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Main article: Occupation of the Jordan Valley (1918) In February the occupation of the valley began, with the Auckland Mounted Rifles Brigade (New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade) remaining to patrol the area, after the Capture of Jericho. During the two Transjordan attacks the Jordan Valley was garrisoned by the Anzac and Australian Mounted Divisions, the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions, and the 20th Indian Brigade until September when Chaytor's force began the Third Transjordan attack by advancing to capture Jisr ed Damieh, Es Salt and Amman.[302][Note 8] First Transjordan advance Main article: First Transjordan attack on Amman Before Jericho had been captured Allenby was already planning to push across the Jordan River and 'throw a big raid past Salt against the Hedjaz Railway.'[259] The First Attack on Amman, as it is known to the British, was referred to by the Ottoman Army as the First Battle of the Jordan. It took place between 21 and 30 March.[303][304] The 60th (London) Infantry Division marching from Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley, March 1918 Shea's Force consisting of the 60th (London) and the Anzac Mounted Divisions successfully forced a crossing of the Jordan River, occupied Es Salt, attacked Amman and partly destroyed sections of the Hedjaz Railway some 30–40 miles (48–64 km) east of Jericho.[305][306][307] The Ottoman 48th Infantry Division together with the 3rd and 46th Assault Companies and the German 703rd Infantry Battalion successfully defended Amman and stopped the advance of Shea's Force. With his lines of communication threatened by 2,000 reinforcements moving towards Es Salt from the north the successful retirement was eventually ordered, even though the principal objective; the destruction of a large viaduct at Amman had not succeeded.[308][309][310] The retirement was complete by the evening of 2 April leaving the only territorial gains two bridgeheads at Ghoraniye and Makhadet Hajla.[311] This was the first defeat of units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force since the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917. Along with the Second Transjordan attack on Es Salt the following month, these two attacks focused attention away from the Mediterranean coastal sector of the line where the British Empire attack in September 1918 would be comprehensively successful.[312][313] Second Transjordan advance Main article: Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt Following the unsuccessful first Transjordan attack on Amman by Shea's force, Allenby ordered a reluctant Chauvel to attack Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt with a force one third larger than that which attacked Amman. But in the five weeks between these two operations British GHQ estimated the German and Ottoman forces in the area had doubled.[314][315][316] The second Transjordan attack was equally unsuccessful; risked the capture of one of Allenby's mounted divisions but is widely accepted as fulfilling his strategic aim of focusing his opponent's attention on the Transjordan area and away from the Mediterranean coast where he would make a successful breakthrough in September.[317][318][Note 9] German and Ottoman attack Main article: Battle of Abu Tellul On 14 July two attacks were made by German and Ottoman forces; in the hills on a salient held by Australian Light Horse which protected front line positions in the valley, where the mainly German force was routed, and a second operation to the east of the Jordan River on the plain, where an Ottoman cavalry brigade, had deployed six regiments to attack the El Hinu and Makhadet Hijla bridgeheads; they were attacked by Indian Lancers and routed.[319] Focus moves to the Western Front The German Spring Offensive was launched by Ludendorff on the Western Front the same day the First Transjordan attack on Amman began and completely eclipsed its failure. The powerful assault launched on both sides of the Somme by a force of 750,000 collapsed the British front in Picardy held by just 300,000 men. Gough's Fifth Army was forced back almost to Amiens. On one day; 23 March German forces advanced 12 miles (19 km) and captured 600 guns; in total 1,000 guns and 160,000 suffered the worst defeat of the war. The British War Cabinet recognised at once that the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire must be at least postponed.[320][321][322] The effect of this offensive on the Palestine Campaign was described by Allenby on 1 April 1918: "Here, I have raided the Hedjaz railway 40 miles East of Jordan & have done much damage but my little show dwindles now into a very insufficient [insignificant] affair in comparison with events in Europe." Overnight Palestine went from being the British government's first priority to a "side show."[323] Reorganisation of EEF infantry The 52nd (Lowland) Division was sent to France in early April.[324] The 74th (Yeomanry) Division along with nine British infantry battalions from each of the 10th, 53rd, 60th and 75th Divisions were sent to France, between May and August 1918. What remained of the divisions were reinforced by British Indian Army battalions to reform the divisions.[325][326][327][Note 10] Infantry brigades were reformed with one British battalion and three British Indian Army battalions,[328] except one brigade in the 53rd Division which consisted of one South African and three British Indian Army battalions.[329] By April 1918, 35 Indian infantry and two Indian pioneer battalions were preparing to move to Palestine.