31 October 2017 - Commemorates the Centenary of the Battle for Be'ersheva by the ANZACS (Australian Light Horse Brigade and New Zealand Mounted Rifles)
Watch the joint Australian and New Zealand commemorative service at the Beersheba Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on 31 October.
Published on October 28, 2017
The Battle of Beersheba (Be’er Sheva in modern Israel) took place on 31 October 1917. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles, supported by the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment and the Somerset Battery, were tasked with capturing the heavily fortified high ground of Tel el Saba (now known as Tel Be'er Sheva). The assault was successful and the Tel’s capture cleared the way for the Australian Light Horse Brigade to make their now famous charge on Beersheba. Lieutenant Colonel Hamish Gibbons, Commanding Officer of Queen Alexandra’s Mounted Rifles, visits the battlefield one hundred years later to reflect on the battle as part of New Zealand’s centenary commemorations. Historical moving image: Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision Historical images: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, Alexander Turnbull Library, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Library of Congress |
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Field Marshal Sir Edmund H. H. Allenby, spoke well of New Zealand troops.
When I assumed command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, in June, 1917, the New Zealanders were already veteran troops proved in many a battle. Two more years of hardship and danger were to pass before they saw the end of their labours. Two years of unceasing toil, crowned with much glory…Nothing daunted these intrepid fighters; to them nothing was impossible. I am proud to have had the honour of commanding them; and they have my congratulations, my thanks and my good wishes. Sir Edmund H. H. Allenby
When I assumed command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, in June, 1917, the New Zealanders were already veteran troops proved in many a battle. Two more years of hardship and danger were to pass before they saw the end of their labours. Two years of unceasing toil, crowned with much glory…Nothing daunted these intrepid fighters; to them nothing was impossible. I am proud to have had the honour of commanding them; and they have my congratulations, my thanks and my good wishes. Sir Edmund H. H. Allenby
Past and present bonds converge for Israel, Australia and New Zealand
3 NOVEMBER, 2017
By Sean Savage/JNS.org
On Oct. 31, horse riders from Australia and New Zealand participate in a World War I reenactment at Israel’s Be’er Sheva River National Park, as part of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Be’er Sheva by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
While November 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the much-discussed Balfour Declaration, which helped pave the way for the modern state of Israel, another important centennial—for the World War I Battle of Be’er Sheva—was also marked this week by the leaders of Israel, Australia and New Zealand.
For citizens of all three young democracies, the pivotal battle is seen as playing a major role in shaping not only the future of Israel, by setting the stage for the implementation of the Balfour Declaration through the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, but also for the national identities of Australia and New Zealand, who were part of the British Empire at the time.
“We are here standing in the city of Abraham,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a gathering of leaders in Be’er Sheva’s Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. “Four-thousand years ago, our forefathers came here. Now, because of that day a hundred years ago, you see the modern city of Be’er Sheva, with the cyber headquarters, with the future in our hands. We have peace, prosperity and security, but it was made possible because of those heroes.”
The ceremony in Be’er Sheva included military reenactments and was attended by a wide array of dignitaries and officials from all three countries, in an unprecedented showing of historical bonds and present-day unity.
“Had the Ottoman rule in Palestine and Syria not been overthrown by the Australians and the New Zealanders, the Balfour Declaration would have been empty words,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, referencing the pivotal document—issued only a few days after the battle—in which the British government stated that it would “view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”
Jeremy Jones, director of international affairs for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), told JNS.org that the Be’er Sheva battle “was essential for the eventual British Mandate for Palestine and the emergence of the modern state of Israel. For Australians, the battle has been inspirational for generations. [They] see the battle as emblematic of courage, ingenuity, creativity and independence of thought and action.”
Paul Moon, a professor of history at Auckland University of Technology and co-director of the Israel Institute of New Zealand, said that while his country’s participation in the Battle of Be’er Sheva is less well-known than major World War I battles like Gallipoli, it does highlight the common bond between Israel and New Zealand, two “small, vibrant democracies which cherish individual liberties, and which have a history that has often intersected.”
“Apart from its role in liberating parts of [modern-day] Israel from occupation by the Ottoman Empire in 1917, New Zealand supported the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922, and in 1949 backed the United Nations’s recognition of the state of Israel,” he told JNS.org.
Building relations down under
Beyond the historical connections, the visit to Israel by leaders from Australia and New Zealand came amid Netanyahu’s current quest to build stronger bonds with non-traditional allies outside of Europe and North America.
Prior to the Be’er Sheva event, Netanyahu and Australia’s Turnbull, along with many senior government officials, met in Jerusalem to sign a memorandum of understanding enabling more cooperation between the two countries’ defense industries, including the potential for increased exports. They also pledged to bolster their cooperation on cybersecurity.
“We have a vital interest in working more closely and intensely together to keep our people safe from terrorism and from the use of the internet,” Turnbull said.
AIJAC’s Jones said that the high-level meetings between Israeli and Australian officials showed an atmosphere of “genuine and mature friendship.”
“Prime Minister Turnbull repeatedly stressed that geography no longer was as important as it had once been, given modern communications technology and the spread of ideologies which are global in their outlook,” he said. “Israelis and Australians consistently said the relationship between the countries, in cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and other areas, is very healthy, honest, transparent and mutually beneficial.”
Israel and the Kiwis ‘move forward’
Netanyahu also met with New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy as part of the first-ever visit to Israel by that officeholder.
The two countries signed a major aviation services agreement intended to establish air links—including direct routes between Israel and New Zealand, the right to fly in each other’s airspace, and stopover landing rights.
“The signing of the aviation agreement between New Zealand and Israel is a positive step toward closer ties and indicates a willingness to move forward, beyond the bias New Zealand showed against Israel at the United Nations last year,” David Cumin, the other co-director of the Israel Institute of New Zealand, told JNS.org, referencing his country’s co-sponsorship of December 2016’s U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which criticized Israel’s settlement enterprise and led to the Jewish state pulling its ambassador from the country.
Stephen Goodman, president of the New Zealand Jewish Council, called Resolution 2334 a “bump on the road” in bilateral relations that have historically been “very good.”
Cumin said that New Zealand’s co-sponsoring of the measure, alongside countries like Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela, served as a “wake-up call for Israel supporters in New Zealand and fair-minded Kiwis” to take action.
Goodman explained that New Zealand’s recently departed government worked hard to restore relations with Israel, and that he expects the new Labour party-led government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to continue that path.
“With the new Labour-led government, we have a deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Hon. Winston Peters, who has for a long time been in support of Israel,” he said. “He publicly criticized the sponsorship of the U.N. resolution and has for some time been a member of the New Zealand ‘Parliamentary Friends of Israel’ group.”
“As such,” added Goodman, “we hope that bilateral relations with Israel will continue to improve, and the aviation deal signed between the two countries is an example of this.”
3 NOVEMBER, 2017
By Sean Savage/JNS.org
On Oct. 31, horse riders from Australia and New Zealand participate in a World War I reenactment at Israel’s Be’er Sheva River National Park, as part of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Be’er Sheva by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
While November 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the much-discussed Balfour Declaration, which helped pave the way for the modern state of Israel, another important centennial—for the World War I Battle of Be’er Sheva—was also marked this week by the leaders of Israel, Australia and New Zealand.
For citizens of all three young democracies, the pivotal battle is seen as playing a major role in shaping not only the future of Israel, by setting the stage for the implementation of the Balfour Declaration through the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, but also for the national identities of Australia and New Zealand, who were part of the British Empire at the time.
“We are here standing in the city of Abraham,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a gathering of leaders in Be’er Sheva’s Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. “Four-thousand years ago, our forefathers came here. Now, because of that day a hundred years ago, you see the modern city of Be’er Sheva, with the cyber headquarters, with the future in our hands. We have peace, prosperity and security, but it was made possible because of those heroes.”
The ceremony in Be’er Sheva included military reenactments and was attended by a wide array of dignitaries and officials from all three countries, in an unprecedented showing of historical bonds and present-day unity.
“Had the Ottoman rule in Palestine and Syria not been overthrown by the Australians and the New Zealanders, the Balfour Declaration would have been empty words,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, referencing the pivotal document—issued only a few days after the battle—in which the British government stated that it would “view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”
Jeremy Jones, director of international affairs for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), told JNS.org that the Be’er Sheva battle “was essential for the eventual British Mandate for Palestine and the emergence of the modern state of Israel. For Australians, the battle has been inspirational for generations. [They] see the battle as emblematic of courage, ingenuity, creativity and independence of thought and action.”
Paul Moon, a professor of history at Auckland University of Technology and co-director of the Israel Institute of New Zealand, said that while his country’s participation in the Battle of Be’er Sheva is less well-known than major World War I battles like Gallipoli, it does highlight the common bond between Israel and New Zealand, two “small, vibrant democracies which cherish individual liberties, and which have a history that has often intersected.”
