Third Battle of Gaza
Encyclopedia
The Third Battle of Gaza was fought in 1917 in southern Palestine
during the First World War. The British Empire
forces under the command of General
Edmund Allenby successfully broke the Ottoman defensive Gaza
-Beersheba
line. The critical moment of the battle was the capture of the town of Beersheba on the first day by Australian Light Horse units.
and Palestine had been the responsibility of General Sir Archibald Murray
, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force
(EEF). He had pushed his forces across the Sinai
desert and constructed a railway and freshwater pipeline from the Suez Canal
to support a base of operations on the southern edge of Palestine, south of Gaza
. Under the direction of his subordinate, General Charles Dobell, two attempts were made to capture Gaza, on 26 March (First Battle of Gaza
) and 19 April (Second Battle of Gaza
). Both ended as costly failures and the two sides had reached a stalemate.
Murray had been an enthusiastic advocate of the offensive in Palestine; a stance that contributed to his downfall because the British War Office
, who previously were unwilling to commit resources to a minor theatre of war, were now eager for results. The failure of Murray and Dobell to deliver on their promises in the second Gaza fight motivated the War Office to change the command of the EEF. On 28 June 1917 General Edmund Allenby, formerly commander of the British Third Army
in France
, took over command from Murray. Dobell was removed but not replaced and Allenby assumed direct control over all future operations.
-like structure) were two infantry and one mounted corps:
While some of the infantry
divisions (such as the 60th Division which was a 2nd-line Territorial Force
unit) were raw and inexperienced, the mounted divisions were battle-hardened and confident.
under the command of German
General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein. Despite the earlier victories over the British, the morale and condition of the Ottoman troops were poor. There were shortages of rations, ammunition, transport and fodder for the animals, and desertion was rife. The main Ottoman front at this time was in Mesopotamia
where a German-led force under the command of the former Chief of the German General Staff
(and architect of the Battle of Verdun
), General Erich von Falkenhayn
, was undertaking an expedition to recapture Baghdad
from the British.
Just prior to the renewed British offensive, Ottoman forces underwent a reorganisation with the formation of the Ottoman Eighth Army
to operate in southern Palestine. The Eighth Army was divided into two corps and contained 9 infantry divisions and one cavalry division. One more division, the 20th, had not yet arrived at the time of the battle.
The defence of Gaza was the responsibility of XX Corps which had three divisions in the front line (53rd, 3rd and 54th from west to east) and two in reserve (7th and 19th). East of Gaza, the XXII Corps was more thinly spread with the 26th and 16th divisions stretched from Atawineh to Hareira and the 27th Division defending Beersheba on the extreme left (east) flank.
There was virtual parity in numbers between the British and Ottoman forces. The British had superior artillery plus naval support whereas the Ottoman forces held a supremely defensible position. Critically the British were superior in both quantity and quality of mounted troops. Consequently Chetwode rejected the suggestion of renewing the frontal infantry assaults on Gaza. Even if it were captured, any advance north would be threatened by Ottoman forces on the eastern flank.
The weakest point in the Ottoman line was at their extreme left (east) flank at Beersheba, some 30 miles (48.3 km) from the coast. The Ottomans believed that it would be impossible to mount large scale operations on that flank because of the scarcity of water in the region, so one division was deemed sufficient for its defense. Chetwode, however, saw its military value; lightly held, it was the only sector that offered a good chance of a breakthrough and, by operating on the Ottoman flank, the British could threaten to encircle the Ottoman forces at Gaza by striking west towards the coast, cutting off the rail and road supply routes. Therefore, the problem became how to supply an attack in the east. The railway was to be driven eastwards from the coast. Water supplies were carried forward to dumps or to fill ancient Roman
cisterns. Wells that had been destroyed by the Ottoman forces were repaired and engineers worked to develop water flow from marginal wells.
Meanwhile, every effort was made to ensure the Ottomans believed the blow would fall once more against Gaza. While preparations in the east were kept as quiet as possible, overt preparations were made in the west. The British XXI Corps would "demonstrate" against Gaza without resorting to an all out assault. The Ottoman forces were completely fooled by the various British ruses
. Even when the two corps assaulting Beersheba (the XX Corps and Desert Mounted Corps) began open movements on 29 October, the Ottoman forces remained convinced this was a minor outflanking movement of one infantry and one mounted division and that the main attack would still fall on Gaza.
Further infantry attacks were to be made by XXI Corps on 2 November at Gaza and by XX Corps on 4 November at Sheria on the western end of the main fortified line, about halfway between Gaza and Beersheba. By this time pressure in the Beersheba region should have forced the Ottoman forces to move their reserves from Gaza.
The success of the British offensive hinged on the capture of Beersheba on the first day. In a combined assault, the infantry of XX Corps attacked the town from the west while the mounted troops of the Desert Mounted Corps
encircled the town and attacked from the south, east and north. The first phase of the infantry assault, to capture outposts on the edge of town, was carried off without a hitch. The British had overwhelming superiority in artillery which was used to engage both the Ottoman trenches and in counter-battery work against the Austria
n guns supporting the Ottoman forces. The British took their objectives at a cost of only 1,200 casualties.
The mounted attack began with attempts to capture Ottoman outposts to the east of Beersheba. The advance of the ANZAC Mounted Division
was held up at the Tel el Saba redoubt. By the time the redoubt was captured, the attack was running many hours behind schedule and the possibility of launching the combined infantry and mounted assault on the town before nightfall looked slim.
Faced with the situation of the need to water his horses who had not been watered in twenty-four hours, the commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, Lieutenant General Chauvel, asked Allenby for permission to retire to water his horses. Allenby instead ordered him, "capture Beersheba today, in order to secure water and prisoners." Chauvel ordered the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade
to make a mounted attack. The 4th and 12th
(New South Wales
) Regiments of the brigade formed up in three waves and charged across 4 miles (6.4 km) of open terrain through shrapnel and machine gun
fire. The audacity of their charge confused the Ottoman defenders who failed to adjust their rifles' sights and so fired too high. As a consequence, the charge was incredibly successful and few casualties were incurred.
Ottoman resistance in Beersheba quickly collapsed and their withdrawal from the town, already underway, turned in a panic. Many of the garrison were taken prisoner and most importantly the Ottoman forces succeeded in destroying only two out of the seventeen wells. Furthermore, two reservoirs containing 90000 gallons (409.1 m³) each were captured intact. Immediate relief for the horses was fortuitously provided by a torrential downpour that had preceded the battle and left pools of standing water.
By 4 November, engineers had managed to produce a water flow of 390000 gallons (1,773 m³) a day at Beersheba, enough to support the British mounted forces. However, the Ottoman forces still held the water supplies to the north, at Khulweilfe, Jemmameh and Huj, so the mounted brigades could operate away from Beersheba for only one day at a time until these supplies were captured.
While the Ottoman forces had been driven from Beersheba, they had not been dislodged from the rest of the defensive line. The Ottoman left flank had pivoted on their strong defences at Hareira and swung back northwards from Beersheba to a new strong point at Tel El Khuweilfe which commanded the road to the east leading to Hebron
, as well as the passage to the north-west leading to the coast. On the day after the capture of Beersheba, the British 7th Mounted Brigade (with the Australian 8th Light Horse Regiment attached) raced to Khuweilfe to try to take it before the Ottoman forces strengthened the position, but arrived too late.
For the next four days the British, Australian and New Zealand mounted brigades attempted to capture the Khuweilfe position. Each night a brigade was relieved in order to return its horses to the water at Beersheba, and another brigade resumed the assault. Finally the infantry of the 53rd (Welsh) Division arrived along with the Imperial Camel Corps
Brigade and made another assault with artillery support on 6 November which lasted for two days until the Ottoman forces finally abandoned Khuweilfe on the morning of 8 November because of developments elsewhere on the front. Despite the failure to capture Khuweilfe, the pressure had the desired effect of drawing in the Ottoman reserves, making the success of British attacks at Gaza and Hareira more likely.
