in the empire. The move to resettle orthodox christians took place in small communities near Greece but with the Armenians the policy took a most sinister turn and the Turks undertook the first modern genocide and through death marches and outright killing, decimated the Armenian population in the empire. The details are horrifying and the author spends time going through how the events unfolded as well as the nonetheless inexcusable outcome as well as the modern day issues that still surround the events. The author then moves back to the middle east where Turkey first lost major territory and gives a history of Kut, where the English took the city but then had to surrender due to exhaustion of resources. The horrors of the war and the starvation and conditions endured are given along with some photos. The author spends quite a bit of time as well on the Arab revolt and Lawrence of Arabia. The mixed allegiances of the Arab sub populations and the lack of affiliation with the Ottoman based Caliphate goes to show that the initial belief in the power of a call to jihad was misplaced. The author also spends time discussing the Sykes-Picot Agreement and in particular how the Arab revolt and alliance with the Allies was based of a subsequent territorial understanding of what the post war landscape would be, which was liberated and under the rule of Amir Faysal and his sons. The Ottomans of course lost the war and the author goes into how that took place. The ending was quick and the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire was entire. All of the Middle East was carved up and into what we see today. The author gives the reader the political reasons for the need to create a zionist Palestine and how it was and continues to be bitterly disputed. The Turks got a buffer between themselves and Russia with the creation of new nation states and kept Constantinople and Anatolia. The author is careful to discuss how the modern map of the region was effectively created in those weeks and their repercussions lie with us today. The Fall of the Ottomans was really enjoyable to read and it completely refreshed my understanding of the last days of the Ottoman Empire as well as the events in the first world war that led to its dissolution. For all interested in the forming of the modern middle east, the first world war or the Ottoman empire, this book is a must read. Even without those interests this book will hold your attention!

Pesquisa histórica apurada, didático e interessantíssimo.

A remarkably clear and concise picture of Ottoman collapse and its impact on the Middle East. The book sheds light on the fate of the last Ottoman ruler, the rise of Kemal Ataturk, the genesis of the Middle Eastern imbroglio - starting with an analysis of Turkish tenacity, the reason for its ties with Kaiser's Germany, the precarious victories of the Entente powers, the preservation of Turkish nationalism and its reclamation of conquered territory in the Caucasus from the Russians who withdrew from the War with the start of the Communist revolution. It tells us how the buffer states of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia came to be and foreshadowed the instability in Iraq and The Arab Israeli wars. The tragedy of Great Power politics and the endurance of the bitter conflicts till the present day lies in unfolding of history and the follies and foibles of Generals, Statesmen and the determination and heroism of those who picked up the gauntlet to steer a different course to set right the derailed trajectories of a positive and equitable outcome. A moving and well paced, fair and clear account of events. It left me wanting to know ore about the subject. It served as a more than adequate introduction on a vital subject! Hence the five stars.

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