WI Ottomans used Suicide Bombers against the British in WW1?

This is something I wondered after watching gameplay of the new game Battlefield 1.

What if the Ottomans used suicide bombers against the British in World War 1? And with that I mean at battles such as in Palestine and against the Arabic revolt?

Or perhaps, since this is a Alt History scenario, what if a Gallipoli was turning successful for the Australians?

Thoughts below, please...
 
Seems like it's of limited tactical use, wouldn't swing any battles, as such. Wouldn't do much in occupied territory, either, it only bothered us so much in Iraq because we get to bellyaching over 5 or 6 thousand dead. Back in the war that killed 20 million, the potential damage done by a few suicide bombers would be a rounding error.
 

Insider

Banned
Standing orders for troops would be force natives to strip naked, or shoot. Every village taken would be pacified. In over all Turks would get this 5 or 6 thousand Entante soldiers. The casualties among locals would run in hundred thousands.
 
The Arab tribes that allied with the British would be very difficult for the Ottomans to infiltrate - so I do not see many opportunities for this sort of tactic

The Commonwealth forces had more to fear from the conditions, poor logistics and dysentery in the early part of the war than they would have from suicide bombers.

And when you say "what if a Gallipoli was turning successful for the Australians?" - you obviously mean all of the 550,000 odd Entente troops not just the 50,000 odd aussies ;)
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
The Arab tribes that allied with the British would be very difficult for the Ottomans to infiltrate - so I do not see many opportunities for this sort of tactic

Are you sure- by the same token I would think ISIS would have infiltrating Sunni Iraqi, Kurdish and Alawi Syrian predominated areas, yet they pull it off. I'm not sure the Hijazi tribes were that impermeable. Sharif Hussein even did some negotiating with both sides, necessarily involving contact with other Ottoman citizens.
 
Are you sure- by the same token I would think ISIS would have infiltrating Sunni Iraqi, Kurdish and Alawi Syrian predominated areas, yet they pull it off. I'm not sure the Hijazi tribes were that impermeable. Sharif Hussein even did some negotiating with both sides, necessarily involving contact with other Ottoman citizens.

The real problem is that it does laughably little damage. Guerilla warfare is already the refuge of those too weak to sustain conventional resistance. Suicide bombing and the like, I'd say are for those too weak even to fight as guerillas. It's the last of the last resorts.
 
Especially as the Ottomans were not really in much of a position to encourage suicide bombings; it wasn't especially a thing in 1910s Islam, and Ottoman efforts to portray the war as a righteous and holy jihad were generally unsuccessful, so motivating significant numbers of suicide bombers would be difficult.

I suppose there might be more success from a more radicalized Indian nationalist movement (Muslim, Hindu or even Sikh or Buddhist).
 
Top