Capture of Jisr ed Damieh
Capture of Jisr ed Damieh | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Jisr ed Damieh | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
British Empire |
Ottoman Empire German Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Edmund Allenby Edward Chaytor Wiliam Meldrum |
Otto Liman von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mohammed Jemal Pasha | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Meldrum's Force New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade mounted sections of the 1st and 2nd Battalions British West Indies Regiment 29th Indian Mountain Battery Inverness-shire Battery Royal Horse Artillery[1][2] (all detached from Chaytor's Force) |
Seventh Army Fourth Army |
The Capture of Jisr ed Damieh took place on 22 September 1918 during the
The main attack by the
Background
Front lines
The front line held by the
The Ottoman front line, which had been strengthened after the
Chaytor's Force deployment
Chaytor's Force held the right flank from their junction with the XX Corps in the Judean Hills 8 miles (13 km) north west of Jericho, across the Jordan Valley, and then southwards through the
Yildirim Army Group retreat
The Yildirim Army Group had consisted of 40,598 front line infantrymen armed with 19,819 rifles, 273 light machine guns and 696 heavy machine guns in August 1918.[11][Note 1] The infantry had been organised into twelve divisions and deployed along the 90 kilometres (56 mi) of front line from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea: the Eighth Army from the coast into the Judean Hills, the Seventh Army in the Judean Hills and towards the Jordan, with the Fourth Army east of the Jordan River.[11]
By early afternoon of 21 September, organised Yildirim Army Group resistance in the Judean Hills had ceased, most of the Ottoman Eighth Army had surrendered while the Seventh Army was retreating east down the Wadi el Fara road hoping to cross the Jordan River by the bridge at Jisr ed Damieh.[12][13]
The Seventh Army was in retreat down the Wadi el Fara road towards the Jordan River after being forced to abandon its guns and transports. This large column of Ottoman soldiers was seen about 8 miles (13 km) north of Nablus moving down the road towards Beisan and was heavily bombed and machine gunned by British and Australian aircraft. When the defile became blocked, the Ottoman forces were subjected to four hours of sustained attack, which destroyed at least 90 guns, 50 motor lorries and more than 1,000 other vehicles. The remnants of the Army then turned north at 'Ain Shible, still moving towards Beisan, except for the Ottoman 53rd Division which managed to escape before the defile was blocked but were later captured by Chaytor's Force in the Jordan Valley on 22 September.[14][15]
Prelude
Chaytor ordered Meldrum to cut the Wadi el Fara road from Nablus west of the Jordan River, occupy the headquarters of the Ottoman 53rd Division at El Makhruk, and capture the Jisr ed Damieh bridge over the Jordan River on the Nablus to Es Salt road.[16]
Meldrum's Force left Kh Fusail at midnight on 22 September with the
The Auckland and
The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment, with a section from the New Zealand Machine Gun Squadron attached, reached the Nablus to Jisr ed Damieh road early on the morning of 22 September. They had captured Abd el Kadyr and El Makhruk, located further up the Wadi el Fara road by 07:00,[10][16][17][20][21] after a "sharp fight".[20] Also captured were 600 prisoners, the commander of the Ottoman 53rd Division and his staff, and a great deal of war material in the division's dump.[10][16][17][20][21][Note 2]
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment meanwhile arrived at Ain Jozele, 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of the Jisr ed Damieh bridge, just after an Ottoman column had passed which was then in the process of crossing the Jordan River by the bridge.[17][22]
Battle
The Auckland and
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment attacked the strongly defended bridge under cover of darkness in the pre-dawn, while a large Ottoman column of retreating soldiers was in close proximity. The mounted riflemen commanded by Colonel McCarroll were pushed back about 100 yards (91 m) by a strong counter-attack from the bridgehead. Meldrum sent the 1st Squadron, Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment and one company of the 1st Battalion, British West Indies Regiment to reinforce the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment.[Note 3] The Ottoman defenders had attempted to turn the Auckland Mounted Rifle Regiment's right flank,[17][22][24] but the mounted riflemen fought their way to a position overlooking the Jisr ed Damieh, across the Wadi el Fara road.[19]
The first large column of about 1,200 Ottoman soldiers had finished crossing the bridge, and now threatened to cut off Meldrum's Force. This Ottoman force moved to the east of Red Hill towards Mafid Jozele, while another Ottoman force attacked Talaat Amrah, which was defended by units of the 2nd Battalion, British West Indies Regiment. A second column of about 500 Ottoman Seventh Army soldiers with two mountain guns was seen at 07:00 advancing down the Wadi el Fara road from Nablus towards the Jisr ed Damieh bridge. Another two battalions of retreating Ottoman infantry were only 3–4 miles (4.8–6.4 km) away, representing a further threat as they moved along the Wadi el Fara road from the direction of Nablus, towards the bridge.[16][17][18][19]
Meldrum responded to the threat from the approaching columns on the Wadi el Fara road by reinforcing the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment with the 10th Squadron, Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment.[Note 4] These mounted riflemen attacked the column of 500 Ottoman troops on the Wadi el Fara road, and forced them back into the hills where they remained for the rest of the day, "intermittently shell[ing] the Wellington Regiment."[17][18]
The 1st Light Horse Brigade, with the Inverness-shire Battery, had joined the 2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment at Kh. Fusail by 08:15 on 22 September. This force, under the command of Brigadier General Charles Frederick Cox, was ordered by Chaytor to clear the broken ground on the western bank of the Mafid Jozele ford. One regiment of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade was to move towards Madaba to protect the exposed flank of Meldrum's Force attacking Jisr ed Damieh bridge.[18][19][25]
