Palestine Front Research Articles

How malaria was 'weaponised' by the British Army during World War I.

During the first World War (1914-1918), the British Army found itself confronting enemy armies in several countries in which malaria potentially hampered its ability to engage with the enemy. This article contrasts how it dealt with malaria on two of these fronts, the Macedonia front and the Palestine front. One front resulted in a failure of the Army to protect itself against the disease, with the other front resulting in successful protection of its troops, enabling those troops to create a decisive victory. The paper briefly explains the major differences between the two fronts, including the different attempts to deal with the disease, and draws lessons for contemporary malaria elimination efforts.

Sharif Hussain’s Revolt and Hejaz Front in the Light of the Memories

Osmanlı Devleti’nin I. Dünya Harbi’nde savaştığı cephelerden biri de Hicaz Cephesi olmuştur. Hicaz Cephesi’ndeki mücadele esas olarak Mekke Emiri Şerif Hüseyin liderliğinde isyan eden Arap aşiretlerine karşı verilmiştir. İsyancılar, İngilizlerden önemli miktarda maddi, lojistik ve silah desteği görmüş, ayrıca İngiliz istihbarat ajanları isyancı liderlere askerî danışmanlık yapmıştır. Şerif Hüseyin’in İngiliz yetkililerle gizli temasları harpten önce başlamış ve karşılıklı mektuplaşmalar şeklinde sürmüştür. Şerif Hüseyin’in, Arap nüfusun yaşadığı topraklarda bir Arap krallığı ile halifelik makamını kendi üzerinde birleştirmeyi planladığı bu yazışmalarda açıkça görülür. Nihayet aradığı desteği bulan Şerif, Haziran 1916’da isyanı başlatmıştır.
 Hicaz’da yaşanan gelişmeler Sina-Filistin Cephesi’ndeki olaylarla doğrudan bağlantılı olmuştur. Şerif Hüseyin İsyanı harp sonuna kadar devam etmiş ancak Arap nüfus arasında geniş bir destek bulamamıştır. İsyanın başarısı ve milliyetçi bir nitelik kazanması ancak Osmanlı ordusunun Filistin Cephesi’ndeki mağlubiyeti ile mümkün olmuştur.

East of Gaza

East of Gaza Phillip Parotti (bio) Broome? Yes, of course I know him. Served under him in Palestine from early 1917 until the end of the war. Ian Broome was one of Meinertzhagen’s subs during the East African campaign. Can’t recall the exact details; but, if I’m not mistaken, at some point in 1916, Meinertzhagen had a bout of fever and was sent home to recuperate. That’s when Broome took his place, coordinating intelligence for the East African Field Force. Meinertzhagen didn’t take long to recover, but when he did, rather than send him back into the East African fly belts, the War Office shipped him out to Palestine with a promotion; and, as soon as he took up his duties, he called for Broome, so Broome once more found himself serving as one of Meinertzhagen’s chief subordinates. Eventually, working that close to Meinertzhagen and Allenby, he must have caught Allenby’s eye, and that, I think, gave his career a boost. I read last week in the Times that he has been promoted to major general. Good man, Broome. Well done. Sent him a note of congratulation. Tall? Oh, yes, very. Six feet, four inches at least. High forehead, receding hairline that bristled along the back of his scalp, piercing, close-set blue eyes, and a sharp nose that protruded like a beak. That was Broome. The men, well out of his hearing, called him The Heron; and, in more ways than one, the description was apt. In the first place, setting aside mere appearance, he had the patience of Job; but, when he was on the hunt, he exhibited all of the determination of a heron stalking a trout, and then, when he did strike, he struck both fast and sure. And, if a man made the mistake of crossing him or not coming up to the mark in doing his duty, Broome had no hesitation about putting that beak right into the offender’s face with the implied threat that he might peck the man to death in half a second. Jolly unnerving, that. On the other [End Page 1] side, and this, I think, is something that appealed to Meinertzhagen, Broome was a man of swift apprehension and ready wit. He was in no way a joker, you will understand, but from time to time he would let something fall so dry and incisive as to cause me to double up until I could regain possession of myself. Me? Why I was the lowest of the low, the most junior second lieutenant in the section. I’d done my schooling at Winchester and then gone straight to Sandhurst, and when I passed out in March of 1917, someone at the War Office seems to have culled from my records a suggestion that I had been good at maths. How one automatically connects that discovery with intelligence work, I really can’t say; but, all at once, rather than joining my regiment as a platoon leader, and much against my will, I found myself shipped out to Cairo, and as soon as I landed, I found myself stuck in a tiny sweltering office correcting maps. It was mind-numbing, that work, the sort of thing that a well-trained ape might have been able to do, and I hated it; but, when Meinertzhagen showed up in June, he somehow found me out. “You’re wasted here,” he said to me, at the conclusion of our interview. “Pack your kit, and report to Advanced G.H.Q. at Dayr-al-Balah. That’s about two hundred miles up the coast from here, in case you haven’t already seen it on one of your maps. Report specifically to Captain Broome; he will have work for you.” That was a reprieve, I don’t mind telling you; and, as quickly as I could, I packed up and made the move. Sir Archibald Murray had been commanding on the Palestine front, but after two failed attacks on Gaza, he was on his way out, and the Bull, General Sir Edmund Allenby, was on the way in, already in transit somewhere between Italy and...