“Apart from its role in liberating parts of [modern-day] Israel from occupation by the Ottoman Empire in 1917, New Zealand supported the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922, and in 1949 backed the United Nations’s recognition of the state of Israel,” he told JNS.org.
Building relations down under
Beyond the historical connections, the visit to Israel by leaders from Australia and New Zealand came amid Netanyahu’s current quest to build stronger bonds with non-traditional allies outside of Europe and North America.
Prior to the Be’er Sheva event, Netanyahu and Australia’s Turnbull, along with many senior government officials, met in Jerusalem to sign a memorandum of understanding enabling more cooperation between the two countries’ defense industries, including the potential for increased exports. They also pledged to bolster their cooperation on cybersecurity.
“We have a vital interest in working more closely and intensely together to keep our people safe from terrorism and from the use of the internet,” Turnbull said.
AIJAC’s Jones said that the high-level meetings between Israeli and Australian officials showed an atmosphere of “genuine and mature friendship.”
“Prime Minister Turnbull repeatedly stressed that geography no longer was as important as it had once been, given modern communications technology and the spread of ideologies which are global in their outlook,” he said. “Israelis and Australians consistently said the relationship between the countries, in cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and other areas, is very healthy, honest, transparent and mutually beneficial.”
Israel and the Kiwis ‘move forward’
Netanyahu also met with New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy as part of the first-ever visit to Israel by that officeholder.
The two countries signed a major aviation services agreement intended to establish air links—including direct routes between Israel and New Zealand, the right to fly in each other’s airspace, and stopover landing rights.
“The signing of the aviation agreement between New Zealand and Israel is a positive step toward closer ties and indicates a willingness to move forward, beyond the bias New Zealand showed against Israel at the United Nations last year,” David Cumin, the other co-director of the Israel Institute of New Zealand, told JNS.org, referencing his country’s co-sponsorship of December 2016’s U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which criticized Israel’s settlement enterprise and led to the Jewish state pulling its ambassador from the country.
Stephen Goodman, president of the New Zealand Jewish Council, called Resolution 2334 a “bump on the road” in bilateral relations that have historically been “very good.”
Cumin said that New Zealand’s co-sponsoring of the measure, alongside countries like Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela, served as a “wake-up call for Israel supporters in New Zealand and fair-minded Kiwis” to take action.
Goodman explained that New Zealand’s recently departed government worked hard to restore relations with Israel, and that he expects the new Labour party-led government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to continue that path.
“With the new Labour-led government, we have a deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Hon. Winston Peters, who has for a long time been in support of Israel,” he said. “He publicly criticized the sponsorship of the U.N. resolution and has for some time been a member of the New Zealand ‘Parliamentary Friends of Israel’ group.”
“As such,” added Goodman, “we hope that bilateral relations with Israel will continue to improve, and the aviation deal signed between the two countries is an example of this.”
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund 2008 Re-enactment of the Australian Light Horse Brigade
The Australian Light Horse Brigade Conquers Beer Sheva Once Again
Thursday, May 01, 2008
They came back to Beit Eshel at the invitation of Ron Ferster, President of KKL-JNF Australia and Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF World Chairman. Some wore the uniforms of the Australian army; others wore the dress of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, complete with riding boots and feathers in their broad hats. Other distinguished representatives of the Australian government headed by Minister of Australian War Veterans, Alan Griffin, were dressed in suits and traditional purple ties. There were also wives of Australian war veterans and a small group of Australian soldiers who had fought in the Second World War.
They came back to Beit Eshel - to the restored site of the isolated and lonely settlement that heroically stood up against the attacks of the Egyptian Army in the War of Independence until it was finally abandoned and destroyed.
All the visitors had assembled under the desert sun for a single purpose: they were there to commemorate an extensive project of the KKL-JNF with the help of Friends of KKL-JNF Australia: the establishment of the Nahal Assaf Park and the “ANZAC Trail" (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) commemorating the battles fought by the Australian Light Horse Brigade to liberate Eretz Yisrael from the Turkish conquerors during the First World War.
“On 31st October, 1917, a large cloud of dust spread over the place where we are now standing. The Desert Cavalry of the Australian New Zealand Corps, commanded by General Harry Chauvel, stormed Beersheba and conquered the city and its important water wells from the Ottomans in a battle that became a landmark in the Australian heritage,” wrote Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF World Chairman, whose words were delivered by Avi Dickstein, Executive Director of Resources and Development Division.
The dust rose in Beit Eshel once again: this time from the hooves of four horses ridden by four members of the Australian Cavalry Brigade in full regalia. The riders symbolizing the factors integrated into the project, environmental development, commemoration and education, each carried a flag: the Australian flag, the Israeli flag, the flag of KKL-JNF and the Beersheba Municipality flag. The riders and the desert combined to form an impressive, nostalgic picture – making it hard to believe that 91 years had gone by.
Schoolchildren from Beersheba greeted the visitors while waving flags, smiling and shaking hands with the guests. The visitors entered the site of Beit Eshel, which was renovated during the last year with the help of Friends of KKL-JNF Canada. The guests, in uniforms decorated with medals, received admiring looks from the children, who are unaccustomed to the appearance of elaborately decorated military men in Israel. The military delegation was headed by General David Hurley, head of the Combined Campaign Division of the Australian army, who was accompanied by a group of high-ranking officers. They emphasized their pride in the military heritage that placed Australian soldiers in the service of His Majesty.
“The most important event in the history of the Australian Light Horse Brigade occurred here 91 years ago,” stated Alan Griffin. “These soldiers who fought in the area between Gaza and Beersheba and conquered Beersheba, created the tale of the ANZAC, which is an important chapter in the Australian identity. The cavalrymen were used to difficult conditions of the arid desert. Australian and New Zealand soldiers fought here shoulder to shoulder,” he continued, and related the history of the battles that determined the fate of the Middle East during the First World War.
In his letter, Efi Stenzler mentioned that “the Australian hat became fashionable in Eretz Yisrael, and true, long-lasting friendships were formed between members of the Jewish settlement and Australian soldiers." During Tu Bishvat 1918 the commander of the Australian forces, General Harry Chauvel, was invited to plant an olive tree opposite the meeting hall in Rehovot, the city that he loved, where he had established friendly relations with its residents. “Know that this is the greatest honor that I have ever received in my life,” the general had stated. Later, at the end of the war, he returned to Rehovot to visit the tree he had planted, before returning to Australia.
The Mayor of Beersheba, Yaakov Turner - himself a veteran pilot of the Israel air force, was the first to greet the guests. After reviewing the heroic history of the residents of Beit Eshel he praised KKL-JNF. “KKL-JNF has restored important chapters in the history of the battles of the Negev, and presented them to children in the form of an educational center for future generations. We are extremely grateful to the Australians for the warm, special connection they created here with these projects. I personally am happy at the decision of KKL-JNF to dedicate sites to the memory of the soldiers of ANZAC. This gives us feelings of closeness with the Australian people.”
The launching of the Australian project of establishing the Route of the ANZAC and the Nahal Asaf Park began with speeches and continued with the unveiling of the central commemoration stone placed in Beit Eshel. The ceremonies ended with the declaration of the project for commemoration of the Australian fighters, read by JNF Australia's CEO, Rob Schneider. The event ended with Avi Dickstein recounting a series of symbolic historic events that occurred in 1901: the independence of Australia from Great Britain and the establishment of KKL-JNF in Basil.
For some more information about New Zealand and Australian involvement in the Middle East please use the following links:
Thursday, May 01, 2008
They came back to Beit Eshel at the invitation of Ron Ferster, President of KKL-JNF Australia and Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF World Chairman. Some wore the uniforms of the Australian army; others wore the dress of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, complete with riding boots and feathers in their broad hats. Other distinguished representatives of the Australian government headed by Minister of Australian War Veterans, Alan Griffin, were dressed in suits and traditional purple ties. There were also wives of Australian war veterans and a small group of Australian soldiers who had fought in the Second World War.
They came back to Beit Eshel - to the restored site of the isolated and lonely settlement that heroically stood up against the attacks of the Egyptian Army in the War of Independence until it was finally abandoned and destroyed.
All the visitors had assembled under the desert sun for a single purpose: they were there to commemorate an extensive project of the KKL-JNF with the help of Friends of KKL-JNF Australia: the establishment of the Nahal Assaf Park and the “ANZAC Trail" (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) commemorating the battles fought by the Australian Light Horse Brigade to liberate Eretz Yisrael from the Turkish conquerors during the First World War.
