Review of Lawrence in Arabia
Heather Eggert
1.) Lawrence never received formal military training, but he achieved the rank of Colonel in the British Army. Discuss how he achieved the rank and compare his training to yours.
Thomas Edward Lawrence is a scholar graduate of Oxford University. There, he obtained his degree in archaeologist. About 4 years before the war started, T.E. Lawrence was on an archaeological dig in Northern Syria. This gave him a huge background and understanding in Arab culture and tribal structure. The British sent Lawrence as a Liaison Officer to the Arab rebels. Because of Lawrence’s prior exposure to the Arab culture and his interest in medieval times as a child, he was able to handle the rebels better than most Military Officers who just understand combat. He was able to communicate and persuade the Arabs to fight with the British strategy.
Lawrence’s pure desire to succeed contributed to his promotions and ultimately lead to his procurement of the COL rank. In the introduction to Lawrence in Arabia, Scott Anderson describes how Lawrence has dreamed of being “knighted by the age of thirty” (pg 13). This shows that Lawrence had great ambition to well in his life. However, some of Lawrence’s promotions were rushed and for the necessity of Lawrence’s mission to continue. Lawrence was promoted to second lieutenant because he had to brief a general in the map room, and the general demanded to be briefed by an officer (pg 213). He was temporarily promoted to captain “presumably to spare the very senior military commanders he would be meeting in Iraq from the indignity of conferring with a second lieutenant” (pg 213). Lawrence continued to strengthen and exploit the relationship between the British and the Arabs that he was promoted to Major and named a Companion of the Order of the Bath, which is one of the highest levels in British chivalric system available to junior military officers. Lawrence was a key asset to the British. After the massacre of
1.) Lawrence never received formal military training, but he achieved the rank of Colonel in the British Army. Discuss how he achieved the rank and compare his training to yours.
Thomas Edward Lawrence is a scholar graduate of Oxford University. There, he obtained his degree in archaeologist. About 4 years before the war started, T.E. Lawrence was on an archaeological dig in Northern Syria. This gave him a huge background and understanding in Arab culture and tribal structure. The British sent Lawrence as a Liaison Officer to the Arab rebels. Because of Lawrence’s prior exposure to the Arab culture and his interest in medieval times as a child, he was able to handle the rebels better than most Military Officers who just understand combat. He was able to communicate and persuade the Arabs to fight with the British strategy.
Lawrence’s pure desire to succeed contributed to his promotions and ultimately lead to his procurement of the COL rank. In the introduction to Lawrence in Arabia, Scott Anderson describes how Lawrence has dreamed of being “knighted by the age of thirty” (pg 13). This shows that Lawrence had great ambition to well in his life. However, some of Lawrence’s promotions were rushed and for the necessity of Lawrence’s mission to continue. Lawrence was promoted to second lieutenant because he had to brief a general in the map room, and the general demanded to be briefed by an officer (pg 213). He was temporarily promoted to captain “presumably to spare the very senior military commanders he would be meeting in Iraq from the indignity of conferring with a second lieutenant” (pg 213). Lawrence continued to strengthen and exploit the relationship between the British and the Arabs that he was promoted to Major and named a Companion of the Order of the Bath, which is one of the highest levels in British chivalric system available to junior military officers. Lawrence was a key asset to the British. After the massacre of