The Great War: Difference between revisions

A pursuing Ottoman force under M.M. Hadschiolu (also known as Mehmed Mutar Pascha) advanced north from Crimea towards the city of Kiev. Taking Kiev was was one of the Ottomans' primary objectives in the second phase of the war. The administration of Kiev was immediately notified of the impending danger and began the construction of fortifications. There was a massive exodus of civilians to the north, but hundreds of thousands remained within the city. All able-bodied men and women were enlisted as militia to help defend the city. By 16 October 1936, the Ottomans besieged Kiev.

 

 

It soon became clear that no reinforcements were coming. On 11 January 1937, the city of Kiev capitulated to the Ottoman forces, ending the 278-day siege.

 

==== British Invasion of Tripolitania (February 1938) ====

In February 1938, the Bey of Tunis, Hussein ibn Mahmud, entered into a secret pact with the British. This was known as the Convention of Tunis (1938), in which the Bey of Tunis agreed to rebel against the Ottomans and Britain to support and recognize their independence. In March 1938, the Cordial League, mainly led by the British, coordinated an invasion of Ottoman Tripolitania with the assistance of Tunisia. The first clash of British and Ottoman troops occurred on March 27, 1938, during the landing on the port of Zarzis. After two months of fighting, the British were able to take the capital of Tripolitania, Tripoly, and coerced the Karamanli dynasty of Tripolitania to surrender.