T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 448

To Hogarth Grand Continental Hotel Cairo 16 March (191.) This letter is not going to be censored, so I'm going to let fly. The Turks aren't coming back, they have only 300,000 disaffected troops in Syria, (200,000 Dardanelles 200,000 Caucasus, 50,000 Mesopotamia) and an army corps is made against them. Ibn Rashid has been heavily defeated by Ibn Seoud (Shereefee Hejaz). Munsater killed in the battle) Idrisi is at open war with the Druses in Assyr: Sherif has himself declared himself, & the Vali & staff of Medjaz have taken refuge in Damascus. We have sent ... from the Canal to Akaba, to reinforce everybody there, (including French troops that are aimed). The Australians & New Zealanders, & some Indians are going to the Dardanelles, with the French. The ... Territorials remain, & he will be left here in Egypt ... with 20,000 men or so. The French insist upon Syria - which we are conceding to them: there remains Alexandretta, which is the key to the whole thing as you gave it. It's going to be the head of ... the Baghdad line, & y. the natural outlet for a sphere & Euphrates potamic: It's the only easy road from Cilicia & Asia Minor into Asia - for trade, as it is a equatorial harbour, & thanks to ... Fhenyir on the S. can be made impregnable. It is out off from Syria, & is neither Syria nor Asia Minor. In the hands of France it will provide a sure base for naval attacks on Egypt - and re-member with her in Syria, & compulsory service there, she will be able any time to fling 100,000 men against the canal in 12 days from declaration of war. The Sinai desert is not really any ob- stacle in the spring - or at any time when the railway (which a inevitable) is built. The only place from which a fleet can oper-ate against Egypt is Alexandretta, because there is no English ... port from which one can blockade it. Smyrna & Constantinople are cut in by Italians: whereas Alexandretta has only Cyprus in front of it & the Turks rang that is too deep for a large naval har-bour to be built. Russia has Alexandria & it's all up with us in the Near East. And in any case in the ... with the French will probably be under Russia's finger in Syria. Therefore I think it is absolutely necess- ary that we hold Alexandretta ... and thanks to the Ammin is leading either in Syria or in Asia Minor. The High Commissioner is strongly of the same opinion, & General Maxwell also, when he is awake and sober. F. has praised it as a in the F.O. is blocking it entirely - and you - perhaps Parker - can get a move on. It is higher you in any case. Can you get someone to suggest to Winston that there is a ... spring on the beach (very favourably advised on by many engineers, but conclusions always refused by the Turks) huge iron deposits near Deurtyyol 10 miles to the ... base (which we don't want but which on one else can have without detriment to us.) If Winston settles on a thing he gets it, I fancy: especially with F.'s help.