“On 31st October, 1917, a large cloud of dust spread over the place where we are now standing. The Desert Cavalry of the Australian New Zealand Corps, commanded by General Harry Chauvel, stormed Beersheba and conquered the city and its important water wells from the Ottomans in a battle that became a landmark in the Australian heritage,” wrote Efi Stenzler, KKL-JNF World Chairman, whose words were delivered by Avi Dickstein, Executive Director of Resources and Development Division.
The dust rose in Beit Eshel once again: this time from the hooves of four horses ridden by four members of the Australian Cavalry Brigade in full regalia. The riders symbolizing the factors integrated into the project, environmental development, commemoration and education, each carried a flag: the Australian flag, the Israeli flag, the flag of KKL-JNF and the Beersheba Municipality flag. The riders and the desert combined to form an impressive, nostalgic picture – making it hard to believe that 91 years had gone by.
Schoolchildren from Beersheba greeted the visitors while waving flags, smiling and shaking hands with the guests. The visitors entered the site of Beit Eshel, which was renovated during the last year with the help of Friends of KKL-JNF Canada. The guests, in uniforms decorated with medals, received admiring looks from the children, who are unaccustomed to the appearance of elaborately decorated military men in Israel. The military delegation was headed by General David Hurley, head of the Combined Campaign Division of the Australian army, who was accompanied by a group of high-ranking officers. They emphasized their pride in the military heritage that placed Australian soldiers in the service of His Majesty.
“The most important event in the history of the Australian Light Horse Brigade occurred here 91 years ago,” stated Alan Griffin. “These soldiers who fought in the area between Gaza and Beersheba and conquered Beersheba, created the tale of the ANZAC, which is an important chapter in the Australian identity. The cavalrymen were used to difficult conditions of the arid desert. Australian and New Zealand soldiers fought here shoulder to shoulder,” he continued, and related the history of the battles that determined the fate of the Middle East during the First World War.
In his letter, Efi Stenzler mentioned that “the Australian hat became fashionable in Eretz Yisrael, and true, long-lasting friendships were formed between members of the Jewish settlement and Australian soldiers." During Tu Bishvat 1918 the commander of the Australian forces, General Harry Chauvel, was invited to plant an olive tree opposite the meeting hall in Rehovot, the city that he loved, where he had established friendly relations with its residents. “Know that this is the greatest honor that I have ever received in my life,” the general had stated. Later, at the end of the war, he returned to Rehovot to visit the tree he had planted, before returning to Australia.
The Mayor of Beersheba, Yaakov Turner - himself a veteran pilot of the Israel air force, was the first to greet the guests. After reviewing the heroic history of the residents of Beit Eshel he praised KKL-JNF. “KKL-JNF has restored important chapters in the history of the battles of the Negev, and presented them to children in the form of an educational center for future generations. We are extremely grateful to the Australians for the warm, special connection they created here with these projects. I personally am happy at the decision of KKL-JNF to dedicate sites to the memory of the soldiers of ANZAC. This gives us feelings of closeness with the Australian people.”
The launching of the Australian project of establishing the Route of the ANZAC and the Nahal Asaf Park began with speeches and continued with the unveiling of the central commemoration stone placed in Beit Eshel. The ceremonies ended with the declaration of the project for commemoration of the Australian fighters, read by JNF Australia's CEO, Rob Schneider. The event ended with Avi Dickstein recounting a series of symbolic historic events that occurred in 1901: the independence of Australia from Great Britain and the establishment of KKL-JNF in Basil.
For some more information about New Zealand and Australian involvement in the Middle East please use the following links:
Israel, God and the ANZACs by Ian W. Johnson - hisamazinggloryministries.org/israel-god-and-the-anzacs/
https://www.amazon.com/Israel-God-Anzacs-Ian-Johnson-ebook/dp/B00C2PV30M/ref=as_li_ss_mfw?&linkCode=wey&tag=godfuel-20
A book about Gods plan for Israel which is both historical and prophetic in its approach. The book is an an overview of who modern Israel is and where they fit in God’s end time economy. The nations of Australia and New Zealand were used greatly by God in World War 1 to free the land from 400 years of Ottoman rule which resulted in the formation of the modern nation of Israel.
(Wikipedia report)
1917 Battle of Beersheba
Interview of historian Kelvin Crombie (Broadcast 13 November 2015) http://www.revelationtv.com/programmes/episode/middle-east-report22500
https://www.amazon.com/Israel-God-Anzacs-Ian-Johnson-ebook/dp/B00C2PV30M/ref=as_li_ss_mfw?&linkCode=wey&tag=godfuel-20
A book about Gods plan for Israel which is both historical and prophetic in its approach. The book is an an overview of who modern Israel is and where they fit in God’s end time economy. The nations of Australia and New Zealand were used greatly by God in World War 1 to free the land from 400 years of Ottoman rule which resulted in the formation of the modern nation of Israel.
(Wikipedia report)
1917 Battle of Beersheba
Interview of historian Kelvin Crombie (Broadcast 13 November 2015) http://www.revelationtv.com/programmes/episode/middle-east-report22500
The Battle of Rafah
On 9 January 1917, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles participated in the final battle of the Sinai Campaign on the borders of Palestine - an event which changed the Middle East in ways which continue to resound today.
www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/topics/the-battle-of-rafah
THE NEW ZEALANDERS IN SINAI AND PALESTINE
HOW THE TURKISH LINE WAS BROKEN AT BEERSHEBA
Author: Lieut.-Colonel C. Guy Powles
Publication details: Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland
Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 1914–1918
How the Turkish Line was Broken at Beersheba.It was now that the benefit of the constant patrolling and reconnoitring was felt. The Turk had become so accustomed to our mounted troops riding about the plains that our preliminary movements to the south to obtain a concentration point from which to descend upon Beersheba passed unnoticed. Every care was taken to conceal these movements, however, and no marches were made in daylight. A further protection came from our air service, now far ahead of the enemy's in speed, numbers and personnel; for our airmen kept the enemy planes away or forced them to fly so high that they apparently saw nothing.
The long line before which we had remained for the past six months extended from the sea at Gaza to Beersheba—a distance of close upon thirty miles—and was an almost continuous trench line and followed the Gaza-Beersheba road. That portion from the sea at Gaza to the great Atawineh redoubt we knew well—to our cost. From there on towards Beersheba our reconnaissances—both air and mounted—and our Intelligence Department, told us that there was a great system of trenches at Abu Hareira, where the Wadi.Sharia crosses the road; that there was also another great system at Kh. Kauwukah—covering the bend in the railway and the Sharia viaduct on the railway. From there through Bir Abu Irgeig ran a continuous line of strong works to the south of Beersheba. Practically the whole of this thirty-mile line lay upon higher ground than that held by us—giving the Turk good observation and an excellent field of fire.
Beersheba itself was entirely hidden behind a range of hills running up to a height of 960 feet, and along these hills lay the enemy trenches.
General Allenby's plan was to strike at Beersheba—the enemy's extreme left—and having taken the town with its invaluable water supply, to roll up the whole Turk line back upon Gaza. To do this the XX Corps was to attack Beersheba from the west and south-west, while the Desert Mounted Corps came in from the south, east and north.
To cover these operations the XXI Corps, aided by the Navy, was to begin a heavy bombardment of Gaza and its defences 24 hours before the move against Beersheba began.
To enable the attack upon Beersheba to be so made, preparatory measures had to be undertaken some days before, to provide water for those troops taking part in the encircling movement and also to advance the front line towards the west of Beersheba—sufficiently near to enable the attack to be launched by the infantry. The preparatory measures included placing one mounted division at Asluj, one mounted division at Khalasa, and one mounted brigade at Bir el Esani.
The mounted corps was required also to protect the advance of the XX Corps to its preliminary position on the line Abu Ghalyun-Rashid Bek-El Buggar. The water required was to be sufficient for one mounted division at Asluj, for one mounted division at Khalasa and also for two mounted divisions passing through Esani, where they would each stay one night; and finally at Abu Ghalyun (between Esani and Khalasa) water was required for one infantry brigade group. A supply depot had to be formed at Esani (and protection found for it) for the feeding of the mounted corps.
The preliminary moves therefore consisted of: (a) an advance of the front line eastward as far as the line Rashid Bek-Point 720 (2½ miles north of the Tel el Fara-Beersheba road)-Point 630-Point 510-Point 300; (b) a gradual extension of our line southward as far as Asluj.
General Allenby says:—"It is not uninteresting to review the enemy situation at this period.
The German Staff in Palestine had, so far back as August, decided that the British would make another effort to break through on that front, and with such forces that, unless the Turks were heavily reinforced, the result could only be in favour of the British. That the weaknesses of their position were its extent and the exposed left flank at Beersheba, was fully realised by the command in the field, and during August and September repeated requests were made to the Higher Command for a shortening of the line by withdrawing from Beersheba, or generous reinforcements so that Beersheba could be held à l'outrance.
