# Book II: Opening the Arab Offensive explained — Seven Pillars of Wisdom

> Chapter companion for Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence.

## What happens

Lawrence returns to Feisal's camp after the Turks capture Jebel Subh, destroying his confidence in tribal warfare. With the revolt at risk, he and Feisal decide to abandon the main enemy force and strike at the railway flank, beginning with a move to Wejh to regain the initiative.

## Themes in this chapter

### War and Guerrilla Tactics

The decision to abandon conventional defense and strike the enemy's railway flank marks a pivot to guerrilla warfare.

### Futility and Meaning

Lawrence's confidence in tribal war is destroyed, yet he seeks new meaning in a risky flanking strategy.

## Character check-ins

### T.E. Lawrence

Returns to Feisal's camp after the fall of Jebel Subh, reassesses strategy for the Arab Revolt.

### Emir Feisal

Lawrence reaches Feisal's camp; they decide to shift focus to the railway flank and move the base to Wejh.

## Key lines

> My chiefs were astonished at such favourable news, but promised help, and meanwhile sent me back, much against my will, into Arabia.

My superiors were surprised by the good news and offered assistance, but sent me back to Arabia against my wishes.

_Lawrence is reluctantly reassigned to the Arabian front despite his personal objections._

> I reached Feisal’s camp on the day the Turks carried the defences of Jebel Subh. By their so doing the entire basis of my confidence in a tribal war was destroyed.

I arrived at Feisal's camp just as the Turks overran Jebel Subh, shattering my faith in tribal warfare.

_The fall of Jebel Subh undermines Lawrence's belief in the effectiveness of tribal forces._

> We decided that to regain the initiative we must ignore the main body of the enemy, and concentrate far off on his railway flank. The first step towards this was to move our base to Wejh: which we proceeded to do in the grand manner.

We resolved to bypass the main Turkish force and focus on attacking their railway flank, starting by moving our base to Wejh in a bold fashion.

_The strategic shift to railway attacks and the relocation to Wejh is initiated to regain the offensive._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/seven_pillars_of_wisdom_se/chapters/book-ii-opening-the-arab-offensive
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/seven_pillars_of_wisdom_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/seven_pillars_of_wisdom_se/chapters