The campaign in South Arabia during World War I was a minor struggle for control of the port city of
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
, an important way station for ships on their way from Asia to the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
. The
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
declared war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, i ...
on the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
on 5 November 1914, and the Ottomans responded with their own declaration on 11 November. From the beginning, the Ottomans had planned an invasion of Britain's
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...
in cooperation with the local
Arab tribes
The Tribes of Arabia () or Arab tribes () are the ethnic Arab tribes and clans that originated in the Arabian Peninsula. The tribes of Arabia descend from either one of the two Arab ancestors, Adnan or Qahtan. Arab tribes have historically inhabit ...
. The Ottomans had gathered in some strength on the
Cheikh Saïd
Cheikh Said (frequently spelled Sheikh Said) is a rocky peninsula in Yemen, near the island of Perim on the Bab-el-Mandeb at the entrance to the Red Sea. In 1868 it was purchased from the local ruler, Sheikh Ali Tabet Ahmed, by Bazin et Rabaud, ...
, a peninsula which juts out into the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
towards the island of
Perim
Perim ( ar, بريم 'Barīm'', also called Mayyun in Arabic, is a volcanic island in the Strait of Mandeb at the south entrance into the Red Sea, off the south-west coast of Yemen and belonging to Yemen. It administratively belongs to Dhuba ...
.
[ McKenzie, F. A. "The Defence of India". ''The Great War: The Standard History of the All-Europe Conflict''. H. W. Wilson, ed. Vol. 7, chapt. 128. This text is now in the public domain.]
At the start of the war, the British had one force stationed in the Aden Protectorate, the
Aden Brigade The Aden Brigade was a formation of the British Indian Army formed after 1903 and the Kitchener Reforms. It was commanded by Major General Bell.
In August 1914, Connelly writes that the British force in Aden Settlement consisted of only two battal ...
, which was part of the
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
. In November 1914, an Ottoman force from
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
attacked Aden, but was driven off by the Brigade.
[Richard J. Shuster, "Aden". ''The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social and Military History'', Volume 1, Spencer C. Tucker, ed. (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005), p. 37.] Although fighting in South Arabia effectively ceased after June 1916, the last Ottoman troops did not surrender until March 1919.
Capture of Cheikh Saïd
The
29th Indian Brigade
The 29th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. Formed in October 1914, it raided Sheik Saiad en route to Egypt, defended the Suez Canal in e ...
, under Brigadier-General
H. V. Cox,
CB, then on its way from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
, was ordered to interrupt its voyage to capture Cheikh Saïd and destroy the Ottoman works, armaments, and wells there. On 10 November 1914, transports conveying three battalions of the 29th Indian Brigade and the
23rd Sikh Pioneers
The 23rd Sikh Pioneers were a regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1857, when they were known as the 15th (Pioneer) Regiment of Punjab Infantry.
The regiment recruited the Mazhabi Sikhs and Ramdasia Sikhs of Pu ...
arrived off the coast of the peninsula. They were accompanied by the
armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
HMS ''Duke of Edinburgh'', which opened fire on the Ottoman defences while the transports were seeking a satisfactory landing-place. The point that had been at first selected proved impossible on account of the weather, and the troops had to land a little way off under the cover of the fire of the cruiser. They stormed the Ottomans' positions and compelled them to retreat, leaving their field guns behind. The sailors took active part in the fighting with the troops, and a naval demolition party assisted, on 11 November, in destroying the Ottoman fortifications. Having accomplished its task, the British force re-embarked and continued on to Suez. It was not considered advisable at this time to push an expedition inland. The Ottomans, consequently, retained some forces on the northern boundary of the Aden Protectorate.
[
Seven months later they reoccupied Cheikh Saïd and endeavoured from there to effect a landing on the north coast of Perim. This attack was successfully repulsed by the garrison of the island, the 23rd Sikh Pioneers.][
]
Land campaign
Battle of Lahij
Sultanate of Lahij
In July 1915 an Ottoman force from North Yemen crossed the frontier of the Aden hinterland and advanced towards Lahij
Lahij or Lahej ( ar, لحج, Laḥj, links=no), also called al-Hawtah, is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Abdali branch of the Al-Sallami tribe who trace th ...
