The Logistics and Politics of the British Campaigns in the Middle East, 1914-22 (Studies in Military and Strategic History)

"This book provides an examination of how the logistical demands of the British military campaigns in Palestine and Mesopotamia led to a more intrusive and authoritarian form of imperial control in 1917-18. This early example of Western military intervention in the Middle East provoked a localized backlash in 1919-20 whose effects continue to be felt today"-- Provided by publisher An examination of how the logistical demands of the British military campaigns in Palestine and Mesopotamia led to a more intrusive and authoritarian form of imperial control in 1917-18. This early example of Western military intervention in the Middle East provoked a localized backlash in 1919-20 whose effects continue to be felt today. During the First World War the British and imperial armies conducted large-scale campaigns in Palestine and Mesopotamia that made enormous demands on Egypt and India. Meeting the logistical requirements of the campaigns was a formidable achievement that required the imposition of a closer and more authoritarian form of imperial control. This led to the deepening of imperial rule in Egypt and India and its introduction in the occupied territories in Palestine and Mesopotamia to regulate the mobilization and extraction of the vast amounts of man- and animal power, and food and fodder, which powered the armies to victory in 1917-18. Exposure to, and participation in, the First World War nevertheless caused great hardship and economic dislocation, and culminated in a nationalist backlash in 1919-20. The legacy of these events continues to reverberate as they contributed to the creation of the modern state of Iraq and the mandatory state of Palestine Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Map......Page 9 List of Abbreviations......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 11 Introduction......Page 12 Part I......Page 22 1 The Political Economy of Empire before 1914......Page 24 2 Expansion of the Campaigns, 1915–16......Page 51 3 Intensification of Wartime Control, 1917–18......Page 74 Part II......Page 90 4 Deepening the Colonial State......Page 92 5 Mobilisation of Labour for Logistical Units......Page 119 6 Extraction of Agricultural Resources......Page 151 Part III......Page 182 7 Post-War Backlash and Imperial Readjustment, 1919–22......Page 184 Conclusion......Page 208 Notes......Page 213 Bibliography......Page 255 Index......Page 268