The Turks responded with ineffective rifle and howitzer fire. Their rifle barrels, hotter still, blistered their hands, and many suffered from sunstroke, requiring that they be withdrawn from the line and placed in the shade to recover. Through the day, the air and ground on which they lay grew hot. 577/450 Martini-Henry, Lebel and Berthier rifles (both chambered in 8x50 mm R), they fired and fired again. As the sun rose, they began to shoot down upon the Turks. Led by Auda Abu Tayi, one of the fiercest raiders of the Howeitat tribe, 550 Arabs moved into position above the enemy before dawn, occupying the high ground that surrounded the valley. Lawrence himself is depicted on the right. Bedouin raiders would never attack a 600-man Turkish infantry unit-or would they?Īs the Arab Revolt became more successful, modern arms were supplied by the British, including the Short, Magazine Lee-Enfield.
Either that or maybe they felt safe in their own territory. The Turks were poorly positioned and camped in a valley near a well they had just arrived in the area and appeared to be inexperienced based on their lack of security. The Arabs’ British advisor was Thomas Edward Lawrence, soon to be known as “Lawrence of Arabia.” He was the only foreigner on this mission, and knew the move would put the Arabs in position to capture Damascus, the final objective of the revolt.įollowing a route designed to deceive their Ottoman-Turkish enemies, the raiders reached Aba el Lissan on July 2, 1917, where they found a Turkish battalion blocking their way forward.
Capturing it would permit the Arab Revolt to move north to act as flank security for General Edmund Allenby’s army as he moved forward into Palestine. The Bedouin raiders had been in the field for nearly two months and were nearing their target: the port city of Aqaba. Let’s go back to July 1917 in what would become today’s Jordan, and take a look at what arms Lawrence really carried. But just as O’Toole doesn’t resemble Lawrence, the Webley is not the pistol that “Aurens” carried. For many, that image is more readily recognizable as “Lawrence” than the man himself. It is a riveting image that captures the popular essence of “Lawrence”-except that it is not Lawrence, it is actor Peter O’Toole.
His piercing blue eyes are filled with hate and bloodlust, while he carefully aims his revolver, a. If you have ever seen David Lean’s majestic film “Lawrence of Arabia,” you probably remember the scene (or the movie poster) that shows Lawrence leading an attacking swarm of Arab rebels.
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