The British Preemptive Actions to Suppress the Ottoman Threat in Yemen during the Outbreak of World War I

Abstract

#This research focuses on studying the preemptive military, economic, political, and diplomatic actions taken by the British to suppress the Ottoman threat in the Yemeni region upon the outbreak of World War I. The British recognized the strategic importance of Yemen due to its control over the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which was an area of intense competition between colonial powers. Moreover, the presence of Ottoman forces in Yemen posed a direct threat to the interests of the Allies in the East. In light of these factors, Britain swiftly initiated preemptive actions aimed at thwarting any Ottoman-German preparations or plans to utilize Yemen as a launching pad to alter the course of the war. During the first seven months of the war, Britain implemented four steps, each consisting of multiple maneuvers, to successfully besiege the Ottoman garrison within Yemen. The research is divided into an introduction, four main sections, and a conclusion, with each step examined in a separate section. The first section explores the British naval movements against the Ottomans in Yemen, aimed at securing navigation and supply lines, as well as the Yemeni reactions to these naval operations during November and December 1914. The second section investigates the British naval actions to impose an economic and trade blockade on Yemen and their diplomatic efforts to incite local forces against the Ottomans at the outbreak of the war. The third section examines the British political and diplomatic actions and their success in forming alliances with Yemeni factions to rebel against the Ottomans. Lastly, the fourth and final section focuses on the British occupation of Yemeni islands in the Red Sea and the bombardment of the ports of Tihama to support the Aden-based Idrisi forces in imposing a land and sea blockade on the Ottomans within Yemen. The research concludes with a set of findings that highlight the extent of success achieved by these British preemptive actions, which resulted in the establishment of a naval and land blockade on Ottoman forces within Yemen. This blockade hindered the Ottoman garrison's financial and military support, weakened its communication with the Ottoman capital, and effectively curbed the Ottoman threat to the Allies' interests in the East. Furthermore, these actions created a state of instability within Yemen and the region as a whole, lasting for over three years until the end of the war, despite the Ottoman's superiority on land.