Edward C. Woodfin. Camp and Combat on the Sinai and Palestine Front: The Experience of the British Empire Soldier, 1916–18. Houndmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Pp. 240. $80.00 (cloth).

Edward C. Woodfin. Camp and Combat on the Sinai and Palestine Front: The Experience of the British Empire Soldier, 1916–18. Houndmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Pp. 240. $80.00 (cloth). - Volume 52 Issue 3

Jan Smuts in dispute between Easterners and Westerners (proposition of obtaining command of Palestine front - May 1917)

Jan Smuts in dispute between Easterners and Westerners (proposition of obtaining command of Palestine front - May 1917)

Innovative Cartography in Palestine 1917–1918

During the First World War a major turning-point in the history of cartography was made in Palestine. The British forces, which were marching toward Palestine, had no town maps of some of the key towns of Palestine. Towns situated beyond the front line, such as Gaza, Beer-Sheba, Ramleh and others were photographed by the Air Squadrons and maps of the towns were made. The first map, that of Gaza, was produced on 25 January, 1917 being probably the first town map ever made by the use of aerial photographs. Other maps, which were produced during 1918, like those of Nablus and El Kerak were maps which demonstrated a new solution to the problem of the use of aerial photographs for the purpose of mapping towns situated in hilly areas. Town maps for the Palestine Front were an immediate necessity, not an academic exercise and the war served as an immediate catalyst. The photographs and maps produced then are excellent historical documents, particularly because of their high quality and preservation.

INNOVATIVE CARTOGRAPHY IN PALESTINE OF 1917–1918 INITIAL USE OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN TOWN-MAPPING

Abstract During the First World War a major turning-point in the history of cartography was made in Palestine. The British forces, which were marching toward Palestine, had no town-maps of some of the key towns of Palestine. Towns situated beyond the front line, such as Gaza, Beersheba, Ramleh and others were photographed by the Air Squadrons and m~ps of those towns were made. The first map, that of Gaza, was produced on 25 January 1917, being probably the first town-map ever made by the use of aerial photographs. Other maps, which were produced during 1918, like those of Nablus and El-Kerek were maps which demonstrated a new solution to the problem of the use of aerial photographs for the purpose of mapping towns situated in hilly areas. Town-maps for the Palestine Front were an immediate necessity, not an academic exercise, and the war served as an immediate catalyst. The photographs and maps produced then are excellent historical documents, particularly because of their high quality and preservation.

Eyewitness: Israeli Captivity. A Report by Dr. Steinar Berge and Oyvind Moller from Norway

The enclosed report is made on the basis of the statement by Dr. Steinar Berge and child care worker Oyvind M0ller in a meeting in the Department of Foreign Affairs on June 24, 1982, from 4 to 7 am. Both were members of the health team of the Palestine Front of Norway in Sidon. The team worked in accordance with an agreement between the Norwegian Palestine Front and the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Present from the Department of Foreign Affairs were:

Geographical Reconnaissance by Aeroplane Photography, with Special Reference to the Work Done on the Palestine Front

Geographical Reconnaissance by Aeroplane Photography, with Special Reference to the Work Done on the Palestine Front

Geographical Reconnaissance by Aeroplane Photography, with Special Reference to the Work Done on the Palestine Front: Discussion

Geographical Reconnaissance by Aeroplane Photography, with Special Reference to the Work Done on the Palestine Front: Discussion