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A Box Of Sand: The Italo-Ottoman War 1911-1912
This is the first book in the English language to offer an analysis of a conflict that, in so many ways, raised the curtain on the Great War.
In September 1911, Italy declared war on the once mighty, transcontinental Ottoman Empire but it was an Empire in decline. The ambitious Italy decided to add to her growing African empire by attacking Ottoman-ruled Tripolitania (Libya). The Italian action began the rapid fall of the Ottoman Empire, which would end with its disintegration at the end of the First World War.
The day after Ottoman Turkey made peace with Italy in October 1912, the Balkan League attacked in the First Balkan War. The Italo-Ottoman War, as a prelude to the unprecedented hostilities that would follow, has so many firsts and pointers to the awful future: the first three-dimensional war with aerial reconnaissance and bombing, and the first use of armored vehicles, operating in concert with conventional ground and naval forces; war fever whipped up by the Italian press; military incompetence and stalemate; lessons in how not to fight a guerrilla war; mass death from disease and 10,000 more from reprisals and executions. Thirty thousand men would die in a struggle for what may described as little more than a scatolone di sabbia - a box of sand.
As acclaimed historian Charles Stephenson portrays in this ground-breaking study, if there is an exemplar of the futility of war, this is it. Apart from the loss of life and the huge cost to Italy (much higher than was originally envisaged), the main outcome was to halve the Libyan population through emigration, famine and casualties.
The Italo-Ottoman War was a conflict overshadowed by the Great War but one which in many ways presaged the horrors to come. 'A Box of Sand' will be of great interest to students of military history and those with an interest in the history of North Africa and the development of technology in war.
In September 1911, Italy declared war on the once mighty, transcontinental Ottoman Empire but it was an Empire in decline. The ambitious Italy decided to add to her growing African empire by attacking Ottoman-ruled Tripolitania (Libya). The Italian action began the rapid fall of the Ottoman Empire, which would end with its disintegration at the end of the First World War.
The day after Ottoman Turkey made peace with Italy in October 1912, the Balkan League attacked in the First Balkan War. The Italo-Ottoman War, as a prelude to the unprecedented hostilities that would follow, has so many firsts and pointers to the awful future: the first three-dimensional war with aerial reconnaissance and bombing, and the first use of armored vehicles, operating in concert with conventional ground and naval forces; war fever whipped up by the Italian press; military incompetence and stalemate; lessons in how not to fight a guerrilla war; mass death from disease and 10,000 more from reprisals and executions. Thirty thousand men would die in a struggle for what may described as little more than a scatolone di sabbia - a box of sand.
As acclaimed historian Charles Stephenson portrays in this ground-breaking study, if there is an exemplar of the futility of war, this is it. Apart from the loss of life and the huge cost to Italy (much higher than was originally envisaged), the main outcome was to halve the Libyan population through emigration, famine and casualties.
The Italo-Ottoman War was a conflict overshadowed by the Great War but one which in many ways presaged the horrors to come. 'A Box of Sand' will be of great interest to students of military history and those with an interest in the history of North Africa and the development of technology in war.
296 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 10, 2021
A well-researched and well-written history of the war, mostly focused on politics, diplomacy and strategy.
The book does discuss tactics and weaponry, but the perspective is mostly from a high level. Stephenson describes how the Italians succeeded in seizing and holding the Libyan coast but were unable to win or afford a guerrilla war inland. Much of the book is from Italy's perspective, and Stephenson describes how the war led to Italian losses in manpower and equipment and how it affected the nation’s finances, as well as how it affected Italian policy during the First World War. He also describes how the Italians waged war on the Ottoman empire to seize Tripoli, while insisting that Italy was committed to maintaining the empire’s territorial integrity.
Unfortunately, the book does not really describe how the war affected Ottoman fortunes in the Balkan Wars and the First World War. The discussion of the peace talks is cursory (Stephenson actually recommends another book on the subject to the reader) Also, the font is frustratingly tiny, and some more maps and a better index would have helped. Some details may bore the reader, such as gun calibers and lengthy quotes from diplomats.
Still, an insightful and readable work.
The book does discuss tactics and weaponry, but the perspective is mostly from a high level. Stephenson describes how the Italians succeeded in seizing and holding the Libyan coast but were unable to win or afford a guerrilla war inland. Much of the book is from Italy's perspective, and Stephenson describes how the war led to Italian losses in manpower and equipment and how it affected the nation’s finances, as well as how it affected Italian policy during the First World War. He also describes how the Italians waged war on the Ottoman empire to seize Tripoli, while insisting that Italy was committed to maintaining the empire’s territorial integrity.
