Sand in the Whirlwind

In 1915, the Western desert of Egypt erupted in violence when Libyan Senussi "Knights" and their allies, crossed the Egyptian border. These "Holy Desert Warriors" were led and supplied with machine guns and artillery by the Turkish army; the main elements of which were led by JaFar Pasha and Nuri Bey, two Turkish officers. With the bulk of its forces tied up along the Suez Canal and preparing for an advance into Turkish held Palestine, the British High Command could only scrape together a scratch force to confront the unexcpected invasion from the West; but this makeshift army would not be completely without resources. With all the modern weapons of war the British counter-attacked into the desert. As aircraft sputtered overhead, horse cavalry, armored cars and artillery supported the British infantry advance. From December 11, 1915 to March 17, 1916 the two forces fought four major actions and numerous skirmished. The British Western Desert Force reached Bir Hakim (just off the map) on March 17^th, but both sides had failed in their objectives. The Turko-Senussi troops had failed to force the British to suspend operations against Palestine while the British had failed to destroy the Senussi. In that the British had driven the Turko-Senussi forces back into their traditional strongholds, the campaign could be considered a British Victory, but only a marginal one.