[FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THE SYRIAN AND THE SUEZ CANAL OPERATIONS DURING WWI] Parisden Tih Sahrasina. [i.e. From Paris to the Desert of Tih].

ALI FUAD [ERDEN], (1883-1957)., Aksam Matbaasi., Istanbbul, [AH 1336] = 1920.

Original illustrated wrappers. Chipping on top edge and front cover. Occasional foxing on pages. Overall a good copy. Roy. 8vo. (23 x 15 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 103 p., b/w plates (19 unnumbered b/w plates and 1 map).

First edition of this extremely rare first-hand and historically significant eyewitness account of the Syrian and the Suez Canal Operations during the Great War by an Ottoman soldier and statesman. Erden describes in this book his return to Istanbul after his military attaché duty in Paris and his departure to Damascus to join the 4th Army in Syria under the command of Cemal Pasha (1872-1922). He then discusses the Arab Revolt in Hejaz and its possible effects on the Ottoman Empire (The Arab Uprising was initiated by Sharif Hussein bin Ali in June 1916 during the Great War with the aim of creating an independent and united Arab state comprising of Aden in Yemen and Aleppo in Syria against the Imperial Ottoman). After disclosing his views and the actions of the army in the region, he goes on to describe Jerusalem, the Suez Canal, and the wars that took place there. Erden gave new information on the reasons and results of the Canal operation, the condition of the Turkish army along Palestine and Syria fronts, the relations among the Turkish staff, and the nature of the Arab revolt through his views and observations in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria fronts accumulated as he was Cemal Pasha's chief of staff.

Erden was a Turkish soldier and war historian. After graduating from the Military Academy in 1903, he worked in the units and headquarters in Yemen, as the staff of the 3rd Corps in the Balkan War and as the Paris Military Attaché. During the Great War, he served as the Chief of Staff of the 4th Army within the entourage of Admiralty Minister Cemal Pasha in Syria.

Özege 16174. Kursun p. 51.