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment, a squadron from the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment, and a company from the 1st Battalion British West Indies Regiment began a general advance on the strongly held Jisr ed Damieh bridge at 10:50. Under cover of two artillery batteries and machine guns, they carried out a bayonet charge against the Ottoman garrison holding the bridge. They broke through the Ottoman position, after hand-to-hand fighting, and captured the bridge. Meldrum's machine guns inflicted many casualties to the escaping survivors. The 11th Squadron or a troop of the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment crossed the bridge mounted, pursued the Ottoman's for some distance, and captured many prisoners.[17][18][24][Note 5] One squadron of Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment then crossed on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, to clear the roads.[16][17]
Meldrum's Force captured 786 prisoners, six guns, including two
According to a
The New Zealanders held the Jisr ed Damieh bridgehead on the east bank, for the night of 22/23 September. One company of 1st Battalion British West Indies Regiment held a protective line to the south, and the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment held a line to the north and west.[16][30]
Aftermath
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2013) |
The EEF became aware of the retreat of the Fourth Army at 23:35 on 22/23 September, when orders were issued for an attack on Shunet Nimrin. On 23 September, Chaytor's Force crossed the Jordan River and climbed to the Plateau of Moab and Gilead on their way to capture Es Salt that the evening.[31][32][33][34]
Notes
- ^ The only available German and Ottoman sources are Liman von Sanders' memoir and the Asia Corps' war diary. Ottoman army and corps records seem to have disappeared during their retreat. [Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 494–5]
- ^ This was the second time that a commander of the Ottoman 53rd Division had been captured by the New Zealanders. The first occurred at Gaza in March 1917. [Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 551] [Hill 1978 p. 173]
- ^ The squadron is referred to as the 1st (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) Squadron, Canterbury Regiment.["Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment". New Zealand History. Retrieved 14 September 2012.]
- ^ 10th (Nelson) Squadron, Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment. ["Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment". New Zealand History. Retrieved 14 September 2012.]
- ^ 11th (North Auckland) Squadron. ["Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment". New Zealand History. Retrieved 14 September 2012.]
Citations
- ^ "Inverness-shire Battery Royal Horse Artillery". National Archives. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 135
- ^ Gullett 1919 pp. 25–6
- ^ Wavell 1968 p. 205
- ^ Hill 1978 p. 162
- ^ Anzac Mounted Division General Staff War Diary AWM4-1-60-31part2 Appendix 38 p. 1
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 2. pp. 547–8
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 547
- ^ Gullett 1919 p. 32
- ^ a b c Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 550
- ^ a b Erickson 2007 pp. 132, 2001 p. 196
- ^ Keogh 1955 p. 250
- ^ Carver 2003 p. 239
- ^ Keogh 1955 p. 251
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 512
- ^ a b c d e f g New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade Headquarters War Diary AWM4-35-12-41
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Anzac Mounted Division General Staff War Diary AWM4-1-60-31part2 Appendix 38 p. 3
- ^ a b c d e Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 551
- ^ a b c d e Powles 1922 p. 246
- ^ a b c d e Wavell 1968 p. 221
- ^ a b Powles 1922 pp. 245–6
- ^ a b Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 550–1
- ^ a b c d Moore 1920 pp. 148–50
- ^ a b Powles 1922 pp. 246–7
- ^ Anzac Mounted Division General Staff War Diary AWM4-1-60-31part2 Appendix 38 pp. 3–4
- ^ Powles 1922 pp. 247–8
- ^ Downes 1938 p. 721
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 552
- ^ Baly 2003 p. 260
- ^ Kinloch 2007 p. 313
- ^ Downes 1938 p. 722
- ^ Gullett 1919 p. 39
- ^ Anzac Mounted Division General Staff War Diary AWM4-1-60-31part2 Appendix 38 p. 4
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 552, note
References
- "New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade Headquarters War Diary". First World War Diaries AWM4, 35-1-41. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. September 1918. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.[clarification needed]
- "Anzac Mounted Division General Staff War Diary". First World War Diaries AWM4, 1-60-31 Part 2. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. September 1918. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- Baly, Lindsay (2003). Horseman, Pass By: The Australian Light Horse in World War I. East Roseville, Sydney: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 223425266.
- Downes, Rupert M. (1938). "The Campaign in Sinai and Palestine". In Butler, Arthur Graham (ed.). Gallipoli, Palestine and New Guinea. Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914–1918: Volume 1 Part II (2nd ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. pp. 547–780. OCLC 220879097.
- Erickson, Edward J. (2001). Ordered to Die: A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War: Foreword by General Hüseyiln Kivrikoglu. No. 201 Contributions in Military Studies. Westport Connecticut: Greenwood Press. OCLC 43481698.
- Erickson, Edward J. (2007). Gooch, John; Reid, Brian Holden (eds.). Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I: A Comparative Study. No. 26 of Cass Series: Military History and Policy. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-96456-9.
- Falls, Cyril; A. F. Becke (maps) (1930). Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War. Official OCLC 256950972.
- ISBN 1-870114-05-1.
- Henry S. Gullett; Charles Barnet; David Baker, eds. (1919). Australia in Palestine. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. OCLC 224023558.
- OCLC 220029983.
- Kinloch, Terry (2007). Devils on Horses: In the Words of the Anzacs in the Middle East, 1916–19. Auckland: Exisle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-908988-94-5.
- Moore, A. Briscoe (1920). The Mounted Riflemen in Sinai & Palestine: The Story of New Zealand's Crusaders. Christchurch: Whitcombe & Tombs. OCLC 561949575.
- 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.
- OCLC 35621223.