, which was at this time one of the most important towns in South Arabia and the capital of the Abdali Sultanate of Lahij (Lahaj). Placed in an oasis, surrounded by a fertile plain with the deserts beyond, it was the centre of trade between Aden, a British crown colony
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
, and its hinterland, the princely states
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...
under a protectorate. In the years leading up to the war, relations between Britain and Lahij had been friendly, the British paying the sultan a subsidy for the occupation of certain land in the interior and protecting him and his agricultural people against the tribes of the desert, who frequently raided them.[ Propagandising during the war, British historian ]F. A. McKenzie
Frederick Arthur MacKenzie (1869–1931) was a Canadian journalist that covered several geopolitical developments in East Asia in the early 20th century. He was one of the few Western journalists to cover the Russo-Japanese War from the Japanese ...
wrote of the sultan:
Under our protection the Sultan of Lahaj had waxed very prosperous. His city, with its palace, its gallows— built for ornament rather than use—its purely Oriental life, its fine horses, its little show army, and its constant traffic in camels and caravans, seemed like a vision out of the ''Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
''. When war broke out the Abdali Sultan proved that his loyalty to Britain was real. Though other tribes turned against us he came to our side and prepared to help us. He soon made himself an object of special detestation to the ttomanand to many of the surrounding tribes by his open and unwavering friendship for Britain.[
]
Siege
The sultan sent word to General D. G. L. Shaw, commanding the Aden Brigade, that the Ottomans were advancing from Mawiyah to attack him, and asked for help. General Shaw ordered the Aden Movable Column, under Lieutenant-Colonel H. E. A. Pearson, towards Lahij. The Aden Camel Troop was despatched to reconnoitre. It discovered a strong Ottoman force beyond Lahij, supported by a large number of Arab tribesmen. The Camel Troop fell back on Lahij, where it was reinforced by the advance guard of the Movable Column, numbering two hundred and fifty rifles, with two ten-pounder guns. This advance guard had moved up under most trying conditions. The heat was intense, there was great shortage of water, and progress was difficult over the sand. The main body of the Column was so delayed by difficulties of transport and by shortage of water that it did not reach Lahij at all.[
The British in the sultan's capital found themselves faced by several thousand Ottoman troops and twenty guns. In addition, Arab tribesmen had rallied by the thousand to help the Ottomans. The British were backed by the few hundred men of the sultan of Lahij's native army. The Arab camp-followers of the Aden detachment deserted them in a body at the most critical hour, taking with them all their camels. Fighting opened on the evening of Sunday, 4 July. The Ottoman forces made several attacks against the British line, but each was driven off. Although after the battle the efforts of the ]Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
drew a tribute from General Shaw, the superior Ottoman artillery had kindled fires in different parts of Lahij, and the British were in danger of being outflanked and cut off by the Arab tribal horsemen. The sultan was killed with many of his men. When the main Aden Column never arrived, the British withdrew on 5 July with the loss of three officers wounded, but the main loss was not so much in men as in prestige.[
]
Analysis
In the official report on the operations issued by the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
much stress was laid on "the intense heat, sand, and shortage of water", and " e desertion of the camel-drivers and the severe climatic conditions so delayed and distressed the main body as to necessitate a withdrawal from Lahij". McKenzie notes that "we do not seem to have made such arrangements for transport and for water supply as would have prepared us for the difficulties which every experienced traveller knew we would have to face. . . But the severe heat of the climate, the potential treachery of hired Arabs, and the shortage of water were all of them factors which had been familiar from the beginning to the Indian authorities, and, one might suppose, ought to have been allowed for."[
]
Reinforcements from India
After the debacle at Lahij, the British force fell back on the Kawr. The Ottomans followed them up and occupied Shaikh Othman, a town about two miles inland from the harbour of Aden. This place was formerly part of the Sultanate of Lahij, within the British protectorate. The Ottomans at this stage held practically the whole of the Aden hinterland, except immediately around the crown colony itself. They had reoccupied Cheikh Saïd and had destroyed Lahij.[ The Indian authorities, under Commander-in-Chief ]Beauchamp Duff
General (United Kingdom), General Sir Beauchamp Duff, (17 February 1855 – 20 January 1918) was a Scottish officer with a distinguished career in the British Indian Army. He served as Commander-in-Chief of India during the First World War. His r ...
