A Campaign Overview
The Great War term 'Palestine', is used to describe a far-flung theatre of operations in the Middle East that were at first focussed
on the vital Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Eventually, however, fighting ranged across parts of
Egypt, what is today Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and north into Syria.
The Turkish Ottoman Empire traditionally dominated much of the Middle East theatre of operations. The Turks, however, were now in
Alliance with the Germans, having been courted by them as allies for many years. The Turks attempted to encourage a Jihad (Muslim
Holy War) or rising amongst the Arab tribes, against the British but, in the event, almost as many Arabs fought against the Turks,
who they saw as a traditional enemy. Amongst those Arabs who were successfully raised against the British were the Senussi,
inhabitants of Egypt's Western Desert.
 Egypt's Western Desert The Strategic Importance of the Suez Canal
The Canal was vitally important to the British as a supply route to India and the Far East. In the Great War it was doubly important,
as troops and equipment from Australia, New Zealand and India faced the prospect of taking the much longer route to the Western Front,
via the Cape of Good Hope, if denied its use. Loss of the Canal would have also meant that millions of tons of shipping, bearing food
and raw materials for Britain and her Allies, would similarly been diverted to a longer route, at a time when both shipping and
resources were at a premium and the shortest route was a resource multiplier. Consequently, British defence policy had put the defence
of the Canal as a high priority and a strong garrison was maintained in Egypt for this very purpose.
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