Chapter 701: Guardian of the Holy Land of Mecca
If we ignore the important symbolic significance of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, General Otto von Sanders would not have worried about anything at all. He described this extremely risky amphibious landing as crazy, and he really believed so in his heart.
Having been an advisor to the Ottoman Empire for so many years, he still knows the Ottoman Empire very well. Although many officers are Russophobic, it is definitely not an ordinary imperial army in its twilight years. It is not a country that can be dealt with by an expeditionary force of 100,000 or 80,000!
If the Allies continue to increase their stakes, it will be beneficial to Germany, as it can weaken the Allies' power here.
The only worry was that, because Constantinople was the capital of the Ottoman Empire, causing a major shock would allow the forces of compromise to gain the upper hand. After communicating with Enver Pasha, Otto von Sanders immediately contacted the General Staff at home. Of course, Moltke the Younger, as the Chief of the German General Staff, quickly learned about the situation.
Moltke the Younger's judgment was consistent with that of Otto von Sanders, who believed that it was after the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war that the British people's adventurous thinking prevailed, and he agreed with the arrangements made by Otto von Sanders himself.
After sending the telegram, Moltke the Younger looked at Admiral Tirpitz and asked, "Do you need any further help?"
This question was meaningful, and Tirpitz also answered, "In the next few days we can judge the strength of the British and French fleets. I hope to mobilize the airship squadron to provide assistance. If the weather is good on the day of the battle, with the guidance of the Zeppelin airship squadron, we will have some advantages."
"No problem, we can do anything as long as we can win. We have even used poison gas, so what can't we use now?" Moltke the Younger had even planned to hang poison gas bombs on the Zeppelin airships of the airship brigade to bomb London. The person who opposed it was the current German Emperor Wilhelm II, who did not insist on it, but once he felt that doing so would make the war advantageous, he would do it.
Moltke the Younger also found it incomprehensible that the British launched this amphibious landing war. Because many plans are simple to say, but become extremely difficult to implement. In Moltke's eyes, including the British Indian Army heading north in Egypt, this plan to attack both on land and at sea at the same time was much more difficult to implement than the Schlieffen Plan that the German army had been preparing for many years.
Moreover, this plan must have been improvised, unlike the years of preparation for the Schlieffen Plan that Germany had been preparing for. However, even if Moltke the Younger racked his brains, he would not have thought that this plan, which was more difficult to implement than the Schlieffen Plan and took less time to prepare, was formulated by a Navy Minister.
Likewise, Germany also had a navy minister who was secretly plotting to give the British a blow. In the North Sea, the High Seas Fleet had a complete minefield and more than one way home. It could return to Wilhelmshaven, bypass Denmark, enter the Baltic Sea, and finally return to Kiel. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for the British to block it.
Abdullah was born in Mecca in 1882, the year when Britain occupied Egypt and the Ottoman Empire began to weaken. Direct contact between the Arab region and Britain also began.
Even within the Arab world, Mecca's location is very special. It has long been outside the vision of the Ottoman Sultan, and the fledgling Western Europe could not expand its influence here. On the one hand, the Ottoman Empire's obstruction on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean was still strong. On the other hand, because Mecca is a religious holy place, Western Europeans, as Christians, have to take many issues into consideration when contacting it. When the Mediterranean periphery is increasingly filled with national-based and state-based power competition, Mecca maintains a wonderful independence due to its religious status.
The Hashemite family is a prominent presence in this independent land. They are blood relatives of the Prophet Muhammad and are therefore the rightful guardians of the holy places, naturally enjoying high prestige.
He was later called Abdullah I, and he did not know that his family's title of guardian of the holy land would be taken away by Ibn Saud. The Hejaz Kingdom established by his father on the Red Sea line also became part of the country established by Ibn Saud.
But Abdullah I was by no means a loser, because the Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Iraq were established by him and his brother respectively. If the Kingdom of Hejaz could also be preserved, the three brothers would become the royal families of three Arab countries, which would be almost the rebirth of the Arab Empire with the holy city of Mecca in its territory. The small regrets in life do not detract from the glory of the Hashemite family.
The current head of the Hashemite family is his father Sharif. Sharif is the title of the guardian of the holy land. He is so honorable that many Arabs in Mecca have forgotten Sharif's real name is Ali.
Sharif is now less than sixty years old, and the three Abdullah brothers are all around thirty years old, which is the golden age of a man. If there are no major changes, they are destined to become an important force in Mecca and even the Ottoman Empire for a long time.
