Military operations in North Africa during World War I
North African campaigns during World War I involved Senussi and Ottoman forces.
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During World War I, military operations in North Africa involved the Central Powers and the Entente, with the Ottoman Empire declaring a jihad in 1914 to recover Libya and draw British forces from other fronts. The Senussi of Libya, allied with Germany and the Ottomans, launched a campaign against British-occupied Egypt from November 1915 to February 1917. These operations were part of a broader strategy to exploit colonial unrest and divert Allied resources.
Background
The Central Powers adopted a peripheral strategy rooted in Weltpolitik and the Anglo-German naval arms race, aiming to encourage revolutionary warfare among colonial peoples. On 20 August 1914, Moltke demanded Islamic revolutions in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, though resources for such efforts were limited.
Enver Pasha's war plan included a jihad and an invasion of Egypt. On 14 November 1914, the Sheikh-ul-Islam declared holy war against the Entente, excluding Italy and Muslims under German or Austrian rule, and called on colonial peoples to join. Enver ordered the Teskilat-i Mahsusa to conduct propaganda, subversion, and sabotage, building on precedents from the war in Libya.
Military operations
Germany and the Ottomans attempted to influence French colonies by intriguing with ousted potentates; a plot to smuggle rifles through Spain was thwarted. The Teskilat-i Mahsusa maintained agents in North Africa but had only two in Morocco. The Zaian War between France and Berber tribes in French Morocco lasted from 1914 to 1921, with the French losing over 600 soldiers at the Battle of El Herri on 13 November 1914.
Hubert Lyautey reorganized French forces and pursued a forward policy, regaining territory despite Central Powers support for the Zaian Confederation. Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 5 November 1914. By late 1915, many British forces had been sent elsewhere; the Ottomans and Germans delivered modern weapons by submarine to the Senussi, and officers set up headquarters at Siwa.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Military operations in North Africa during World War I (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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