Behind the grand battles of World War I, a secret war was waged in the vast, unforgiving deserts of Arabia-a war of spies, saboteurs, and Bedouin warriors that would change the world forever. As the Ottoman Empire clung to its territories, a desperate Britain sought a new front, igniting the flames of the great Arab Revolt led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca.
Secret Missions of WWI plunges you into the heart of this clandestine conflict, drawing from a trove of recently unearthed intelligence dispatches and the raw, personal diaries of the men on the ground. Go beyond the legend and witness the gritty reality of forging an unlikely alliance between British intelligence officers and the fiercely independent desert tribesmen under Emir Faisal.
Step into the heart of the action and experience: The perilous reconnaissance mission to Deraa.The tension of lightning-fast raids on the Hejaz Railway.The brilliant strategic deception that led to the stunning capture of Aqaba.The brutal clash at the Battle of Tafilah.The coordinated strikes with General Allenby's army that culminated in the fall of Damascus.This is more than a military history. It is a story of leadership under extreme pressure, of clashing cultures, and of the high-stakes political maneuvering, like the infamous Sykes-Picot agreement, that unfolded in the shadows.
This is a ground-level account of a revolt that not only crippled an empire but also drew the very lines on the map of the modern Middle East.