The Power of Lawrence of Arabia
Of all the laurels that may be placed on the monument of T.E. Lawrence, a testimony that would undoubtably include scholar; author; diplomat; and the couragous, self-sacrificing hero of the Arabian revolution; one supreme ability would lay at the summit of these achievements: the power to influence. How was Lawrence instrumental in achieving victory for the Arabs in their campaign for independence over the Ottoman Empire? T.E. Lawrence was the diminutive British liaison officer to Prince Feisal charged with advising the Prince in their revolt over Turkish control of the Near East lands of Arabia and eventually Syria. He quickly however became more than an advisor. He became an inspirational leader. This foreigner, this infidel, became the driving force behind the Arab's successful revolution. Clearly, Lawrence was never offered any of these responsibilities. He was one of many British officers stationed in Egypt at the beginning of the revolt. His only advantage was that he knew the language, customs and culture of the Arabs. Through his own initiative however, he created situations which would allow him the opportunity to gain influence. To what extent these situations were manipulated to include him we will never know. What we do know is that Lawrence had a vision. He was motivated by a clear goal which was to facilitate the independence of the Arabian peoples.
This paper will attempt to explore the methods by which Lawrence was able to assert his influence in this effort and ultimately gain enormous power. From his writings and those of his biographers, modern historians are able to piece together the formula he used in creating success for himself and the armies he served. Much of this formula is referred to in the Twenty-Seven Articles found in the August 1917 issue of the Arab Bulletin. This document is a blueprint for the acquisiton of influence.
In May of 1916 the Sherif of Mecca began his uprising over the Ottomans. The campaign began well enough for the Emir's army who combined with the assistance of the British navy, captured the Red Sea ports of Jidda by mid June, followed by Rabigh and Yenbo a month later. Mecca was the next to fall, driving the Ottomans out by early July (Wilson, 113). After driving the Turks out of Mecca the Sherifian forces stalled. Following numerous attempts, Medina became invincible to Arab attack. By the time Lawrence had arrived at Rabigh in October many thought the Arab cause was lost.
Lawrence had been closely monitoring the situation from his Cairo vantage point. It was his responsibility to carefully gather information regarding the revolt which eventually led to the creation of an intelligence briefing, the Arab Bulletin. From the very beginning, Lawrence saw himself as a man of action with a vision. Lawrence knew that he could if given the chance, be the one to help the Arabs achieve victory. He was however relagated to military intelligence which he described as not "exciting, but...far and away the best job going in Egypt these past few weeks" (Wilson, 87). Despite his apparant enjoyment of these duties he made the conscious decision to "escape" the Cairo office and fulfill his secret ambitions. After being initally denied a request to join Clayton in the newly formed Arab Bureau, Lawrence became increasingly hostile to the General Head Quarters at Ismailia in addition to his own colleagues at Cairo. "I took every opportunity to rub into them their comparative ignorance and inefficiency in the department of intelligence (not difficult!) and irratated them yet further by literary airs..." (Lawrence, 63). This was in fact a ploy to expedite his own departure. Lawrence then opportunistically asked for and received his first vacation in 19 months; a ten day leave where he would accompany Sir Ronald Storrs who had business with Sherif Hussain, on an excursion down to Jidda.
Storrs was more than happy to have his old friend Lawrence join him on his mission to the Hejaz. Storrs was dispatched to Arabia to meet first Abdullah, the second of Hussein's four sons. Abdullah was looking for British financing to fuel the revolt. Lawrence on the other hand had his own secret agenda. His was a mission to find a leader for the revolution. Lawrence knew that the campaign was on the verge of collapse without a central figure to lead. He was also aware that the best chance for victory was for one of Hussein's four sons to be that prophet of rebellion. Since it was Hussein who originally declared the revolt, Lawrence felt that tribal unification could only be assured if this leader were from the Hashemite House of Hussein. Thus it was Lawrence's immense task to not only meet all four sons within this ten day leave and choose one to lead the revolution; but to influence this choice in accepting Lawrence as his personal advisor, military strategist and de facto leader of the revolt!
As detailed in the Twenty-Seven Articles the techniques imployed by Lawrence were essential in the accomplishment of his objectives. He started by relating his own passion for the goal of Arab independence. A vision that he believed to be achievable. A vision that he alone possessed a plan for it's fulfillment. Lawrence offered his services to this leader as the only person available with the solution to their dilemma of creating success. He had thus made himself indispensible.
