Thomas Edward Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (August 16th 1888 - May 19th 1935), also known like T.E. Lawrence , and especially like celebrates it Lawrence of Arabia ( Lawrence off Arabia ), or - among his/her Arab companions - Aurens or Al-Aurens , is a Archéologue, Officier, Aventurier and British writer . He reached notoriety as a British liaison officer during the Arab Révolte of 1916 with 1918. The immense echo which its action knew during these years and after is due as well to the reports of the American journalist Lowell Thomas as with his autobiography the Seven Pillars of wisdom ( Seven Pillars off Wisdom ). T.E. Lawrence remained very popular among the Arabs to have supported their fight to release itself from the Othoman and European yokes. In the same way, the British regard it as one of the largest military heroes of their country. A film was drawn from its life in 1962, with Peter O' Toole in the title role: Lawrence of Arabia .
Pre-war period
Lawrence is born in Tremadoc, Caernafonshire in the North of the Wales, parents of English and Irish ascent. His/her father, Thomas Chapman, are an important member of the Irish aristocracy which left his tyrannical wife in order to live with controlling his/her girls with which it had five wire. From December 1891 until the spring of 1894 he lives with Dinard and leaves for Acute-Dead to bicycle.
Lawrence follows studies to the Jesus College to Oxford. It obtains its diploma with mention after having written a thesis entitled the Influence of the crusades on the European military architecture at the end of the 12th century ( The Influence off the Crusades one European Military Architecture - To the End off the 12th Century ).
It accepts a post-doctoral position on the medieval pottery, but gives up it after being itself considering proposing a post of archeologist in the Middle East. In December 1910, it leaves for Beirut, which it leaves for Jbail (Byblos). It then takes part in the excavations of Karkemish (" Kargamis") close to Jerablus, in the south of current Turkey, under the orders of D.G. Hogarth and R. Campbell-Thompson.
At the end of the summer 1911, it goes back to the United Kingdom for a short stay and, as of November, it sets out again for the the Middle East in order to briefly work with Williams Flinders Petrie with Kafr Ammar in Egypt. It turns over to Karkemish to work with Leonard Woolley. It continues to visit the Middle East regularly in order to carry out to it excavations until the beginning of the First World War. Its many voyages in Arabia, its life with the Arab , to wear their clothes, to learn their culture, their language and dialects, were going to prove to be priceless assets during the conflict.
In January 1914, under cover of archaeological activities, Wooley and Lawrence are sent by the British army on mission of information in the peninsula of the the Sinai. Lawrence visits in particular Aqaba and Petra. From March to May, Lawrence turns over to work in Carchemish. After the opening of the hostilities in August 1914, on the council of S.F. Newcombe, Lawrence decides not to engage immediately and waits until October to do it.
The Arab Revolt
See also: Arab Revolt
Once engaged, it is named in Cairo where it works for the British military intelligence services. The very good knowledge of the Arab people of Lawrence in fact an ideal liaison officer between the Arab British and forces. In October 1916, it is sent in the desert in order to give an account of the activity of the Arab nationalist movements. During the war, it fights with the Arab troops under the command of Fayçal ibn Hussein, a son of the Chérif of Mecque Hussein which carries out a Guérilla against the troops of the Ottoman Empire. The principal contribution of Lawrence to the British effort consists in convincing the Arabs to coordinate their efforts in order to help the British interests. He persuades in particular the Arabs not to drive out the Othomans of Médine, thus forcing the Turks to preserve many troops to protect the city. The Arabs badger the Railroad of Hedjaz which supplies Médine, immobilizing more Othoman troops to protect and repair the way. In 1917, Lawrence organizes an united action between the Arab troops and the forces of Auda Abu Tayi (hitherto with the service of the Othomans) against the strategic port of Aqaba. The July 6th, after a daring terrestrial attack, Aqaba falls to the hands from the Arabs. In November, he is recognized with Dara whereas he carries out an Arabic reconnaissance mission disguised. He arrives in spite of very escaping. One year later, on October 1st, 1918, Lawrence takes part in the catch of Damas.
Among the Arabs, Lawrence adopts many local habits and becomes soon friendly of Prince Fayçal. It became known to wear white clothing and to assemble camels and horses in the desert. Towards the end of the war, he seeks to convince, without success, his superiors of the interest of the independence of Arabia for the the United Kingdom. In July 1920, the French column of the general Mariano Goybet will drive out Fayçal of Damas, breaking the hope of Lawrence to release Syria.
