Countdown on the Great War, October 30, 1918: French reach the Aisne, Central Powers collapse in the Balkans, Revolution in Hungary, the war stops in the Middle East

1.  French forces reached the Aisne River.

2.  In the Balkans the Italians and French took Shkoder Albania, while the Serbs took Podgorica, Montenegro.

3.  Combat stopped in the Middle East with the formal surrender of the Ottoman Empire.

In Cheyenne they learned of the Ottoman's quitting. . . and also the residence problems of the former Governor Osborne.

They learned the same in Laramie. . . where nurses were being called due to the flu and the next conscription cohort was being notified.

4.  Hungarian revolutionaries seized public buildings and King Charles IV was forced to recognize the success of the coup.  Austro Hungaria as a political entity was effectively over.

Countdown on the Great War, October 30, 1918: The Ottomans quit.

Officers and men of the U.S.S. Mount Vernon, October 30, 1918.

1.  The Armistace of Mudros was signed which would bring the war with the Ottoman Empire to an end the following day.

The conditions of the treaty basically required the Ottomans to give up their empire.

The treaty was negotiated solely by the British for reasons that remain unclear.  This caused displeasure with the French.  It also meant that the treaty was harsher than it had to be, as unbeknownst to the Ottomans, the British demands, nearly all of which were accepted, and which gave the right to interfere in Anatolia, were more than the British really would have agreed to.  Having said that, the Ottomans would have accepted nearly any term proposed and the treat could have been harsher.

The treaty was unpopular in Turkey and would provide part of the reasons for the Turkish revolve of the following year which would result in a regional conflict once again involving some of the Allied powers.

While the surrender would take place the following day, some Ottoman forces reacted by surrendering on this day.  And at least Yemen dates its independence to this day.

Countdown on the Great War. October 26, 1918:

1.  The last engagement between the British and the Ottomans during World War One occurred at Haritan when the British Indian 5th Cavalry Division charged the Ottoman Yildriim Group.

This can be a bit deceptive, however, as the British would continue to fight the Turks post war on the fringes of the Turkish world for the next several years.  This is one of many examples of the end of World War One not being the end of a regional war.

2. The Mid European Union released the Declaration of Common Aims for Europe's new sovereign nations from Philadelphia's Independence Hall.

Countdown on the Great War: October 3, 1918

1.  Prince Max of Baden, head of the German government, sends his first note to Woodrow Wilson seeking peace.  It stated:

Berlin, October 3, 1918.
The German government requests that the President of the United States of America take the initiative in bringing about peace, that he inform all the belligerent states of this request, and that he invite them to send plenipotentiaries for purposes of beginning negotiations. The German government accepts as the basis for peace negotiations the program stated by the President of the United States in his speech to Congress of January 8, 1918, and in his subsequent pronouncements, particularly in his speech of September 27.
In order to avoid further bloodshed, the German government requests the immediate conclusion of an armistice on land, at sea, and in the air.
Signed: Max, Prince of Baden, Chancellor 

Price Faisal, the field head of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and later unfortunate King of Iraq.

2.  The Arab Revolt enters Damascus.

3.  The "Pursuit to Haritan" rapid advance in the Middle East commences.

4.  The U.S. Army's 2nd and 36th Divisions commence the Battle of Blanc Mount Ridge in the Champagne region of France which would lead to its clearing.

5.  King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria abdicates his thrown.

The Influenza Epedemic Abating? The Casper Daily Tribune, September 24, 1918.

The horrible disaster of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic was just starting to hit the front pages of Wyoming newspapers and here it's reported as abating.

Technically, it might have been. The flu had valleys and peaks, the epidemic rose and fell and then rose again.  It might actually have been in a declining state, but far from gone, in September 1918.

And a call went out for fruit pits to help counter poison gas. . .

The Global Collapse of the Central Powers. The news of September 23, 1918

Because we've been dealing mostly with the American effort in France, we've ceased keeping readers here up to date on other theatres.  If we did, this would read as an even lengthier treatise than it already risks becoming.

