Modern Era
Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916): Dividing the Ottoman Middle East
Britain and France secretly agreed spheres of control in the Arab Middle East; the plan was later revised but shaped the post-war mandates.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Arab Revolt (1916-1918): Sharif Hussein and Lawrence of Arabia
Arab forces helped drive the Ottomans from Arabia and Syria, but Arab hopes of a single independent state were not fulfilled.
Modern Era
Easter Rising (1916): The Irish Rebellion in Dublin
The rising was defeated within six days, but the executions of its leaders transformed Irish opinion in favour of independence.
Modern Era
Brusilov Offensive (1916): Russia's Greatest WWI Success
Major Russian victory over Austria-Hungary, but huge losses on both sides and no decisive breakthrough.
Modern Era
Battle of Jutland (1916): The Great Naval Clash of World War I
Tactically inconclusive with heavier British losses, but Britain kept control of the North Sea and the German fleet stayed largely in port.
Modern Era
Battle of the Somme (1916): The Bloodiest Day in British History
The Allies advanced about 10 km at a cost of over a million casualties on both sides; no breakthrough was achieved.
Modern Era
Battle of Verdun (1916): France's Longest Battle of World War I
French defensive victory; Germany failed to take Verdun, and both armies suffered around 700,000 casualties combined.
Modern Era
Mexican Constitution of 1917: The Revolution's Landmark Charter
Mexico adopted a constitution combining a federal republic with far-reaching social rights; much amended, it remains in force today.
Modern Era
Fall of Jerusalem (1917): Allenby Takes the Holy City
Ottoman forces withdrew and Jerusalem surrendered to the British, ending four centuries of Ottoman rule over the city.
Modern Era
Battle of Beersheba (1917): The Australian Light Horse Charge
British Empire victory; Beersheba and most of its wells were captured, turning the flank of the Ottoman Gaza-Beersheba line.
Modern Era
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (1917): Germany's U-Boat Gamble
Shipping losses soared in early 1917, but the convoy system contained the threat, and the campaign helped bring the United States into the war.
Modern Era
Russian Civil War (1917-1922): Reds Against Whites
Bolshevik victory; the Soviet state survived and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed in December 1922.