The first action at Gaza took place before dawn on 2 November, the 54th (East Anglian) Division attacked the Ottoman trench system in the sand dunes between Gaza and the sea in a four stage attack. Brtish attacks featured well-prepared troops with overwhelming artillery support and six Mark IV tank
s. The British infantry advanced about 2 miles (3.2 km) on a 5000 yards (4.6 km) front and held their gains against repeated Ottoman counter-attacks. Casualty figures were heavy for both sides but this time favoured the British. Not all the British attacks were as successful as expected, and the British attempt to break through with the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade were not successful.
On the morning of 7 November, XXI Corps made their major assault on Gaza itself, attacking from the 54th Division's position in the sand dunes to the east and from the west by the 75th Division against the strongpoint of Ali Muntar that had been the focus of so much fighting and bloodshed during the First Battle of Gaza. On this occasion, all objectives were captured with relative ease and Gaza was entered by the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade (the attached cavalry of XXI Corps) at 9 am. The 52nd Division maintained pressure on the fleeing Ottoman garrison by advancing through the 54th Division and continuing up the coast.
To the east, the 10th Division captured the Hareira Redoubt and the 60th Division captured Tel el Sheria. The final Ottoman positions in the old defensive line, the Tank Redoubt and Atawineh Redoubt held by the Ottoman 54th Division, were captured with little opposition by the 75th Division on 8 November. The British did not realize the Ottoman troops were retreating until they entered their deserted positions.
and Huj
to the coast, cutting off the retreat of the Ottoman forces. The ANZAC Mounted Division advanced on the right against al-Jammama and the Australian Mounted Division and 60th Division advanced towards Huj. For the plan to work, Huj had to be reached on 7 November.
Having captured Tel el Sheria, the 60th Division continued their advance northwards but encountered a strong Ottoman rearguard. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade was called on to support and on this occasion the 11th and 12th Light Horse Regiments made a mounted charge. However, they were unable to emulate the success of Beersheba and were forced to dismount and seek cover some 500 yards (457.2 m) short of the Ottoman forces. It was not until the evening of 7 November that the position was captured by the reserve brigade of the 60th Division.
The advance on Huj resumed the following morning and another strong rearguard of artillery and machine-guns was encountered. This time a small contingent from the British 5th Mounted Brigade made a true cavalry charge with sabres. These 200 men from 1/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry
and 1/1st Worcestershire Yeomanry suffered heavy casualties but managed to reach the guns and cut down the gunners. In doing so they destroyed the last of the Ottoman strength south of Huj and the village was captured later that day. However, no large groups of enemy soldiers were cut off. The pursuit was hampered by problems with watering horses, lack of supplies, both of which were exacerbated by a khamsin, a hot southerly wind that stirred up clouds of dust and sand.
The ANZAC Mounted Division, advancing to the east against al-Jammama, had less success and did not manage to capture their objective until 9 November when it was reached by the 3rd Light Horse Regiment
. A strong counter-attack by between 3,000 and 5,000 Ottoman infantry was then held off by 500 light horsemen of the 5th Light Horse Regiment and 7th Light Horse Regiment.
– seeking to change its name, like other Australian communities with a German name – chose to call itself "Gaza" in commemoration of the battle. Though reverting to its original name in 1935, the local sports team remains under the name "Gaza".
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
during the First World War. The British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
forces under the command of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Edmund Allenby successfully broke the Ottoman defensive Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
-Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
line. The critical moment of the battle was the capture of the town of Beersheba on the first day by Australian Light Horse units.
Prelude
Since January 1916, the British campaign in EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Palestine had been the responsibility of General Sir Archibald Murray
Archibald Murray
General Sir Archibald James Murray, GCMG, KCB, CVO, DSO was a British Army officer during World War I, most famous for his commanding the Egyptian Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1917.-Army career:...
, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force
Egyptian Expeditionary Force
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force was formed in March 1916 to command the British and British Empire military forces in Egypt during World War I. Originally known as the 'Force in Egypt' it had been commanded by General Maxwell who was recalled to England...
(EEF). He had pushed his forces across the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
desert and constructed a railway and freshwater pipeline from the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
to support a base of operations on the southern edge of Palestine, south of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. Under the direction of his subordinate, General Charles Dobell, two attempts were made to capture Gaza, on 26 March (First Battle of Gaza
First Battle of Gaza
The First Battle of Gaza was fought in and around the town of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast in the southern region of Ottoman Palestine on 26 March 1917, during World War I...
) and 19 April (Second Battle of Gaza
Second Battle of Gaza
The Second Battle of Gaza, fought in southern Palestine during the First World War, was another attempt mounted by British Empire forces to break Ottoman defences along the Gaza-Beersheba line...
). Both ended as costly failures and the two sides had reached a stalemate.
Murray had been an enthusiastic advocate of the offensive in Palestine; a stance that contributed to his downfall because the British War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
, who previously were unwilling to commit resources to a minor theatre of war, were now eager for results. The failure of Murray and Dobell to deliver on their promises in the second Gaza fight motivated the War Office to change the command of the EEF. On 28 June 1917 General Edmund Allenby, formerly commander of the British Third Army
British Third Army
-First World War :The Third Army was part of the British Army during World War I and was formed in France on 13 July 1915. The battles it took part in on the Western Front included:*Battle of the Somme*Battle of Cambrai*Second Battle of Arras...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, took over command from Murray. Dobell was removed but not replaced and Allenby assumed direct control over all future operations.
British
The forces at Allenby's disposal were also expanded and the ad-hoc nature of Murray's army structure was replaced with a more conventional arrangement. In place of Dobell's Eastern Force (a corpsCorps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
-like structure) were two infantry and one mounted corps:
- XX Corps (commanded by Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode)
- 10th (Irish) DivisionBritish 10th (Irish) DivisionThe 10th Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions , authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. It included battalions from the various provinces of Ireland...
- 53rd (Welsh) DivisionBritish 53rd (Welsh) DivisionThe British 53rd Infantry Division was a Territorial Army division that fought in both World Wars. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. Remaining active during the interwar years as a peace-time formation, the division again saw action in the Second...
- 60th (2/2nd London) DivisionBritish 60th (2/2nd London) DivisionThe British 60th Division was the second of two second-line Territorial Force divisions formed from the surplus of London recruits in 1914. Originally the division merely supplied the first-line Territorial divisions with drafts to replace losses through casualties...
- 74th (Yeomanry) DivisionBritish 74th (Yeomanry) DivisionThe British 74th Division was a First World War infantry division formed in Egypt in early 1917 from brigades of dismounted yeomanry...
- 10th (Irish) Division
- XXI Corps (commanded by Lieutenant General Edward BulfinEdward BulfinLieutenant General Sir Edward Stanislaus Bulfin KCB CVO was a British general during World War I, where he established a reputation as an excellent commander at the brigade, divisional and corps levels...
)- 52nd (Lowland) DivisionBritish 52nd (Lowland) DivisionThe British 52nd Division was a Territorial Army division that was originally formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908.- World War I :...
- 54th (East Anglian) DivisionBritish 54th (East Anglian) DivisionThe British 54th Division was a Territorial Army division. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. During the Second World War it was a home service division and did not see any combat....
- 75th (Territorial & Indian) Division
- 52nd (Lowland) Division
- Desert Mounted CorpsDesert Mounted CorpsThe Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I Allied army corps that operated in the Middle East during 1917 and 1918.Originally formed on 15 March 1916 as the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division under the command of Major General Harry Chauvel The Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I...
(commanded by Lieutenant General Henry ChauvelHenry George ChauvelGeneral Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG, KCB was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle Eastern theatre during the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps...
)- ANZAC Mounted DivisionAnzac Mounted DivisionThe ANZAC Mounted Division was a mounted infantry and mounted rifles division formed in March 1916 in Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand regiments returned from fighting dismounted as infantry...