But there was a lot going on.  Specifically, in the Macedonian Front the Central Powers were going into a headlong collapse. . . as were the Turks in the Middle East where some pronounced mounted warfare was gaining significant advances.

One of Cheyenne's papers, remarkably up to date (as many of these World War One papers were, they were on time and pretty close to being on target, frequently), was reporting the Serbs gaining ground against the Austro Hungarians and the collapse of the Turks.  It also noted that the Russian Whites had exhumed the bodies of the Czar and his family and reinterred them.

William Jennings Bryan, received the cold shoulder in Cheyenne.

And, yes, once again, there was a clash on the Mexican border.

In Laramie readers of one of the town's two local papers also learned about the events in the Middle East.  In spite of what would seem to have been the obvious signs of a complete Central Powers collapse, the paper noted that the planning was for the war to go on into 1919, which was universally believed among the Allies.

And snow was coming to high altitude Laramie. . .

Casper readers of one of Casper's two papers found a really busy front page.  Events in Macedonia lead the headlines but the Turk's fate figured prominently as well.

The clash on the Mexican border and the exhumation of the Czar and his family also figured prominently and Casperites were informed that men were going to be released from non essential industries so that they could go into the Army.  Their place would be taken by women.

And the Casper paper reported that Catholic Archbishop John Ireland was in failing health and likely to pass away.  Ireland was a towering figure at the time.

A victory against the Turks . . . and the Flu spreads. Casper Daily Tribune, September 21, 1918.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East . . .

. . . prisoners of war, including German prisoners of war, were coming into Jerusalem following yesterday's Battle of Abu Tellul, on the West Bank of the Jordan River, which had seen Empire troops defeat Turkish and German troops.

The action had featured significant cavalry action by both the Turks and the Empire forces.

With all that was going on in France and Italy at the time, you have to wonder how much attention this was getting now outside of Constantinople, Cairo and Jerusalem.

And yes, as if they had the spare men to deploy, the Germans send. . .

3,000 men in support of the Georgia to the Caucasus.  Even more amazing, the goal was to help Georgia prevent the Ottomans, a German ally, from gaining control of oil in the Baku region.

Kress von Kressenstein, their commander.

The mostly Bavarian force would end up being the last German force to return to Germany after the war ended, making it back to Germany in April 1919.

Perhaps, in context, this made sense.  After all, oil was important and this was a small number of men.  But it does demonstrate that the Germans were not able to fully disengage in the East.  Additionally, it shows how complicated things had become in the East, as the Germans were now openly aiding a country that the Ottomans had been at war with just days prior when the Ottomans had been a German ally.

Orthodox Easter, 1918.

 

 Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Church in Ninilchik Alaska

But likely not a very happy one, given the rise of Bolshevism in Russia, the captivity of the Czar, and all sorts of violence in Turkey including the disaster that had befallen Armenia.

Assassination of Mar Shimun XXI Benyamin, March 3, 1918.

Mar Shimun XXI Benyamin, a Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East

Killed, on this date, with 150 of his retainers by Ismail Agha Shikak in the Assyrian Genocide.

Lest we forget.

Jerusalem

 Jerusalem, 1915

We've recently run a couple of articles from 1917 that featured the city of Jerusalem.

Which turn out to be quite timely, as it were, as President Trump recently indicated that the American Embassy to Israel will be moved to Jerusalem, thereby fulfilling a campaign promise of his.

This has resulted in a lot of confusing news coverage, including the suggestion taht President Trump has unilaterally decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capitol, which is quite incorrect.

Let's take a look at this mess a little more carefully to see where we're really at, if we can figure that out.

Israel itself has regarded Jerusalem as its capitol since its modern founding.

But you can't start there. And that's the entire problem.

