Lawrence of Arabia captures Damascus

On October 1, 1918, during World War I, combined Arab and British forces under Lawrence of Arabia, T. E. Lawrence, captured Damascus from the Turks. An excerpt from the article:

"A combined Arab and British force captures Damascus from the Turks during World War I, completing the liberation of Arabia. An instrumental commander in the Allied campaign was T.E. Lawrence, a legendary British soldier known as Lawrence of Arabia.

Lawrence, an Oxford-educated Arabist born in Tremadoc, Wales, began working for the British army as an intelligence officer in Egypt in 1914. He spent more than a year in Cairo, processing intelligence information. In 1916, he accompanied a British diplomat to Arabia, where Hussein ibn Ali, the emir of Mecca, had proclaimed a revolt against Turkish rule. Lawrence convinced his superiors to aid Hussein’s rebellion, and he was sent to join the Arabian army of Hussein’s son Faisal as a liaison officer.

Under Lawrence’s guidance, the Arabians launched an effective guerrilla war against the Turkish lines. He proved a gifted military strategist and was greatly admired by the Bedouin people of Arabia. In July 1917, Arabian forces captured Aqaba near the Sinai and joined the British march on Jerusalem. Lawrence was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In November, he was captured by the Turks while reconnoitering behind enemy lines in Arab dress and was tortured and sexually abused before escaping.

Lawrence rejoined his army, which slowly worked its way north to Damascus. Australian troops under the command of Henry Chauvel fought their way to Damascus and arrived at the scene before Lawrence and his men, but left shortly before his arrival to chase fleeing Turkish units. The Syrian capital fell on October 1, 1918."