"The soundness of these demands was fully realised by the German advisers of the Turks, but there existed a policy which was a veritable millstone to those who wished to conduct the operations in accordance with clear strategic principles. This policy was directed towards the recovery of Baghdad. A composite German force had been formed, and one of the first of German soldiers--Marshal Erich von Falkenhayn—was lent for the carrying through of this under taking. If Baghdad was to be taken, every man and gun must be sent to Irak, and every man sent to Sinai decreased the chance of success. But to this was the unanswerable argument of those who asked that reinforcements should be sent to Sinai: "If the Sinai front is broken, Palestine and Syria will fall into the enemy's hands, and not only will Baghdad not be retaken, but the armies in Irak will be caught like a rat in a trap, with the British across their lines of communication at Aleppo." It was not until mid-October that this argument prevailed, and then it was too late. Troops being diverted from Mesopotamia were still on the lines of communication and the aircraft were still being unpacked and put together PAGE 131 when the British troops attacked and captured Beersheba on October 31st, 1917.
"The German command had, however, estimated the date of the British attack with fair accuracy, which they considered would take place, owing to weather conditions, early in November. But they were totally incorrect in their estimate of its direction.
"Various circumstances made them believe that it would consist of a third and final assault on Gaza, combined with a landing to the north, which would turn their right flank and enable the British to occupy the fertile coastal plain. To meet this all defensive work was concentrated for many weeks on the Gaza sector, and their main reserves—the 7th and 19th Infantry Divisions, were concentrated behind Gaza. Von Falkenhayn proposed, by a concentration of forces, to deliver an attack on the British right flank, and so drive General Allenby out of Palestine into the waterless and difficult country east of the Wadi el Arish. In addition to its strategical effect this would have had the political result of clearing that portion of the Turkish Empire from the invader.
"This attack was originally timed for the latter half of October, to precede and forestall the British attack. Owing, however, to indecision, general procrastination, poor transport facilities, and, above all, to the jealousy and opposition of Ahmed Jemal Pasha, G.O.C. IV Army and Governor of Syria, it had to be postponed and was eventually timed for early December.
"By October the 28th the organisation of the Turkish forces under the Yildirim Army Group into the VII and VIII Armies was nearing completion. The Headquarters of General Kress von Kressenstein (G.O.C. VIII Army) had moved back from Huj to Huleikat, so that the former now connected to the main railway by a light line, might be used as a reserve area, and Fevzi Pasha (G.O.C. VII Army) was about to move forward his Headquarters from Hebron to near Beersheba, finally to take over the troops allotted to his command. Marshal von Falkenhayn was at Aleppo, en route for Jerusalem.
"The front had been strengthened by three fresh divisions (giving a total of one cavalry and nine infantry divisions), PAGE 132 and an additional division was moving towards the front on the lines of communication south of Aleppo.
"The Gaza sector was a network of trenches, wire entanglements, and strongly fortified posts, conveniently sited for mutual support and cross fire, which extended to the south east until the defences of Beersheba were reached. The German Staff appeared to have been very well satisfied as to the security of the line against frontal attack, and any second line system of defence had been almost totally neglected. A wide turning movement on the cast was considered impossible owing to the broken nature of the country and lack of water."
The advance to the Rashid Bek line took place on October 24th by the Australian Mounted Division, under General Hodson, and was entrenched.
Early on October 27th, Points 720 and 630 were attacked by an enemy force, estimated at six battalions, two squadrons and two batteries. The line was then held by the 8th Mounted Brigade, detached from the Yeomanry Division. The enemy succeeded in occupying the tops of both hills in spite of heavy casualties caused to him during his advance. The position was very gallantly defended by the County of London Yeomanry and the 21st M.G. Squadron. The garrison of the post on Point 720 were all killed or wounded with the exception of three men; that on Point 630 held on in a support trench close behind the crest in spite of heavy casualties and though almost surrounded. It was eventually relieved by the 53rd Division.
This gallant little affair helped materially to keep the enemy's attention away from what was going on further south, and caused him to think that this was the southern limit of the expected attack.
The extension southwards was begun on October 22nd, when the 2nd L. H. Brigade moved to Bir el Esani and the I.C.C. Brigade to Abu Ghalyun.
Thenceforward work on water development was carried on at high pressure night and day. Tracks were improved and marked. The supply difficulties were successfully contended with, though much trouble was entailed in the transport, for the whole of the country to be traversed was sandy and cut up badly with the heavy traffic.
The bulk of the work of finding and developing the water supply fell on the two brigades just mentioned, who, together with the field squadrons of the Anzac Mounted Division and Australian Mounted Division, performed wonders and earned the unstinted praise of the Commander-in-Chief (General Allenby), who, following his custom of visiting the scene of any new move and becoming personally acquainted with those about to make it, had come down to Asluj on the day before the final advance on Beersheba.
The work at Khalasa and Asluj consisted in clearing out the deep wells that the Turks had blown in and installing oil engine-driven pumps and long rows of canvas horse troughs.Major S. C. P. Nicholls, D.S.O.
So completely had the Turks wrecked these ancient wells that the task of clearing them down to the level of the water (over 100 feet) was no light one.
On the 24th October the N.Z.M.R. (strength 95 officers and 1878 other ranks) moved to Esani, and on the 29th to Asluj.
By the evening of October 30th, the day upon which the XXI Corps with the Navy, began the great bombardment of Gaza, the concentration of the Desert Mounted Corps was complete. The Corps now consisted of three complete divisional groups (Anzacs, Australian Division and Yeomanry Division), the 7th Mounted Brigade, and the I.C.C. Brigade, in all 11 brigades, each with its horse artillery battery-— approximately 28,000 mounted men.
The units were disposed as follows—the Anzac Mounted Division at Asluj ready to encircle Beersheba; the Australian Mounted Division at Khalasa, with orders to follow the Anzacs to the vicinity of Beersheba, where it was to come into action on the left of the Anzac Mounted Division. At Bir el Esani was the 7th Mounted Brigade, and at Shellal the Yeomanry Division, with the I.C.C. Brigade at Hiseia, a few miles away.
At 6 in the evening of October 30th the Anzac Mounted Division moved off by a track leading up the Wadi el Imshash over the mountain range just east of Thaffha. The watershed was reached at midnight, and the advanced guard halted for 2½ hours to enable the column to close up and the track to G. el Shegeib to be reconnoitred and an enemy post there to be dealt with.
Here the 2nd L. H. Brigade took the road down to the Beersheba plains through Bir Arara and the remainder of the Division pushed down the track over G. el Shegeib, followed by the Australian Division, who had orders to halt at Iswaiwin until the situation developed.
The only wheels taken with the brigades were the guns and first-line transport (ammunition limbers and limbered wagons containing watering gear and tools). "B" eschelon (i.e., all other wagons), loaded with rations, was left at Asluj with the ammunition column, with orders to await directions. But the ammunition column was to follow on after the division at daylight on the 31st.
Camel water convoys with a small reserve of drinking water for the men were left also at Asluj in readiness to be sent up.
No. 1 Light Car Patrol (Ford cars) and No. 11 Light Armoured Motor Battery (No. 11 L.A.M.B.) were attached to the Division with orders to follow on, leaving Asluj at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 31st.
Supplies were organised as follows:—Each man carried two days' rations for himself and one day's forage for his horse. In addition he carried in a sandbag strapped across the pommel of the saddle a small emergency ration of grain for his horse. "B" eschelon (an improvised train of all baggage wagons) carried two days' emergency rations for the man and one day's forage for the horse.
The medical arrangements made provision for the mobile sections of the field ambulances to march from Asluj with their respective brigades; and for all cacolet camels to march together in rear of the Australian Mounted Division.
A divisional collecting station was ordered to be formed of tent subdivisions of Field Ambulances, at points to be decided upon by the A.D.M.S., and evacuations were to be made by sand-carts and camels to the farthest point to which light motor ambulances could be brought; thence to the Australian Mounted Division receiving station at Asluj; thence to the Anzac Mounted Division receiving station at Rashid Bek by light motor ambulance; and thence to railhead near Shellal by heavy motor ambulance.
The 7th Mounted Brigade left Bir el Esani at 9.30 p.m. and came across country to the vicinity of G. Itwail el Semin on the Asluj-Beersheba road to act as a connecting link between the Desert Mounted Corps and the XX Corps, whose right was on the Khalasa-Beersheba road.
The Anzac Division met with some opposition on the road leading over G. el Shegeib, but this was brushed aside by the Wellingtons—the leading regiment—and by 8 o'clock in the morning of October 31st the Division had reached the line Bir el Hamman (2nd L. H. Brigade); Bir Salim Abu Irgeig (N.Z.M.R.) with the 1st L. H. Brigade in reserve behind the New Zealanders.
