The Desert Mounted Corps An Account of the Cavalry Operations in Palestine and Syria 1917-1918

The advance to Damascus and Aleppo in September and October 1918 proved with what a small amount of transport cavalry can operate, when local supplies are available. As already...

Though the raid on Amman had failed in its primary object of so damaging the railway as to compel the withdrawal of the Turkish forces in the Hedjaz, it had succeeded in drawing...

In view of the successes obtained by the Arabs, General Allenby now judged the time to be ripe for a raid by our troops on the Hedjaz Railway at Amman, which he had long contemp...

The 60th and 74th Divisions were to attack the outer defences on the west and south-west, immediately after dawn, and, having captured them, were to hold the high ground west of...

Next day, September the 23rd, Chaytor's Force was on the move at daylight, following up the retreating IVth Army east of the Jordan. The 3rd A.L.H. Regiment (1st Brigade), with...

At two o'clock on the afternoon of the 29th, the Australian Mounted Division started on the last lap of the race to Damascus. The 5th Cavalry Division followed a few miles in re...

On the evening of the 9th of November, as the Anzac Mounted Division was 'in the air,' it was necessary for the other two divisions of the Desert Mounted Corps to press on and j...

By the evening of the 18th of September all troops were in readiness for the attack. The 4th, 5th, and Australian Cavalry Divisions were hidden in the orange and olive groves at...

The Yeomanry Division and the Camel Corps Brigade advanced on the left of our line, with the 52nd Division on their right. Then came the 75th Division and the Australian Mounted...

The Commander-in-Chief had now to decide whether or not he should hold the Jordan Valley during the summer. Local authorities declared emphatically that it was impossible for Eu...

Arabian Syria extends northwards a little beyond Aleppo. A study of the place-names on the map will establish a fairly well-defined line, running from about Jerablus on the Euph...

At the end of August 1918 the 5th and Australian Cavalry Divisions were encamped near Khurbet Deiran and Ramleh respectively; the 4th Division and the Anzac Mounted Division wer...

On the morning of the 8th of November the pursuit began. The enemy had made the best use of the night to put such a distance between his troops and ours that his rearguards were...

On November the 27th the enemy renewed his activity in the hills. The Yeomanry Division was, at the time, reduced to about 800 rifles in the line, and was holding a position nea...

One of the greatest difficulties with which the cavalry had to contend throughout the operations arose from the constant struggle to keep the horses sufficiently fit to carry on...

The next five days were occupied in securing the necessary concentration of troops for the main attack on Sharia and Hareira, and in developing the scanty water supply, and orga...

As the Turkish VIIth and VIIIth Armies and the 2nd Corps had now been entirely destroyed, and the IVth Army was in full retreat, the Commander-in-Chief determined to push on wit...

The advance was resumed on the 18th of November. During the preceding two days there had been no movement of importance on the part of our forces. The 22nd Mounted Brigade had l...

While the cavalry were racing for the Plain of Esdraelon on the 19th September the 21st Corps, continuing its wheel to the right, drove the enemy into the hills. The 5th A.L.H....

When General Allenby arrived in Egypt in June 1917, and assumed command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, British prestige in the East was at a very low ebb. The evacuation o...

The advance across the Nahr el Auja at the end of December 1917, and the infantry operations north of Jerusalem about the same time, established our line sufficiently far north...

The Commander-in-Chiefs plan was bold and simple, and promised great results. It depended for its success largely on the resolution and vigour with which the first part of the p...

The cavalry had reached their final goal, and their fighting work was over. But there was still much to be done. The Desert Mounted Corps took over the administration of the con...

The enemy had now been driven into a tract of difficult mountain country, very favourable for defensive tactics, and most unsuited for cavalry. Reinforcements of men and guns we...

While the 4th Cavalry Division was treading on the heels of the enemy east of the Jordan, the Australians had not been idle. Leaving El Mejdel soon after daylight on the 27th, t...