[330] Those battalions with numbers from 150 upwards, were formed by removing complete companies from experienced regiments then serving in Mesopotamia to form new battalions.[331][Note 11] The parent battalions also supplied first line transport and experienced officers with war-time service. The 198 men transferred from the 38th Dogras to the 3/151st Indian Infantry, included the commanding officer, two other British and four Indian officers.[331] The sepoys transferred were also very experienced. In September 1918 when the 2/151st Indian Infantry provided an honour guard for Allenby, among the men on parade were some who had served on five different fronts since 1914, and in eight pre-war campaigns.[331] Not all of these Indian battalions served in the infantry divisions, some were employed in defence of the lines of communication.[332] The complexity of the reorganisation and reformation of these battalions was not without consequences. Of the 54 British Indian Army battalions deployed to Palestine, 22 had recent experience of combat, but had each lost an experienced company, which had been replaced by recruits. Ten battalions were formed from experienced troops who had never fought or trained together. The other 22 had not seen any prior service in the war, in total almost a third of the troops were recruits.[333] Within 44 British Indian Army battalions, the "junior British officers were green, and most could not speak Hindustani. In one battalion, only one Indian officer spoke English and only two British officers could communicate with their men."[334] Two British Indian Army divisions arrived in January and April 1918 from the Mesopotamia campaign. They were the 7th (Meerut) Division followed by the 3rd (Lahore) Division.[335][336][337][Note 12] Only the 54th (East Anglian) Division remained, as previously, an all British division.[338] Reorganisation of EEF cavalry British and Indian officers of the 18th Lancers at Tel el Kebir on arrival from France in April 1918 The British Indian Army's 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions which had fought on the Western Front since 1914 were disbanded. They were reformed in the Middle East, with yeomanry regiments replacing British regular cavalry regiments, which remained on the Western Front.[339] Nine British yeomanry regiments from the Yeomanry Mounted Division (Desert Mounted Corps), were sent to France to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force fighting the Spring Offensive.[325] Three of the remaining yeomanry regiments, the 1/1st Dorset Yeomanry, the 1/1st County of London Yeomanry, and the 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry formerly in the 6th, 8th and 22nd Mounted Brigades, along with newly arrived British Indian Army units transferred from France, formed the 4th Cavalry Division.[321][340] Another two of the remaining yeomanry regiments, the 1/1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and 1/1st Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry formerly in the 5th and 7th Mounted Brigades, with newly arrived British Indian Army units transferred from France, and the renamed 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade formed the 5th Cavalry Division. The 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade had served during the Ottoman Raid on Suez Canal and in the Sinai and Palestine since December 1914, as the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. Both the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions were assigned to the Desert Mounted Corps which had lost the Yeomanry Cavalry Division during the reorganisation.[321][341] Five of the six brigades in the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions were composed of one British yeomanry and two Indian cavalry regiments.[342] The sixth brigade (in the 5th Cavalry Division); the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade's three regiments of Imperial Service Troops, represented and were wholly maintained by the Jodhpur, Mysore and Hyderabad Indian Princely states.[342] Eight of the 18 regiments in the six brigades were armed with and called lancers.[342][Note 13] The Australian Mounted Division's 5th Mounted Brigade was also dismounted and sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force in France. It was replaced by the newly formed 5th Light Horse Brigade which consisted of the 14th and 15th Light Horse Regiments, formed from Australians transferred from the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade and the French Régiment Mixte de Marche de Cavalerie. Completing this division, the 3rd and 4th Light Horse Brigades consisted of three light horse regiments made up of a headquarters and three squadrons. To conform with the 5th Light Horse Brigade, the 522 troopers in each of these regiment were armed with swords, a recent weapons upgrade from bayonets,[343][344][345] and Lee Enfield rifles.[346] Yildirim Army Group Ottoman Force June 1918[347] Rifles Sabres Machine guns Art.Rifles [sic] Fourth Army 8050 2375 221 30 Seventh Army 12850 750 289 28 Eighth Army 15870 1000 314 1309 North Palestine Line of Communications 950 – 6 – The Ottoman Armies in the Yildirim Army Group had been weakened by considerable losses suffered between 31 October and 31 December 1917. The Seventh Army lost 110 officers and 1,886 men killed, 213 officer and 5,488 men wounded, 79 officers and 393 men captured and 183 officers and 4,233 men were missing. This army had also lost 7,305 rifles 22 light and 73 heavy machine guns and 29 guns. The Eighth Army reported 2,384 wounded but no rifles, machine guns or artillery guns missing. Total Ottoman casualties for the period were 25,337 killed, wounded, captured or missing while British losses for the same period amounted to 18,000 men. During the same period the British reported 70 officers and 1,474 men killed, 118 officers and 3,163 men wounded, 95 officers and 5,868 men captured and 97 officers and 4,877 men missing. This was in spite of odds in favour of the British of well over two to one in infantry and eight to one in cavalry as well as a massive artillery, logistical and naval superiority. It is therefore remarkable that any Ottoman units survived the onslaught and made the Ottoman fighting withdrawal under pressure a great accomplishment.