The Division's next objective was the line Tel el Sakaty-Tel el Saba and the cutting of the Beersheba-Hebron motor road; and its final objective the line Point 1020 (two miles north-west of Tel el Saba)-Point 970 (immediately north of the town)-Mosque. The importance of finding and developing water during the operations was impressed upon all units.
About 9 o'clock the advance began, and the leading brigades were soon under a hot artillery fire from the hills on the north side of the Hebron road and the advance slowed down. The plains were found also to be much cut up by narrow and deep wadi beds, and this made rapid movement on horseback impossible.
At the same time the infantry attack from the west was proceeding satisfactorily, and their shells could be seen bursting on the hills covering Beersheba to the west.
The mission of the 2nd L. H. Brigade, besides the capture of Tel el Sakaty and the wells there and the cutting of the enemy main line of communication along the Hebron road, included protection from counter-attack from the east and north-east; and in pushing across the open plain the Brigade encountered considerable opposition. By 11 a.m., however, they gained command of the road and by half-past twelve had captured Tel el Sakaty and the wells.
Divisional Headquarters was established on the hills at Khashm Zanna, distant from Beersheba five miles and from Tel el Saba three miles; and from this position a birdseye PAGE 137 view of the great Beersheba plain was obtained and the movements of the troops could be watched, even as one does upon a "Field Day"; and with the added interest that it was occasionally shelled by enemy batteries from the hills behind Tel el Saba.
The New Zealand Brigade began the attack on this key position, which appeared to be strongly held, at 10 minutes past nine with the Auckland Regiment in the place of honour. The Canterburys moved forward on its right with the intention of enveloping the tel from the north; and the Somerset Battery went forward with the Brigade coming into action at 3000 yards.
The plain is much broken up by the winding of wadi beds with steep banks almost uncrossable. But these in the end proved of great value giving covered approaches; and the Auckland Regiment soon worked its way up to about 800 yards of the enemy main position, where excellent cover for the horses was found. Good covering fire from here was given by the machine guns; and the regiment slowly, but steadily, worked forward.
At 11 o'clock the Inverness Battery, attached to the 1st L. H. Brigade came into action and covered the advance of the 3rd L.H. Regiment across the open plain to the south of Tel el Saba.
At this hour the Somerset Battery moved up and ranged on the tel at 1300 yards. Enemy machine guns were giving much trouble and were not located until the afternoon, when Lieut. Hatrick the Signalling Officer of the Auckland Regiment, from a concealed position in the front line, observed for the Somerset Battery and directed the fire by flag signal. A section of this Battery was moved round to the east of the tel to deal with machine guns in position on the high ground to the north of the hill. These machine guns were holding up the Canterbury Regiment.
About this time the 2nd L.H. Regiment (from the 1st L. H. Brigade in reserve) went forward under heavy fire and attacked some mud huts lying on the wadi edge and which formed the southern flank of the Tel el Saba position. By half-past one the Auckland Regiment had worked its way close up to the hill. Machine guns under Lieut. Picot and supported by a troop under Lieut. Johns had secured a position from which enfilade fire was brought to bear on the enemy front trenches and eventually these guns got up to within 300 yards. During this fine advance Lieut. Johns was killed.
The Canterbury Regiment was now across the Wadi Khalil and bringing fire to bear on the rear of the position, but could not get any further owing to enemy fire from the slopes of the hills overlooking the Hebron road.
At 10 minutes past two the Aucklanders began the assault and advanced by short rushes under cover of all available guns and machine guns and at 2.40 gained the enemy trenches on a hill on the east flank of the tel, capturing 60 prisoners and three machine guns. Two of these machine guns were used with great effect on the Turks' main position, which was rushed at three o'clock.
Tel el Saba (or the hill of Sheba) formed the "keep" of the Beersheba position in the rear of the town and its fall precipitated a general retirement northwards. But the Turk still had plenty of "fight" left and heavily shelled Tel el Saba and the adjacent wadis from the hills above the town.
The advance was pressed forward on to the line 1020-970-Mosque by the 1st L. H. Brigade; and the 2nd L. H. Brigade pushed well up into the hills west of Tel el Sakaty. The 3rd L. H. Brigade from the Australian Division was sent across to reinforce the New Zealanders.
This Division had during the day come up, and at four p.m. the 4th L. H. Brigade moved forward over the plain on the left of the Anzac Mounted Division and directly upon the town, galloping over successive lines of trenches in a most gallant charge, in the face of severe machine gun and rifle fire. The plain was covered with fine dust and the spectacle of "lines of troop columns" advancing at the gallop, each with its cloud of "smoke," as it were, enveloping it and trailing away up into the air as the troop went forward, was a magnificent sight.
This charge completed the discomforture of the Turk who had been giving way for some hours before the infantry attack from the west; and the town was soon in our hands. In the town were captured 58 officers, 1090 other ranks, 10 field guns, and four machine guns, besides a huge quantity of military stores, an aerodrome, and much railway rolling stock. The total captures for the Mounted Corps for the day were 70 officers and 1458 other ranks.
The general situation on the morning of November 1st was as follows:—The Australian Mounted Division lay to the south-east of Beersheba with the Anzac Mounted Division immediately east and north-east of the town and the 53rd Infantry Division in the hills to the north, the three divisions occupying a line whose perimeter lay some five miles from Beersheba. To the west of the town and connecting with the 53rd Division were the 60th, 74th and 10th Divisions in that order, the last named occupying the railway line to Abu Irgeig where the railway leaves the Beersheba-Gaza motor road. From this point the line stretched away west to the old front line on the Wadi Ghuzzeh.
Along the whole of this new portion of the line the enemy was putting up a stout resistance.
The XXI Corps opposite Gaza was still pounding away at the enemy defences, aided by the Navy whose fire was directed at the town of Gaza.
So it will be seen that, though we had captured the great bastion at the end of the wall, we were faced with a new line, a bending back of the end of the wall as it were. But Beersheba gave us water and an excellent position from which to again hammer at the wall.
The next few days the role of the mounted corps was to protect the right of the XX Corps and some very hard fighting ensued as the enemy brought up his general reserve against the line Ras el Nagb-Tel Khuweilfeh.
On November 1st the Australian Division was withdrawn into reserve at Beersheba and the Anzac Mounted Division ordered to occupy the line Bir el Makruneh-Towal Abu Jerwal, to the north-east of Beersheba. This was done by nine o'clock and the New Zealand Brigade captured some prisoners and a machine gun and was relieved after dark by the 1st L. H. Brigade. For the next few days the Division carried on a mountain warfare against the Turks' left which, with fresh reinforcements brought into the strong position at Tel Khuweilfeh and into the town of Dhaheriyeh on the Hebron road, put up a very stubborn fight. Water was the great difficulty and our troops could not have carried out these
operations if it had not been for several providential thunderstorms which occurred on the two or three days previous to the advance from Asluj.
Patrols from the 2nd L. H. Brigade at one time worked their way to the east of Dhaheriyeh, within sight of the Hebron road to the north of the town, and watched there the busy motor traffic with reinforcements coming down from the north.
On November 4th the Australian Mounted Division was sent back to Karm near the Wadi Ghuzzeh for water and on the same day the New Zealanders relieved the 5th Mounted Brigade on the left of the 2nd L. H. Brigade in the hills in front of Tel Khuweilfeh. Here at Ras el Nagb the Brigade spent the next two days and experienced some heavy fighting. A fine performance was put up by L.-Cpl. L. G. Greenslade, 8th Squadron, C.M.R., who was assisting another man to get in one of the wounded. The bringing in of the wounded from the firing line was a very difficult matter. There were no regular trenches and the communication from front to rear lay through a shrapnel beaten zone. Both men were hit but Greenslade succeeded in placing the man who had been helping him out of danger and then in attempting to bring in the man they were both going for, Greenslade was killed.
There was no water for the horses so they were all sent back to Beersheba, though not before 37 horses had been killed and 84 wounded. The Brigade was to have been relieved on the 5th by the I.C.C. Brigade, but the latter missed the way in the darkness; and the New Zealand Brigade was forced to remain in the line until the afternoon of the 6th, when they marched out on foot and came into local reserve a few miles behind the front line, with their horses still at Beersheba. Here owing to the strength of the enemy facing the 53rd Division they remained in reserve. The water problem was still to be faced and the horses went in daily to Beersheba, a distance there and back of 20 miles. The Brigade furnished one squadron as a connecting link between the I.C.C. Brigade and the 53rd Division and also furnished one regiment (the A.M.R.) to the 53rd Division.
On the 10th the Brigade withdrew to Beersheba under orders to rejoin the Anzac Mounted Division.