Unfortunately, the book does not really describe how the war affected Ottoman fortunes in the Balkan Wars and the First World War. The discussion of the peace talks is cursory (Stephenson actually recommends another book on the subject to the reader) Also, the font is frustratingly tiny, and some more maps and a better index would have helped. Some details may bore the reader, such as gun calibers and lengthy quotes from diplomats.
Still, an insightful and readable work.
February 16, 2015
I’m conflicted reviewing this book. Stephenson reports the chronologic events of this war in exceptional detail. Unfortunately, it’s dull, and tedious—lacks an empathetic milieu. It’s hard reading for the ordinary citizen. Perhaps it is best as a reference book for the military historian.
This war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire early in the twentieth-century (1911-1912) for control of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania (now Libya) mostly is lost to history nor is its raison d’être much understood. Stephenson has superbly researched the war’s particulars and has penned about as historically accurate a scenario as one could reckon. He relates in excruciating detail the chronology of the war—laced with interminable quotes from journalists, diary entries, diplomatic and military messages, after-action reports, etc. He spends considerable text discussing the reactions of the Triple Entente to Italy’s (a member) participation in the war, Ottoman politics, and details and implications of the Balkan Wars. Such background is related to the conflict but is tangential and diverts our attention from the main theme.
I’m overwhelmed with ancillary information. The war’s key points are buried in this comprehensive blather. On completion of his text, I do not have a clear picture of the events of this war nor of its origins.
I have three more complaints: the text of this 296-page book is in a small font (size and type not given on the copyright page)—far too small for comfortable reading. And, the Appendices are in an even smaller font. Often times, he mentions locations in the text that are not plotted on his maps. The Index contains only the names of people mentioned in the text. A more comprehensive Index would contain geographic locations, ship’s names, and etc.
Lastly, though the war ended officially in 1912 it morphed into a protracted war with the indigenous Senussi that lasted until 1934. The Senussi are a Muslim political-religious Sufi order and tribe of (now) Libya and Sudan.
This war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire early in the twentieth-century (1911-1912) for control of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania (now Libya) mostly is lost to history nor is its raison d’être much understood. Stephenson has superbly researched the war’s particulars and has penned about as historically accurate a scenario as one could reckon. He relates in excruciating detail the chronology of the war—laced with interminable quotes from journalists, diary entries, diplomatic and military messages, after-action reports, etc. He spends considerable text discussing the reactions of the Triple Entente to Italy’s (a member) participation in the war, Ottoman politics, and details and implications of the Balkan Wars. Such background is related to the conflict but is tangential and diverts our attention from the main theme.
I’m overwhelmed with ancillary information. The war’s key points are buried in this comprehensive blather. On completion of his text, I do not have a clear picture of the events of this war nor of its origins.
I have three more complaints: the text of this 296-page book is in a small font (size and type not given on the copyright page)—far too small for comfortable reading. And, the Appendices are in an even smaller font. Often times, he mentions locations in the text that are not plotted on his maps. The Index contains only the names of people mentioned in the text. A more comprehensive Index would contain geographic locations, ship’s names, and etc.
Lastly, though the war ended officially in 1912 it morphed into a protracted war with the indigenous Senussi that lasted until 1934. The Senussi are a Muslim political-religious Sufi order and tribe of (now) Libya and Sudan.
June 12, 2024
There were a number of wars before the First World War, that in retrospect indicate the way military affairs were advancing. A few of these have received a great deal of scholarly attention, especially the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War, but to a lesser extent also the Spanish-American War and the two Balkan Wars.
The Italo-Turkish War is perhaps the least well-known, and sources for it in English are few and far between.
Charles Stephenson provides a great service here in releasing this comprehensive survey that includes the diplomatic and domestic angles as well as in-depth descriptions of the battles, on both land and sea, that were fought by the two sides.
It is interesting to learn that the Italians improved on their amphibious techniques, though it is strange to note that they were to attempt almost no such operations in the two world wars.
The author does a remarkable job in explaining the futility of the war, demonstrating that Italy could have had everything she wanted in a sham consortium, such as was already established in Egypt and Tunisia where the Ottomans were nominally sovereign but where England and France really ran the show.
It is strange therefore that Italy insisted on outright annexation and a formal transfer of sovereignty, when the facade had served other European powers well enough everywhere else.
Of particular interest to me was the naval aspect, though the inclusion of a description of the First Senussi War at the end of the book was an additional bonus.
