Chapter 412: Ottoman Empire Seeks Peace

The Saudi Arabian Persian Gulf coast from the north of the UAE to the south of Kuwait is still under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

But this area is sparsely populated and not as strategically important as the Mesopotamian Plain further north.

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

It is impossible to rely on these people to resist the attack of Australasia. In less than a week, the Australasia army has arrived in the Emirate of Kuwait, a colony occupied by Britain.

Upon learning that the Australasia army is coming, the British Commissioner in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Chief and others have prepared a large amount of supplies to supplement the Australasia army.

Although only more than a week has passed since the landing in Qatar, it is impossible not to replenish with sufficient supplies.

Under the order of Division Commander Kent, the expeditionary force replenished supplies in Kuwait City, and 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, more important is the replenishment of weapons and equipment and bullets and shells. Including clothing, military boots, helmets, etc. consumed during the march, as well as medical supplies urgently needed by the army, a large number of replenishments have been made to facilitate the next battle.

According to the agreement with the British side, half of these supplies are provided by Britain and half by Australasia.

On July 27, the Australasia Expeditionary Force set out again and went directly north to capture the Mesopotamian Plain, occupying an important grain-producing area for the Ottoman Empire.

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

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

From the perspective of oil alone, there is not a lot of oil in the Iraqi region, and the land area of ​​this area is very large, with a large area of ​​the Mesopotamian Plain.

But precisely because it is a plain area, there are too many indigenous people here. Compared with the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, it is more unfavorable to rule here.

The best option is to use the interests from the British Empire to exchange for the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

In this way, it will be possible to establish a colony along the Persian Gulf from the UAE to Kuwait, and control more than half of the oil along the Mediterranean coast, thereby controlling the oil price worldwide.

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

For Arthur, the most important thing about this area is oil. The small population is an advantage, and there will be fewer rebellions. It is best to turn it into a new royal territory and establish a royal oil company.

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

From the north of Qatar to the south of Kuwait, the Saudi Arabian Persian Gulf coast, although most of the Australasian Expeditionary Force has left, under Arthur's order, Division Commander Martin left the Colonial Division 1 to guard, and temporarily managed the order in the name of managing the order in this area.

Although the Colonial Division 1 is currently not fully staffed, the total number of people is only about 15,000.

But it is not a problem to defend this area. After all, the Persian Gulf is connected to the Indian Ocean, and it can get material support from Australasia at any time.

The enemy that the Colonial Division 1 may face is the Rashid Emir State. The Ottoman Empire no longer has the troops to launch an offensive in this area.

The combat effectiveness of the natives is vulnerable, and even only a few machine guns are needed to defend this area.

After the fall of Constantinople, the joint forces of Britain, France and Russia quickly arrived at this ancient city, and together with a small number of Australasia troops, they jointly maintained the order of Constantinople.

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

Because the strait between Constantinople and the opposite bank is relatively narrow, this also means that Constantinople's coastal defense guns can cover the entire strait at any time.

It was also because of the Ottoman Empire's control over this strait that the Russians basically could not get material support from the Mediterranean.

Now that Constantinople is under control, a large number of fleets from Britain and France have poured into the Black Sea. Russia has provided a large amount of material and weapons support, and Russia has the courage to resist on the front line.

Of course, it is precisely relying on the material support of Britain and France that Russia cannot occupy Constantinople alone, and Britain and France will never agree.

Therefore, the best way is for the four great powers of the Allied Powers to jointly control Constantinople. There is no room for retreat in this matter. In the end, it may be possible to return Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire or to a new country.

And the hundreds of thousands of Balkan troops who besieged Constantinople before, after the fall of Constantinople, crossed to the other side to attack the Anatolian Peninsula.

This also increased the pressure faced by the Ottoman Empire again. The enemies of the Allied Powers faced by various fronts have exceeded one million, which is something the current Ottoman Empire cannot bear at all.

On August 3, 1915, after the Australasian army rampaged across the Mesopotamian plains for several days, the Ottoman Empire finally could not bear it anymore and contacted representatives of Britain, France, Russia and Australia to seek peace.

According to the current war situation, let alone maintaining the huge Ottoman Empire after the war, I am afraid that all the main areas will not be able to be preserved. It is already a blessing to be able to retain the Turkish region.

Negotiations with the Ottoman Empire are much slower than those with Bulgaria, because there are not many powerful countries involved in the Bulgarian War. Russia is separated by Romania, and it is not realistic to want to share the benefits from Bulgaria.

But the Ottoman Empire is different. The Ottoman Empire is adjacent to Russia and Britain, and Australasia also has ideas about it.

Although France has no interests nearby, Britain, Australia and Russia have all divided the interests, so it is naturally impossible to skip France.

Moreover, the Allies have invested millions of troops in the Ottoman Empire. If they cannot make a big profit from the Ottoman Empire, then this deal will not be a loss?

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

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

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

Constantinople was called Istanbul by the Ottoman Empire and was the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, long before Istanbul was besieged, the Ottoman Empire moved its capital to Ankara on the Anatolian Peninsula.

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

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

The first was the demand for land. The Russians demanded expansion in the Caucasus, the British demanded expansion in the Middle East, and Australasia also wanted colonies on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

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

It didn't matter whether the Ottoman Empire agreed or not. Even if the Ottoman Empire didn't agree, the Allied forces could get the land they wanted.

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

The only country without conflict is Russia. The Russians demanded the Caucasus region. In addition to the Qajar dynasty of Iran, there are no other neighboring countries in this region, and no one will compete with Russia.

As for Britain, France and Australasia, there are some problems in the claimed territories.

The opposite side of French Somalia, which the French want, happens to be adjacent to the British Aden Protectorate.

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 United Kingdom.

However, the French desire for the area they want is not so strong. The British directly used more military support in exchange for France's consent, and Britain alone divided the entire Yemen region.

This is not over yet. The British also demanded the sovereignty of the Emirate of Mecca, which will also lead to the land controlled by the British surrounding the entire Arabian Peninsula, and the area of ​​the British Empire will expand again.

On the coast of the Persian Gulf, Australasia wants the coastal areas of the Rashid Emirate in the Persian Gulf and demands the outlet to the sea in Mesopotamia.

The British Empire did not expand much in the Persian Gulf, but in fact, it was also because most of the land in this area had fallen under the control of Britain, and there was nothing to expand.

However, the British Empire was also interested in the outlet to the sea in the Mesopotamian Plain.

In a small sense, this place can control the outlet to the Indian Ocean for the Ottoman Empire in the future. In a big sense, this outlet will cover the entire Mesopotamian Plain, and it can even take the opportunity to control the Ottoman Empire.

After all, after the territories were divided, the Ottoman Empire's sphere of influence only included later Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, and its sphere of influence had been greatly reduced.

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

But only by claiming this area can it be used to trade with the British in exchange for other areas that Arthur wants, 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 to the Persian Gulf coast.

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

After all, Qatar and Bahrain together only have an area of ​​more than 10,000 square kilometers of land, and there are no mineral resources, so the development value and potential are relatively small.

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

After the British also proposed a claim for the outlet of the Mesopotamian Plain, the diplomats of Australasia breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to negotiate privately with the British representatives.

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