Category: History - Modern (1750+)

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

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. German buildings in Beersheba. Arab sheikhs and the Camel Transport Corps 18

Chapters

50. CHAPTER XXVI

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...

37. CHAPTER XIII

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...

36. CHAPTER XII

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...

27. CHAPTER III

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...

42. CHAPTER XVIII

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...

45. CHAPTER XXI

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...

30. CHAPTER VI

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...

40. CHAPTER XVI

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...

31. CHAPTER VII

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...

38. CHAPTER XIV

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...

46. CHAPTER XXII

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...

39. CHAPTER XV

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...

29. CHAPTER V

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...

34. CHAPTER X

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...

49. CHAPTER XXV

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...

28. CHAPTER IV

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...

43. CHAPTER XIX

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...

33. CHAPTER IX

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...

41. CHAPTER XVII

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....

25. CHAPTER I

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...

35. CHAPTER XI

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...

26. CHAPTER II

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...

47. CHAPTER XXIII

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...

32. CHAPTER VIII

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...

44. CHAPTER XX

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...

48. CHAPTER XXIV

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...

24. CHAPTER XXVI

13. CHAPTER XIII

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....

21. CHAPTER XXI

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...

11. CHAPTER XI

'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...

12. CHAPTER XII

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...

7. CHAPTER VII

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...

10. CHAPTER X

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...

17. CHAPTER XVII

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...

9. CHAPTER IX

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...

22. CHAPTER XXII

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...

23. CHAPTER XXIII

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...

6. CHAPTER VI

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...

19. CHAPTER XIX

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...

3. CHAPTER III

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....

20. CHAPTER XX

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...

16. CHAPTER XVI

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,...

4. CHAPTER IV

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...

8. CHAPTER VIII

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...

15. CHAPTER XV

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...

14. CHAPTER XIV

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...

5. CHAPTER V

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...

18. CHAPTER XVIII

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....

1. CHAPTER I

2. CHAPTER II