The Great War and the Middle East

The Great War and the Middle EastDescription by Rob Johnson Hardcover The First World War in the Middle East swept away five hundred years of Ottoman domination. It ushered in new ideologies and radicalized old ones from Arab nationalism and revolutionary socialism to impassioned forms of atavistic Islamism. It created heroic icons, like the enigmatic Lawrence of Arabia or the modernizing Ataturk, and destroyed others. And it completely re drew the map of the region, forging a host

as the Germans called them

Through close examination of the Austro-Hungarian military

And inevitable it was

emblematic of national identity and of each citizen’s place within the collective effort to win the war

Yet by the spring of 1917-by which point millions had been killed for little apparent gain or purpose-the fervor to head "Over There" swept the country

to dispatching saboteurs to disrupt American industry

Every piece of work is unique and can be found at leading museums such as the National WWI Museum & Memorial

to unrestricted war on civilians and mistreatment of prisoners

They are war stories

Women were not paid the same wages as men for doing the same work

and concludes with the emergent threat of chemical terrorism

Perhaps the pointlessness of so much suffering and death was too awful to contemplate