The cavalry brigadier is naturally eager to have a battery attached to him permanently, and considered as part of his brigade. Apart from the conviction that a battery always on...

Results of the raid. Successes of the Arab Army. Reorganisation of the Cavalry Corps. The second trans-Jordan raid. Capture of El Salt. Failure of first attack on Shunet Nimrin....

The last lap of the race to Damascus. Orders of the Cavalry Corps. A fight in the darkness. The action of Kaukab. 5th A.L.H. Brigade closes the Beirût road. Our two columns meet...

'Rest and Refit.' The ruins of Gaza. Decision to extend the battle line to the Jordan. The country between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea basin. The first descent into the Jordan Va...

The first trans-Jordan raid. Description of the trans-Jordan country. Bridging the Jordan. Difficulties of the cavalry. Rain and cold. Hedjaz Railway cut north and south of Amma...

Attack on the enemy line. Charge of the 6th Mounted Brigade at El Mughar. Armoured cars enter Junction Station. Capture of the station. Enemy forces cut in two. Right group driv...

Hard fighting and bad weather in the hills. Our communications cut. The last of the Yeomanry Division. Winter conditions in the Philistine Plain. Rain and mud. Floods cause brea...

Rolling up the enemy flank. Work of the 5th A.L.H. Brigade. Our infantry attack all along the line and drive in the Turkish front. Our cavalry reoccupy Nazareth. Sad fate of the...

The advance resumed. Amwas. The Australian Mounted Division withdrawn to rest. The Yeomanry Division enter the mountains. Rain. Unsuccessful attacks on the Beitunia Ridge. Diffi...

Decision to advance to Rayak and Beirût. Sickness in the Corps. Occupation of Homs and Tripoli. 5th Cavalry Division ordered to advance to Aleppo. A hunt by the armoured cars. A...

Police work. The Desert Mounted Corps administers a country larger than Scotland. Condition of the country after the Armistice. Pax Britannica. Co-operation of the Arabs. Work o...

The Cavalry Corps in line from the railway to the sea. Difficulties of supply. Withdrawal of all but two infantry divisions. Great heat and lack of water causes a slackening of...

Decision to advance on Damascus. The orders for the advance. 4th A.L.H. Brigade captures Semakh. Treachery of the Germans. Capture of Tiberias. The race for Damascus. 4th Cavalr...

The first round. The attack on Beersheba. Charge of the 4th A.L.H. Brigade. Capture of the town with 2000 prisoners. Destruction of the wells. First attack on the Gaza defences....

The action at the Bridge of Jacob's Daughters. A memory of Napoleon's campaign in Syria. Last crossing of the Jordan. Occupation of El Kuneitra. Some undisciplined 'Allies.' 4th...

Opening the door. Cavalry through the gap and over the Carmel Range. On the Plain of Armageddon. 13th Cavalry Brigade captures the enemy G.H.Q. at Nazareth. Cavalry seize Afule,...

The decisive battle. Enemy counterstroke on the east. Hard fighting of the cavalry and the 53rd Division. Lack of water. Capture of Tel Khuweilfeh. And of Hareira and Sharia. En...

Necessity for reinforcements, and exhaustion of horses causes a lull in the operations. A waterless record. The Australian cavalry horse. Junction Station. Reappearance of the C...

Preparations for the great drive. Description of the Turkish line and the country behind it. The opposing forces. Precautions to ensure secrecy. Plan of the operations. Lawrence...

Decision to hold the Jordan Valley during the summer. The Valley line. Description of the country and climate. Enemy attacks on Abu Tellul and El Henu repulsed. An example of 'K...

The pursuit. All three cavalry divisions employed. Strong enemy resistance. Charge of the Yeomanry at Huj. Water at last. Sufferings of the horses. Delay caused by lack of water...

Drawing the net. Action of Makhadet Abu Naj. Capture of Haifa. Action at Makhadet el Masudi. Turkish VIIth and VIIIth Armies completely destroyed. Adventures of Chaytor's Force....