Stephenson stresses that for all of Italy's hunger for prestige, her military reputation was not materially assisted by this conflict, where Italian officers were cautious and hesitant. He gives them their fair due, arguing, along with recent revisionist scholarship, that the Italians were not simply incompetent or cowardly, but they were nonetheless as unimpressive in this war as in any other twentieth century conflict in which they participated.
In relation to this the author included a short section describing how the morass of Libya reduced Italy's preparedness for war with Austria in 1915, with many men, tonnes of material, and the best officers stuck in Africa. One wonders if Austria and Germany had an opportunity here to interdict sea lanes with submarines or a daring sortie by the Austrian Navy, and we can see that Italy had her own parallel to France's strategic conundrum in ferrying men from Algeria to Europe that so vexed the French Navy.
This war ought to be given more attention in the popular imagination since it was the first to involve aeroplanes employed for military use, saw the first use of motor vehicles to supply and transport men, and has a fascinating episode with the father of the radio, Marconi himself, who was in Libya setting up the first wartime use of radios.
Anyone interested in delving into the roots of Italian colonialism in North Africa, the introduction of new technology presaging the First World War, or the politics of navalism and imperialism in general, will find much to appreciate in this work.
The Italo-Turkish War is perhaps the least well-known, and sources for it in English are few and far between.
Charles Stephenson provides a great service here in releasing this comprehensive survey that includes the diplomatic and domestic angles as well as in-depth descriptions of the battles, on both land and sea, that were fought by the two sides.
It is interesting to learn that the Italians improved on their amphibious techniques, though it is strange to note that they were to attempt almost no such operations in the two world wars.
The author does a remarkable job in explaining the futility of the war, demonstrating that Italy could have had everything she wanted in a sham consortium, such as was already established in Egypt and Tunisia where the Ottomans were nominally sovereign but where England and France really ran the show.
It is strange therefore that Italy insisted on outright annexation and a formal transfer of sovereignty, when the facade had served other European powers well enough everywhere else.
Of particular interest to me was the naval aspect, though the inclusion of a description of the First Senussi War at the end of the book was an additional bonus.
Stephenson stresses that for all of Italy's hunger for prestige, her military reputation was not materially assisted by this conflict, where Italian officers were cautious and hesitant. He gives them their fair due, arguing, along with recent revisionist scholarship, that the Italians were not simply incompetent or cowardly, but they were nonetheless as unimpressive in this war as in any other twentieth century conflict in which they participated.
In relation to this the author included a short section describing how the morass of Libya reduced Italy's preparedness for war with Austria in 1915, with many men, tonnes of material, and the best officers stuck in Africa. One wonders if Austria and Germany had an opportunity here to interdict sea lanes with submarines or a daring sortie by the Austrian Navy, and we can see that Italy had her own parallel to France's strategic conundrum in ferrying men from Algeria to Europe that so vexed the French Navy.
This war ought to be given more attention in the popular imagination since it was the first to involve aeroplanes employed for military use, saw the first use of motor vehicles to supply and transport men, and has a fascinating episode with the father of the radio, Marconi himself, who was in Libya setting up the first wartime use of radios.
Anyone interested in delving into the roots of Italian colonialism in North Africa, the introduction of new technology presaging the First World War, or the politics of navalism and imperialism in general, will find much to appreciate in this work.
February 11, 2026
This book is a narrative history and a strong analysis of the conflict.
The war marked several firsts. Most notably, the use of aircraft to bomb the enemy and the deployment of radios.To put pressure on the Ottomans, the Italians invaded the Dodecanese. here were also naval actions in the Adriatic, the Dardanelles, Lebanon, and the Red Sea.
This is an invaluable study of the war, with all the major actions covered.
The war marked several firsts. Most notably, the use of aircraft to bomb the enemy and the deployment of radios.To put pressure on the Ottomans, the Italians invaded the Dodecanese. here were also naval actions in the Adriatic, the Dardanelles, Lebanon, and the Red Sea.
This is an invaluable study of the war, with all the major actions covered.
September 12, 2017
Well researched from the looks of it. Lots of military details and reasons for the types of operations.
July 28, 2021
A well researched and written history of a little known war with some fascinating details. I very much enjoyed it.
July 25, 2023
Very interesting and well researched history on a topic I knew little about.
January 23, 2015
A well written and comprehensive story of the 1911 Italian war to wrest control of present day Libya from the Ottoman Empire. The author covers the Italian domestic and international politics (Great Powers) as well as the order of battle and ramifications of the endeavor in a clear and interesting manner.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews