The British Imperial Army in the Middle East: Morale and Military Identity in the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns, 1916-18 (War, Culture and Society)

The First World War has often been understood in terms of the combat experiences of soldiers on the Western Front; those combatants who served in the other theatres of the war have been neglected. Using personal testimonies, official documentation and detailed research from a diverse range of archives, __The British Imperial Army in the Middle Eas__t explores the combat experiences of these soldiers. The army that fought the Ottoman Empire was a multinational and multi-ethnic force, drawing personnel from across Britain's empire, including Australia, New Zealand, and India. By taking a transnational and imperial perspective on the First World War, this book ensures that the campaigns in Egypt and Palestine are considered in the wider context of an empire mobilised to fight a total and global war. Cover 1 HalfTitle 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 7 List of Figures 8 List of Maps 9 Acknowledgements 10 List of Abbreviations 12 Maps 13 Introduction 16 1 The Nature of War in Sinai and Palestine 40 The war against the environment 42 The reality of combat 49 Technological warfare comes to the Middle East 53 The intensity of combat 61 The greater enemy: Disease 68 A modern military campaign? 74 2 A Twentieth-Century Crusade? 76 The post-war construction of a crusading army 79 The wartime construction of a crusading army 82 The wartime quest for moderation 87 The army’s religious fringe 90 The army’s religious infrastructure: Chaplains and the YMCA 98 Anti-religious and anti-crusading rhetoric 104 Orientalist tourists 107 3 Command, Control and Morale 116 Allenby in the words of his contemporaries 116 Allenby according to historians 120 Morale crisis in the Middle East 126 Allenby as a leader 129 Murray as a commander 132 Allenby as a commander 134 4 Citizen Soldiers at War 138 The Territorial Force at war in the Middle East 139 Citizen soldiers 142 Territorials as soldiers 150 Territorial morale in the Middle Eastern campaign 163 5 The Anzac Legend, Mateship and Morale 166 The Australian Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles in the Middle East 167 The Anzac legend in Sinai and Palestine 171 Anzac troopers as citizen soldiers 180 Mateship and the regiment 184 Training and leadership 190 A valid legend? 195 6 The Indian Army Fighting for Empire 198 The Indian Army in the First World War 202 The policy and practice of Indianization 205 The difficulties of Indianization 211 Indianization in practice: 10th Division 215 Training for war 218 Training through combat 221 The Indianized EEF in battle 225 Conclusion 230 Notes 236 Bibliography 284 Index 310 "The First World War has often been understood in terms of the combat experiences of soldiers on the Western Front; those combatants who served in the other theatres of the war have been neglected. Using personal testimonies, official documentation and detailed research from a diverse range of archives, The British Imperial Army in the Middle East explores the combat experiences of these soldiers. The army that fought the Ottoman Empire was a multinational and multi-ethnic force, drawing personnel from across Britain's empire, including Australia, New Zealand, and India. By taking a transnational and imperial perspective on the First World War, this book ensures that the campaigns in Egypt and Palestine are considered in the wider context of an empire mobilised to fight a total and global war."--Bloomsbury Publishing The First World War has often been understood in terms of the combat experiences of soldiers on the Western Front; those combatants who served in the other theatres of the war have been neglected. Using personal testimonies, official documentation and detailed research from a diverse range of archives, The British Imperial Army in the Middle Eas t explores the combat experiences of these soldiers. The army that fought the Ottoman Empire was a multinational and multi-ethnic force, drawing personnel from across Britain's empire, including Australia, New Zealand, and India. By taking a transnational and imperial perspective on the First World War, this book ensures that the campaigns in Egypt and Palestine are considered in the wider context of an empire mobilised to fight a total and global war.