A Thought or Two on Lawrence of Arabia

I managed to finish an interesting book the other day titled Guerrilla Leader: T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt by James J. Schneider who is a professor at the US Army's Command General Staff College in FT Leavenworth.

I was first interested in this book when I read that it focused on the leadership qualities and decisions of Lawrence as well as his role as a leader in the Arab Revolt during WWI. Having acquired an interest in insurgent/guerrilla warfare I decided I should take a look. It was definately worth it, although some of Schneider's conclusions about Lawrence I disagree with...which I'll get to.

My interest in Lawrence goes back farther than my interest in insurgencies due primarily to my mother...who actually gave me this book as a Christmas gift. I recall watching the 1962 movie when I was very young, although I mostly recall being bored, going off to do something else, and then returning some time later...and of course the movie was still going. After I finished Guerrilla Leader I of course had to watch the movie again...forgeting, as I usually do, that it is about 4 hours long.

There's a coffee table book on Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia: The Life, the Legend sitting opened on my desk as I type this. Also a gift from my mother.

I read Seven Pillars of Wisdom (not a gift from my mother) while (literally) watching paint dry after I completed the MI captains career course in 2008. When I arrived to 1-14 Cav later that year the XO asked me what the last book I read was...I believe trying to gauge what type of intel officer I was...his eyes lit up when I told him that it was Seven Pillars. The XO stated he had tried several times to read it but couldn't finish it. He also wanted me to write some "Cliff Notes" on it for him...yeah, I'm not going to enable your inability to get through a book. Perhaps that made me a bad staff officer. Perhaps I don't give a fuck.

I make myself LOL for real sometimes

So I like to think I have a fairly decent understanding of Lawrence, as well as any American nearly 80 years after his death and is only a casual reader of his can be. Anyway, back to the book. This will be brief, I swear.

Like I said, good book and an interesting read. Schneider paints a picture of the situation Lawrence came into as well as what Lawrence was up to in the years prior to WWI and then goes on to discuss how Lawrence became involved with the Arabs, the major decisions, and the operations conducted. However, since the book is about Lawrence the Leader and not so much Lawrence the Eccentric, Schneider completely leaves out Lawrence's detainment in Deraa and the interrogation/rape that occured there.

Schneider claims that Lawrence likely suffered from PTSD (well duh) which is the primarly reason Lawrence attempted to resign from his position after the battle of Talifeh. But, the author claims that it was Talifeh that led to the change in Lawrence.

The battle of Talifeh occured in January 1918, 2 months after Deraa. The Arabs seized the town on the way to the capture of Damascus. The Turks counterattacked, which caught Lawrence off guard. Talifeh was the only conventional fight Lawrence was a part of during the Arab Revolt and Schneider claims this is what led to Lawrence's "shellshock". Perhaps he is correct.

I'd put my money on the Turkish male rape as the most likely culprit of the PTSD, but that's just me.