Map of Syria, Palestine, Turkey, and Mesopotamia from the Baedeker 1912 travel guide Palestine and Syria with Routes through Mesopotamia and Babylonia and with the Island of Cyprus.
To secure the Suez Canal, Britain declared Egypt a protectorate on December 19, 1914, increasing forces there to 70,000 by January 1915. That same month, a Turkish force crossed Sinai from Palestine to seize the waterway. Their failed attempt alerted Britain to this threat.Arab opposition to the secularization promulgated by the Young Turks coalesced by mid-1916 into a revolt, particularly in the Hejaz, Arabia's west along the Red Sea, site of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. By July, the Arabs had taken Mecca and ports allowing the British to supply weapons. In 1917, T.E. Lawrence — Lawrence of Arabia — other Britishers, and Arabs sabotaged Turkey's Arabian railroads, particularly its irreplaceable engines.Turkey's Palestinean defensive line ran southeast from coastal Gaza inland. Britain failed to break it in attacks in March and April 1917. Given command in June, Edmund Allenby extended supply lines from Egypt, and was given artillery, aircraft, and reinforcements. The Third Battle of Gaza In November was a British victory and the Allies entered Jerusalem in December.In July, Lawrence and Arab irregulars seized Aqaba, a strongly defended port, attacking from the desert.Russia's armistice with the Central Powers allowed Turkey to reinforce other fronts. Germany's Operation Michael in March 1918 forced Britain to redeploy resources to France. Allenby was held at Nablus until September, when the Allies struck. An Arab feint against Daraa and communications lines left Turkish command incapable of recognizing the real threat to the west. On October 1, the Allies entered Damascus as the Turks retreated north.Defeated in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine, threatened in Europe, Turkey capitulated on October 31.
Syria/Palestine Front is a battle front in Ottoman Empire.