Jerusalem is a really ancient city. The area was inhabited at least as far back as 7,000 years ago.  It comes into importance, however, in a significant way, as the City of David, from which the significant rulers of Israel in antiquity ruled.  We're not going to go into that much, but it was obviously a holy city to ancient Israel.  It was also one of the seats of the earliest Apostolic Bishops at the time dawn of the Christian Age, with  St. James, son of Alphaeus, being the first Catholic Bishop of the city (before I get some uninformed dispute on this, research it.  There's no doubt, he was the first Bishop of the Church in the City).  So, by the 1st Century, the city was not only a political capitol of the region but also a massively important religious site, none of which is news to anyone reading this.

During the period of Roman occupation the city was destroyed, specifically in the year 70. According to the Jewish historian Josephus the city "was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation".  If that's correct, it was sufficiently reoccupied to be destroyed at least twice more during the period of Roman occupation.  Of interest, the temple was destroyed in the 70 event which is one of the ways which the various books of the New Testament can be dated, as the event can be looked at in terms of whether it remained a prediction, or a historical event, at the time that the writing was authored.  If it remained a prediction, the writing can be assumed to predate the year 70, and therefore come within forty years of the Crucifixion.

Following the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 the Romans rebuilt the city and in fact renamed it Aelia Capitolina.  They actually prohibited Jews from entering the city upon pain of death, except for a single day each year.  During the reign of the Emperor Constantine the Great, who of course had converted to Catholicism, this was relaxed and Jewish Christians were allowed back into the city.  Burials from the 4th Century through the 5th show that the town was Catholic during this period.  During the 5th Century the town passed back and forth between Byzantine rule and Persian rule.

In 638 the city was conquered by Umar ibn al-Khattab who was a lieutenant of Muhammad.  The city, in fact, became a holy city to Islam as well as Muslims claim that Muhammad ascended into Heaven after a miraculous nighttime journey from Mecca to Jerusalem.  Interestingly, Muslims at first prayed facing the direction of Jerusalem. a custom almost certainly picked up from Christians and Jews, as early Christians prayed facing Jerusalem as did Jews in the diaspora.* Muslims were instructed to face Mecca some thirteen years later.  Following the initial Islamic conquest Jews were allowed back into the city for the first time since 132, thereby creating a notable historic irony that initially Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem were on good terms and the restoration of a Jewish presence in the city came about due to Islamic military success.

Following the conquering of the city by Islamic Arab armies the city began to decline in importance.  It had in this period a Christian, Jewish and Muslim population.  Indeed, the region of Palestine was heavily Christian and the Islamic kingdoms in the region made little effort to impact that in any fashion until the ascension of the Turks as a primary force of Islamic expansion.  As the Turks began to replace the Arabs in these regards, in the East, a change began to occur, in the East and the West wherein Islamic rulers became increasingly intolerant of other faiths.  In 1099 Christians were expelled from the city by the Islamic rulers of the region, an example of the conduct which gave rise to Christian military expeditions into the region which are now termed "The Crusades".  Given no such name at the time, they were originally an effort to protect Christian pilgrims in the region.  In 1099 Western Christian armies arrived and took Jerusalem, resulting in a major change in political direction and one of the great overblown myths of history.  Even though the sum total of all the dead from the Crusades does not equal a single day of heavy casualties during World War Two, the period custom of grossly over-exaggerating deaths gave rise to the famous claims of vast Crusader slaughter (blood up to the knees of horses) which are wildly exaggerated, which is not to say that loss of civilian life did not occur.

 Representation of the Crusader victory at Jerusalem in 1099.

This resulted in the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a misunderstood "Crusader Kingdom" which in fact represented the reestablishment of Christian rule to a largely Christian countryside, but with the introduction of European nobility.  As odd as that was, it largely worked and the existing Arab Catholic population worked well with the introduced Catholic nobility.

Struggle for the control of the city, and hence the kingdom, went back and forth between Christians and Muslims until 1244 when the city was conquered by the Tartars who slaughtered the Christians and drove out the Jews.  In 1247 they were in turn driven out by Islamic forces.  As of 1267, one notable figure found that the city, which had once numbered 200,000 inhabitants, was down to 2,000, of which only two families were Jewish and only 300 people were Christian.  The then minor city was mostly Muslim.

