Palestine: The Ottoman Campaigns of 1914-1918 Hardcover – October 12, 2016 by Edward J. Erickson ( Pen and Sword)

Not the greatest n account of the Ottoman defense of Palestine. The author talks of the Ottoman skill in combined arms, but supplies little evidence to support the claim. Discussions of critical battles is lacking and the maps supplied try to cover the complete battle on one map with a poor use of symbols. The result all too often resembles a plate of spaghetti. The Ottoman command endlessly attempts action for which they lack the manpower or resources. The British forces never faced a serious threat and the only reason the Ottomans held out as long as they did was the difficulty experienced by the British in moving troops in such a hostile environment with little infrastructure. Would have been nice to see more on the poor strategic choices made by the Ottomans and more detail on the actual battles.

Based on original research in the Turkish Military Archives, this companion volume to the author's The Ottoman Army At Gallipoli provides an in-depth history of the Palestine campaigns during the Great War from the Ottoman perspective. The work follows the entire course of the conflict from the initial attack by German-led Ottoman forces in Sinai and the Suez Canal, through the struggle for Gaze and the outbreak of the Arab revolt, to the British offensives, the Battle for Jerusalem, the Ottoman defeat at Megiddo and the capture of Damascus and Aleppo in 1918. The first-class work provides a detailed history of a theater of war often overlooked in favor of the Western Front.