ABSTRACT
In First World War Britain's concern in Egypt was protection of the Suez Canal to allow safe transit of Indian and Anzac troops sailing for France. By 1916 the British-led force in Egypt, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), had moved onto the offensive, when the Ottoman Empire sued for peace, the EEF had advanced to Aleppo in northern Syria. In June 1917, when General Sir Edmund Allenby took charge of the EEF, it had two infantry corps, totalling seven divisions, and a cavalry corps of three divisions. Allenby was, however, a victim of circumstances beyond his control, and the Palestine campaign highlights the importance of measuring the personality of a commander against wider war strategy decided by politicians and their military advisers. Differences of opinion over how to conduct a war invariably confuse the objectives of a campaign, and contribute to a lowering of morale. Political decisions could be decisive in determining the success or failure of a campaign.