- Australian Mounted DivisionAustralian Mounted DivisionThe Australian Mounted Division was a mounted infantry division formed in Egypt during World War I. When the British forces in the Middle East expanded in late 1916, a second mounted division was created called the Imperial Mounted Division...
- Yeomanry Mounted DivisionBritish Yeomanry Mounted DivisionThe Yeomanry Mounted Division was a Territorial Force cavalry division formed at Khan Yunis in Palestine in June 1917 from three yeomanry mounted brigades. In April 1918 it was renamed 1st Mounted Division, the third such division to bear that title...
- 7th Mounted Brigade
- Imperial Camel CorpsImperial Camel CorpsThe Imperial Camel Corps was a brigade-sized military formation which fought for the Allies in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. Its personnel were infantry mounted on camels for movement across desert....
brigade
- ANZAC Mounted Division
While some of the infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
divisions (such as the 60th Division which was a 2nd-line Territorial Force
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...
unit) were raw and inexperienced, the mounted divisions were battle-hardened and confident.
Ottoman
The defence of Palestine was the responsibility of the Ottoman Fourth ArmyFourth Army (Ottoman Empire)
The Fourth Army of the Ottoman Empire was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was formed in the middle nineteenth century, during Ottoman military reforms.-Order of Battle, 1877:In 1877, it was stationed in Anatolia...
under the command of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein. Despite the earlier victories over the British, the morale and condition of the Ottoman troops were poor. There were shortages of rations, ammunition, transport and fodder for the animals, and desertion was rife. The main Ottoman front at this time was in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
where a German-led force under the command of the former Chief of the German General Staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
(and architect of the Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
), General Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von Falkenhayn was a German soldier and Chief of the General Staff during World War I. He became a military writer after World War I.-Early life:...
, was undertaking an expedition to recapture Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
from the British.
Just prior to the renewed British offensive, Ottoman forces underwent a reorganisation with the formation of the Ottoman Eighth Army
Eighth Army (Ottoman Empire)
The Eighth Army of the Ottoman Empire was one of the field armies of the Ottoman Army. It was formed during the World War I.- Order of Battle, January 1918 :In January 1918, the army was structured as follows:...
to operate in southern Palestine. The Eighth Army was divided into two corps and contained 9 infantry divisions and one cavalry division. One more division, the 20th, had not yet arrived at the time of the battle.
- XX CorpsXX Corps (Ottoman Empire)The XX Corps of the Ottoman Empire was one of the corps of the Ottoman Army. It was formed during the World War I.- Order of Battle, December 1916 :In December 1916, the corps was structured as follows:...
- 3rd Division
- 7th Division
- 19th Division
- 53rd Division
- 54th Division
- XXII CorpsXXII Corps (Ottoman Empire)The XXII Corps of the Ottoman Empire was one of the corps of the Ottoman Army. It was formed during the World War I.- Order of Battle, August 1917 :In August 1917, the corps was structured as follows:...
- 3rd Cavalry Division
- 16th Division
- 24th Division
- 26th Division
- 27th Division
The defence of Gaza was the responsibility of XX Corps which had three divisions in the front line (53rd, 3rd and 54th from west to east) and two in reserve (7th and 19th). East of Gaza, the XXII Corps was more thinly spread with the 26th and 16th divisions stretched from Atawineh to Hareira and the 27th Division defending Beersheba on the extreme left (east) flank.
Chetwode's plan
In May 1917, Lieutenant General Chetwode, who had succeeded Dobell, wrote his Notes on the Palestine Campaign which became the blueprint for the eventual British offensive and was fundamental to its success. On assuming battlefield command in July, Allenby set about implementing many of the recommendations made in the report.There was virtual parity in numbers between the British and Ottoman forces. The British had superior artillery plus naval support whereas the Ottoman forces held a supremely defensible position. Critically the British were superior in both quantity and quality of mounted troops. Consequently Chetwode rejected the suggestion of renewing the frontal infantry assaults on Gaza. Even if it were captured, any advance north would be threatened by Ottoman forces on the eastern flank.
