Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz

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James Stejskal

Masters of Mayhem

Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz

James Stejskal

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English

Casemate
01 December 2025

History; African history; First World War; Warfare & defence

Silver Medal winner in Military History Matters 'Book of the Year' Award

Written with great accuracy, detail, enthusiasm, and insight Military History Matters judges' comment

Striking where the enemy is weakest and melting away into the darkness before he can react. Never confronting a stronger force directly, but willing to use audacity and surprise to confound and demoralize an opponent. Operations driven by good intelligence, area knowledge, mobility, speed, firepower, and detailed planning executed by a few specialists with indigenous warriors - this is unconventional warfare.

T. E. Lawrence was one of the earliest practitioners of modern unconventional warfare. His tactics and strategies were used by men like Mao and Giap in their wars of liberation. Both kept Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom close at hand. This book looks at the creation of the HEDGEHOG force, the formation of armored car sections and other units, and focuses on the Hejaz Operations Staff, the Allied officers and men who took Lawrence's idea and prosecuted it against the Ottoman Turkish army assisting Field Marshal Allenby to achieve victory in 1918.

Stejskal concludes with an examination of how HEDGEHOG has influenced special operations and unconventional warfare, including Field Marshal Wavell, the Long Range Desert Group, and David Stirling's SAS.

AUTHOR: James Stejskal served for 23 years with Special Forces, including two tours in Berlin, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 4. He then served 13 years with the CIA as a senior Operations Office (Case Officer) in Africa, Europe and Asia. He is now a military historian and conflict archaeologist. He has previously been published in journals such as the South African Journal of Military Studies and this is his second book.

By: James Stejskal
Imprint: Casemate
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781636246147
ISBN 10: 1636246141
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

James Stejskal, after 35 years of service with US Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency, is a uniquely qualified historian and novelist. He is the author of Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army’s Elite, 1956–1990; Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz; No Moon as Witness; and The Snake Eater Chronicles.

Reviews for Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz

""...a detailed and thoughtful book that I can certainly recommend.""-- ""Roads to the Great War"" ""...delivers a well-written, exciting report on the campaign from the perspective of the various units involved.""-- ""Studies in Intelligence"" ""...the book frequently reveals the pragmatic nature of irregular militaries fighting for pay vice nation-representing soldier""-- ""Armor"" ""...Mr. Stejskal has penned a great book. His work is extraordinarily detailed and comprehensive in its approach.""-- ""WarWheels.com"" ""He throws considerable fresh light on the campaign, using both careful research into documents and military archeology, exploring the scenes of many of the actions.""-- ""The NYMAS Review"" ""If you truly desire to look at how 'thinking outside the box' worked in a very practical way and led to some of the tactical concepts we hold as gospel today, then reading this gripping book is a must!""-- ""PMCI Magazine"" ""Using Lawrence's exploits sowing chaos as an example, the author defines unconventional warfare as using audacity and surprise to strike where and when an enemy is weakest, then melt away before foes can react effectively, leaving them confounded and demoralized.""-- ""Toy Soldier & Model Figure"" Masters of Mayhem is a book that every Rolls-Royce owner and enthusiast should own--not only an important historical work, but a rollicking good read!-- ""SpeedReaders.info"" ""I'm pleased to say this new work by James Stejskal offers an interesting and valid take on the campaign for whom Lawrence became such a talisman... There are a great many attractive characters in this story... Mr. Stejskal brings them out into the light and places them firmly in context... the reader benefits from the warmth and understanding he brings to their story... you will not be disappointed with the telling."" -- ""War History Online""