Chapter 412 The Ottoman Empire seeks peace

The Saudi Persian Gulf coast from the north of the United Arab Emirates to south of Kuwait is still under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

However, compared with the Mesopotamian plain further north, this area is sparsely populated and of less strategic importance.

In this land of more than 100,000 square kilometers, the Ottoman Empire has very few defenders, and most of them are new armies or militias that have just been formed with insufficient training.

It was impossible to rely on these people to resist the Australasian attack. In less than a week, the Australasian army had arrived in the Emirate of Kuwait, a colony that had been occupied by the British.

After learning that the Australasian army was about to arrive, the British commissioner in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti chief and others had prepared a large amount of supplies to supplement the Australasian army.

Although only more than a week has passed since the landing in Qatar, there are sufficient supplies of supplies, and it is impossible not to replenish them.

Under the command of Division Commander Kent, the expeditionary force replenished supplies in Kuwait City. Even the indigenous soldiers in the colony tasted fruits and fresh beef and mutton that they had not tasted for a long time.

Of course, what is more important is the supplement of weapons, equipment, bullets and shells. Including clothing, military boots, military helmets, etc. consumed during the march, as well as urgently needed medical supplies for the army, a large amount of supplies were replenished to facilitate the subsequent battle.

According to the agreement with the United Kingdom, half of these supplies will be provided by the United Kingdom and half by Australasia.

On July 27, the Australasian Expeditionary Force restarted and headed north directly to capture the Mesopotamian plains and occupy important grain-producing areas for the Ottoman Empire.

The Mesopotamian plain has a sufficient population and is also one of the few large-scale grain-producing areas in the Ottoman Empire.

This is the Iraqi area in later generations, and it is also an important rear area of ​​the Ottoman Empire.

From an oil perspective alone, there is a lot of oil in Iraq, and the land area in this area is very large, including the huge Mesopotamia Plain.

But precisely because it is a plain area, there is a large indigenous population here. Compared with Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf coast, it is even less conducive to governance.

The best option is to exchange benefits from the British Empire for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

In this way, it was possible to establish colonies along the Persian Gulf from the United Arab Emirates to Kuwait, and to control more than half of the oil on the Mediterranean coast, thereby controlling the price of oil worldwide.

The combined population of these lands is not as large as that of Iraq. Although the population is small, the economic development is slow and the development potential is not great.

The most important thing for Arthur in this area is oil. A small population is an advantage, as there will be fewer rebellions. It would be best to turn it into a new royal territory and form a Royal Petroleum Company.

Although Kuwait and Qatar are still under British control, Arthur does not intend to spit out Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf coast.

Although most of the Australasian Expeditionary Force had left the Saudi Persian Gulf coast from northern Qatar to southern Kuwait, Division Commander Martin, under Arthur's order, left a colonial division to guard, which is a good name. Temporarily manage order in this area.

Although the 1st Colonial Division is currently not full, the total number is only about 15,000.

But there is still no problem in holding this area. After all, the Persian Gulf is connected to the Indian Ocean, and material support from Australasia can be obtained at any time.

The enemy that the First Colonial Division may face is the Rashid Emir State. The Ottoman Empire no longer has the force to launch an offensive in this area.

The fighting power of the indigenous people was so weak that they only needed a few machine guns to defend the area.

After the fall of Constantinople, the combined forces of Britain, France, and Russia quickly arrived in the ancient city, and together with a small number of Australasian troops, they jointly maintained order in Constantinople.

As for why Britain, France and Russia moved so quickly, it was because Constantinople's geographical location was very important and was the bottleneck from Russia's Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

Because the strait between Constantinople and the other shore is relatively narrow, Constantinople's coastal defense guns can cover the entire strait at any time.

Previously, it was precisely because of the Ottoman Empire's control of this strait that the Russians were basically unable to obtain material support from the Mediterranean.

After taking control of Constantinople, a large number of fleets from Britain and France poured into the Black Sea. Russia provided a large amount of material and weapons support, and Russia had the courage to resist on the front line.

Of course, it is precisely the reliance on material support from Britain and France that makes it impossible for Russia to occupy Constantinople alone, and Britain and France will never agree.

Therefore, the best way is for the four Allied powers to jointly control Constantinople. There is no room for retreat in this matter. The final possibility is to return Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire or to a new country.

After the fall of Constantinople, the hundreds of thousands of Balkan troops who had previously besieged Constantinople crossed to the other side to attack the Asia Minor Peninsula.

This has also increased the pressure faced by the Ottoman Empire again. The enemies of the Allied Powers on each front have exceeded one million, which is something that the current Ottoman Empire simply cannot bear.

