Final Ottoman collapse and surrender
In late March 1916, to exploit the defeat of the Ottomans, the Entente launched its amphibious landings on the Asiatic Turkish coast. After the shells landed, the Turks began to counterattack, but were stopped by Royal navy gunfire. The Greeks in the south declared war on the Ottoman Empire despite the loss of Thrace and Constantinople to Bulgaria and Russia respectively, but Symrna, Aegean islands and parts of Greek populated Anatolia could compensate for Thrace. In the battle for Canakkale, the Royal Navy lost 2 cruisers, several monitors and 2 obsolete pre-dreadnoughts scuttled, but the mission of getting the Ottoman Asian and Dardanelles defences pierced was accomplished. The Greek landings at Syrmna would end any hope of continued Ottoman resistance in Asia and reinforcements from the Levant and Middle East.
In the aftermath of the Ottoman defeat, Arab nationalists planned their long prepared uprising against their Ottoman overlords. The revolt began on 4 April 1916 and was meant to secure Arabian independence with Grand Sharif Hussein of Mecca as leader. Corruption, collapse and German dependence were seen by the rebel leaders as signs of the Ottoman government not following Islamic tenets, especially under 'Young Turks'. Arabs would have preferred authentic Islam reigning supreme under conservative sultans [such as Abdul Hamid II] and/or a government that was receptive to Arab nationalism, which weren't met by 'Young Turkish' pashas. During the first month, the forces mobilized for the revolt grew by the hundreds with the support of Entente weapons.
Logistical difficulties and supply issues, along with a lack of reinforcements impeded the Ottoman strategy for defending and attacking the revolts, even with the German weapons provided to the Ottomans. Besides, the air squadrons stationed in Arabia were sent to Turkey and Egypt following the defeats of 1915. After the battles for Medina and Mecca cities, the Ottomans were triumphant, but under siege and the heavy Ottoman shelling of Islam's 2 most holy cities was seen as evidence of Ottoman disrespect for their religion, giving the Entente Muslims and Arabs a well needed morale boost. Jeddah, Yanbu, Quafida and other coastal cities were taken with French naval and British seaplane support. The large scale Ottoman offensive against Western Arabia failed in the presence of Entente support.
The Greeks advanced on the Anatolian coast and made some gains. The Greek Army landed at Smyrna on 1 April 1916 and secured the Turkish Aegean coast starting from Canakkale. By 20 April, the Greek objectives were obtained for the loss of only a battleship to a submarine. Bulgarians assisted the Russian advance on the Black Sea coast and the Black Sea Fleet. Turkish revolutionaries took their arms with several displaced Muslim refugees and volunteers, but the tactically and initially numerically superior Greek Army defeated the revolts and began their advance to the Anatolian hinterland. Greeks in Asia Minor and Thrace welcomed the liberators, as expected by Prime Minister Venizelos and well-bodied young men joined the Entente's partition of Turkey in doves, securing the initial gains. Italian gains weren't honoured because of the minimal belligerence of Italy against the Ottomans other than the declaration of war, but the Italians had bigger issues to deal with against Austria-Hungary.
The first modern Greek offensive in Asia Minor commenced on 10 June and took Akhisar, Kircagac, Alasehir, Bursa and Balikhesir. Kusadasi with its ruins, Mugla, Manisa, Denizil, Fethiye, Antalya, Kas, Silifke, Adana, Iskenderun and Alanya were occupied by the Greeks over the summer, after the northern flank was secured by Bulgarian and British Imperial support and the isolation of Konya and Antalya. Greek ships supported the occupations.
To the south, the British troops would rout the defeated and demoralized Egyptian forces of the Ottomans and a long retreat back to Turkey was underway, with the Battle of Romani defeating the Ottoman Fourth Army. The offensive commenced when the British reinforcements arrived from Gallipoli and took the town of Romani, just as the Ottomans were preparing their Easter offensive against Egypt on 22 April. A lack of water and ammunition would restrict the sector of Ottoman attack to the north, and the British troops were prepared to exploit that advantage. A cavalry division from the sand dunes supported the defending corps to the south. Hill 70 and Dueidar were secured by British attacking troops.
German, Ottoman and British planes made reconnaissance operations along the frontline, but there was little sign of an offensive being underway. Wellington Ridge and Mount Royston were assaulted by Ottoman counterattacks, but lost to British Imperial troops again. A Light Horse Brigade held the frontline and counterattacked, although delaying the Ottoman retreat as the Ottomans temporarily rallied and prepared to cross the desert and reach the canal with artillery. After the British positions at Mounts Royston and Meredith returned to British hands, the losses of the Ottomans began to increase that memories of Pelusium were in the mind of a colonel.
