"MURRAY'S BRILLIANT CAMPAIGN IN SINAI HAD REMOVED THE DANGER TO EGYPT" (FIELD MARSHAL ALLENBY): MURRAY'S WORLD WAR I DESPATCHES FROM 1916-17, WITH FOUR LARGE FOLDING MAPS OF EGYPT, TURKEY AND THE LEVANT

(WORLD WAR I) MURRAY, Archibald. Sir Archibald Murray's Despatches (June 1916-June 1917). London & Toronto; New York: J.M. Dent & Sons; E.P. Dutton, 1920. Two volumes: text volume and map portfolio. Large octavo, original brown cloth. $950.

First edition, American issue, of General Archibald Murray's World War I dispatches, inscribed by him on the half title: "To Aage Berger Nilsen with kindest regards from Archibald Murray, General… 19th Nov. 1928." Complete with the separate portfolio containing four large folding maps, three printed in color, of Egypt, the Turkish Empire, Syria (including Jerusalem), and the Sinai Peninsula.

"Murray was appointed to a command in Egypt, where he arrived in January 1916, with instructions to secure the safety of the Suez Canal, administer martial law in Egypt, and reorganize the troops evacuated from Gallipoli… He was widely considered an excellent choice for the job. He tackled his large and complex workload with determination and enthusiasm. In August, after an invading enemy force had been defeated at Romani (20 miles from the canal) it was decided that the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) would advance across the Sinai peninsula. By December, in spite of opposition and physical difficulties, this had been successfully achieved with the laying of a railway line and a 12-inch water main across the desert. As Allenby would note in his dispatches: 'Murray's brilliant campaign in Sinai had removed the danger to Egypt, and had forced the enemy back across his own frontier'… On 26 March an attempt was made to capture Gaza: though the objectives were initially secured, poor communications in the command structure resulted in troops being pulled out at the last minute. Murray none the less sent home a positive report of the battle and was then directed to renew operations and occupy Jerusalem. Although Murray protested that the operations required more forces than were at his disposal, he obeyed his instructions and attacked Gaza again. However, the Turkish troops fought notoriously well on the defensive and inflicted upon Murray a serious defeat, the scale of which had an immediate effect on the troops. A change in command was deemed necessary and Murray was superseded by Allenby, who took over on 29 June… Allenby himself, in his final dispatch, noted his indebtedness to his predecessor 'who, by his bridging of the desert between Egypt and Palestine, laid the foundations for the subsequent advances of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force'" (ODNB). The map of the Turkish Empire is a black-and-white line-engraving, measuring 20 by 23 inches; the map of Egypt, printed in color, measures 32-1/2 by 26 inches; the map of the Sinai Peninsula, printed in color, measures 28-1/2 by 36 inches; and the map of Syria, including much of modern day Israel and Palestine, measures 33-1/2 by 28-1/2 inches.

Text volume without front free endpaper. Map portfolio with cloth ties trimmed. Text and maps fine, cloth clean. Desirable inscribed.