The Great War - WW1
The Middle East
At the end of 1915 General Townshend's advance on Baghdad was fought to a halt by stubborn Turkish resistance, and his force of 10'000 British and Indian troops bottled up in Kut-al-Amara. In April 1916 he surrendered. Baghdad was not taken until March 1917.
Greater success was achieved in Palestine, where General Allenby replaced General Murray as commander of British forces in April 1917. Allenby' instructions were to 'take Jerusalem by Christmas'. This he duly achieved, entering the Holy City on the 9th of December.
In September 1918, Allenby renewed the offensive against the Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Turkish Armies, under the overall command of the German General Liman Von Sanders. At Megiddo, Allenby employed a brilliant deception plan, overwhelming air power and a strong cavalry force to achieve a victory which was not only comprehensive but also a rare example of surprise and mobility in a war dominated by barbed wire and the machine gun. Damascus was occupied on the 10th of October, and Turkey capitulated three weeks later.