Priya Satia, an associate professor of modern British history at Stanford University, spoke Tuesday night about the development of modern wartime tactics in the Middle East during World War I, as part of the 66th annual Borah Symposium.
Satia also talked about the lasting consequences of World War I in the Middle East, and how the British government asserted control as a colonial power in the post-war region.
She said the British military was able to assimilate guerilla warfare and deception tactics into their war strategy through fighting the Turkish military. Satia said these war tactics would go on to become an essential part of modern warfare, and impact many military strategies in World War II — including the invasion of Normandy.
“Having long viewed guerilla warfare as an irritating and illegitimate style of backward people, with the Arab revolt, they naturalized it as a British tactic,” Satia said.
These tactics allowed the Eastern front to be a mobile, creative and innovative battlefield, Satia said, as opposed to the Western front that was plagued by stalemate.
She said although the British simplified their military infrastructure on the Eastern front, there were still many significant technological developments. The Eastern front saw tremendous development in military aviation, and solidified aviation’s role on the modern battlefield, Satia said.
“Aircraft, in general, was deemed essential to a moving battle over unchartered terrain,” Satia said. “War proved that the air has capabilities of its own.”
Aerial photography and signals were also pioneered during the war on the Eastern front, Satia said, often being used to track enemy movements and document the foreign geography.
Satia also spoke on the effort by the British government to rebuild the post-war Middle East, while also continuing aggressive military measures to silence Arab rebellion.
Satia said the British government embarked on a large-scale propaganda campaign after the war to promote Mesopotamia and the Middle East as a modern post-war region. She said the British government invested heavily in building dams, roads, telegraphic stations and other 20th century infrastructure.
“They were building ships and wards and harbors and canals literally overnight in the last two years of the war,” Satia said.
She said the British government promoted this as a gracious gift to the region, yet neglected to acknowledge that much of the infrastructure was built to accommodate the war.
Satia said the British government saw colonial control over the Middle East as a reward for winning the war, as it served as a valuable trade route to India.
In fear of revolt, the British government used aircrafts to keep the Arab population under control through a system called air control, Satia said. Air control consisted of repetitive air patrols and bombings of Arab villages that were known to have rebel followings, and was done to create a culture of terror and paranoia within the Arab communities, she said.
“One hundred causalities was not unusual in a single operation,” Satia said. “Whether attacking British communications or refusing to pay taxes at crushing rates or harboring rebels, many villages were bombed into submission.”
Satia drew multiple comparisons between the British air control system and the U.S. drone program.
Satia presented on the effects of British spies within the region, and their fascination with the Middle East as a mysterious and spiritually enlightened land. Many of these spies saw the Middle East as an unworldly land of adventure and exploration that could have great significance to Britain, she said.
The Borah Symposium has featured a number of world leaders since its first symposium in 1948, including Thurgood Marshall, Benjamin Spock and Eleanor Roosevelt. The symposium focuses on the causes and conflicts of war around the globe, and the efforts to establish peace.
Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the keynote address on the control of weapons of mass destruction for the Symposium Wednesday.
Ryan Tarinelli
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