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Sina-t1-body-d5-d1.html Accessed 4-04-2013
On 9 January 1917, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles participated in the final battle of the Sinai Campaign on the borders of Palestine - an event which changed the Middle East in ways which continue to resound today.
www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/topics/the-battle-of-rafah
THE NEW ZEALANDERS IN SINAI AND PALESTINE
HOW THE TURKISH LINE WAS BROKEN AT BEERSHEBA
Author: Lieut.-Colonel C. Guy Powles
Publication details: Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland
Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 1914–1918
How the Turkish Line was Broken at Beersheba.It was now that the benefit of the constant patrolling and reconnoitring was felt. The Turk had become so accustomed to our mounted troops riding about the plains that our preliminary movements to the south to obtain a concentration point from which to descend upon Beersheba passed unnoticed. Every care was taken to conceal these movements, however, and no marches were made in daylight. A further protection came from our air service, now far ahead of the enemy's in speed, numbers and personnel; for our airmen kept the enemy planes away or forced them to fly so high that they apparently saw nothing.
The long line before which we had remained for the past six months extended from the sea at Gaza to Beersheba—a distance of close upon thirty miles—and was an almost continuous trench line and followed the Gaza-Beersheba road. That portion from the sea at Gaza to the great Atawineh redoubt we knew well—to our cost. From there on towards Beersheba our reconnaissances—both air and mounted—and our Intelligence Department, told us that there was a great system of trenches at Abu Hareira, where the Wadi.Sharia crosses the road; that there was also another great system at Kh. Kauwukah—covering the bend in the railway and the Sharia viaduct on the railway. From there through Bir Abu Irgeig ran a continuous line of strong works to the south of Beersheba. Practically the whole of this thirty-mile line lay upon higher ground than that held by us—giving the Turk good observation and an excellent field of fire.
Beersheba itself was entirely hidden behind a range of hills running up to a height of 960 feet, and along these hills lay the enemy trenches.
General Allenby's plan was to strike at Beersheba—the enemy's extreme left—and having taken the town with its invaluable water supply, to roll up the whole Turk line back upon Gaza. To do this the XX Corps was to attack Beersheba from the west and south-west, while the Desert Mounted Corps came in from the south, east and north.
To cover these operations the XXI Corps, aided by the Navy, was to begin a heavy bombardment of Gaza and its defences 24 hours before the move against Beersheba began.
To enable the attack upon Beersheba to be so made, preparatory measures had to be undertaken some days before, to provide water for those troops taking part in the encircling movement and also to advance the front line towards the west of Beersheba—sufficiently near to enable the attack to be launched by the infantry. The preparatory measures included placing one mounted division at Asluj, one mounted division at Khalasa, and one mounted brigade at Bir el Esani.
The mounted corps was required also to protect the advance of the XX Corps to its preliminary position on the line Abu Ghalyun-Rashid Bek-El Buggar. The water required was to be sufficient for one mounted division at Asluj, for one mounted division at Khalasa and also for two mounted divisions passing through Esani, where they would each stay one night; and finally at Abu Ghalyun (between Esani and Khalasa) water was required for one infantry brigade group. A supply depot had to be formed at Esani (and protection found for it) for the feeding of the mounted corps.
The preliminary moves therefore consisted of: (a) an advance of the front line eastward as far as the line Rashid Bek-Point 720 (2½ miles north of the Tel el Fara-Beersheba road)-Point 630-Point 510-Point 300; (b) a gradual extension of our line southward as far as Asluj.
General Allenby says:—"It is not uninteresting to review the enemy situation at this period.
The German Staff in Palestine had, so far back as August, decided that the British would make another effort to break through on that front, and with such forces that, unless the Turks were heavily reinforced, the result could only be in favour of the British. That the weaknesses of their position were its extent and the exposed left flank at Beersheba, was fully realised by the command in the field, and during August and September repeated requests were made to the Higher Command for a shortening of the line by withdrawing from Beersheba, or generous reinforcements so that Beersheba could be held à l'outrance.
"The soundness of these demands was fully realised by the German advisers of the Turks, but there existed a policy which was a veritable millstone to those who wished to conduct the operations in accordance with clear strategic principles. This policy was directed towards the recovery of Baghdad. A composite German force had been formed, and one of the first of German soldiers--Marshal Erich von Falkenhayn—was lent for the carrying through of this under taking. If Baghdad was to be taken, every man and gun must be sent to Irak, and every man sent to Sinai decreased the chance of success. But to this was the unanswerable argument of those who asked that reinforcements should be sent to Sinai: "If the Sinai front is broken, Palestine and Syria will fall into the enemy's hands, and not only will Baghdad not be retaken, but the armies in Irak will be caught like a rat in a trap, with the British across their lines of communication at Aleppo." It was not until mid-October that this argument prevailed, and then it was too late. Troops being diverted from Mesopotamia were still on the lines of communication and the aircraft were still being unpacked and put together PAGE 131 when the British troops attacked and captured Beersheba on October 31st, 1917.
"The German command had, however, estimated the date of the British attack with fair accuracy, which they considered would take place, owing to weather conditions, early in November. But they were totally incorrect in their estimate of its direction.
"Various circumstances made them believe that it would consist of a third and final assault on Gaza, combined with a landing to the north, which would turn their right flank and enable the British to occupy the fertile coastal plain. To meet this all defensive work was concentrated for many weeks on the Gaza sector, and their main reserves—the 7th and 19th Infantry Divisions, were concentrated behind Gaza. Von Falkenhayn proposed, by a concentration of forces, to deliver an attack on the British right flank, and so drive General Allenby out of Palestine into the waterless and difficult country east of the Wadi el Arish. In addition to its strategical effect this would have had the political result of clearing that portion of the Turkish Empire from the invader.
"This attack was originally timed for the latter half of October, to precede and forestall the British attack. Owing, however, to indecision, general procrastination, poor transport facilities, and, above all, to the jealousy and opposition of Ahmed Jemal Pasha, G.O.C. IV Army and Governor of Syria, it had to be postponed and was eventually timed for early December.
"By October the 28th the organisation of the Turkish forces under the Yildirim Army Group into the VII and VIII Armies was nearing completion. The Headquarters of General Kress von Kressenstein (G.O.C. VIII Army) had moved back from Huj to Huleikat, so that the former now connected to the main railway by a light line, might be used as a reserve area, and Fevzi Pasha (G.O.C. VII Army) was about to move forward his Headquarters from Hebron to near Beersheba, finally to take over the troops allotted to his command. Marshal von Falkenhayn was at Aleppo, en route for Jerusalem.
"The front had been strengthened by three fresh divisions (giving a total of one cavalry and nine infantry divisions), PAGE 132 and an additional division was moving towards the front on the lines of communication south of Aleppo.
"The Gaza sector was a network of trenches, wire entanglements, and strongly fortified posts, conveniently sited for mutual support and cross fire, which extended to the south east until the defences of Beersheba were reached. The German Staff appeared to have been very well satisfied as to the security of the line against frontal attack, and any second line system of defence had been almost totally neglected. A wide turning movement on the cast was considered impossible owing to the broken nature of the country and lack of water."
The advance to the Rashid Bek line took place on October 24th by the Australian Mounted Division, under General Hodson, and was entrenched.
Early on October 27th, Points 720 and 630 were attacked by an enemy force, estimated at six battalions, two squadrons and two batteries. The line was then held by the 8th Mounted Brigade, detached from the Yeomanry Division. The enemy succeeded in occupying the tops of both hills in spite of heavy casualties caused to him during his advance. The position was very gallantly defended by the County of London Yeomanry and the 21st M.G. Squadron. The garrison of the post on Point 720 were all killed or wounded with the exception of three men; that on Point 630 held on in a support trench close behind the crest in spite of heavy casualties and though almost surrounded. It was eventually relieved by the 53rd Division.
This gallant little affair helped materially to keep the enemy's attention away from what was going on further south, and caused him to think that this was the southern limit of the expected attack.
The extension southwards was begun on October 22nd, when the 2nd L. H. Brigade moved to Bir el Esani and the I.C.C. Brigade to Abu Ghalyun.
Thenceforward work on water development was carried on at high pressure night and day. Tracks were improved and marked. The supply difficulties were successfully contended with, though much trouble was entailed in the transport, for the whole of the country to be traversed was sandy and cut up badly with the heavy traffic.
The bulk of the work of finding and developing the water supply fell on the two brigades just mentioned, who, together with the field squadrons of the Anzac Mounted Division and Australian Mounted Division, performed wonders and earned the unstinted praise of the Commander-in-Chief (General Allenby), who, following his custom of visiting the scene of any new move and becoming personally acquainted with those about to make it, had come down to Asluj on the day before the final advance on Beersheba.
