The Strategic Significance of the Persian Gulf During the First World War

This essay examines why Britain committed significantly more resources than the other great powers to securing its interests in the Gulf during the First World War. While the importance of the region today stems primarily from its energy reserves, this was not always the case. Based on an analysis of recent scholarship as well as accounts of British decision-makers, the essay argues that their rationale for involvement in the region evolved as the war progressed. At the outset, British leaders viewed the Gulf and the territories surrounding it as a security buffer protecting the sea route to India, and India itself. In 1915, however, the region became an arena for gaining prestige in the eyes of Britain’s imperial subjects. The resources the British committed to this objective allowed them to establish control over the territories surrounding the Gulf. This enabled access to oil in Persia and Mesopotamia, which became the principal reason for British interest in the region only at the end of the war.