Lawrence of Arabia

Source: phoenix Thomas Edward Lawrence, dressed like an arabian sherif

The British archaeologist Thomas E. Lawrence, who lives in Cairo and will go down in history as „Lawrence of Arabia“, has been a member of his country’s secret intelligence service since December of 1914. On 6 June 1916, when the Emir of Mecca and his sons begin a rebellion against Turkish rule over the Arabian peninsula, he is supported by Great Britain with money and military advisors. Due to his knowledge of the area and its language, Lawrence is chosen as a go-between. He quickly becomes a key figure in the Arab struggle for independence. His close connection to Feisal, one of the Emir’s sons, is conducive to this development. Lawrence recommends to the badly organized Bedouins a guerrilla war strategy with surprise attacks against smaller Turkish military bases and attacks using explosives along the rail line. The Turkish army is effectively weakened by these lightning-fast attacks. In July of 1917, the port city Aqaba will fall. The conquest of Damascus follows in October of 1918. The legendary campaign under Lawrence‘s leadership ends with the liberation of Palestine from Turkish rule. After the armistice the Briton, completely exhausted spiritually and physically, withdraws in disappointment. He is forced to realise that an end to the First World War would in no way focus international attention on the issue of Arab independence which he and his Arab friends had fought for. In the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, the governments in Paris and London had already agreed to partition  Arab territory into an English and a French zone of influence.