The Collapsing Fronts of 1918

By September 1918, the Great War had entered its fiftieth month with the Central Powers visibly weakening across all fronts. Allied commanders cautiously observed German withdrawals from spring offensive positions along the Hindenburg Line while preparing their own assaults. The Italian front saw stagnant trench warfare along the Piave River after three years of catastrophic losses. In the Balkans, multinational Allied forces prepared operations against Bulgarian positions in Macedonia.

This global military context framed the Middle Eastern theater where British General Edmund Allenby prepared his decisive Palestine offensive. The war’s prolonged stalemate bred both exhaustion and innovation – Allenby’s plan involved elaborate deception operations to mask his true intentions from Ottoman forces. Meanwhile, Arab Revolt leaders like Emir Faisal worked alongside British officers including T.E. Lawrence to coordinate attacks against the vulnerable Hejaz Railway, the Ottoman lifeline through the desert.

The Road to Tafas: Lawrence’s Crisis of Conscience

In the days preceding the Tafas incident, Lawrence experienced profound psychological turmoil. Stationed at Azraq oasis coordinating Arab forces, he grappled with growing disillusionment about British promises to Arab allies. The public revelations of the Sykes-Picot Agreement’s secret territorial divisions weighed heavily, as did personal losses including the death of his young Syrian companion Dahoum from typhus.

Lawrence’s September 12 breakdown, described in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, reveals a man emotionally and physically exhausted after years of guerrilla warfare: “I had been too long in the wrong place, and now was tired to death of these Arabs.” His crisis reflected deeper tensions between his role as British officer and advocate for Arab independence – a conflict that would culminate at Tafas.

The Massacre Unfolds: September 27, 1918

The chain of events began when Arab forces discovered the devastated village of Tafas. Ottoman troops retreating toward Damascus had massacred civilians, with particularly brutal violence against women and children. Lawrence’s official report stated: “We were so mad with the horror of the thing that we killed and killed, even blowing in the heads of the fallen and of the animals.”

Key aspects of the massacre included:
– Tribal leader Talal al-Hareidhin’s suicidal charge against Ottoman positions
– The systematic execution of 250 Ottoman/German prisoners after discovering a crucified Arab fighter
– Three days of relentless pursuit that reduced a 6,000-man retreating force to under 2,000 survivors

Competing Narratives and Historical Controversies

The Tafas events remain contested historically. Lawrence’s vivid accounts in Seven Pillars contrast with:
– Absence of certain dramatic details in his contemporaneous official reports
– Disputes from fellow officers about orders to take no prisoners
– The problematic “war pornography” quality of some descriptions

Equally controversial was the subsequent “Turkish Hospital” incident in Damascus, where abandoned Ottoman wounded suffered horrific neglect. Both Lawrence and American observer William Yale witnessed these scenes, which became emblematic of the war’s dehumanizing brutality.

The Political Aftermath: Broken Promises at Damascus

The military victory at Tafas preceded a political defeat at the October 3 Victoria Hotel meeting in Damascus. General Allenby, under orders from London, informed Faisal that Syria would fall under French rather than Arab control despite previous agreements. Lawrence’s shocked reaction – claiming ignorance of these terms – marked his final rupture with British Middle Eastern policy.

This moment encapsulated the central tragedy Lawrence foresaw: Arab sacrifices during the revolt would not be rewarded with true independence. His immediate request for transfer back to Britain reflected both exhaustion and recognition that his political struggle would now shift to the postwar diplomatic arena.

Legacy and Historical Significance

The Tafas massacre and its aftermath hold enduring importance:

Military Innovation
The coordinated Arab-British operations demonstrated effective irregular warfare tactics that would influence later insurgencies.

Colonial Betrayal Narrative
The contrast between battlefield successes and political outcomes fueled Arab resentment that persists in regional memory.

Lawrence’s Transformation
The events catalyzed Lawrence’s postwar identity crisis and withdrawal from public life.

Patterns of Violence
Tafas exemplified the brutalizing effects of prolonged asymmetric warfare, with cycles of retaliation that would recur throughout 20th century conflicts.

As the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the September 1918 events along the road to Damascus became a microcosm of war’s moral ambiguities and the often-tragic disconnect between military victory and political fulfillment.