Great Wars – Page 5 – The Islamic History Podcast

5-17: The British And Mesopotamia

Underestimating Ottoman capabilities, the British attempt to invade Mesopotamia with devastating consequences.

Ottoman-Armenian relations started to get really bad towards the end of the 19th century. But once the Great War started, they got even worse.

Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot meet in London to discuss their vision of the future of the Middle East.

Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commission to Egypt, begins a deliberately vague series of letters with Sharif Hussein of Mecca.

The British have a problem as they can’t keep their promises to Sharif Hussein and the French at the same time.

To deal with the growing importance of the Middle East, the British create a new department called the Arab Bureau.

The British landing at Gallipoli goes from bad to worse.

The British expect an easy victory on Gallipoli. But the Ottomans are not done fighting.

With Britain advancing on the Dardanelles, Russia is concerned they’ll lose their claim to Istanbul. Meanwhile, a young British politician […]

The British and other European powers are locked in a stalemate on the western front. The British are looking for a way to break through.