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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Al-Ahram:
A Diwan of contemporary life (273 )
The autumn of 1918 brought the first signs of the Axis' defeat by Allied powers in World War I. In September, Bulgaria surrendered and a few days later the Allies drove the Turks out of the Levant and entered Damascus. Successive defeats culminated in Germany signing an armistice dictated by the Allies on 11 November 1918, bringing the war to a complete end. The human cost was horrendous: 10 million dead. German Emperor Wilhelm II had to abdicate just before the armistice was signed. The end of the war prompted Egyptian nationalist leaders, led by Saad Zaghlul, to demand that the British withdraw their forces from Egypt. The British balked, triggering an Egyptian revolution the following year. Dr Yunan Labib Rizk * traces post-war events on the basis of reports published by Al-Ahram
Illustration by
Makram Henein
At precisely 11.00am on Monday, 11 November 1918 the Germans signed the armistice that had been dictated to them by the Allied forces, ending over four years of warfare. World War I had claimed the lives of over 10 million soldiers, the largest toll in human life in the history of war -- up to that point at least. According to Al-Ahram's description, World War I was "a devastating tempest that hurled kings, sultans, princes and emperors from their thrones, as leaves off trees. The emperors which were "hurled from their thrones, as leaves of trees," to which Al-Ahram was referring in particular, were the those belonging to the Hapsburg dynasty of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Hohenzollern dynasty of Prussia and the Ottomans who had ruled in Istanbul since the 15th century.
Signs of the Axis powers' immanent defeat were evident in the early autumn of that year. Although history books have covered their nemesis in exhaustive detail, Al-Ahram's coverage adds a special flavour. Under such headlines as "Allied victory", the newspaper followed the rush of events in late September on the various fronts. On the western front, the Allied forces led by General Marshal Foch succeeded in breaking through the German fortifications along the Seigfried line, capturing a quarter million German soldiers and defeating the two most famous German military commanders of WWI: Generals Ludendorff and Hindenburg. To the east, in the Balkans, the Axis front crumbled entirely. Meanwhile in the Middle East, Allenby drove the Turkish army out of the Levant and entered Damascus on 1 October. There soon occurred a chain of capitulations. On 27 September, the Bulgarian government sued for peace. The ensuing armistice, which led to the fall of the first of the European kings, would eventually affect the future of the entire Balkan region.
Not long afterwards, Turkey raised the white flag. On 3 November, Al-Ahram published the list of conditions contained in the armistice concluded between Istanbul and the Allied forces, signaling the imminent end of the Ottoman Caliphate. According to the armistice, the Turkish government was to open the Dardenelles and the Bosphorus and to locate and destroy or defuse all mines, torpedoes and any other obstacles in Ottoman waters. It was also obliged to hand over all military vessels in Ottoman waters or elsewhere, with the exception of ships used for guard duty. More significantly, the Allies were accorded the right to "occupy any strategic point in the event that circumstances emerge to threaten the safety of allied forces." Finally, the Ottoman officers in Libya were to be instructed to surrender to the nearest Italian post and the Turkish government was to cease all dispatches and transport of materiel to those officers and soldiers who refused to surrender. This armistice, wrote Al-Ahram, "will force the Germans to surrender and hasten the inevitable end of the war."
When the turn came to the Hapsburgs and the German Reich, the armistice conditions would naturally be tougher. Al-Ahram of 11 October printed the conditions that were to apply to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was to immediately cease all hostilities on land, sea and air; demobilise its army and withdraw its forces from all battlefields and vacate all territories it had occupied since the beginning of war. The allied forces were accorded "the right to move freely on all roads and railways and to avail themselves of all necessary modes of transportation in the Austrian-Hungarian territory." The Austrians were also to furnish the allied forces all information regarding the location and movements of their ships and submarines, as well as the German submarines anchored in Austrian ports; to return all captured allied mercantile vessels; bring all naval aircraft to the bases designated by the allies, permit total navigation freedom to allied military and mercantile vessels in the Adriatic and the Danube; and finally to vacate all Italian shores and ports.
The implementation of these conditions precipitated "chaos" in the countries from which the Austrian forces withdrew, observed Al-Ahram. "Soldiers returning from the field of war are plundering and stealing everything and many have crossed the borders into Switzerland." They were not alone. Emperor Charles abdicated and left Austria for Switzerland, making his the second crown to topple at the end of the war, leaving only that of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
On 28 September, Al-Ahram relates a dramatic scene that symbolised the fall of the Reich: the German commander Ludendorff in his headquarters in Belgium, listening to the reports of disaster coming in from every front. Suddenly, "he fainted, spittle appeared on the corners of his mouth and slowly his enormous frame began to slide off his chair onto the floor." The following day, Ludendorff advised his government to sue for peace.
Over the next few days, the Germans hastened to alter their international image. Wilhelm II issued orders to bring about "a fundamental change in the political leadership of the Empire" in order to loosen the grip of the military on national affairs. In spite of the fact that the Germans formed a new government in which all political parties participated, the Americans were not convinced. As Al-Ahram commented, "The Americans see the change of government as a desperate measure instigated by the Prussian military party with the intent of deceiving the allies and the German people into the belief that their government has acquired the trappings of democracy."