In 1517 the Ottoman Turks gained control of the city.  As I don't want to get into a long history of the Ottoman Empire, I'll only note that they ruled the city from 1517 until December 9, 1917, when the British entered it, as we noted here the other day.  During that period of time the population of the city recovered and it became one that had a majority Muslim population, but also an appreciable Jewish and Christian population. Christians were mostly represented by Catholic Arabs, which make up 20% of the Palestinian population even today, and Orthodox Christians that came in during the Ottoman period.  Armenian Christians actually started coming in during the 300s.

 Field Marshall Allenby approaching the Joffa Gate.

It was into this situation that the British stepped in 1917. Here, the British have to be admired in some ways for attempting not to play favorites.  But events would conspire against them.  With the introduction of a European power into the region, and one with a sense of fair play and equity, it was inevitably the case that the horrors of late 19th Century and early 20th Century Europe and Eurasia would begin to have an influence.  Faced with oppression everywhere, Palestine, and the United States, increasingly became the destination for immigration for Eastern European and Eurasian Jews, which the British could little anticipate or address.  Zionism, a political movement that sought to restore Palestine as a Jewish homeland, influenced the migration which was ongoing in any event.  As this occurred, the Jewish population began to rise, as it also did in Palestine in general.  A reversal of the early history of the city in which Jewish residents of Palestine were allied with Islamic Arabs occurred as the latter increasingly viewed the former as a political threat. World War Two, with its horrors, dramatically increased Jewish immigration and aspirations as the Jews themselves came to believe that they were not safe in particular in Europe, and not in general without a state.  The British, faced with irreconcilable aspirations on the part of its Jewish Palestinian charges, and its Arab Islamic ones, simply chose to leave, probably the best and only option under the circumstances.

The partition of Palestine, resulting in Israel on one hand and the Jordanian West Bank on the other, divided the city.  Israel, for its part, declared Jerusalem its capitol right from the onset, which had the practical impact of declaring a city that was in two different nations, Jordan and Israel, to be the capitol.  No nation could really acquiesce to that without playing favorites between one country, and religion, and the other, so nobody was bold enough to take sides in the matter, and no wonder.

Events would be forced in 1967 when Israel captured the city in the Six Day War.  That had the impact of unifying the city, but not happily.  For that matter, Israel occupied the entire West Bank and treated it for some time as its own.  Ultimately, however, Israel recognized the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank, which incorporates that territory as part of its own, but which gives the Authority administrative control of the West Bank.  The Authority regards West Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel, while stating that East Jerusalem shall be its capital.

Enter the United States Congress and the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which provides:

JERUSALEM EMBASSY ACT OF 1995

Public Law 104-45 104th Congress

An Act To provide for the relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital.

(2) Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel.
(3) The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's President, Parliament, and Supreme Court,and the site of numerous government ministries and social and cultural institutions

(4) The city of Jerusalem is the spiritual center of Judaism, and is also considered a holy city by the members of other religious faiths.

(5) From 1948-1967, Jerusalem was a divided city and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jewish citizens of all states were denied access to holy sites in the area controlled by Jordan.

(6) In 1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict known as the Six Day War.

(7) Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city administered by Israel, and persons of all religious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy sites within the city.

(8) This year marks the 28th consecutive year that Jerusalem has been administered as a unified city in which the rights of all faiths have been respected and protected.

(9) In 1990, the Congress unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 106, which declares that the Congress ``strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected''.

(10) In 1992, the United States Senate and House of Representatives unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 113 of the One Hundred Second Congress to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and reaffirming congressional sentiment that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city.

(11) The September 13, 1993, Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements lays out a timetable for the resolution of ``final status'' issues, including Jerusalem.

(12) The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area was signed May 4, 1994, beginning the five-year transitional period laid out in the Declaration of Principles.

