Picot Sykes Agreement 1916
Sunday, April 11, 2021 in Uncategorized
Colonel Edouard Brémond was sent to Saudi Arabia in September 1916 as head of the French military mission to the Arabs. According to Cairo, Brémond was anxious to contain the revolt so that the Arabs would not threaten French interests in Syria. These concerns were not repeated in London, Franco-British cooperation was considered a priority and Cairo took note. (Wingate was informed at the end of November that it “seems desirable to impress your subordinates with the need for the most loyal cooperation with the French, which Her Majesty`s Government does not suspect of further projects in the Hijaz.” [58] After the outbreak of war in the summer of 1914, the Allies – Britain, France and Russia – had much discussion about the future of the Ottoman Empire, which is now fighting on the side of Germany and the central powers, and its vast area in the Middle East, South and South America. In March 1915, Britain signed a secret agreement with Russia, whose plans for the territory of the Empire had prompted the Turks to join Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1914. Under its terms, Russia would annex the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, and retain control of the Dardanelles (the extremely important strait that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean) and the Gallipoli Peninsula, the target of a major Allied military invasion, which began in April 1915. In exchange, Russia would accept British claims to other territories of the former Ottoman Empire and Central Persia, including the oil-rich region of Mesopotamia. The Arab revolt was officially initiated by Hussein on June 10, 1916 in Mecca, when his sons Ali and Fayçal had begun operations in Medina on June 5. [56] The timing had been advanced by Hussein, and according to Cairo[57] “Neither he nor we were ready at the beginning of June 1916, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that a sufficient amount of material assistance could be scraped to ensure the first success. The failure of the draft arrangement was not reflected well on Sykes and, after doubts about his statements from Sykes-Picot to Hussein the previous year, his credibility in Middle East affairs weakened throughout 1918.