The weakest point in the Ottoman line was at their extreme left (east) flank at Beersheba, some 30 miles (48.3 km) from the coast. The Ottomans believed that it would be impossible to mount large scale operations on that flank because of the scarcity of water in the region, so one division was deemed sufficient for its defense. Chetwode, however, saw its military value; lightly held, it was the only sector that offered a good chance of a breakthrough and, by operating on the Ottoman flank, the British could threaten to encircle the Ottoman forces at Gaza by striking west towards the coast, cutting off the rail and road supply routes. Therefore, the problem became how to supply an attack in the east. The railway was to be driven eastwards from the coast. Water supplies were carried forward to dumps or to fill ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
cisterns. Wells that had been destroyed by the Ottoman forces were repaired and engineers worked to develop water flow from marginal wells.
Meanwhile, every effort was made to ensure the Ottomans believed the blow would fall once more against Gaza. While preparations in the east were kept as quiet as possible, overt preparations were made in the west. The British XXI Corps would "demonstrate" against Gaza without resorting to an all out assault. The Ottoman forces were completely fooled by the various British ruses
Ruse of war
A ruse of war, or ruse de guerre, is an action taken by a belligerent in warfare to fool the enemy in order to gain intelligence or a military advantage against an enemy.-Modern history:* American Civil War General George Meade's General Order No...
. Even when the two corps assaulting Beersheba (the XX Corps and Desert Mounted Corps) began open movements on 29 October, the Ottoman forces remained convinced this was a minor outflanking movement of one infantry and one mounted division and that the main attack would still fall on Gaza.
Further infantry attacks were to be made by XXI Corps on 2 November at Gaza and by XX Corps on 4 November at Sheria on the western end of the main fortified line, about halfway between Gaza and Beersheba. By this time pressure in the Beersheba region should have forced the Ottoman forces to move their reserves from Gaza.
Beersheba
The success of the British offensive hinged on the capture of Beersheba on the first day. In a combined assault, the infantry of XX Corps attacked the town from the west while the mounted troops of the Desert Mounted Corps
Desert Mounted Corps
The Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I Allied army corps that operated in the Middle East during 1917 and 1918.Originally formed on 15 March 1916 as the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division under the command of Major General Harry Chauvel The Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I...
encircled the town and attacked from the south, east and north. The first phase of the infantry assault, to capture outposts on the edge of town, was carried off without a hitch. The British had overwhelming superiority in artillery which was used to engage both the Ottoman trenches and in counter-battery work against the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n guns supporting the Ottoman forces. The British took their objectives at a cost of only 1,200 casualties.
The mounted attack began with attempts to capture Ottoman outposts to the east of Beersheba. The advance of the ANZAC Mounted Division
Anzac Mounted Division
The ANZAC Mounted Division was a mounted infantry and mounted rifles division formed in March 1916 in Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand regiments returned from fighting dismounted as infantry...
was held up at the Tel el Saba redoubt. By the time the redoubt was captured, the attack was running many hours behind schedule and the possibility of launching the combined infantry and mounted assault on the town before nightfall looked slim.
Faced with the situation of the need to water his horses who had not been watered in twenty-four hours, the commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, Lieutenant General Chauvel, asked Allenby for permission to retire to water his horses. Allenby instead ordered him, "capture Beersheba today, in order to secure water and prisoners." Chauvel ordered the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade
4th Light Horse Brigade
The 4th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force serving in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was formed in March 1915 and shipped to Egypt without their horses and was broken up in Egypt in August 1915...
to make a mounted attack. The 4th and 12th
12th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
The 12th Light Horse Regiment was a light horse regiment of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1915 for service during the First World War, the regiment served in the Middle East against the Turks before being disbanded in 1919...
(New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
) Regiments of the brigade formed up in three waves and charged across 4 miles (6.4 km) of open terrain through shrapnel and machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire. The audacity of their charge confused the Ottoman defenders who failed to adjust their rifles' sights and so fired too high. As a consequence, the charge was incredibly successful and few casualties were incurred.