[348] However, the Yildirim Army Group was still a competent fighting force at the beginning of 1918. Every infantry division which had fought at Beersheba on 31 October was intact and still fighting, although some were considerably reduced in strength. To make up for these losses reinforcements had arrived in December 1917. The 2nd Caucasian Cavalry Division and the 1st Infantry Division had been transferred to Palestine from the Caucasus.[349] Indeed at the end of the Jerusalem campaign the Ottoman soldiers appeared the toughest, most obdurate and most professional of fighters.[350] Training continued and in early February, the 20th Infantry Regiment at regimental level received intensive training in day and night fortification and battle drill.[351] While Enver Pasa and the Ottoman General Staff remained focused on the offensive, the Ottoman Armies remained aggressive and confident.[352] Their front line was held by the Eighth Army with headquarters at Tul Keram defending the Mediterranean coastal sector, the Seventh Army with headquarters at Nablus defending the Judean Hills sector while the Fourth Army with headquarters at Amman (until after the first Transjordan attack on Amman when its headquarters was moved forward to Es Salt) defending the Transjordan sector.[353][354] But German air superiority ended with the arrival of Bristol fighters, one of which on 12 December destroyed three German Albatros scouts, and the S.E.5.a. From January 1918 these British planes increasingly dominated the skies.[355] The Ottoman high command was dissatisfied with von Falkenhayn the commander of the Yildirim Army Group in Palestine. He was seen to have been responsible for the defeat at Beersheba and his refusal to allow Ottoman staff officers to participate in planning combat operations rankled.[356] Enver Pasa replaced him on 19 February with Marshall Otto Liman von Sanders and under this new leader changed the established 'active, flexible defence' style to a more unyielding defence.[357] Arrival of a new German commander General Otto Liman von Sanders took over command of the Ottoman Army in Palestine from von Falkenhayn on 1 March 1918.[358] On arrival it was apparent to him that the Ottoman front line was particularly weak west on the Jordan and he took immediate action to strengthen both flanks by a redistribution of his forces.[359] In May 1918, during the lull in fighting after the two Transjordan attacks, from his headquarters at Nazareth, Liman took the opportunity to reorganise the Ottoman army forces in Palestine.[360][Note 14] The Eighth Army, which was headquartered at Tul Keram under the command of Djevad Pasha (Kress von Kressenstein's successor), consisted of the XXII Corps (7th, 20th and 46th Divisions) and the Asiatic Corps (16th and 19th Divisions, 701st, 702nd and 703rd German Battalions). This army held a line running eastwards from the Mediterranean shore for about 20 miles (32 km) into the hills at Furkhah. Mustapha Kemal Pasha's (Fevzi's successor) Seventh Army, whose headquarters were at Nablus, consisted of the III Corps (1st and 11th Divisions) and XXIII Corps (26th and 53rd Divisions), and held the rest of the Ottoman line eastwards from Furkhah to the River Jordan; this represented a front of about 20 miles (32 km), with its main strength on both sides of the Jerusalem to Nablus road.[360] While holding the front line on the Jordan River the 48th Infantry Division continued training, organising and conducting training courses on battle tactics, machine guns, hand grenades, and flame throwers. When the 37th Infantry Division arrived from the Caucasus, the division's troops undertook a two-week course near Nablus on the use of stick grenades.[351] Arab attacks Arab attacks were made on Maan between 15 and 17 April. During these actions, they captured 70 prisoners and two machine guns, and temporarily occupied the railway station, but failed to capture the main position.[361] Megiddo offensive Allenby's final attack, September 1918 Main articles: Battle of Megiddo (1918), Battle of Sharon (1918), Battle of Nablus (1918) and Third Transjordan attack (1918) As the dry season approached General Allenby had intended to advance to secure Tiberias, Haifa and the Yarmuk Valley towards Hauran and the Sea of Galilee towards Damascus.[262][263] The peoples inhabiting the region of the Sharon battlefield varied greatly in their background, religious beliefs and political outlook. Living from Jericho northwards, were indigenous Jews in Samaria, Moravians in Galilee, some Druse, Shi'a Metawals and a few Nussiri (pagans). In the east were the Bedouin.[362] In Haifa town, about half the population was Muslim and in Acre almost all were Muslim. On the Esdraelon Plain as far as Beisan were Sunni Arabs and one new Jewish colony near Afulah. Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in the foothill country of Northern Galilee. Christians of at least five denominations formed a large majority in and around Nazareth town. The inhabitants of the eastern part of this Northern Galilee area were predominantly indigenous Jews, who had always inhabited Tiberias and Safed.