A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East

588 Pages·2001·6.41 MB·English

by  David Fromkin

ALSO BY DAVID F R O M K I N
The Independence of Nations
The Question of Government
DAVID FROMKIN
A PEACE TO
END A LL PEACE
T HE F A LL OF T HE O T T O M AN E M P I RE
AND T HE C R E A T I ON OF T HE M O D E RN
M I D D LE E A ST
AN OWL BOOK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
NEW YORK
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
115 West 18th Street
New York, New York 10011
Henry Holt® is a registered trademark
of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Copyright © 1989 by David Fromkin
All rights reserved.
Distributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn and Company Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fromkin, David.
A peace to end all peace.
Bibliography : p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8050-6884-8
1. Great Britain—Foreign relations—Middle East. 2. Middle East—Foreign
relations—Great Britain. 3. Middle East—Politics and government—1914-1945.
I. Title.
DS63.2.G7F76 1989 327.41056 88-34727
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First published in hardcover in 1989 by Henry Holt and Company
First Owl Books Edition 2001
Printed in the United States of America
13 15 16 14
"After 'the war to end war' they seem
to have been pretty successful in Paris
at making a 'Peace to end Peace.'"
Archibald Wavell (later Field Marshal Earl
Wavell), an officer who served under Allenby
in the Palestine campaign, commenting on
the treaties bringing the First World War
to an end

C O N T E N TS
List of Illustrations and Maps 10
Photo Credits 11
Acknowledgments 12
A Note on Spelling 14
Introduction 15
PART I At the Crossroads of History
1 THE LAST DAYS OF OLD EUROPE 23
2 THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT GAME IN ASIA 26
3 THE MIDDLE EAST BEFORE THE WAR 33
4 THE YOUNG TURKS URGENTLY SEEK AN ALLY 45
5 WINSTON CHURCHILL ON THE EVE OF WAR 51
6 CHURCHILL SEIZES TURKEY'S WARSHIPS 54
7 AN INTRIGUE AT THE SUBLIME PORTE 62
PART II Kitchener of Khartoum Looks Ahead
79
8 KITCHENER TAKES COMMAND
88
9 KITCHENER'S LIEUTENANTS
96
10 KITCHENER SETS OUT TO CAPTURE ISLAM
106
11 INDIA PROTESTS
111
12 THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
PART III Britain is Drawn into the
Middle Eastern Quagmire
13 THE TURKISH COMMANDERS ALMOST LOSE THE WAR 119
14 KITCHENER ALLOWS BRITAIN TO ATTACK TURKEY 124
15 ON TO VICTORY AT THE DARDANELLES 130
16 RUSSIA'S GRAB FOR TURKEY 137
17 DEFINING BRITAIN'S GOALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST 146
18 AT THE NARROWS OF FORTUNE 150
19 THE WARRIORS 155
20 THE POLITICIANS 159
21 THE LIGHT THAT FAILED 163
8 CONTENTS
22 CREATING THE ARAB BUREAU 168
23 MAKING PROMISES TO THE ARABS 173
24 MAKING PROMISES TO THE EUROPEAN ALLIES 188
25 TURKEY'S TRIUMPH AT THE TIGRIS 200
PART IV Subversion
26 BEHIND ENEMY LINES 207
27 KITCHENER'S LAST MISSION 216
28 HUSSEIN'S REVOLT 218
PART V The Allies at the Nadir of Their Fortunes
29 THE FALL OF THE ALLIED GOVERNMENTS: BRITAIN AND FRANCE 231
30 THE OVERTHROW OF THE CZAR 239
PART VI New Worlds and Promised Lands
31 THE NEW WORLD 253
32 LLOYD GEORGE'S ZIONISM 263
33 TOWARD THE BALFOUR DECLARATION 276
34 THE PROMISED LAND 284
PART VII Invading the Middle East
35 JERUSALEM FOR CHRISTMAS 305
36 THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS 315
37 THE BATTLE FOR SYRIA 332
PART VIII The Spoils of Victory
38 THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 351
39 BY THE SHORES OF TROY ' 363
PART IX The Tide Goes Out
40 THE TICKING CLOCK 383
41 BETRAYAL 389
42 THE UNREAL WORLD OF THE PEACE CONFERENCES 403
PART X Storm over Asia
43 THE TROUBLES BEGIN: 1919—1921 415
44 EGYPT: THE WINTER OF 1918—1919 417
45 AFGHANISTAN: THE SPRING OF 1919 421
46 ARABIA: THE SPRING OF 1919 424
47 TURKEY: JANUARY 1920 427