Post-war period
In the immediate future post-war period, Lawrence worked for the Foreign Office and attended the conference of peace of Paris between January and May 1919 as a member of the delegation of Fayçal. It was then to advise of Winston Churchill with the Colonial Office until worms the end of 1921.Starting from 1922, it tried to become again anonymous. It engaged in the Royal Air Force under the name of “Ross”. He was quickly uncovered and had to leave the RAF. Under the pseudonym of “Shaw”, it engaged in 1923 in the Royal Tank Body. It not liking this engagement, it made multiple requests to join the RAF and that point reached finally in August 1925. With the end of the year 1926, it was assigned at a base in India, in Miramshah, the Afghan border and there remained until end 1928, date on which it was repatriated in the United Kingdom following unfounded rumors of Espionnage in Afghanistan. It dealt then with the Bateau X at high speed within the RAF (" Air Sea Rescue" for the rescue of the pilots fallen at sea) and with regret the army at the end of its contract in March 1935 had to leave. A few weeks later, it was killed at the time of an motorbike accident in the Dorset. It was 47 years old.
T.E. Lawrence and Vo Nguyen Giap
Beyond the myth, Lawrence of Arabia remains one of the most influential officers in the development of insurrectionary doctrines at last century. In 1946, the French general Raoul Salan carried out several discussions with the Vietnamese general Vo Nguyen Giap who planned and leads military operations against the French until their defeat to the Bataille of Điện Biên Phủ. Salan belonged to a mission of negotiation created to finalize the return of the French authority to Vietnam. Later, it will order the French Task force in the Vietnam of May 20th, 1951 until May 1953, and it led the last military action successful against Ho Chi Minh: a named offensive Lorraine operation, on October 11th, 1952, in which the forces of Salan swept the Red valley and the jungles of the Nam North-Vietnamese soldier. The following year, it will give its command to the general Henri-Eugene Navarre, who will govern the disaster of Diên Biên Phu. Giap said:
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“Lawrence combined wisdom, the integrity, humanity, courage and the discipline with the empathy, is the aptitude to be identified émotionnellement as well with the subordinates as with the superiors. ”
During these talks of 1946, Salan was struck by the influence of a man on the thought of Giap; this man was Thomas Edward Lawrence. Giap said to Salan:
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“ the Seven Pillars of wisdom of T.E. Lawrence is my Gospel of the combat. It never leaves me. ”
The gasoline of the theory of the guerilla to which Giap refers can be found at two places. The most accessible first and is not other than the many editions of the Seven Pillars of wisdom , in particular chapter 33. The second is an article carrying the title The Evolution off has Revolt , published in October 1920 in the Army Quarterly and Defense Newspaper . Both are based on the evaluation practices and considered by Lawrence of the situation to which the Arab forces in the area of Hedjaz faced, within the Saoudi desert, in March 1917.
The writer
Lawrence was a prolific author throughout his life. He is the author of the Seven Pillars of wisdom ( Seven Pillars off Wisdom ). He also had a provided correspondence, in particular with George Bernard Shaw, Edward Elgar, Winston Churchill, Robert Graves and Edward Morgan Forster. Several epistolary collections were published, of which some were expurgés by their editors. He wrote The Mint , the account of his experiments as a soldier in the Royal Air Force. Working starting from its notes written at the time of its service in Royal Air Force, Lawrence told the daily life of the soldiers and his desire for belonging to the RAF. This book was published in posthumous title. Lawrence translated also the Odyssey of Homère and Gigantic the , a little known French novel, by Adrien the Corbel.
Mysteries of Lawrence
Certain passages of the writings of Lawrence and the reports/ratios of one of his/her colleagues who would have managed “smackings to him” leave think that Lawrence had not-conventional sexual tastes, in particular the masochism. Although its writings include/understand a clearly erotic and homosexual passage (see quotation ), its sexual orientations and experiments remain unknown.the Seven Pillars of wisdom are dedicated to " S.A." , with a poem which starts with:
- "I loved you, so I drew thesis tides off men into my hands
- When I came."
(In certain editions of the Seven Pillars of wisdom , the last line of this poem is " When we came" (" When we are arrivés"). The edition of 1922 published in Oxford has " however; When I came". The complete poem is composed of 4 stanzas).
Identity of " S.A." elucidated forever. It was supposed that these initial corresponds to a man, a woman, a nation or a combination of the precedents. " S.A." could be " Sheikh Ahmed" , also called Dahoum, young Arabic who worked with Lawrence in an archaeological building site before the war and whose Lawrence would have been very near. Dahoum died in 1918 of the Typhus. However, some affirm that Dahoum was only one friend very close to Lawrence as that arrived at the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, which often implied physical contacts (but in not-sexual matter). Lawrence itself, to perhaps mask the tracks, affirmed that " S.A." was an invented character.
Anecdotes
According to the military medical file of March 12th, 1923 of Lawrence, it measured 1 meter 66, weighed 59 kg and had “scars on the buttocks”, “three scars surface in the bottom of the back” and “four surface scars on the left side”. Moreover, it was circoncis.
Since 1923, Lawrence had been discovered a passion for the motor cycles. It had seven of them, that it baptized all of the name George , and of a number according to the order of possession. It was with the handlebar of “George VII”, when it had its accident.
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