The counteroffensive of the British began on 24 April and had the following objectives. The Anzac Mounted and 1st [Infantry] Divisions pressed forward to the Hod el Enna and its left in contact with the infantry from the 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade and 52nd (Lowland) Division while assaulting the Katib Gannit to Mount Meredith line. British 3rd Light Horse Brigade charged on Bir el Nuss to capture Hod el Enna from the south with the Anzac Mounted Division. 5th Mounted Brigade received orders from the 42nd Infantry Division to assist the 3rd Light Horse Brigade's link with the Anzac Mounted Division's right. 42nd Division was to advance along the line Canterbury Hill–Mount Royston–Hod el Enna line and repulse enemy resistance to the offensive of the mounted troops in coordination of Anzac Mounted Division's right flank. 52nd (Lowland) Division to move in close support of Anzac Mounted Division's left flank towards Mount Meredith and to prepare for a general advance towards Abu Hamra which was not to be undertaken until further orders from Lawrence at No. 3 Section Headquarters. The British Naval Division took the southeast and charged against the southern flank, causing the encirclement of the Ottomans.
By 25 April, 1 year since the Gallipoli landings, the initiative was in British hands and the Ottoman force was encircled by a decisive maneuver. ANZAC cavalry troops suffered a defeat at the hands of the retreating Ottomans, who pursued the ANZACs to Romani, but the focus on the ANZACs weakened the right flank of the offensive and enabled exploitation by the British. Without water, the Ottoman force surrendered on 2 May and Palestine was vulnerable. Logistical Corps supplied the British and Imperial troops with supplies before continuing the offensive, seeing that several troops wouldn't advance without water and knowledge of marching across sands dunes to face the Ottomans. There was a last counterattack other than the breakout attempts against thirsty and artillery deprived cavalry, but this failed to dislodge the Australians caught between the Turks and British Imperial troops. After the final mop up and fall of Ograhtina, the British troops stopped their 2 week long advance on 6 May. Dead, wounded or missing Ottomans and Brits were searched by ambulances and taken to hospitals along the front.
The British offensive continued on 10 May and defeated the Ottoman remnants and reserves at Bir el Abd. Although the Ottomans were supplied with howitzers and guns, they were decisively outnumbered and forced to retreat, eventually facing surrender by 14 May. However, heavy guns that outranged the British would prove crucial in the delay of the offensive, as these had to be neutralised by planes and bombardments. Even then, this provided local air superiority for the Ottomans and gaps in the frontline were pierced by Turks before being resealed by ANZAC and British troops. In fact, reconnaissance still proved the remnants to be worthy of reckoning until withdrawing following the threat to the south-eastern flank.
After the defeat of the Ottomans in Egypt and Anatolia, the Russians prepared their Caucasian offensive, but were disrupted by a joint German and Austro-Hungarian offensive. This was intended to alleviate the pressure imposed in the Middle East. As a result, the Russian Caucasian Army was withdrawn from the front, leaving Armenia and Georgia, 2 new administrative regions of Russia about to receive independence, vulnerable. Ottoman Third Army was heavily defeated and Bulgarian reinforcements were coming. El Arish, Magdhaba, Nekhl and Bir el Hassana were raided in June and captured after consolidation and solving of supply issues by railroad construction and Rekah was entered by 28 June, signifying the entrance of the British to Palestine. Russia received Armenian, Azerbaijani and Turkish Central Asian portions of Turkey while Bulgarians maintained control of the hinterland with Greeks, British and French. The region from Erzincan to Lake Van was captured later over the summer after the Ottoman retreat to face the Greek Army. Despite the supplies sent to Russia, they weren't enough with the German-Austrian offensive capturing Ukraine and would lead to the fall of the Entente empire in the winter of 1916/7.
An aggressive pursuit to Inonu defeated the Ottomans and civil war raging in the Anatolian hinterland helped the Greek offensive as troops were fighting each other when they should be fighting the Ottomans. Afyonkarahisar, Kutanya and Eskisehir fell on 15 August and the Ottomans retreated after losing the army to an encirclement. Ankara fell by 30 August and all of Central Anatolia was consolidated by September. It was time for the final armistice and peace treaty to be signed in Ankara [the latter being signed in 1919 after heavy disagreement at Constantinople]. Gaza to Beersheba fell in July and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force camped over the summer in Jerusalem before meeting French troops at Beirut. French troops were in the northern Levant to impose their authority over local Christians, Muslims, Druze, Jews and other groups.
The Ottoman Empire was gone forever. After further deterioration of the situation, Sultan Mehmed V was shot and in the confusion, a republic was declared in Sivas. The republic would retake more of Anatolia by negotiations, but its opportune time for revenge would come only in the next decade at earliest.