[363] In the region of the Nablus, battlefield, the inhabitants from Beersheba to Jericho, varied greatly in their background, religious beliefs and political outlook. The population was mainly Arab of the Sunni branch of Islam, with some Jewish colonists and Christians. At Nablus, they were almost exclusively Moslems excepting the less than 200 members of the Samaritan sect of original Jews. To the east of the Jordan Valley in the Es Salt district were Syrian and Greek Orthodox Christians, and near Amman, Circassians and Turkmans.[362] Allenby finally launched his long-delayed attack on 19 September 1918. The campaign has been called the Battle of Megiddo (which is a transliteration of the Hebrew name of an ancient town known in the west as Armageddon). The British made major efforts to deceive the Ottoman Army as to their actual intended target of operations. This effort was, successful and the Ottoman Army was taken by surprise when the British attacked Megiddo in a sudden storm. The Ottoman troops started a full-scale retreat, the Royal Air Force bombed the fleeing columns of men from the air and within a week, the Ottoman army in Palestine had ceased to exist as a military force.[citation needed] A number of historians have claimed the offensive which led from the capture of the Gaza to Beersheba line to the capture of Jerusalem and the Megiddo operations were similar. Firstly, that they were both a cavalry envelopment of the Ottoman flank.[364] And secondly, that the breakthroughs were the reverse of the other; at Gaza–Beersheba, because the breakthrough occurred at Beersheba instead of the expected Gaza at the eastern end of the front line, while at Megiddo the breakthrough occurred on the Mediterranean coast at the western end of the front line when it was expected across the Jordan.[365][366][367][Note 15] Syrian campaign Pursuit to Damascus Lieutenant General Chauvel leading march through Damascus by Australian, British, French, India and New Zealand units, 2 October 1918 Main articles: Charge at Irbid, Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub, Charge at Kaukab, Charge at Kiswe and Capture of Damascus (1918) The war in Palestine was over but in Syria lasted for a further month. The ultimate goal of Allenby's and Feisal's armies was Damascus. Two separate Allied columns marched towards Damascus. The first, composed mainly of Australian and Indian cavalry, approached from Galilee, while the other column, consisting of Indian cavalry and the ad hoc militia following T.E. Lawrence, travelled northwards along the Hejaz Railway. Australian Light Horse troops marched unopposed into Damascus on 1 October 1918, despite the presence of some 12,000 Ottoman soldiers at Baramke Barracks. Major Olden of the Australian 10th Light Horse Regiment received the Official Surrender of the City at 7 am at the Serai. Later that day, Lawrence's irregulars entered Damascus to claim full credit for its capture.[citation needed] The inhabitants of the region varied greatly in their background, religious beliefs and political outlook. In the Eastern Hauran, the bulk of the population were Druses, while in the Jaulan, more Circassians, Metawala and some Algerian colonists were living. The southern Jaulan district was poor and rocky, supporting a very small population and groups of nomads from the Wuld Ali in the eastern desert, while the north is more fertile with a large Circassian colony in and around Kuneitra. The north–west Jaulan district contains some Metawala villages and some Algerian colonies in the east, introduced by the Emir Abdul Qadir after he had taken refuge in Damascus in the 1850s. In between these are settled Arabs similar to those in the Nukra plain; while in the east are Bedouin Arabs.[368] The advances to Amman, during the Third Transjordan attack of the Battle of Megiddo, and to Damascus towards the end of the war resulted in the highest incidence of malaria "that has ever been suffered by Australian forces."[369] Capture of Aleppo Main articles: Charge at Khan Ayash, Pursuit to Haritan, Battle of Aleppo (1918) and Charge at Haritan Aleppo, the third largest city in the Ottoman Empire, was captured on 25 October. The Ottoman government was quite prepared to sacrifice these non-Turkish provinces without surrendering. Indeed, while this battle was raging, the Ottoman Empire sent an expeditionary force into Russia to enlarge the ethnic Turkish elements of the empire. It was only after the surrender of Bulgaria, which put Ottoman Empire into a vulnerable position for invasion, that the Ottoman government was compelled to sign an armistice on 30 October 1918, and surrendered outright two days later. Six hundred years of Ottoman rule over the Middle East had come to an end.[citation needed] Summary The British suffered a total of 550,000 casualties: more than 90% of these were not battle losses but instead attributable to disease, heat and other secondary causes. Total Ottoman losses are unknown but almost certainly larger: an entire army was lost in the fighting and the Ottoman Empire poured a vast number of troops into the front over the three years of combat.[citation needed] Despite the uncertainty of casualty counts, the historical consequences of this campaign are hard to overestimate. The British conquest of Palestine led directly to the British mandate over Palestine and the Trans-Jordan which, in turn, paved the way for the creation of the states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.[citation needed] |
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