Vital to the success of this mission was the anonymous nature in which he undertook this task. Never did Lawrence divulge to anyone his intentions. Additionaly, never did he seek approval from his British superiors in this mission to appoint the revolt's messiah. He was never given power, he took it, he commendeered it.
After Lawrence's first meeting with Abdullah he found him "too cool, too humerous to be a prophet: especially the armed prophet, who if history is true, succeeded in revolutions...Abdullah would be a tool too complex for a single purpose"(142, James) This is ironic considering Abdullah up until then had had the most success in the campaign, having led the expulsion of the Turks from Mecca and his recent success at Taif. Yet Abdullah was quick to threaten an end to the uprising if Storrs could not come through with the desired financial aid.
What Lawrence did secure from Abdullah was his confidence and his full support. This enabled Lawrence to gain the permission of Hussein to meet with Feisel. This meeting encapsulates several of the qualities that allowed for Lawrence to become influential. Lawrence describes this famous meeting in Seven Pillars of Wisdom .
At last he inquired softly how I had found the journey. I spoke of the heat, and he asked howlong from Rabegh, commenting that I had ridden fast for the season.
"And do you like our place in Wadi Safra?"
"Well but it is far from Damascus." (p91)
Lawrence ingeniously dangled before Feisel the prize that would advance Arab sovereignty and self-rule; Damascus. He knew then that Feisel would be the galvinizing force that would unite the tribes of Arabia in their struggle to gain independence. He had considerable influence in the Hejaz, able to wield a significant amount of power in his own right. Lawrence's description of him evoked images of the Arabian Knights:
"Far more imposing than any of his brothers, knows it and trades on it...Tall, graceful, vigorous, almost regal in apperance...Possesses far more magnetism than his brothers, but less prudence...A popular idol, and ambitious; full of dreams, and the capacity to realise them, with keen personal insight and very efficient (Wilson, 124).
Once Lawrence had decided upon Feisel to be the focal point for the Arabs, he understood that he needed to develop a unique relationship with Feisel whereby he would become indespensible to him as an adviser. He did this carefully. He prepared his role to become influential transparently. Lawrence understood that he must remain unobtrusive as he detailed in the Twenty-Seven Articles:
"Your ideal position is when you are present and not noticed. Do not be too intimate, too prominant, or too earnest. To do your work you must be above jealousies, and you lose your prestige if you are associated with a tribe or clan and its inevitable feuds. Let your name therefore be coupled with the Sherif's and share his attitude towards the tribes. (The Arab Bulletin August 1917)
Lawrence knew that he would get only one chance to display his loyalty to Feisel and it was imperative to make a good first impression:
"Go easy the first few weeks. A bad start is difficult to attone for, and the Arabs form judgements on externals that we ignore. When you reach the inner circle of the tribe, you can do as you please with yourself and them." (The Arab Bulletin August 1917)
Lawrence's goal was to win the confidence of Feisel. One of the more important methods he used to achieve this goal was to become in effect Arab. Lawrence understood that to be accepted by the Arabs he would have to not only speak their language, wear their clothes and understand their culture, but to surpass them in the ways the live. He insisted however that he never did claim to be an Arab. Lawrence became an expert camel rider; ate and drank only when his fellow soldiers ate and drank. There is a poignant scene in the 1962 David Lean motion picture, Lawrence of Arabia in which Lawrence's guide offers Lawrence a drink of water. As Lawrence is about to drink he asks, "You do not drink?" - "I am Bedu" replies the guide. Lawrence promptly pours the water back into the canteen and says; "I will drink when you drink." Although this passage may be fiction, it reveals Lawrence's philosophy. You must be prepared to exceed the skills of those you wish to influence. Eventually, Lawrence withstood deprivation, pain and hunger that took a tremendous physical and emotional toll.
"If you surpass them you have taken an immense stride toward complete success, but the strain of living and thinking a foreign half understood language, the savage food, strange clothes, and stranger ways, with the complete loss of privacy and quiet, and the impossibility of ever relaxing...provide such an added stress to the ordinary difficulties of dealing with the Bedu, the climate, and the Turks, that this road should not be chosen without serious thought (The Arab Bulletin August 1917).