, decided to increase the Aden garrison after "subsequent Turkish victories".[ Major-General Sir George J. Younghusband, a soldier with a distinguished career, succeeded to the command of the Aden Brigade.
On 20 July 1915, troops from the Aden Brigade, the ]28th Indian Brigade
The 28th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. Formed in October 1914, it defended the Suez Canal in early 1915, ended the Ottoman threat to A ...
, 1/B Battery, HAC, 1/1st Berkshire Battery, RHA, and a detachment of Sappers and Miners, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel A. M. S. Elsmie, a soldier well trained in frontier fighting, surprised the Ottomans at Shaikh Othman, completely defeated them and drove them out of the place.[ Between fifty and sixty Ottoman soldiers were killed and wounded, and several hundred men, mostly Arab tribesmen, were made prisoners. This success was followed up in the following month by an attack by a small column on an Ottoman post between Lahij and Shaikh Othman. The Ottomans were driven from the town. Another attack in a different direction was equally successful. Reports reached Aden that the Ottomans were preparing to retire from Lahij itself, and in September a column under Colonel Elsmie set out in the direction of Waht. Here it surprised a force of seven hundred Ottomans, with eight guns, who were supported by about a thousand Arabs. The Ottomans were driven back, and Waht fell to the British troops, who had been aided both on sea and land by the cooperation of the ]cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
HMS ''Philomel'' of the New Zealand Naval Forces
New Zealand Naval Forces was the name given to a division of the Royal Navy. The division was formed in 1913 and it operated under this name until 1921, when it became the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.
History
Originally the British ...
, under Captain Percival Hill-Thompson
Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale '' Perceval, the Story of th ...
.[
]
Ottoman claims of victory
A series of minor engagements and skirmishes between the Ottomans and Arabs and the British followed, during which the latter were generally successful, but found it impossible to hold the country far inland. Early in 1916 the Ottomans claimed that the British had been driven back on to Aden itself, and had retreated to within range of the covering fire of their warships, where they had been inactive for some months. Many of the Ottoman claims were greatly exaggerated, and some wholly false. In February 1916, Major John Pretyman Newman
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Robert Pretyman Newman (born John Robert Bramston Newman; 22 August 1871 – 12 March 1947) was an Irish-born British Army officer and Conservative politician.
He was the eldest son of John Adam Richard Newman of Newb ...
, MP, asked in the British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
for any information about the fighting near Aden. Austen Chamberlain
Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly ...
, then Secretary of State for India
His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...
, responded that the Ottoman claim of success which had recently been put forward would seem to have been founded on an engagement which took place on 12 January between a reconnoitring column of the Aden garrison and an Ottoman force in the neighbourhood of Shaikh Othman. The loss on our side was one British officer and thirty-five Indian rank and file killed, and four British and thirty-five Indian rank and file wounded. The enemy losses were severe, amounting to about two hundred killed and wounded. The British column was neither annihilated nor defeated, but withdrew when the purpose of the movement was completed, Chamberlain said.[
Later on, the Ottomans officially claimed to have scored a substantial victory in further heavy fighting around Shaikh Othman and Bir Ahmad. This was a sheer invention. In January 1916, the Aden Movable Column moved out to protect some friendly troops to the east of the Aden Protectorate against Ottoman troops who had been sent to coerce them. The column located the Ottoman force near Subar, and defeated it. The general position was so unsatisfactory, however, that in April 1916, it was decided, on the suggestion of the Government of India, that ladies should not be allowed to land at Aden without receiving permission from the Commander-in-Chief in India.][
]
Stalemate
The eruption of the British-sponsored Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...
in the Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
diverted Ottoman attention from Aden in the summer of 1916. Those Ottoman troops which remained reverted to the defensive, while the British built an eleven-mile-long defensive perimeter around Aden. They did not attempt to resecure lost territories in the hinterland, and no major fighting with the British took place after 1916.
End of the campaign
On 30 October 1918, the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros
Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...