(13) In March of 1995, 93 members of the United States Senate signed a letter to Secretary of State Warren Christopher encouraging ``planning to begin now'' for relocation of the United States Embassy to the city of Jerusalem.

(14) In June of 1993, 257 members of the United States House of Representatives signed a letter to the Secretary of State Warren Christopher stating that the relocation of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem ``should take place no later than . . . 1999''.

(15) The United States maintains its embassy in the functioning capital of every country except in the case of our democratic friend and strategic ally, the State of Israel.

(16) The United States conducts official meetings and other business in the city of Jerusalem in de facto recognition of its status as the capital of Israel.

(17) In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David's entry. SEC. 3. TIMETABLE. (a) Statement of the Policy of the United States.-- (1) Jerusalem should remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected; (2) Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and (3) the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. (b) <> Opening Determination.--Not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated to the Department of State for fiscal year 1999 for ``Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad'' may be obligated until the Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress that the United States Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened.

SEC. 4. FISCAL YEARS 1996 AND 1997 FUNDING.

(a) Fiscal Year 1996.--Of the funds authorized to be appropriated for ``Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad'' for the Department of State in fiscal year 1996, not less than $25,000,000 should be made available until expended only for construction and other costs associated with the establishment of the United States Embassy in Israel in the capital of Jerusalem.

(b) Fiscal Year 1997.--Of the funds authorized to be appropriated for ``Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad'' for the Department of State in fiscal year 1997, not less than $75,000,000 should be made available until expended only for construction and other costs associated with the establishment of the United States Embassy in Israel in the capital of Jerusalem.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate detailing the Department of State's plan to implement this Act. Such report shall include--

(1) estimated dates of completion for each phase of the establishment of the United States Embassy, including site identification, land acquisition, architectural, engineering and construction surveys, site preparation, and construction; and

(2) an estimate of the funding necessary to implement this Act, including all costs associated with establishing the United States Embassy in Israel in the capital of Jerusalem.

SEC. 6. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS. At the time of the submission of the President's fiscal year 1997 budget request, and every six months thereafter, the Secretary of State shall report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on the progress made toward opening the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.

SEC. 7. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.

(a) Waiver Authority.--

(1) Beginning on October1, 1998, the President may suspend the limitation set forth in section 3(b) for a period of six months if he determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.

(2) The President may suspend such limitation for an additional six month period at the end of any period during which the suspension is in effect under this subsection if the President determines and reports to Congress in advance of the additional suspension that the additional suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.

(3) A report under paragraph (1) or (2) shall include--

(A) a statement of the interests affected by the limitation that the President seeks to suspend; and

(B) a discussion of the manner in which the limitation affects the interests.

(b) Applicability of Waiver to Availability of Funds.

If the President exercises the authority set forth in subsection (a) in a fiscal year, the limitation set forth in section 3(b) shall apply to funds appropriated in the following fiscal year for the purpose set forth in such section 3(b) except to the extent that the limitation is suspended in such following fiscal year by reason of the exercise of the authority in subsection (a).

SEC. 8. DEFINITION.

As used in this Act, the term ``United States Embassy'' means the offices of the United States diplomatic mission and the residence of the United States chief of mission.

[Note by the Office of the Federal Register: The foregoing Act, having been presented to the President of the United States on Thursday, October 26, 1995, and not having been returned by him to the House of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become law without his signature on November 8, 1995.]

This was, a bad idea.

Right now its widely believed that Donald Trump "recognized" Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel.  In reality, it was Congress that did this 1995.

And when I mean Congress, I mean Congress.  This bill passed into law with out the President's signature.  Bill Clinton was the President at the time.

This raises the question of why would Congress have done this?  And that has to do with politics.

A lot of the reason that this passed may in fact be because Bill Clinton was President.

Let us take a look at that.

It is not possible to recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel without making a lot of people mad. We are well aware of this. We commonly hear that the city is "holy to three major religions".  It is, but it's a lot more complicated than even that.  The city is obviously holy to Jews, and so identified with their history that it is not really possible to conceive of a government of Israel really wishing to share the city with any other group politically.

