Battle of Arara

Coordinates: 32°29′38.67″N 35°3′16.13″E / 32.4940750°N 35.0544806°E / 32.4940750; 35.0544806
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Battle of Arara
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
Date19 September 1918[1]
Location
Wadi Ara (near Nablus), Palestine
Result Franco-British victory
Belligerents
 German Empire
 Ottoman Empire

 France

 British Empire
Commanders and leaders
German Empire Otto Liman von Sanders
Ottoman Empire Jevad Pasha
German Empire Oberst Gustav von Oppen
Major General S. W. Hare
Strength
16th and 19th Divisions,
Yıldırım Army Group
54th (East Anglian) Division
Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie (DFPS) including the French Armenian Legion, XXI Corps Egyptian Expeditionary Force
Casualties and losses
218 Ottoman soldiers including six officers taken prisoner by the DFPS among 700 prisoners[2] 535 including 23 French Armenian Legion dead
76 wounded[3]

The Battle of Arara took place on 19 September 1918 during the

Damascus, six days later. By the time an Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire five weeks later, Aleppo
had been captured.

During the Battle of Arara the

54th (East Anglian) Division and the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie (DFPS) which included the French Armenian Legion also known as La Légion Arménienne (XXI Corps). This battle on the extreme right of the main attack covered the flank of the attackers pivoting on their positions. The Armenian's' role during this battle was so prominent that their efforts were recognized by the top commanders of the Allied Force.[4]

Background

See also:
Action of Tell 'Asur

In September 1918, on the Palestinian front, the Ottoman army was crumbling before the British expeditionary forces in the Middle East, which contained an Armenian contingent commanded by a French colonel and French officers, as well as Armenian officers. Many of the Armenians were survivors from Musa Dagh, where Armenians had resisted against Turkish massacres during the Armenian genocide.[5] The legion had landed at Jaffa in the middle of September and was prepared to take part in the final British offensive to evict the Ottomans from Palestine.

Prelude

Deployment of 54th Division and DFPS

The

54th (East Anglian) Division, consisted of the 161st, 162nd and 163rd Brigades of the British Army. Alongside them were most of the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie (DFPS) commanded by Colonel Gilles de Philpin de Piépape. Whilst its mounted troops served elsewhere in the 5th Light Horse Brigade, the rest of the organisation served alongside the 54th.[6]
[7][8]

Under cover of a British barrage, the 54th (East Anglian) Division on a frontage between

Kh. Kefir Thilth towards Kefr Kasim before advancing north east.[9][10]

Deployment of Asia Corps

The 16th Division, one of the four front–line Ottoman divisions of the Eighth Army, consisted of the 47th and the 48th Infantry Regiments with the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry and part of the 48th Regiment's machine–gun company, with the divisional assault, engineer, and cavalry companies in reserve. This division held the front line during the night of 18/19 September, expecting an attack from part of the 54th (East Anglian) Division and the DFPS.[11]

Battle

Falls Sketch Map 30 Megiddo Zero Hour 19 September 1918

The 19th Division (von Oppen Group) was attacked by the British 54th (East Anglian) Division which pushed forward as the pivot for the infantry advance across the coastal

plain of Sharon. The 19th Division (Asia Corps) was shelled heavily and subjected to infantry assaults which resulted in both of von Oppen's divisions; the 19th and 16th Divisions retreating intact.[11]

German General

Kh. Kefar Thilth to rally the retreating 19th Division which had been near Jaljulye.[9][12]

The 162nd Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division, less the 11th Battalion

right of the 3rd (Lahore) Division at Ras el Ain, where they were heavily shelled south west of Kufr Qasim by long range guns. On hearing of the capture of Kufr Qasim at 09:30 they began an advance between Sivri Wood and Crown Hill but was directed to support the 161st Brigade attack at Sivri Wood which was captured. Subsequently, three battalions advanced steadily eastwards to the Wadi Qana where three howitzers were captured. Later in the day Azzun Ibn Atme was captured and during the early morning Kh es Sumra was reached.[13]

The French fought well, and had some 150 killed and wounded – Armenians and Tirailleurs Algériens.

Allenby; letter to his wife, 24 September 1918.[14]

The advance of the 161st Brigade on Kufr Qasim was checked but eventually they managed to captured it by 07:00 along with Jevis Tepe to the west. The 6th and 7th Battalions, Essex Regiment then moved up to attack the next line of trenches with their right near Crown Hill, where they encountered obstinate resistance but after another bombardment the whole position was occupied.[15]

The 163rd Brigade advanced towards the front line trenches and at 04:20 just as the 4th and 5th Battalions,

Bidya and Kh. Sirisia began. This fighting continued on into the night and by 03:00 20 September Mesha had been occupied and Bidya entered.[16]

