The Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey) was a substantial empire that was very important in Nazi Germany’s funding for WW1. They were known for using horses and open, non-armoured vehicles in WW1 and they were situated around modern day Armenia, Greece and Turkey.
The Lawrence of Arabia
The Ottoman Empire played an intriguing part in WW1. Their citizens fought against the British soldiers. A very popular and well known character in the take-over of the empire was the Lawrence of Arabia pictured here:
Of course, he played a big role in the takeover as he used the sabers and swords that were commonly used by Arabs. It was similar to a dagger and was an iconic part of the Ottoman soldiers’ loadout.
The Land
The Ottoman Empire had a lot of land which they used to their advantage by making oil mines and oil fields and then selling them for money and supplies. Russia really needed materials to deal with Germany and the other central powers so Russia, Britain and France declared war on the Ottomans on the 2nd of November 1914.
Russia invaded them from Azerbaijan and Armenia while Britain invaded them through Egypt and France through Greece. They all encircled them until the Ottoman Empire was no more…
With the Ottoman Empire in crumbles and their capital destroyed, they surrendered and were annexed until they became modern day Turkey. These events also led to the creation of a large number of countries in the Middle East, as well as the involvement of other European nations and the League of Nations.
Having covered most of the topics, we come to our last one…
The Downfall
The armistice of 31 October 1918 ended the fighting between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies but did not bring stability or peace to the region.
Instead, it brought a much more frightening experience…
The British army invaded the Ottoman Empire shooting mortars at full force, annihilating villages and towns daily. Some citizens revolted and used abandoned guns and horses to try to defend their homeland and others escaped using trains. Unfortunately, some of them were blown up on their way to the destination but, luckily, a few of them made it. On 30 January 1919, the Ottoman government announced that the military losses of the Empire were 2,290,000.
Millions of lives were lost.