, where it agreed to surrender all its garrisons outside of Anatolia.[ However, the armistice failed to be immediately effective on Ottoman forces in Yemen, as some commanders initially refused to surrender:
* Some Ottoman officials (such as Ottoman governor Mahmood Nadim) refused to surrender to Britain as this would bolster the British political position in the region, instead preferring to align themselves with ]Imam Yahya
, succession1 = King of Yemen
, succession2 = Imam of Yemen
, image = Imam yahya cropped.png
, image_size =
, caption = Portrait of Yahya by Ameen Rihani, 1922. Imam Yahya steadfastly refused to be photographed thro ...
, who was establishing the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen
The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen ( ar, المملكة المتوكلية اليمنية '), also known as the Kingdom of Yemen or simply as Yemen, or, retrospectively, as North Yemen, was a state that existed between 1918 and 1962 in the nor ...
.
* In contrast, other Ottoman officials (such as Ismail Effendi, commanding troops at Taiz), refused to lay down their arms in the absence of British forces, as this would bolster Imam Yahya.
** This also included 12 local sheikhs who wanted to the placed under British sovereignty, as this would allow them to remain independent within their own territory while receiving a stipend, whereas the Imam would make them pay tithes.
* Some Ottoman officials in Asir were still owed debts and demanded to be paid 100,000 pounds before surrendering. These forces surrendered at Al Luḩayyah
Al Luḩayyah (also known as Luhayyah, Loheia, Luhaiyah, or Loheiya) is a town on the Tihamah coastal plain, Yemen. It is located at around . The port lies 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Al Luḩayyah, partially protected by the offshore island ...
(10 January 1919), Al Hudaydah
Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea.
As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...
(by 16 January) and Cheikh Saïd
Cheikh Said (frequently spelled Sheikh Said) is a rocky peninsula in Yemen, near the island of Perim on the Bab-el-Mandeb at the entrance to the Red Sea. In 1868 it was purchased from the local ruler, Sheikh Ali Tabet Ahmed, by Bazin et Rabaud, ...
(19 January) after Britain and the Idrisid Emirate of Asir
The Idrisid Emirate of Asir () was a state located in the Arabian Peninsula. The Emirate was located in the geographical region of Asir and Jizan in what is now southwestern Saudi Arabia, and extending to Hodeidah, northwest of Yemen.
History
...
provided the requested money, before being embarked to Suez from Kamran Island on 7 February.
* Elias Bey, Sheikh of Bajil and Kuhra, did not surrender before conferring with the Ottoman envoy from Constantinople, who arrived at Al Hudaydah on 13 January 1919 and explained the political situation.
* Colonel Ghalib Bey, commanding forces at Az Zaydiyah, did not believe that the Ottomans had actually signed an armistice and refused to obey orders from the Commander-in-Chief of Yemen, Mahmud Tewfik Pasha, to surrender, instead opting to fight to the death. Az Zaydiyah fell to the Idrisid Emirate of Asir in March 1919.
On 15 December 1918, Britain recaptured Lahej from Ottoman forces in a swift military operation. By 14 February 1919, 3100 Ottomans of all ranks remained active in Yemen. By 31 March, all Ottoman forces in Yemen had surrendered, and Mahmud Tewfik Pasha, commander-in-chief of Yemen, was in Aden.
Naval campaign
Uses of the South Arab ports during the war
On 18 October 1914, a convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
of ten troopships carrying the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...
was escorted by the Imperial Japanese
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
'' Ibuki'' out of Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
. It joined a group of twenty-eight ships carrying the First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...
, and the total convoy, with ''Ibuki'' and the Australian cruiser , crossed the ocean, which was being patrolled by the Japanese protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
'' Chikuma''. While ''Sydney'' was sidetracked, and ended up in the Battle of Cocos
The Battle of Cocos was a single-ship action that occurred on 9 November 1914, after the Australian light cruiser , under the command of John Glossop, responded to an attack on a communications station at Direction Island by the German light c ...
, the rest of the convoy reached Aden on 25 October.[Hirama Yoichi, "Anzac Convoy (October 1914)". ''The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social and Military History'', Volume 1, Spencer C. Tucker, ed. (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005), p. 114.]
