First Suez Offensive

The First Suez Offensive (January 28 - February 3 1915) was between Ottoman Empire and British Empire in Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the World War I, which the Ottoman offensive to capture the Suez Canal in Egypt ended with their withdrawal. Following Egypt's entry into the war in support of the British, considerations had to be made regarding two threats; the anti-British sentiment felt by many Arab citizens of Egypt and the possibility of a... more

The First Suez Offensive (January 28 - February 3 1915) was between Ottoman Empire and British Empire in Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the World War I, which the Ottoman offensive to capture the Suez Canal in Egypt ended with their withdrawal. Following Egypt's entry into the war in support of the British, considerations had to be made regarding two threats; the anti-British sentiment felt by many Arab citizens of Egypt and the possibility of attack from the Ottoman Army. The former threat was aggravated when the Ottoman empire declared hostility against the United Kingdom and the West, with the intention of stirring up Arab anger in Egypt and causing a revolt. The British countered this by removing the (anti-British) head of state Abbas Il Helmi and replacing him with Sultan Hussein Kamel. As it happened there was a real military threat - the Fourth Turkish Army was preparing a force of 20,000 men under the command of the Ottoman Minister of the Marine Djemal Pasha to take or... less