- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Pan; 2nd edition (6 Feb 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330491083
- ISBN-13: 978-0330491082
- Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 12.7 x 19 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
330,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #59 in Books > History > Ancient History & Civilisation > Middle East
- #70 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > 1900-1945
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Product Description
Product Description
The first book to cover the whole of the campaign against the Turks in the First World War, including the disaster of Gallipoli.
Book Description
Most of the books that have been written about this pivotal campaign are only about Gallipoli, and no other has included Palestine, Mesopotamia and the Balkans, too. This is an historically important campaign as the destruction of the Ottoman Empire led to the political turmoil in the Middle East that we are living with today. But it also has a big emotional pull. With extracts from the letters, diaries and other papers of those involved, this is a moving and hard-hitting book. Casualties were high, both in action and from disease. There were many examples of great courage and endurance, and some instances of a significant lack of these qualities. Heights of incompetence at the higher levels were seen at Suvla Bay and in some actions in Mesopotamia. The accounts in this book provide a stark reminder of what the soldiers endured.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I would like tp endorse the previous negative review. In fact I think this is the dullest book about military history I've attempted to read - bogged down in detail, no explanation of strategic or tactical decisions, and hardly any maps.
This is all a real shame as a popular account of these forgotten campaigns is long overdue, especially in view of current issues in Iraq & the Middle East.
This is all a real shame as a popular account of these forgotten campaigns is long overdue, especially in view of current issues in Iraq & the Middle East.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It says on the back of the book that Field Marshall Lord Carver is "a master military historian" and author of 15 books. Maybe it's because, as a Field Marshall, he knew what he was talking about or maybe it was the fact that because he was a Lord that nobody had the heart to tell him that he definitely was NOT a master military historian.
The war with the Ottoman Empire during Words War 1 is important for 2 reasons.
Firstly it shows that it genuinely was a "World War" and not just men in deadlock stuck in trenches in Flanders, indeed it's also a useful point to show that there was movement and changing tactics in the war too.
Secondly this campaign marks the end of the Ottoman Empire a dynasty that had survived father to son unbroken from the late 13th century. This culture links back directly to the medieval times, as far back as the Crusades! The repercussion of this conflict are still being felt today because out of the ashes of this empire was carved countries like Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.
So this is important stuff and yet what we get is an endless list of names and divisions being moved round battlefields. Nothing is explained or described in anything but the barest detail and everything is stated in a very matter of fact way. Indeed whenever he wants to explain things further, he just stuffs in someone's letter which can work but should not be the way an event is ALWAYS explained nor would you regurgitate the entire letter, a few juicy sentences will do. This conflict covered the whole of the Near East and yet you get 4 maps at the front and that's your lot. On many occasions places or key positions are mentioned in the text only to be omitted from the maps- not good enough!
The only excerpts from primary sources are from the British perspective with hardly a thought spared on Turkish sources - you cannot understand a conflict unless you know both sides of the story.
There is no passion, verve, wit or pacing to any of this book, it is as dry as the Arabian peninsular. A shame because it's one of the few books to look at the whole Ottoman campaign rather than just Gallipoli. In short the great book on this area has still yet to be written.
If you liked this there's more historical debate and fun at @HistoryGems on Facebook and Twitter
The war with the Ottoman Empire during Words War 1 is important for 2 reasons.
Firstly it shows that it genuinely was a "World War" and not just men in deadlock stuck in trenches in Flanders, indeed it's also a useful point to show that there was movement and changing tactics in the war too.
Secondly this campaign marks the end of the Ottoman Empire a dynasty that had survived father to son unbroken from the late 13th century. This culture links back directly to the medieval times, as far back as the Crusades! The repercussion of this conflict are still being felt today because out of the ashes of this empire was carved countries like Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.
So this is important stuff and yet what we get is an endless list of names and divisions being moved round battlefields. Nothing is explained or described in anything but the barest detail and everything is stated in a very matter of fact way. Indeed whenever he wants to explain things further, he just stuffs in someone's letter which can work but should not be the way an event is ALWAYS explained nor would you regurgitate the entire letter, a few juicy sentences will do. This conflict covered the whole of the Near East and yet you get 4 maps at the front and that's your lot. On many occasions places or key positions are mentioned in the text only to be omitted from the maps- not good enough!
The only excerpts from primary sources are from the British perspective with hardly a thought spared on Turkish sources - you cannot understand a conflict unless you know both sides of the story.
There is no passion, verve, wit or pacing to any of this book, it is as dry as the Arabian peninsular. A shame because it's one of the few books to look at the whole Ottoman campaign rather than just Gallipoli. In short the great book on this area has still yet to be written.
If you liked this there's more historical debate and fun at @HistoryGems on Facebook and Twitter
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Field Marshal Lord Carver has combined the three major Middle Eastern campaigns during the Great War very adequately. They had no direct connection between them, but still had much in common: They were conceived far from the battle field; they were planned in elaborate detail and they all failed miserably, at least at the first attempt. (There was no second attempt at Gallipoli, so this campaign still stands out as one of modern history's worst disasters and a terrible waste of human lives and other scarce resources, while both in Mesopotamia and in Palestine/Syria the first bitter lessons were learnt and the tasks left to better commanders in order to revenge the first defeats.) Lord Carver's narrative is fast, eventful and -as far as I have been able to check- accurate, with much detailed information both regarding the events themselves and the people and units involved. He makes much use of diaries and other eye-witness material, demonstrating very well how the men who fought these battles actually experienced them. What is missing is some insight in the situation and planning of the opposing side, as well as some detailed maps: Those supplied are very sketchy and many important sites mentioned in the text are not marked in them, which is the only serious flaw in this otherwise excellent text.
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