It is also obviously holy to Muslims in a way that they cannot be expected to simply ignore.

And the city is holy to Christians, but not to all Christians in the same fashion.  It is obviously an important city for to all Christians because of what happened there during Christ's time on Earth.  It's additionally important to all Apostolic Christians and those Protestant Christians who closely identify with the Apostolic Churches as it was an Apostolic seat and it has had a presence on the part of Apostolic Christians from the very beginning.  Indeed, they have the second longest presence in the city next to Jews.

However, it's become important to some fundamentalist American Protestants who associate restoring Israel's rule to the city with the End Times, which they seek to hasten. That is something that Apostolic Christians largely miss and which Jews find to be rather uncomfortable.

And all of this has a role in American politics.

The United States has been uniquely friendly to Israel since its founding in a way that no other nation has been. In no small part this is due to the United States being uniquely friendly to refugees and immigrants to a degree no other nation has been which has meant that it has a large Jewish population that stems from European immigration.  Indeed, the United States has received more Jewish immigration than Israel has.  Given this, the US has been uniquely supportive of Israel.  If you look at the issue of Jerusalem, for example, even Norway is opposed to Jerusalem being Israel's capitol  We're pretty unique in these regards.  Right now, only the Philippines seems slated to follow us, and given their leadership, that really can't be taken as a great sign.

Anyhow, there's no way to move an embassy from Tel Aviv without sending a message you probably don't really want to send unless that message is that you wholeheartedly take Israel's position in this.  But do we,  and should we?

FWIW, in pondering this I came up with an idea I thought was original, but it turns out not to be.  It won't happen, however.  I'd make Jerusalem a self governing city.  That's the position, as it turns out, of the Vatican and at least a few other countries.  It's also the position of at least the Armenian population of the city, it seems.

About any other result ends up favoring one culture and one religion over another. And that doesn't seem to be recipe for resolution.

____________________________________________________________________________________

*This is really entering dangerous territory but this custom was almost certainly adopted from Christians and Jews, with whom Muhammad was very familiar and had been influenced by.  To get into this in greater depth would require an exploration of the history of Islam which will have to wait for some future thread, assuming that we post on it ever.

Jerusalem surrenders to the British, December 9, 1917

Ottoman forces had withdrawn the day prior, but the town surrendered on December 9, 1917.

The Mayor of Jerusalem with two British sergeants.  It must have been muddy, based on the appearance of everyone's shoes.

The capture of the city marked the hallmark of Gen. Allenby's first campaign in the Middle East, which had seen a lot of dramatic fighting over the past two or so months.  It wouldn't be the culmination of Allenby's efforts by any means, but it was his first indisputable major success.

 

Crowd viewing the entry of British officers near the Jaffa Gate 

It also put the British in a sensitive position which they were never really able to work out, and which in some ways has never been worked out.  Alleby was sensitive to being seen as a crusader by the Arab population of the multi cultural city and strove to avoid that.  Be that as it may, it can't be ignored that an English, Christian, army was entering a mostly Arab, Muslim, town that had been evacuated by a Turkish Muslim leader who claimed to rule a caliphate.

British rule would prove to be relatively short, a little over thirty years, but controversial.  Prior to Allenby's entry the British had already extended promises to both the Arab Muslims as well as to the Jews regarding the ultimate fate of Palestine, promises which they were not later successful in reconciling.  The British promises extended to two out of the three major religions that have holy sites in the city, and perhaps tellingly the British, a Christian people not wanting to seem to be Crusaders, but an officially Protestant nation as well, did not seek to make promises of the same type to the minority Orthodox or Catholic populations, although they did of course protect the religious sites of all the religions located there.  The city had, at the time, a Muslim majority.

