Lawrence of Arabia by Ranulph Fiennes

Author:Ranulph Fiennes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2024-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

16

After returning to Akaba, the Arabs, now with a taste for loot and killing Turks, were keen to continue attacking the Turkish railway. This certainly suited Lawrence. It not only helped to build morale but also kept the Turks from focusing their attention on Akaba. As such, over the next four months, the Arabs destroyed seventeen Turkish locomotives and miles of railway track.

Meanwhile, Lawrence was ordered back to Cairo to provide Allenby with an update. He found the general not in the best of moods. The Arab attacks on the railways were just a ‘melodramatic advertisement’, he told Lawrence, and didn’t add up to much. Lawrence explained that he planned to disrupt the line to Medina continually, but not totally destroy it, to keep the Turks bottled up there and unable to strike against Akaba. Allenby wasn’t convinced but decided to keep his faith in Lawrence, who so far had shown shrewd judgement.

Of far more concern to Allenby was the joint Arab and British operation that would allow him to take Jerusalem. After the previous failure under General Murray, the British were aware that Gaza was well defended, with trenches and fortifications. However, intelligence suggested that they were vulnerable at Beersheba. Allenby realised that this was a perfect opportunity. If he could take Beersheba, he could not only assure his troops of a reliable water supply, but they could also outflank Ottoman positions surrounding Gaza.

To help his operation, Allenby wanted the Arabs to destroy two bridges that crossed the Yarmuk River on 5 November ‘or one of the three following days’, to coincide as closely as possible with his own attack. ‘To cut either of these bridges’, Lawrence said, ‘would isolate the Turkish army in Palestine, for one fortnight from its base in Damascus, and destroy its power of escaping Allenby’s advance.’

The operation would be enormously difficult, not to mention hazardous. It first would require a 320-mile march from Akaba to the old Roman fort at Azrak. There, Lawrence and the Arabs would set up a base, before covering another 100 miles to reach Yarmuk. All the while, he would need to raise more tribes along the way, as well as seeking their permission for safe passage. Indeed, this was an area that was tightly held by the Turks and they could be betrayed or attacked at any moment. Nevertheless, Allenby and Lawrence agreed that the plan was worth all the risks.

While Lawrence returned to Akaba and made final preparations for the operation at Yarmuk, an unexpected ally arrived from Damascus. Emir Abd el-Kader was the grandson and namesake of the Arab hero who had fought against the French occupation of his native Algeria from 1830 to 1847. El-Kader the elder was revered throughout the Muslim world and beyond for his heroic deeds. Following his death, the family lived on in Damascus, with many of their Algerian followers settling close to the bridges Lawrence planned to destroy. El-Kader the younger was now seemingly ready to put himself and his tribe at Feisal’s disposal.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.