Lawrence had thus gained the trust of Feisel and the Beduoin by showing his passion for the cause and his committment to the goal. Of course his promise of money and weapons didn't hurt either. His next step was to maximize the strengths of the Beduoin armies. He knew that the Arabs advantage was their knowledge of and manuverability in the desert. Previously, Feisel as well as other Sherifian armies were defeated in their attempt to use European tactics in attacking Turkish strongholds. Lawrence realized that the only way for these units to be successful was for them to fight the way they were used to. Thus developed the guerilla, hit and run style of warfare where small bands of men usually between one to two hundred men began by attacking the Hejaz railway. "The overriding purpose of the attacks was to wear down the enemy without suffering any losses" (James, 195). Lawrence's use of guerrilla warfare is one of his most brilliant legacies. For the Beduoin it was an opportunity for the revenge they sought after the elimination of the Pilgrams of the Haj as a source of income. "A derailed train presented wonderful opportunities for plunder" by the Beduoin (James, 197). Lawrence used this reward masterfully in motivating the tribes and ensuring their future participation in the revolt.
It was critical not only for the Sherifian forces to maximize their strengths but to avoid their weaknesses as well. Lawrence knew that to attempt an attack on Medina would place the army in a vulnerable position and decided against it. More important however, was the low morale of the fighting forces and their desperate need for a victory.
Lawrence saw the opportunity in Akaba. Akaba was a small but strategic port on the Gulf of Akaba, an extension of the Red Sea. Lawrence saw Akaba as the key that would guarantee a role for the Arabian armies. If the Arabs could take Akaba they would have extended their influence outside the Hejaz and provide General Allenby with a right flank in their march toward Damascus. "Akaba would then become the main Arab base and a conduit through which arms and money would flow to the Beduoin of the Eastern Syria desert" (James, 192).
The victory at Akaba allowed for Lawrence to gain enormous influence in the British command. He was the recipient of numerous commadations including the Victorian Cross. "Within hours he was the talk of GHQ. It was obvious that Lawrence had a special talent for leading the Beduoin. Recognition of this fact gave him new authority to his ideas about future action" (Wilson, 187). All of Lawrence's requests for supplies, armaments and especially gold was quickly approved by General Allenby and his staff.
The leverage Lawrence had acquired now enabled him to proceed towards Damascus. Lawrence's was careful to make sure that his influence was low-key. He perferred to give credit of the successes to Feisel and the other Sherifs, however the victories of the revolt could not conceal his being recognized as one of the leaders. I believe this humilty in the presence of Feisel and the Beduoin Sherifs was instrumental in his ability to maintain respect and assure his influence.
The aspects of T.E. Lawrence are as wide and as varied as the different paths his storied life took. In the beginning he was a scholar. From there his studies took him to exploration and excavation. The Great World War controlled his destiny after that and facilitated his rise as an international celebrity. The literary impulse took hold of him quickly after the war and gave way to his own version of the events in the Near East. Politics and diplomacy were his calling at the conclusion of the Arabian campaign, desperate to salvage some semblance of his promise to Feisal and the Arabs. Disappointment in that arena was met with withdrawl from the public eye and seclusion in the ranks of the British Royal Air Force and later the Royal Tank Corp. During this period he fostered relationships with some of the more famous individuals of the time.
What is known about T.E.'s character more than sixty years after his tragic motercycle accident is much clearer now than its ever been. To know him completely is something he worked very hard to prevent and ultimately he prevailed. "On the whole I prefer lies to truth, particularly where they concern me," Lawrence was reported to have confided to Lowell Thomas (Fromkin, 1991). If his earliest ambitions were to become a man of destiny (James, 366) Lawrence would stop at nothing to achieve this end. Yet his fabrications were not intentionly malicious; "Lawrence cheated as a child cheats, with no essential dishonesty, meaning no harm, but passionately desiring the attention and recognition that the achievements bragged of will bring" (Fromkin, 1991).
This child-like behavior was both a blessing and a curse. It created within him a personality that many found captivating, yet in contrast ultimately portrays his greatest literary achievement as a "corrupt work, which deliberatly sets out to induce...feeling of admiration, pity, indignation, and guilt...which in reality do not possess that tragic quality for which such events are appropriate" (Kedourie, 1977).
No matter what your opinion is of T.E. Lawrence there was no denying his uncanny ability to influence men of power. Despite his tendency towards exaggeration, there is no disputing the fact that Lawrence was a key componant in the Arabian people's revolt over the Ottoman Turks. Ironically, had Lawrence never "felt impelled to embellish his achievement" or "repudiate the fame they offered him," (James, 367) could have in fact created a more desirable historical figure than the one he manufactured.
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