Lawrence of Arabia

Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in England in 1888. As he got older he became interested in military history. He joined the British army and became an officer. He was able to speak Arabic so he was dispatched to the Middle East where there had been some fighting between the British-backed Arabs and the Turks who were backed by the central powers (Austro-Hungary and Germany). He was sent with another officer to investigate. It was 1916.

After arriving, Lawrence was sent to talk to Amir Feisal, the leader of the Arabs. The two men got along well and soon Lawrence had helped Feisal to reorganize his efforts against the Turks. Lawrence helped the Arabs take an important railway from the Turks, and then he went on to help capture the city of Akaba in 1917. Through his travels with the Arab tribes he earned their respect and trust. Lawrence eventually went back to England where, in 1935, he died in a motorcycle accident. His contribution to the war in the Middle East during WWI is still debated, but to the men he fought with ... it is unquestionable.