Battle of Jaffa (1917)
| Battle of Jaffa | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Auju River, Jaffa 32°5′0″N 34°48′0″E / 32.08333°N 34.80000°E | |
| Result | British victory |
British Empire
Ottoman Empire
German EmpireThe Battle of Jaffa was an engagement fought during the
The port of
Over the night of the 20–21 December 1917, the
Background
On 16 November 1917 the British forces occupied the port of Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast. However, the Ottoman forces forced out of the town were still able to interdict shipping and stop troop movements from their positions on the northern bank of the Yarkon River—the Nahr el Auja as it was called in Arabic.[2]
The British commander General
From Mulebbis to the sea the river is between 40 and 50 feet (12 and 15 m) wide and 10 feet (3.0 m) deep except for the ford.
British attack
Build up
Three infantry divisions of the British
It had initially been planned for a heavy artillery bombardment to proceed the attack, however Hill suggested they instead try a surprise attack without the artillery bombardment. Then in the days preceding the attack, the artillery batteries conducted several engagements, mostly to suppress Ottoman patrol activity and registrar the guns on targets, in case they were needed in the coming assault.[14]
Over the night of 18/19 December, the
The preparations for the attack were hindered by the sodden state of the low and swampy ground on the southern banks of the Nahr el Auja where the attack would be launched, made worse by three days of rain.[5][6]
Assault
Over the night of 20/21 December in heavy rain the division carried out an assault river crossing, using
The first unit to cross about a 1 mile (1.6 km) from the river mouth was a company of the 7th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), of the 156th Brigade.[15] Several of the flimsy boats collapsed, and the men were forced to wade across the chest deep river.[13] Once across they established a bridgehead on the Ottoman bank of the river. When they were secure the engineers started building a pontoon bridge, for the main force to cross.[16] By 23:00 almost three of the division's battalions had crossed the river. The 8th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and the 4th Battalion, Royal Scots, from the 156th Brigade and the 7th (Blythswood) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, from the 157th Brigade.[14]
By midnight all the 156th Brigade had crossed over attacked the Ottoman position on a hill at
The rest of the 157th Brigade were not as fortunate, when they were crossing the river, being targeted by an Ottoman artillery barrage. However, by 01:30 two other battalions—the 6th Highland Light Infantry and the 5th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders—had crossed the river and secured the high ground overlooking the crossing point by 03:30.[17] The 157th also secured the northern bank of a ford to assist the crossing.[6]
The 155th Brigade mounted two distraction attacks to cover their real attempt by the 5th Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers who, using rafts, crossed the river. By dawn the whole brigade had crossed the river and secured the heights at Khirbet Hadra.[17]
The whole division had crossed the river in darkness, and all Ottoman resistance was overcome by British troops using their bayonets and no shots were fired.[18] The attack completely surprised the Ottoman defenders and their front line were forced back 5 miles (8.0 km).[6][19] By dawn the British held a line from Hadrah to Tel el Rekkeit, around 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the river.[13] It had been intended for the ANZAC Mounted Division, to cross over and pursue the retreating Ottomans. However the rainfall over the preceding days and the damp boggy ground, prevented them from following the retreating Ottoman survivors, who escaped unhindered.[1]
With the northern river bank in British hands, the engineers constructed bridges to allow their artillery to cross the river. The next day, 22 December, the British position was made even more secure when the 54th (East Anglian) Division captured Bald Hill to the right of the 52nd.
The 52nd Division continued the advance on the left, supported by
Aftermath
The battle was a success for the British, with 316 Ottoman prisoners taken and ten
"The successful crossing of the Nahr el Auja reflects great credit on the 52nd (Lowland) Division. It involved considerable preparation, the details of which were thought out with care and precision. The sodden state of the ground, and, on the night of the crossing, the swollen state of the river, added to the difficulties, yet by dawn the whole of the infantry had crossed. The fact that the enemy were taken by surprise, and, that all resistance was overcome with the bayonet without a shot being fired, bears testimony to the discipline of this division....The operation, by increasing the distance between the enemy and Jaffa from three to eight miles, rendered Jaffa and its harbour secure, and gained elbow-room for the troops covering Ludd and Ramleh and the main Jaffa-Jerusalem road."[5]
The British official history described the battle;
The passage of the Auja has always been regarded as one of the most remarkable feats of the Palestine campaign...its chief merits were its boldness — justifiable against troops known to be sluggish and slack in outpost work and already shaken by defeat — its planning, the skill of the engineers;the promptitude with which unexpected difficulties in the bridging the river were met; finally, the combined discipline and dash of the infantry which carried out the operation without a shot being fired and won the works on the right with the bayonet.[21]
This was one of the last actions the 52nd (Lowland) Division fought in this campaign. In March 1918, they were ordered to move to the
The British units involved in the battle were awarded the distinct battle honour Jaffa.[24]
References
- Citations
- ^ a b Grainger 2006, p.221
- ^ Tucker and Roberts 2005, p.1394
- ^ Hughes 2004, pp. 102–3
- ^ Erickson 2001 p.173
- ^ HMSO. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d Rickard, J (3 September 2007). "Battle of Jaffa, 21–22 December 1917". History of War. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Kinloch 2007, pp. 229-231
- ^ Bruce 2002, pp. 158–9
- ^ Moore 1920, p. 95
- ^ Erickson 2001, p. 173
- ^ Bruce 2002, p. 166
- ^ Powles 1922, p. 170
- ^ a b c d e f Gullett, p.527
- ^ a b c Grainger 2006, p.219
- ^ Grainger 2006, p.218
- ^ Grainger 2006, pp.218–219
- ^ a b Grainger 2006, p.220
- ^ a b Bruce 2002, p.167
- ^ Baker, Chris. "52nd (Lowland) Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Bruce 2002, p. 167–168
- ^ Bruce 2002, p. 168
- ^ Chappell 1994, p.17
- ^ Baker, Chris. "54th (East Anglian) Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Battle honours of the Scottish regiments". Western Front Association. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- Bibliography
- Bruce, Anthony (2002). The Last Crusade: The Palestine Campaign in the First World War. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5432-2.
- Chappell, Mike (1994). Scottish Divisions in the World Wars. Elite # 56. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-469-5.
- Erickson, Edward J (2001). Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War: Foreword by General Hüseyiln Kivrikoglu. Contributions in Military Studies # 201. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. OCLC 43481698.
- Grainger, John D (2006). The Battle for Palestine 1917. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-263-8.
- Gullett, H. S. (1941). The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914–1918. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. VII (10th ed.). Sydney, New South Wales: Angus & Robertson. OCLC 271462411.
- Hughes, Matthew, ed. (2004). Allenby in Palestine: The Middle East Correspondence of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby June 1917 – October 1919. Vol. Army Records Society # 22. Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3841-9.
- Powles, C. Guy; A. Wilkie (1922). The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine. Official History New Zealand's Effort in the Great War. Vol. III. Auckland: Whitcombe & Tombs. OCLC 2959465.
- Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary (2005). World War I: Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-420-2.
- Wavell, Field Marshal Earl (1968) [1933]. "The Palestine Campaigns". In Sheppard, Eric William (ed.). A Short History of the British Army (4th ed.). London: Constable & Co. OCLC 35621223.