However, the concept of a nationalist state had spread from Europe to the whole world. The independence of Albania was a heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire. A group of people, represented by Enver Pasha, had begun to doubt whether religion could unite the people of many ethnic groups in the empire.
The Hashemite family was the first to feel this change. As the British and Indian troops set out from Egypt to fight the Ottoman Empire in Palestine, the situation in Mecca became delicate.
When Abdullah met his father Sharif, his two brothers were already there. Ever since the Englishman named Lawrence arrived in Mecca, the four of them had been arguing for days about whether to continue to be loyal to the Ottoman Empire.
"I am against listening to the British. Now all the believers in the world should heed the call of the Sultan and launch a holy war against the Allies. How can we stand with the British at this time?" Ali, the eldest brother, expressed his opposition in front of his father Sharif and his two younger brothers. "Even if we are independent, how can we face the title of guardian of the holy land?"
Sharif said nothing, apparently accustomed to all this, as his three sons had different opinions.
"What do you think, Faisal?" Abdullah I looked at his younger brother Faisal. If Faisal could agree, this matter could be considered a success.
"Brother, father, I am not against independence, but the current situation is unclear." Faisal shook his head and said, "If we make a hasty judgment, it may put our family in danger."
"Well, let me tell you what I think, father!" Abdullah I said, unable to hide his disappointment. "Everyone has seen the changes in Constantinople in the past decade. Since Albania's independence, people like Enver Pasha have, in a sense, abandoned the Arabs. Before that, we worked together with them to deal with the threat from Europeans. We persisted, but they lost confidence. Now Constantinople believes that only people who speak Turkic are citizens of the Ottoman Empire, and those of us who speak Arabic can no longer be glorious Ottomans."
"They themselves gave up religion and excluded us from the Ottoman identity. Now the Sultan is using jihad to make us fight the British. All this is not our fault. Since we are no longer citizens of the Ottoman Empire, we must fight for the glorious Arab identity."
"The overall strength of the Allies far exceeds that of the Central Powers. Now the British-Indian Army has separated Syria and the Hejaz. If the Ottoman army wants to interfere with us, they have to cross the vast desert. We already have the foundation for independence. Once our Hashemite family can be the first to blow the horn of independence, then in the future the Arabs of the entire region will support us, and the glory of the Hashemite family will continue."
Abdullah spoke generously, explaining in detail the situation the Hashemite family was facing now. The Hejaz region along the Red Sea had been freed from the influence of the Ottoman Empire, otherwise Lawrence would not have come to Mecca so easily. Now the chances of an uprising were actually very high. Once the Allies won, the Hashemite family, as an ally of the victor, could even rebuild the Arab Empire.
Sharif was in a state of hesitation in front of his three sons with very different attitudes. Knowing that his father was considering the pros and cons, Ali, Abdullah and Faisal also stood aside, waiting for their father's final opinion.
"We have always advocated that all believers are one family regardless of their nationality, but now Constantinople believes that only people who speak Turkic are Ottomans, which makes me very disappointed." Sharif made up his mind and said in front of his three sons, "Well, if we can't become glorious citizens of the Ottoman Empire, then we will become glorious Arabs. This is Constantinople's own choice."
"My dear sons, we want to make the entire Arab region independent of the Ottoman Empire, not just Hejaz. If you are brave enough, leave Hejaz now and lead independence in other places." Sharif said to his three sons, "Even if we fail, the Hashemite family will not disappear."
Sharif had decided to declare an uprising in Mecca against Ottoman rule.
In Palestine, the smoke of battle has not yet dissipated. The Ottoman Third Army, belonging to Jemal Pasha, has seized the positions where fierce fighting had taken place a few days ago, and many turbaned corpses have not yet been cleared.
"Where did these people come from? The British don't seem to dress like this!" Many soldiers have never left their hometowns, but according to rumors, it seems that the British do not wear turbans.
"It seems that they are Indians who followed the British to fight." An older officer said, "Some Indian cavalrymen are quite capable, but if there were no British troops nearby, they would be difficult to deal with."
The British Indian Army's attack to the north became difficult after passing through the Sinai Peninsula, especially the troops mainly composed of the Indian Army, which were hostile to the locals. Many Arab tribes may not have a good impression of the Ottoman Empire, but seeing these troops from nowhere invading their homes, they still chose to stand on the side of the Ottoman Empire.
Jemal Pasha was very happy for having withstood the first wave of attacks from the British and Indian Army, but he did not know that the Hashemite family in the Han area had already sounded the clarion call for an uprising. The entire Mecca had fallen into the hands of the rebels and had broken away from the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
(End of this chapter)
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