On 9 November 1914, a small landing party, numbering five officers, one surgeon, and forty-seven petty officers and men, under Lieutenant Hellmuth von Mücke
Hellmuth von Mücke (21 June 1881 – 30 July 1957) was an Officer of the Kaiserliche Marine, the navy of the German Empire, in the early 20th century and World War I.
Early life
Mücke was born on 21 June 1881 in Zwickau, Saxony. He was a son ...
, was separated from their ship, the SMS ''Emden'' during the Battle of Cocos, and piloted the ''Ayesha'' to the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
port of Padang
Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...
on the west coast of Sumatra. There von Mücke arranged a rendezvous with the German freighter ''Choising'', which transported him and his men to the Ottoman city of Hodeida
Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea.
As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...
in Yemen. Once on the Arabian Peninsula, von Mücke and his men experienced months of delay securing the assistance of local Turkish officials to return to Germany. At last he decided to lead his men on an over-water voyage up the east coast of the Red Sea to Jiddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
. Ultimately, Von Mücke and forty-eight of his men returned to Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
When the Arabs of the revolt of June 1916 attacked the port of Jiddah, they were supported by the seaplane carrier
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
, based at Aden.[Spencer C. Tucker, "Arab Revolt". ''The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social and Military History'', Volume 1, Spencer C. Tucker, ed. (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005), pp. 116–17.]
Occupation of Kamaran
On 17 February 1915, the British Resident in Aden, Brigadier William Crawford Walton, wired the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
that dhows bearing telegrams, mail and money from Jiddah had made it to Ottoman headquarters in Yemen, and that it was necessary that these be stopped. He proposed the occopuation of Kamaran
Kamaran Island ( ar, كمران ''Kamarān'') is the largest Yemeni island in the Red Sea. The island is long and wide and is strategically located at the southern end of the Red Sea. It is a "shelf island" located in the shallow waters of the ...
with 200 men from the RMS ''Empress of Russia'', the RMS ''Empress of Asia'' and HMS ''Minto''. This had the support of the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
, the Commander-in-Chief at Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
—who wished to use Kamaran as a "naval base for small vessels"—and the India Office
The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...
, which duly informed the Viceroy of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
to give the necessary orders. The viceroy demurred, fearing that the local population would be "unlikely to acquiesce", that an occupation might "alarm the Idrisi", was likely to be misunderstood by Muslims, and would reduce the defences of Aden, at just the moment when the Turks were advancing.[John Baldry (1978), "British Naval Operations Against Turkish Yaman, 1914–1919", ''Arabica'' 25(2): 159–60.] On 3 March the India Office rescinded its order, but when intelligence suggested that some Germans stranded in Massawa
Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...
in Italian Eritrea
Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in ...
at the outbreak of war were attempting to sail across the sea to Arabia, the resident renewed his request for 200 men (7 March). Again the viceroy refused (11 March).
References
Further reading
* Bidwell, Robin L. "The Turkish attack on Aden 1915–1918", ''Arabian Studies'', 6 (1982), 171–94.
* Bruce, Anthony. ''The Last Crusade: The Palestine Campaign in the First World War''. London: Murray, 2002.
* Connelly, Mark
"The British Campaign in Aden, 1914–1918".
''Journal of the Centre for First World War Studies'', 2:1 (2005) 65–96.
*
*Kühn, Thomas. "Shaping and Reshaping Colonial Ottomanism: Contesting Boundaries of Difference and Integration in Ottoman Yemen, 1872–1919." ''Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East
''Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering Comparative Studies on Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It provides a "critical and comparative analyses of the histo ...
'', 27:2 (2007), 315–31.
* Mehra, R. N. ''Aden and Yemen, 1905–1919''. Delhi: Agram Prakashan, 1988.
* Walker, G. Goold. ''Honourable Artillery Company in The Great War 1914–1919''. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd., 1930.
External links
Turkey in the First World War: Arabian Campaign
Photograph of camel being unloaded by crane in Aden, 15 September 1915
Photograph of camels aboard a ship at Aden, 15 September 1915
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Campaigns and theatres of World War I
Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
British Empire in World War I
Ottoman Empire in World War I
Modern history of Yemen
Aden
South Arabia