Falls Map 31 Megiddo Situation at 24:00 19/20 September 1918

On the right of the 54th (East Anglian) Division's 163rd Brigade, the DFPS fought against the German Pasha 11 Group which held a ridge opposite the

Rafat salient captured and held by the British since April 1918.[10][17][18] Here, the DFPS attacked the col west of Rafat and the sites known as Three Bushes and Scurry Hills; these last two being quickly captured at 05:10 and 05:45 respectively. Although Kh. Deir el Qassis east of Scurry Hill was occupied soon after it had to be abandoned due to heavy artillery beyond the reach of the French artillery. During the night of 19 September the DFPS occupied Arara north east of Rafat having captured almost all their objectives and 212 prisoners.[9]

The DFPS and the 54th (East Anglian) Division eventually captured their objectives and established a secure pivot on the ridge for the XXI Corps' line of attack which stretched across five divisions to the Mediterranean Sea. In the process they captured about 700 prisoners, nine guns and 20 machine guns suffering 535 casualties.[10][17][18][19]

Aftermath

Falls Map 32 Megiddo Situation at 21:00 20 September 1918

The

'Anebta, at 12:30 ordering the occupation of the mouth of the Musmus Pass at El Lajjun by six companies and 12 machine guns.[20]

At the end of the day, the front of the British Empire's XXI Corps ran just west of the 54th Division at Bidya, Kh. Kefar Thilth and

Irta and 60th (2/2nd London) Division at Tul Karm; the heads of the corps' columns describing a virtual straight line from the DFPS at Rafat to Tul Karm.[21][22][23]

Commendation

General Edmund Allenby commended Armenian forces in his official dispatch to the Allied High Command, "On the right flank, on the coastal hills, the units of the Armenian Legion d'Orient fought with great valour. Despite the difficulty of the terrain and the strength of the enemy defensive lines, at an early hour, they took the hill of Dir el Kassis."[2] Allenby remarked, "I am proud to have had an Armenian contingent under my command. They have fought very brilliantly and have played a great part in the victory."[24]

A monument for the Armenian troops killed during the battle was moved from its original location on the battlefield to Mount Zion in October 1925.[2]

Notes

  1. ISBN 0-312-10168-6
  2. ^ a b c "Extract from the book Ir Ha-Menuhot" by Meron Benvenisti, Read at the Genocide Memorial evening." Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel Armenian Studies Program Genocide Commemoration 2004. Hebrew University of Jerusalem. April 28, 2004. Accessed May 22, 2009.
  3. Armenian Academy of Sciences
    , 1974, p. 691.
  4. ISBN 978-0-307-26288-2
    .
  5. ^ Walker. "World War I and the Armenian Genocide," p. 267.
  6. ^ "Les majorations d'ancienneté pour services militaires aux fonctionnaires" (JPG). Journal Officiel du Cameroun. Les fonctionnaires mobilisés se sont trouvés dans la zone du Canal de Suez ou en territoire turc (in French). 16 (263). Ministere Des Colonies: 339. 15 May 1931. Retrieved 30 July 2020. [Liste des] unités qui ont fait partie du détachement français de Palestine au cours des hostilités
  7. OCLC 256950972
    . pp. 670–2
  8. ^ "Détachement Français de Palestine et Syrie Order of Battle, September 1918". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ^
    OCLC 256950972
    . p. 473
  10. ^ a b c Wavell, Field Marshal Earl (1968). E.W. Sheppard (ed.). The Palestine Campaigns. A Short History of the British Army (3rd ed.). London: Constable & Co. p. 205
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-0-203-96456-9
    . p. 149
  12. ^ Wavell, Field Marshal Earl (1968). E.W. Sheppard (ed.). The Palestine Campaigns. A Short History of the British Army (3rd ed.). London: Constable & Co. p. 495
  13. ^ Falls, Cyril; A. F. Becke (maps) (1930). Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War. Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. 2 Part II. London: HM Stationery Office.
    OCLC 256950972
    .     pp. 475–6
  14. ISBN 978-0-7509-3841-9
    . pp. 185–6
  15. OCLC 256950972
    . pp. 474–5
  16. OCLC 256950972
    . pp. 473–4
  17. ^
    OCLC 220029983
    . p. 247
  18. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7195-5432-2
    . pp. 224–5
  19. OCLC 256950972
    . p. 476
  20. OCLC 256950972
    . p. 495
  21. OCLC 256950972
    . p. 488
  22. OCLC 220029983
    . p. 248
  23. ISBN 978-0-7195-5432-2
    . p. 227
  24. ISBN 0-87395-200-6
    .

Further reading

  • (in Armenian) Boyajian, Dickran H. Հայկական լեգեոնը (Haykakan legyonĕ, The Armenian Legion). New York:
    AGBU
    Publishing Press, 1965.

32°29′38.67″N 35°3′16.13″E / 32.4940750°N 35.0544806°E / 32.4940750; 35.0544806

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