Abdul el Sallah

Abdul el Sallah.

Abdul el Sallah was a Bedouin leader and Arab nationalist whose defiance of the Ottoman Empire on 5 August 1939 launched the Arab Revolt. El Sallah had obtained arms from both Great Britain and the Germanic Confederation by promising the leaders of both nations that they would be given preferential access to Arabian oil after the revolt. Within a week the Ottoman Empire's Arabs had joined el Sallah's revolt.

The Arabs were defeated at the Battle of el Khibir on 10 September 1939, and el Sallah called upon the Germans for help, warning that their oil concessions would be threatened if the Arab Revolt failed. Chancellor Karl Bruning responded by airlifting 6000 elite German troops to Arabia from September 19 to 21. By the end of 1940, the Germans were able to conquer the Ottoman Empire, and Arabia became an independent German client state.

Sobel makes no further mention of Abdul el Sallah after his request for German aid.