The work at Khalasa and Asluj consisted in clearing out the deep wells that the Turks had blown in and installing oil engine-driven pumps and long rows of canvas horse troughs.Major S. C. P. Nicholls, D.S.O.
So completely had the Turks wrecked these ancient wells that the task of clearing them down to the level of the water (over 100 feet) was no light one.
On the 24th October the N.Z.M.R. (strength 95 officers and 1878 other ranks) moved to Esani, and on the 29th to Asluj.
By the evening of October 30th, the day upon which the XXI Corps with the Navy, began the great bombardment of Gaza, the concentration of the Desert Mounted Corps was complete. The Corps now consisted of three complete divisional groups (Anzacs, Australian Division and Yeomanry Division), the 7th Mounted Brigade, and the I.C.C. Brigade, in all 11 brigades, each with its horse artillery battery-— approximately 28,000 mounted men.
The units were disposed as follows—the Anzac Mounted Division at Asluj ready to encircle Beersheba; the Australian Mounted Division at Khalasa, with orders to follow the Anzacs to the vicinity of Beersheba, where it was to come into action on the left of the Anzac Mounted Division. At Bir el Esani was the 7th Mounted Brigade, and at Shellal the Yeomanry Division, with the I.C.C. Brigade at Hiseia, a few miles away.
At 6 in the evening of October 30th the Anzac Mounted Division moved off by a track leading up the Wadi el Imshash over the mountain range just east of Thaffha. The watershed was reached at midnight, and the advanced guard halted for 2½ hours to enable the column to close up and the track to G. el Shegeib to be reconnoitred and an enemy post there to be dealt with.
Here the 2nd L. H. Brigade took the road down to the Beersheba plains through Bir Arara and the remainder of the Division pushed down the track over G. el Shegeib, followed by the Australian Division, who had orders to halt at Iswaiwin until the situation developed.
The only wheels taken with the brigades were the guns and first-line transport (ammunition limbers and limbered wagons containing watering gear and tools). "B" eschelon (i.e., all other wagons), loaded with rations, was left at Asluj with the ammunition column, with orders to await directions. But the ammunition column was to follow on after the division at daylight on the 31st.
Camel water convoys with a small reserve of drinking water for the men were left also at Asluj in readiness to be sent up.
No. 1 Light Car Patrol (Ford cars) and No. 11 Light Armoured Motor Battery (No. 11 L.A.M.B.) were attached to the Division with orders to follow on, leaving Asluj at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 31st.
Supplies were organised as follows:—Each man carried two days' rations for himself and one day's forage for his horse. In addition he carried in a sandbag strapped across the pommel of the saddle a small emergency ration of grain for his horse. "B" eschelon (an improvised train of all baggage wagons) carried two days' emergency rations for the man and one day's forage for the horse.
The medical arrangements made provision for the mobile sections of the field ambulances to march from Asluj with their respective brigades; and for all cacolet camels to march together in rear of the Australian Mounted Division.
A divisional collecting station was ordered to be formed of tent subdivisions of Field Ambulances, at points to be decided upon by the A.D.M.S., and evacuations were to be made by sand-carts and camels to the farthest point to which light motor ambulances could be brought; thence to the Australian Mounted Division receiving station at Asluj; thence to the Anzac Mounted Division receiving station at Rashid Bek by light motor ambulance; and thence to railhead near Shellal by heavy motor ambulance.
The 7th Mounted Brigade left Bir el Esani at 9.30 p.m. and came across country to the vicinity of G. Itwail el Semin on the Asluj-Beersheba road to act as a connecting link between the Desert Mounted Corps and the XX Corps, whose right was on the Khalasa-Beersheba road.
The Anzac Division met with some opposition on the road leading over G. el Shegeib, but this was brushed aside by the Wellingtons—the leading regiment—and by 8 o'clock in the morning of October 31st the Division had reached the line Bir el Hamman (2nd L. H. Brigade); Bir Salim Abu Irgeig (N.Z.M.R.) with the 1st L. H. Brigade in reserve behind the New Zealanders.
The Division's next objective was the line Tel el Sakaty-Tel el Saba and the cutting of the Beersheba-Hebron motor road; and its final objective the line Point 1020 (two miles north-west of Tel el Saba)-Point 970 (immediately north of the town)-Mosque. The importance of finding and developing water during the operations was impressed upon all units.
About 9 o'clock the advance began, and the leading brigades were soon under a hot artillery fire from the hills on the north side of the Hebron road and the advance slowed down. The plains were found also to be much cut up by narrow and deep wadi beds, and this made rapid movement on horseback impossible.
At the same time the infantry attack from the west was proceeding satisfactorily, and their shells could be seen bursting on the hills covering Beersheba to the west.
The mission of the 2nd L. H. Brigade, besides the capture of Tel el Sakaty and the wells there and the cutting of the enemy main line of communication along the Hebron road, included protection from counter-attack from the east and north-east; and in pushing across the open plain the Brigade encountered considerable opposition. By 11 a.m., however, they gained command of the road and by half-past twelve had captured Tel el Sakaty and the wells.
Divisional Headquarters was established on the hills at Khashm Zanna, distant from Beersheba five miles and from Tel el Saba three miles; and from this position a birdseye PAGE 137 view of the great Beersheba plain was obtained and the movements of the troops could be watched, even as one does upon a "Field Day"; and with the added interest that it was occasionally shelled by enemy batteries from the hills behind Tel el Saba.
The New Zealand Brigade began the attack on this key position, which appeared to be strongly held, at 10 minutes past nine with the Auckland Regiment in the place of honour. The Canterburys moved forward on its right with the intention of enveloping the tel from the north; and the Somerset Battery went forward with the Brigade coming into action at 3000 yards.
The plain is much broken up by the winding of wadi beds with steep banks almost uncrossable. But these in the end proved of great value giving covered approaches; and the Auckland Regiment soon worked its way up to about 800 yards of the enemy main position, where excellent cover for the horses was found. Good covering fire from here was given by the machine guns; and the regiment slowly, but steadily, worked forward.
At 11 o'clock the Inverness Battery, attached to the 1st L. H. Brigade came into action and covered the advance of the 3rd L.H. Regiment across the open plain to the south of Tel el Saba.
At this hour the Somerset Battery moved up and ranged on the tel at 1300 yards. Enemy machine guns were giving much trouble and were not located until the afternoon, when Lieut. Hatrick the Signalling Officer of the Auckland Regiment, from a concealed position in the front line, observed for the Somerset Battery and directed the fire by flag signal. A section of this Battery was moved round to the east of the tel to deal with machine guns in position on the high ground to the north of the hill. These machine guns were holding up the Canterbury Regiment.
About this time the 2nd L.H. Regiment (from the 1st L. H. Brigade in reserve) went forward under heavy fire and attacked some mud huts lying on the wadi edge and which formed the southern flank of the Tel el Saba position. By half-past one the Auckland Regiment had worked its way close up to the hill. Machine guns under Lieut. Picot and supported by a troop under Lieut. Johns had secured a position from which enfilade fire was brought to bear on the enemy front trenches and eventually these guns got up to within 300 yards. During this fine advance Lieut. Johns was killed.
The Canterbury Regiment was now across the Wadi Khalil and bringing fire to bear on the rear of the position, but could not get any further owing to enemy fire from the slopes of the hills overlooking the Hebron road.
At 10 minutes past two the Aucklanders began the assault and advanced by short rushes under cover of all available guns and machine guns and at 2.40 gained the enemy trenches on a hill on the east flank of the tel, capturing 60 prisoners and three machine guns. Two of these machine guns were used with great effect on the Turks' main position, which was rushed at three o'clock.
Tel el Saba (or the hill of Sheba) formed the "keep" of the Beersheba position in the rear of the town and its fall precipitated a general retirement northwards. But the Turk still had plenty of "fight" left and heavily shelled Tel el Saba and the adjacent wadis from the hills above the town.
The advance was pressed forward on to the line 1020-970-Mosque by the 1st L. H. Brigade; and the 2nd L. H. Brigade pushed well up into the hills west of Tel el Sakaty. The 3rd L. H. Brigade from the Australian Division was sent across to reinforce the New Zealanders.
This Division had during the day come up, and at four p.m. the 4th L. H. Brigade moved forward over the plain on the left of the Anzac Mounted Division and directly upon the town, galloping over successive lines of trenches in a most gallant charge, in the face of severe machine gun and rifle fire. The plain was covered with fine dust and the spectacle of "lines of troop columns" advancing at the gallop, each with its cloud of "smoke," as it were, enveloping it and trailing away up into the air as the troop went forward, was a magnificent sight.
This charge completed the discomforture of the Turk who had been giving way for some hours before the infantry attack from the west; and the town was soon in our hands. In the town were captured 58 officers, 1090 other ranks, 10 field guns, and four machine guns, besides a huge quantity of military stores, an aerodrome, and much railway rolling stock. The total captures for the Mounted Corps for the day were 70 officers and 1458 other ranks.
