The famine at Mount Lebanon during the first world war

Yes it is... it might not be well mentioned in school education because, well, why would it be? A small country that Britain had nothing to do with is unlikely to be taught when so many other things are missed out of the curriculum as well. A shame really as Lebanese history is fascinating but still.
Equally, as *only* a couple of hundred thousand died it ranks as a relatively small famine by historical standards, alas.

It is my view an important part of WWI history, and for the people in that area it was in fact equal to the black death.

Why exactly? A terrible event for the locals there but hardly very relevant to the course of WWI..?

In what way was it equal to the black death exactly? Proportionally i guess you can try to make the case but in any, and ever, other sense its not really comparable

Who is they?

Very few battles in WWI were decisive for the outcome of the conflict. They were futile, fought over a few hundred acres of land that was reconquered the following week and they were regular. But the totality and the pointlessnes of these battles is what remains today.

You are just arguing, but you are not presenting any arguments.

I feel the problem is more you seem unable to comprehend others comments. Let me break it down for you very simply then, the famine in Mt Lebanon had zero bearing on the war. Just because you find it interesting does not make it relevant, period.

As to the comment on almost no battles being decisive for the wars outcome, out of every single minor and major confrontation, maybe. In the grand scheme of the war that is patently absurd though, every battle resulted in outcomes both major and minor that were essential to the wars outcome. Just because they were bloody and wasteful does not detract from that. Any student of history can note this basic truism, even those who only did it to A-level.

I have not seen anything to suggest that you have moved beyond A_Level

The outcome of the many battles along the french rivers, were minor shifts in the front. Huge fatalities. When you say something is not relevant? Relevant for whom?

If you listen to the podcast series from oxford university on new perspectives on the war, or the one from harvard at ottoman history podcast, you will see that historians are trying to include the people who were left out, the african and indian soldiers, the native american soldiers, the african american soldiers. If these universities think it is relevant, and since they form the basis for my question, why should I care about your opinion? I am not saying that i am in any way affiliated with them. But I listen to the free educational material that they distribute. So, i didn't grab this out of thin air.

And even if this catastrophe was not as tighlty linked to the war as you suggest, it would still merit attention just by itself?

One reason why such far away events are important is because the effects of the war on the outer edges of the british empire is what creates the generation that later become post colonial leaders. You will be surprised by the number of troops mobilized in some campaigns from these regions. The writer PC Wren, known for his novel Beau Geste describes this in some of his fiction. He was stationed in africa for a very brief period during the war. But what happened to all the indian soldiers? How did their experience shape india?

(WWI did produce the russian revolution, and it probably gave native americans their rights as citizens of the united states. In literature, it produce war poets and later the lost generation. But all the major hard boiled fiction writers served in the war, in addition to their role model hemingway, and thus the drunk philip marlowe and all the other detectives like him were creations of returning soldiers, drunk in bars and pubs and publishing in pulp magazines. Burnett, Hammet, Chandler etc. All soldiers. Many of these things are not normally thought of as effects of the war.)
It contributed to it, to say it was the only factor is ridiculous.
Remind me what that has to do with the argument at hand about the famine? You seem to be going on a strange rant of no particular bearing to the subject matter. Yes, war is horrible and thus creates great opportunities for art and literature. Is that at all relevant? Nope.

What makes you think i care what you think my education level stands at? Suffice it to say i'd be willing to bet its higher than yours given your strange reversion to insulting one for no apparent reason but hey ho.


The war, as noted.

Uhuh, very nice and pc of them but remind me how a tragic famine of a marginalized people suddenly becomes more relevant than it should be simply because the people have been 'overlooked' historically? Its hardly a debatable proposition that, whilst tragic as i said, it was of little to no military significance beyond the region.
Once again, i really dont care what you do or dont think of my opinion. Suffice it to say this, you made the thread asking for views and youve been given one. Just because youre apparently rather young of mind and chose to be a child about it because it doesn't concur with your world view is neither here nor there.
So just to reiterate the main point here, just because ethnics have been trasditionally overlooked in the conflict does not suddenly make any and all experiences by them particularly noteworthy, just due to the colour of their skin. As said previously, something anyone who got past a-level should know...

Maybe, depends on what attention. Simply for attentions sake? No, obviously not. Although as youve already stated that attention should be paid simply because they have historically been ignored (dubious but still) i think we can safely assume youre not going into this discussion with logic first and foremost as opposed to some odd notion of equity. Just because something is sad, does not make it suddenly relevant to the course of a war.

Have you ever looked at a map? Lebanon is hardly far away compared to other aspects of the war. It certainly wasn't 'the outer edges' of the empire.
Not really, funnily enough i do happen to be literate in aspects of the great war. Just because these come as earth shattering revelations to you now does not mean the rest of us were so blinkered in our outlook.