Ottoman resistance in Beersheba quickly collapsed and their withdrawal from the town, already underway, turned in a panic. Many of the garrison were taken prisoner and most importantly the Ottoman forces succeeded in destroying only two out of the seventeen wells. Furthermore, two reservoirs containing 90000 gallons (409.1 m³) each were captured intact. Immediate relief for the horses was fortuitously provided by a torrential downpour that had preceded the battle and left pools of standing water.
By 4 November, engineers had managed to produce a water flow of 390000 gallons (1,773 m³) a day at Beersheba, enough to support the British mounted forces. However, the Ottoman forces still held the water supplies to the north, at Khulweilfe, Jemmameh and Huj, so the mounted brigades could operate away from Beersheba for only one day at a time until these supplies were captured.
Gaza and Tel el Khuweilfe
The shortage of water north of Beersheba compelled Allenby, on the advice of Chetwode and Chauvel, to delay launching the next phase of the battle until 6 November. In the meantime, pressure would be maintained on the Ottoman forces in the east in an effort to draw their reserves from Gaza.While the Ottoman forces had been driven from Beersheba, they had not been dislodged from the rest of the defensive line. The Ottoman left flank had pivoted on their strong defences at Hareira and swung back northwards from Beersheba to a new strong point at Tel El Khuweilfe which commanded the road to the east leading to Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, as well as the passage to the north-west leading to the coast. On the day after the capture of Beersheba, the British 7th Mounted Brigade (with the Australian 8th Light Horse Regiment attached) raced to Khuweilfe to try to take it before the Ottoman forces strengthened the position, but arrived too late.
For the next four days the British, Australian and New Zealand mounted brigades attempted to capture the Khuweilfe position. Each night a brigade was relieved in order to return its horses to the water at Beersheba, and another brigade resumed the assault. Finally the infantry of the 53rd (Welsh) Division arrived along with the Imperial Camel Corps
Imperial Camel Corps
The Imperial Camel Corps was a brigade-sized military formation which fought for the Allies in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. Its personnel were infantry mounted on camels for movement across desert....
Brigade and made another assault with artillery support on 6 November which lasted for two days until the Ottoman forces finally abandoned Khuweilfe on the morning of 8 November because of developments elsewhere on the front. Despite the failure to capture Khuweilfe, the pressure had the desired effect of drawing in the Ottoman reserves, making the success of British attacks at Gaza and Hareira more likely.
The first action at Gaza took place before dawn on 2 November, the 54th (East Anglian) Division attacked the Ottoman trench system in the sand dunes between Gaza and the sea in a four stage attack. Brtish attacks featured well-prepared troops with overwhelming artillery support and six Mark IV tank
Mark IV tank
The British Mark IV tank was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefitted from significant developments on the first British tank the intervening designs being small batches used for training...
s. The British infantry advanced about 2 miles (3.2 km) on a 5000 yards (4.6 km) front and held their gains against repeated Ottoman counter-attacks. Casualty figures were heavy for both sides but this time favoured the British. Not all the British attacks were as successful as expected, and the British attempt to break through with the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade were not successful.
Breaking through
The once-formidable Gaza-Beersheba line was now looking vulnerable. At dawn on 6 November, the next blow was struck by the British when all three divisions of Chetwode's XX Corps attacked on a broad front near Sheria, about the midpoint of the Ottoman line. The initial objectives were reached by 1 pm and, while the 74th Division was held up on the right, the 10th and 60th Divisions were through the Ottoman defences by 2.30 pm, with the 60th Division capturing the railway station at Sheria. It was planned that the 60th Division would capture the Ottoman position on the hill of Tel el Sheria during the night, but the Ottoman forces fired a nearby ammunition dump during their retreat, making the attack unadvisable.On the morning of 7 November, XXI Corps made their major assault on Gaza itself, attacking from the 54th Division's position in the sand dunes to the east and from the west by the 75th Division against the strongpoint of Ali Muntar that had been the focus of so much fighting and bloodshed during the First Battle of Gaza. On this occasion, all objectives were captured with relative ease and Gaza was entered by the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade (the attached cavalry of XXI Corps) at 9 am. The 52nd Division maintained pressure on the fleeing Ottoman garrison by advancing through the 54th Division and continuing up the coast.