On August 3, 1915, after several days of Australasian troops rampaging across the Mesopotamian plains, the Ottoman Empire finally couldn't bear it anymore and contacted representatives from Britain, France, Russia, and Australia to begin suing for peace.

If the current war situation continues, let alone maintaining the huge Ottoman Empire after the war, I am afraid that all major areas will not be saved. Being able to retain the Turkish region is considered a blessing.

Negotiations with the Ottomans were much slower than those with Bulgaria, because the Bulgarian war did not involve many great powers. Russia was separated by Romania, and it was unrealistic to carve up the benefits from Bulgaria.

But the Ottoman Empire was different. The Ottoman Empire was adjacent to Russia and Britain, and Australasia also had thoughts about it.

Although France has little interest nearby, Britain, Australia and Russia all share the interests, so it is naturally impossible to skip France.

Besides, the Allies invested millions of troops in the Ottoman Empire. If they couldn't give the Ottoman Empire a hard blow, wouldn't the deal be a loss?

On August 5, 1915, various countries ceased fire in the Ottoman Empire because peace talks with the Ottoman Empire were imminent.

Of course, this is only a temporary ceasefire. The Ottoman Empire cannot give a price that satisfies the Allies, and I am afraid the war will become more intense.

On August 11, unilateral peace talks between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire were held in Constantinople.

Constantinople, known as Istanbul to the Ottoman Empire, was the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, long before the siege of Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire had moved its capital to Ankara in Asia Minor.

Looking at the familiar city in front of them and the traces of war-torn conditions, the representatives of the Ottoman Empire made the representatives of the Ottoman Empire smile bitterly. Faced with the pressure from the Allies, they had to bow their heads repeatedly.

The Allies unanimously agreed to the Ottoman Empire's peace request, but each country also had its own requirements for the Ottoman Empire's compensation.

The first is the land requirement. The Russians wanted expansion in the Caucasus, the British in the Middle East, and Australasia wanted colonies along the Persian Gulf.

Even the French, who have no demands, are asking for part of the land on the other side of French Somalia.

It does not matter whether the Ottoman Empire agrees or not. Even if the Ottoman Empire does not agree, the Allied forces can obtain the land they want.

The problem is that the Allied Powers must reach unity, and countries cannot conflict over territorial claims. After all, a piece of land can only be allocated to one country.

The only one without conflict is Russia. What the Russians want is the Caucasus region. Apart from the Qajar dynasty of Iran, this region has no other neighbors and no one will compete with Russia.

As for Britain, France and Australasia, they all have some problems with the territories they claim.

The French Somalia that the French wanted was also adjacent to the British Protectorate of Aden.

This area is equivalent to Yemen in later generations. The west is currently occupied by the Ottoman Empire, and the east is the British Aden Protectorate and some indigenous countries controlled by the British.

However, the French did not have that strong desire for the areas they wanted. The British directly used more military support in exchange for France's consent, and the British divided the entire Yemen region alone.

This is not over yet. The British have also claimed the sovereignty of the Emirate of Mecca, which will also lead to the British-controlled land surrounding the entire Arabian Peninsula, and the area of ​​the empire on which the sun never sets will expand again.

On the Persian Gulf coast, Australasia wanted the Rashid Emirate on the Persian Gulf coast and claimed access to Mesopotamia.

The British Empire has not expanded much in the Persian Gulf, but this is actually because most of the land in this area has fallen under British control, and there is nothing to expand.

However, the British Empire was also interested in the Mesopotamian plain's outlet to the sea.

On a smaller scale, this place could control the Ottoman Empire's future outlet to the Indian Ocean. On a larger scale, this outlet would extend to the entire Mesopotamian Plain, and could even take the opportunity to control the Ottoman Empire.

After all, after the territory was divided, the Ottoman Empire's sphere of influence only left the later regions of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, and its sphere of influence has been greatly reduced.

Compared with Saudi Arabia's Persian Gulf coast, it is actually not interested in Iraq's Persian Gulf coast.

But only by claiming this area can it be used to trade with the British in exchange for other areas that Arthur wanted, such as Qatar and Bahrain.

It can be seen from the map that the British Empire has controlled the truce states, and this is the outlet of the Persian Gulf coast.

In other words, the British Empire could completely control the Persian Gulf coast through a truce between the states, so the importance of Qatar and Bahrain was not that high.

After all, Qatar and Bahrain combined only cover an area of ​​just over 10,000 square kilometers. They have no mineral resources and their development value and potential are relatively small.

As for the outlet of the Mesopotamian Plain, it has a sufficient number of indigenous people and is an excellent grain-producing area. Its production resources are also richer than those of Qatar and Bahrain, and its development potential is undoubtedly greater.

After the British also made a claim to the Mesopotamian plain, the Australasian diplomats breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to hold private negotiations with British representatives.

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