Part 8/16:
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 altered the regional landscape dramatically. Persia found itself a strategic battleground for Ottoman, German, Russian, and British forces. Notably, Ottoman troops and tribal fighters, under the guidance of figures like Wilhem Vasmos (the so-called "German Lawrence of Arabia"), aimed to advance through Persia into Russia, risking a broader regional conflict. Meanwhile, Russian and British allied forces fought smaller-scale battles, suffering from devastating famine and internal disorder—particularly the famine of 1917, which claimed over 100,000 lives and caused widespread displacement.