Blood and Oil: The Middle East in World War I

Blood and Oil: The Middle East in World War I

Part 1: Surprise Attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuRoWA-t2B0

Part 2: Military Disaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG-bj-G5me4

Part 3: The Dardanelles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCFVyEWsh5Q

Part 4: Suez Advance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbDS3yqQ3a0

Part 5: Gallipoli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Kl8hLOIvk

Part 6: Iraq Expedition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4bUWGBbKr8

Part 7: Caucasus Front

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SudftJJvKuo

Part 8: Iraq Revisited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iUcIg28TYs

Part 9: Desert War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kC5BvoyYmc

Part 10: Baghdad Taken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaW-CggmdHo

Part 11: Gaza Battles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qdPZSNuRMk

Part 12: Jerusalem Falls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh6oCP40NjY

Part 13: Arab Revolt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9lb1bL9isM

Part 14: Palestine Front

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3xydl4m1Ao

Part 15: Oil in Baku

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHunES8BJ7g

Part 16: Istanbul Surrenders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVEdcCjrTqU

Part 17: Mustafa Kemal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xhX_cdLGko

Part 18: Spoils of War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsJLwS4ViYU

Part 19: Turkey Fights Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za4kiElAZ1g

Part 20: Greco-Turkish War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuhMlPcB9hY

Part 21: New Nations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0W3N3ydMPg

Part 22: Hollow Victory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13C36nD6zxI

Except for the Dardanelles/Gallipoli campaigns, the extensive combat operations in the Middle East during World War I have been largely overlooked in documentary programs.  Given the historical significance of the Ottoman Empire’s demise in 1918, and the ongoing importance of Middle Eastern oil reserves to Western economies, a close study of this conflict provides two important lessons:

1. The Treaty of Versailles, agreed to by the Western Powers in 1919, paved the way for military and political chaos in the Middle East, which continues to this very day.

2. Oil reserves in the Middle East became an important strategic concern for Western Powers, helping to justify their economic, diplomatic, and military interference in the region.

After the end of World War I, most of the Ottoman Empire was carved up into “spheres of influence,” controlled mostly by the British and French.  The remaining territories became the modern state of Turkey in 1923 — after a five-year struggle by Turkish nationalists against Western domination.

With little regard for cultural, historical, religious, and demographic considerations, the West sponsored the creation of several new nations: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  Thus, a “tinderbox” was built from Western greed, igniting a multitude of wars, revolts, coups, and military occupations that truly have made the defeat of the Ottoman Empire little more than a hollow victory.


Marty Callaghan is a veteran journalist who has been writing and producing documentaries since 1996.  Blood and Oil is a feature length documentary film about the Middle East in World War 1 and how it shaped the world today.  The film is available on DVD.  For more information, visit the film’s Web site: <http://www.BloodAndOil.com>.