File 705/1916 Pt 2 'Arab revolt: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes' reports' [‎172r] (341/450)

'[This Document Is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government]
SECRET.
"I h. R 4 ,
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ARABIA^ T^PUKT:
For Reference only.
N.S. No. VI. August 23, 1916 (night).
Contents.
APPENDIX (A).
Miscellaneous Cuttings from the Press.
PART I.
The Sherif of Mecca.
Sherif’s Operations.
The Proclamation.
The Sherif and Idrisi.
French Mission to the Sherif.
Issue of stamps.
The Haj.
Anglo-Sherifian Relations.
Koweit and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
Maskat.
/ Bahrein.
PART II.
Political Notes from the Fields of Operations.
Aden.
The Caucasus.
PART III.
Miscellaneous.
The German-Turkish Society.
Syria.
APPENDIX (B).
The Sherif s Revolt—Cuttings from the Indian Press.
APPENDIX (C).
The Stotzingen-Neufeld Mission to Arabia.
APPENDIX (D).
The Turkish Committee and Islam.
APPENDIX (E).
“ The Islamic Caliphate” by Shaykh Shaweesh.
APPENDIX (F).
The Sherif of Mecca and the All Moslem League.
PART I.
THE SHERIF OF MECCA.
Sherif s Operations.
The Arab Bureau telegraphed on the 21 st August [Baba 50] that ( 1 ) Sherif AH
had been ioined by Nuri Bey Es-Shaalan with maxims, mountain guns, and Arab
reinforcements from Mecca. ( 2 ) The Taif garrison was reported to be m a strong fort on
a high hill near the town, with a trench system round the hill; hence the prolonged
resistance Deserters said that the Egyptian artillery recently destroyed three Turkish
guns killed two officers, and caused heavy casualties in the garrison, which was getting
short of food. ( 3 ) The Medina garrison was estimated at 20 , 000 , of whom 1,500 were
Germans. (4) Sherif Ali reported that the force cut off at Gheder Rabela was from
3 000 to 4,000 strong, of whom 1,500 were killed ; the rest were short of food and
water (5) Faisal at Arr, some 15 miles south-west of Medina, reported heavy fighting
on the [? 17th] along the Yenbo road, and that the Turkish advance was checked at
Bir Derwish ( 6 ) The Shaykhs of the eastern Harb tribe had guaranteed to cut the
railway to the north of Medina and to hold up all Turkish reinforcements.
The Proclamation.
It was noted in Arabian Report N.S. V that Sir H. McMahon had reported that
the Sherif continued to urge the desirability of publishing his original proclamation in
Ecypt and that he stated that copies of it had already been sent to India. On the
16th August, Mr. Chamberlain telegraphed [P. 3278] to the Viceroy asking for his
V10W ()n the 22 nil August the Foreign Office telegraphed [No. 687] to Sir H. McMahon,
in reply to his telegram [No. 695] of the 14th August, that there was no objection to
the original proclamation being published m Egypt. . ^