And as the British did not reflect either of those cultures themselves, their rule grew to be unpopular in various quarters with both.  Prior to World War Two the British would find themselves forced to put down an Arab independence movement and following World War Two it was faced with a Jewish independence movement in its League of Nation's mandate.  That was accompanied by growing Muslim unrest as the Jewish population of the mandate increased by the influx of Jewish refugees caused by World War Two.  Ultimately they simply left, which was probably the only thing they really could do.

 British guard at the Jaffa Gate

Even now, of course, the echoes of 1917 can still be heard.  The city was split between Israel and Jordan until the Six Day War in 1968, at which time Israel occupied the entire city.   Israel proclaimed the city as its capitol as early as 1949 but most nations have not recognized that claim.  The US recognized it in 1995, by Congressional resolution, but also provided that the embassy could only be moved after certain conditions were realized.  The Palestinian National Authority claims the eastern half of the city as its capitol while recognizing the western half of the capitol as the Israeli capitol.

 Turkish prisoners of war.

Just this past week President Trump declared that the American embassy would in fact be moved, fulfilling a campaign promise made by various Presidents before him, as well as by him, but which is guaranteed to be massively unpopular and likely result in violent protests.

And it all started on this day, in 1917.

The Yeomany Charge at Huj, November 8, 1917

On this date, in 1917, the Worcestershire Yeomanry, Warwickshire Yeomanry, executed a successful mounted charge against retreating Ottoman forces at Huj.  The charge was costly, resulting in 26 deaths and a further 40 wounded in action.  Ottoman causalities were, however, higher.  The charge cleared the way for a resumed British advance.  An officer veteran of the charge has noted.

The Charge at Huj had it occurred in a minor war would have gone down to history like the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. In the Great War when gallant deeds were being enacted on all fronts almost daily it was merely an episode, but as the Official Historian remarks, for sheer bravery, the episode remains unmatched.

British Troops in Baghdad, following the Turkish withdrawal.

On this day, in 1917, Baghdad fell to the British. This photo was taken on that day.

Ottoman Empire Declares War on Romania

And, following a series of other such events, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Romania.

This may not be as surprising event as the oddity of it would suggest. Romania had been part of the Ottoman Empire until 1878, when it gained independence from it during the Russo-Turkish War.  It had as sort of quasi independence prior to that since 1859, so it had a parliament within the Ottoman Empire and its own army, but had to pay tribute to Constantinople.

U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Abram I. Elkus leaving New York

U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Abram I. Elkus leaving New York on the ocean liner Oscar II with wife Gertrude Hess Elkus, daughters Ethel J. and Katharine, son James Hess Elkus. The previous ambassador Henry Morgenthau stands with them. August 17, 1916.

Conclusion of The Battle of Mecca, July 4, 1916

The last remaining Ottoman troops surrendered to Hashemite rebels in Mecca after a three week siege.

Roads to the Great War: 100 Years Ago: The Arab Revolt Begins

Roads to the Great War: 100 Years Ago: The Arab Revolt Begins: Ten Things to Remember About the Arab Revolt  Faisal After the Capture of Aqaba, Lawrence to His Left 1.  The Arab Revolt started ...

The Arab Revolt commences: June 5, 1916

The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire commences, lead by the Hashemites of Mecca.

Movements towards greater Arab autonomy within the  Ottoman Empire had been going on for some time prior to the revolt.  Perhaps not surprisingly, they had been centered in the Lavant, i.e., Syria, which was a much more cosmopolitan and urban region of Arabia than the Arabian Peninsula.  Given the slow movement of the Ottoman Empire in this direction, indeed, given the slow disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, it's unlikely that a revolt would have broken out in 1916, let alone that it would have been centered in the Hajez, but for the outbreak of World War One which stressed the "sick man of Europe" and which gave rise to opportunities to potential Arabian rulers.  The British presence in Egypt (technically part of the Ottoman Empire), the raging war in Europe, the commitment to the Ottoman Empire to the Central Powers in November 1914, all gave rise to a situation which brought about the halting revolution against the Ottomans in 1916.