Following the capture of Bagdad, the British forces proceeded with the con quest of Syria and Palestine. Prior to the beginning of this campaign, it was finally announced that the country would be turned over to the Jews for their re-establishment as a political entity. This resulted in the working for the Allied cause among the Jews of all the Allied and neutral countries. Operations began on Oct. 27 with bombardment of Gaza by English and French war ships. This was followed by land at tacks by British cavalry and foot soldiers. The Turks were driven back with great loss, and the city of Gaza was taken on Nov. '7. On Nov. 16 Jaffa was captured without opposition. The British, in the face of heavy resist ance, continued toward Jerusalem and in the early part of December, succeeded in isolating that city, which surrendered on Dec. 11. After the occupation of Jerusalem, the British continued their operations in the surrounding country. They finally succeeded in clearing it of Turkish forces.
The Arabs in the Hedjaz, that part of Arabia adjoining the Red Sea, had in the meantime arisen against Turkish rule. In July, 1917, the insurgents de feated the Turkish troops at Maan and occupied that town and Akaba, the latter town being at the head of the Red Sea, on a gulf bearing the same name. During September, the Arabian forces, operating under the King of the Hedjaz, carried on a series of important opera tions against the Turks and Arabians. King Hussein had been officially recog nized by the Allied Governments and Hedjaz was declared an independent kingdom.
On Oct. 12, 1918, the Turkish Gov ernment opened negotiation for a sepa rate peace with the Allies, and on Oct. 30, an armistice was arranged be tween the Turkish and the Allied Governments, and the war ceased in the Turkish empire. In accordance with the terms of the armistice, British troops were allowed to land on the peninsula of Gallipoli, and on Nov. 13, 1918, Allied warships passed through the Dar danelles and landed troops in Constanti nople.
During the progress of the war, the people in Armenia had suffered from repeated massacres, and the devastation in this country was alleviated as far as possible by relief expeditions sent out by the United States and other countries. On March 7, 1920, Moham
med VI. established a distinctly pro-Ally government, with David Pasha as Grand Vizier. On April 13, Kemal Bey, one of the former pro-German command ers, was publicly hanged in Stamboul for complicity in the Armenian massa cres.
Turkey was represented at the Peace Conference by a delegation, but this re ceived small consideration. On July 11, the court martial sentenced many for mer prominent Turkish officials, includ ing Enver Pasha, Talaat Bey, and Djemel Pasha, to death. All three es caped. Talaat Bey, however, was assas sinated in Berlin, on March 15, 1921. These three men were practically in control of Turkey during the war. The treaty with Turkey was handed to the Turkish delegates in Paris, on May 11, 1920. Its provisions included mandates over Syria and Mesopotamia, while Palestine was to be a Jewish state under British protection. Thrace was awarded to Greece. In reply, Turkey refused to cede Smyrna or parts of Thrace, and they were at once occupied by Greek forces. The so-called Turkish National ists, directly after the terms of the treaty had been published, established a sepa rate government in Anatolia, headed by Mustapha Kemal and declared that the terms of the treaty would be resisted to the utmost. A Greek army was dis patched against the Nationalists and hostilities were carried on throughout 1920, with no decisive results on either side. The Turks also carried on opera tions in Syria.
The Turkish government did not sign the Treaty of Peace until March 1921, when, following a conference in London between representatives of the Allied countries and the Turkish Govern ment and Turkish Nationalists, an agree ment was finally arrived at. By the terms of this, Smyrna was returned to Turkey, and an agreement was made whereby a commission would be ap pointed to determine on ethnological, military, and commercial lines to whom Thrace rightly belongs. Turkish sov ereignty over Constantinople was con firmed. Mohammed V. died on July 3, 1918, and was succeeded by Mohammed VI. The following is a list of the Sul tans of Turkey (House of Othman) :