The general situation on the morning of November 1st was as follows:—The Australian Mounted Division lay to the south-east of Beersheba with the Anzac Mounted Division immediately east and north-east of the town and the 53rd Infantry Division in the hills to the north, the three divisions occupying a line whose perimeter lay some five miles from Beersheba. To the west of the town and connecting with the 53rd Division were the 60th, 74th and 10th Divisions in that order, the last named occupying the railway line to Abu Irgeig where the railway leaves the Beersheba-Gaza motor road. From this point the line stretched away west to the old front line on the Wadi Ghuzzeh.
Along the whole of this new portion of the line the enemy was putting up a stout resistance.
The XXI Corps opposite Gaza was still pounding away at the enemy defences, aided by the Navy whose fire was directed at the town of Gaza.
So it will be seen that, though we had captured the great bastion at the end of the wall, we were faced with a new line, a bending back of the end of the wall as it were. But Beersheba gave us water and an excellent position from which to again hammer at the wall.
The next few days the role of the mounted corps was to protect the right of the XX Corps and some very hard fighting ensued as the enemy brought up his general reserve against the line Ras el Nagb-Tel Khuweilfeh.
On November 1st the Australian Division was withdrawn into reserve at Beersheba and the Anzac Mounted Division ordered to occupy the line Bir el Makruneh-Towal Abu Jerwal, to the north-east of Beersheba. This was done by nine o'clock and the New Zealand Brigade captured some prisoners and a machine gun and was relieved after dark by the 1st L. H. Brigade. For the next few days the Division carried on a mountain warfare against the Turks' left which, with fresh reinforcements brought into the strong position at Tel Khuweilfeh and into the town of Dhaheriyeh on the Hebron road, put up a very stubborn fight. Water was the great difficulty and our troops could not have carried out these
operations if it had not been for several providential thunderstorms which occurred on the two or three days previous to the advance from Asluj.
Patrols from the 2nd L. H. Brigade at one time worked their way to the east of Dhaheriyeh, within sight of the Hebron road to the north of the town, and watched there the busy motor traffic with reinforcements coming down from the north.
On November 4th the Australian Mounted Division was sent back to Karm near the Wadi Ghuzzeh for water and on the same day the New Zealanders relieved the 5th Mounted Brigade on the left of the 2nd L. H. Brigade in the hills in front of Tel Khuweilfeh. Here at Ras el Nagb the Brigade spent the next two days and experienced some heavy fighting. A fine performance was put up by L.-Cpl. L. G. Greenslade, 8th Squadron, C.M.R., who was assisting another man to get in one of the wounded. The bringing in of the wounded from the firing line was a very difficult matter. There were no regular trenches and the communication from front to rear lay through a shrapnel beaten zone. Both men were hit but Greenslade succeeded in placing the man who had been helping him out of danger and then in attempting to bring in the man they were both going for, Greenslade was killed.
There was no water for the horses so they were all sent back to Beersheba, though not before 37 horses had been killed and 84 wounded. The Brigade was to have been relieved on the 5th by the I.C.C. Brigade, but the latter missed the way in the darkness; and the New Zealand Brigade was forced to remain in the line until the afternoon of the 6th, when they marched out on foot and came into local reserve a few miles behind the front line, with their horses still at Beersheba. Here owing to the strength of the enemy facing the 53rd Division they remained in reserve. The water problem was still to be faced and the horses went in daily to Beersheba, a distance there and back of 20 miles. The Brigade furnished one squadron as a connecting link between the I.C.C. Brigade and the 53rd Division and also furnished one regiment (the A.M.R.) to the 53rd Division.
On the 10th the Brigade withdrew to Beersheba under orders to rejoin the Anzac Mounted Division.
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Sina-t1-body-d5-d1.html Accessed 4-04-2013
Kelvin Crombie
Historian, Author |
Gallipoli - The Road to Jerusalem by Kelvin Crombie (2014) Heritage Resources, PO Box 565 Mundaring, WA 6073
www.heritageresources.com.au/gallipoli-theroa.html |
brief-bio-kelvin-crombie.pdf | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
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Some of Kelvin's books:
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Rev Fred Nile Pays Tribute to Historian Kelvin Crombie
Thursday 22 November 2012: The Rev Fred Nile MLC leader of the Christian Democratic Party successfully moved a motion in the upper House that pays tribute to Kelvin Crombie.
In his speech to the NSW Parliament on Wednesday 21 November 2012, Mr Nile stated the following:
TRIBUTE TO KELVIN CROMBIE
Motion by Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE agreed to:
1. That this House notes that:
(a) had the German-led forces won at El Alamein in 1942, there is a strong likelihood that the Nazi regime would have brought the Holocaust into the Middle East and attempted to murder some 600,000 Jewish people living in Egypt and the land of Israel, or British Mandated Palestine at the time,
(b) there was an official German plan to attach a specialised murder squad to Rommel's Panzer Army Africa,
(c) following the victory by the allies, led by Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, the Jewish Government in Israel, before May 1948, presented Field Marshal Montgomery with an official gift of gratitude for his role in saving the Jewish community in Palestine from the impending conquest by the German-led forces commanded by General Rommel, and that gift was a Bible, and
(d) the words on the inscription, attached to the Bible which is the Tenach, or Old Testament, and encased on the cover in silver and mother of pearl are: "Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, GCB, DSO, the gallant leader of the victorious forces by whose hand God has placed salvation in Zion in the days of El Alamein presented in token of the everlasting gratitude of Palestine Jewry by the Vaad Leumi, General Council of the Jewish Community in Palestine".
2. That this House:
(a) congratulates Kelvin Crombie for discovering the location of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery's Bible in England, bringing it to Jerusalem, and for being custodian of this Bible on a long-term loan during this period of the seventieth anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein,
(b) extends its thanks and congratulations to Kelvin Crombie, an Australian historian and author, who has spent much time researching and documenting the above information in his soon to be launched book, El Alamein – Halting a Possible Holocaust in the Middle East,
(c) acknowledges the work and dedication of Mr Crombie in documenting the vital facts concerning the relationship between various battles in the Eastern Mediterranean between 1940 and 1942 and the welfare of the Jewish people, and
(d) extends its congratulations to Kelvin Crombie on his book's initial launch in the House of Lords in London on 7 November 2012, and on the Australian launch in Sydney in the New South Wales Parliament House Theatrette on 26 November 2012.
For a list of Kelvin Crombie's documentaries on DVD:
http://www.hatikvah.co.uk/films.php
In his speech to the NSW Parliament on Wednesday 21 November 2012, Mr Nile stated the following:
TRIBUTE TO KELVIN CROMBIE
Motion by Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE agreed to:
1. That this House notes that:
(a) had the German-led forces won at El Alamein in 1942, there is a strong likelihood that the Nazi regime would have brought the Holocaust into the Middle East and attempted to murder some 600,000 Jewish people living in Egypt and the land of Israel, or British Mandated Palestine at the time,
(b) there was an official German plan to attach a specialised murder squad to Rommel's Panzer Army Africa,
(c) following the victory by the allies, led by Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, the Jewish Government in Israel, before May 1948, presented Field Marshal Montgomery with an official gift of gratitude for his role in saving the Jewish community in Palestine from the impending conquest by the German-led forces commanded by General Rommel, and that gift was a Bible, and
(d) the words on the inscription, attached to the Bible which is the Tenach, or Old Testament, and encased on the cover in silver and mother of pearl are: "Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery, GCB, DSO, the gallant leader of the victorious forces by whose hand God has placed salvation in Zion in the days of El Alamein presented in token of the everlasting gratitude of Palestine Jewry by the Vaad Leumi, General Council of the Jewish Community in Palestine".
2. That this House:
(a) congratulates Kelvin Crombie for discovering the location of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery's Bible in England, bringing it to Jerusalem, and for being custodian of this Bible on a long-term loan during this period of the seventieth anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein,
(b) extends its thanks and congratulations to Kelvin Crombie, an Australian historian and author, who has spent much time researching and documenting the above information in his soon to be launched book, El Alamein – Halting a Possible Holocaust in the Middle East,
(c) acknowledges the work and dedication of Mr Crombie in documenting the vital facts concerning the relationship between various battles in the Eastern Mediterranean between 1940 and 1942 and the welfare of the Jewish people, and
(d) extends its congratulations to Kelvin Crombie on his book's initial launch in the House of Lords in London on 7 November 2012, and on the Australian launch in Sydney in the New South Wales Parliament House Theatrette on 26 November 2012.
For a list of Kelvin Crombie's documentaries on DVD:
http://www.hatikvah.co.uk/films.php