The Germans also sought American mediation in the peace talks in the hopes of turning President Wilson's "Fourteen conditions," described by the Italian prime minister as the "Allies' bible", to their advantage. The French, however, were highly suspicious of this attempt. The Germans, they said, "are trying to escape punishment for the crimes they committed and to save the crown of the Hohenzollerns who ignited the flames of this war." In all events, since one of Wilson's conditions for mediation was to negotiate with a democratic government in Germany, a condition which the new government failed to meet, the German attempt failed. As a result, Germany was thoroughly isolated and ultimately forced to sign the armistice conditions as dictated by the allies.
On 7 November 1918, the German high command issued a statement informing the High Commander of the Allied Forces, Marshal Foch, that a German delegation was on its way to cross the line of fire in order to discuss the conditions for a truce. The representatives crossed the French lines that evening, received the conditions and were granted a 72-hour grace period in which to give their response. Foch rejected the delegates' demand for a temporary cease-fire.
In the interim, trouble broke out inside Germany. Rioting occurred in the northern provinces as a group of dissidents occupied government buildings, demanding the establishment of a socialist republic, the creation of a workers' and soldiers' council and the release of all military and political detainees. From Hamburg came reports that the workers and soldiers councils had occupied all military installations, set up guards around the food depots and threatened to execute all persons accused of theft or plunder. Al-Ahram also reported that the military command headquarters in the city fell into the hands of the revolutionaries after "the senior commander left Hamburg and the revolutionaries occupied all train stations."
As Al-Ahram reports, the Socialist Democrats gave the Emperor until 8 November to abdicate. He refused on the grounds that his abdication would "lead to the spread of total chaos and give way to the onrush of Bolshevism." Wilhelm would not hold on for long. On 10 November, Al-Ahram reports that, on that day, the German Emperor signed his letter of abdication in the presence of the crown prince, after which he and his retinue left for Holland, where they sought political asylum. Wilhelm II's abdication "strengthens the belief that the Germans will accept the armistice conditions," Al-Ahram commented. And, indeed, within 24 hours, at precisely the deadline stipulated by Marshal Foch, the Germans capitulated.
The armistice agreement that brought the final close to World War I was published in Al-Ahram on 14 November. It stipulated that "the Germans shall evacuate all areas they occupied during the war, surrender to the Allies most of their arms and railway vehicles, pay the expenses of the occupation armies, secure the immediate release of all prisoners of war and transport them back to their countries and return the moneys taken from the National Bank of Belgium and the equivalent of the gold taken from Romania and Russia." The Germans were also to "surrender to the Allies all submarines and mine-laying vessels with their full armaments and equipment within 14 days and to remove the mines from areas where they have been planted." Finally, "the allies shall have the right of freedom of movement into and out of the Baltic and to occupy all fortifications."
The end of the "Great War" brought with it a tumult of jubilation and the excitement of hopes around the world and not least in Egypt, still under the yoke of the British occupation. At the official level, King George V, on the day the armistice was signed, wired Sultan Fouad to inform him of "the defeat of the enemies of the Empire" and to thank him for his assistance throughout the war. The telegram concludes, "May Egypt and its people trust that they will receive their full share of the future prosperity and greatness of the British Empire." Sultan Fouad responded, "No testimony could give greater joy to my heart than the recognition of Your Majesty of the service which Egypt undertook in our common cause."
The Egyptian sultan took the initiative in congratulating the US president. In his telegram to Wilson, he undoubtedly had in mind the US president's pledge to further the advancement of those non-Turkish nationalities that had been subject to Ottoman rule. Sultan Fouad wrote: "The people of the United States entered this war with no other aspiration than to uphold the light of justice among nations. As the war entered its last phase, the world stood in admiration of the enormous efforts exerted by the United States in trying to overcome all obstacles to the spread of the principles of liberty and freedom." The American response probably gave little encouragement to whatever hopes the Egyptian sultan might have entertained as it was little more than a vague confirmation that the American people "had no personal interests in entering this war" and an expression of American gratitude "for the warm reception with which the entire world has received our highest hopes and aspirations."
On the ground, the situation of Egypt was unique. From Egypt emerged the allied forces led by General Allenby that succeeded in driving the Ottoman forces out of the Levant, delivering a lethal blow to the Ottoman empire. And, to Egypt this general returned after his victories.
Also, in Egypt, the end of the war marked the beginning of that famous popular movement that would seek to capitalise on Great Britain's pledges to the Egyptian people after over four years of serving the allied war effort. On Wednesday, 13 November, exactly 48 hours after the signing of the last armistice agreement in Europe, three members of the Legislative Assembly -- Saad Zaghlul, Abdel-Aziz Fahmi and Ali Shaarawi -- called upon the British High Commissioner at his residence at Dubara Palace for one of the most important political meetings to reverberate through Egyptian history. That the end of the war was linked with the initiative of these popular leaders was explicit in Zaghlul's opening remarks in that meeting: "The armistice has been signed and the Egyptians have the right to be anxious over their future. Now there is nothing to prevent them from knowing what Great Britain wants for them." He continued, "Great Britain has become the most powerful nation in the world and we are, therefore, placing our demands before you in your capacity as the representative of that great nation." If, in so saying, Saad Zaghlul reflected a general awe for the overwhelming power of a nation that had just dictated to Germany its terms for peace, these sentiments would nevertheless fail to prevent the most famous popular uprising, seeking British withdrawal from Egypt, led by this national leader, only four months later.
* The author is a professor of history
and head of Al-Ahram History Studies Centre.