To the east, the 10th Division captured the Hareira Redoubt and the 60th Division captured Tel el Sheria. The final Ottoman positions in the old defensive line, the Tank Redoubt and Atawineh Redoubt held by the Ottoman 54th Division, were captured with little opposition by the 75th Division on 8 November. The British did not realize the Ottoman troops were retreating until they entered their deserted positions.
Pursuit
The Ottoman forces had now been dislodged from their defensive line and were retreating northwards. Allenby's goal from the outset had been the annihilation of the Ottoman army in southern Palestine. To achieve this, the brigades of the Desert Mounted Corps were required to strike north-west from Beersheba, through the villages of al-JammamaAl-Jammama
Al-Jammama is a former Palestinian village located in the Negev Desert 30 km west of the city of Beersheba.-History:The village was an archeological site, containing cisterns, an olive press, mosaic floors, tombs, the crown of a stone column, and stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic period...
and Huj
Huj
Huj was a Palestinian Arab village located northeast of Gaza City. Identified as the site of the ancient Philistine town of Oga, the modern village was founded by the Ottomans in the early 19th century....
to the coast, cutting off the retreat of the Ottoman forces. The ANZAC Mounted Division advanced on the right against al-Jammama and the Australian Mounted Division and 60th Division advanced towards Huj. For the plan to work, Huj had to be reached on 7 November.
Having captured Tel el Sheria, the 60th Division continued their advance northwards but encountered a strong Ottoman rearguard. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade was called on to support and on this occasion the 11th and 12th Light Horse Regiments made a mounted charge. However, they were unable to emulate the success of Beersheba and were forced to dismount and seek cover some 500 yards (457.2 m) short of the Ottoman forces. It was not until the evening of 7 November that the position was captured by the reserve brigade of the 60th Division.
The advance on Huj resumed the following morning and another strong rearguard of artillery and machine-guns was encountered. This time a small contingent from the British 5th Mounted Brigade made a true cavalry charge with sabres. These 200 men from 1/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry
Warwickshire Yeomanry
The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into The Queen's Own...
and 1/1st Worcestershire Yeomanry suffered heavy casualties but managed to reach the guns and cut down the gunners. In doing so they destroyed the last of the Ottoman strength south of Huj and the village was captured later that day. However, no large groups of enemy soldiers were cut off. The pursuit was hampered by problems with watering horses, lack of supplies, both of which were exacerbated by a khamsin, a hot southerly wind that stirred up clouds of dust and sand.
The ANZAC Mounted Division, advancing to the east against al-Jammama, had less success and did not manage to capture their objective until 9 November when it was reached by the 3rd Light Horse Regiment
3rd Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
The 3rd Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade had moved overseas. During the war the regiment only fought against the forces of the...
. A strong counter-attack by between 3,000 and 5,000 Ottoman infantry was then held off by 500 light horsemen of the 5th Light Horse Regiment and 7th Light Horse Regiment.
Aftermath
The Gaza-Beersheba line was completely overrun and 12,000 Ottoman soldiers were captured or surrendered. However, the sacrifice of the Ottoman rearguards delayed the British pursuit and saved the army from encirclement and destruction. The British advance would take them to the gates of Jerusalem, which they would take on December 9th.Commemoration
The village of Klemzig, South AustraliaKlemzig, South Australia
Klemzig is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is the location of the first settlement of German emigrants to Australia in the 19th century and is named after a village near the city of Zuellichau in southeastern Brandenburg in the German state of Prussia, where they...
– seeking to change its name, like other Australian communities with a German name – chose to call itself "Gaza" in commemoration of the battle. Though reverting to its original name in 1935, the local sports team remains under the name "Gaza".