And how would the Turks defend all that? Lawrence asked. No doubt by a trenchline across the bottom if we came like an army with banners, but suppose we were {as we might be} an influence, an idea, a thing intangible, invulnerable, without front or back, drifting about like a gas? … Most wars were wars of contact, both forces striving into touch to avoid tactical surprise. Ours should be a war of detachment. We were to contain the enemy by the silent threat of a vast unknown desert, not disclosing ourselves till we attacked. If alien to many
Lawrence questioned how the Turks would defend their position, suggesting they would likely build a trench if confronted by a traditional army. However, he proposed a different approach, one that focused on operating as an unseen influence rather than a conventional force. This method would involve a strategic detachment, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and threat without direct confrontation.
He envisioned a campaign that would rely on the power of the...
