User:Mr. Ibrahem/te2

Night of 6/7 November
During 6 November the EEF had advanced about 9 mi capturing a "series of strong enemy works covering a front of some 7 mi." Although the Wadi esh Sheria had not been crossed, only Tel esh Sheria and the main Hareira redoubts, remained in Ottoman hands overnight.

Falkenhayn commanding Yildirim Army Group, realized that the Ottoman forces could not hold the EEF much longer, and he ordered the Seventh and Eighth Armies to withdraw about 10 km, to prepare a fall-back line running from Wadi el Hesi to Huj to Zuheilika. During the night most of the Gaza garrison was evacuated. Meanwhile, in the Sheria area, the 16th Ottoman Division was reinforced by fresh troops from the Zuheilika Group. They were not more than 1,000 men, which advanced into Sheria, where the ammunition dump's explosions were lighting up the area.

During the night, reconnaissance of the Ottoman positions at Sheria was carried out by the 181st Brigade, with a view to crossing the wadi at two places to capture the high ground from Barrata to the railway. The commander of a machine-gun section of the 180th Machine Gun Company, described coming under heavy fire at about 04:00. "Walk across the open under shell, m.g. and rifle fire ... [the] battle of Machine Guns v. Machine Guns, depend[ing] entirely on the coolness of each individual gunner." Meanwhile, the 74th (Yeomanry) Division took up a position on the right of the 60th (London) Division, when their 230th Brigade (74th Division) was ordered not to advance across the Wadi esh Sheria nor extend their right to the Kh. Barrata, until touch with the 60th (London) Division could be established. They remained in position during the night.

The Australian Mounted Division was transferred from EEF general reserve to Desert Mounted Corps at 19:55 and fifteen minutes later orders were issued for all available mounted troops, except the Yeomanry Mounted Division, to be prepared for an advance to Jemmaneh and Huj. One division of the XX Corps was ordered a few minutes later to be prepared to follow Desert Mounted Corps towards Huj, while the remainder of the XX Corps occupied Hareira and Sheria, "covering and developing [the] water supply." During the night the Australian Mounted Division reached a concealed position 3 mi west of Sheria in preparation for an expected breakthrough the following morning. Here the 5th Mounted Brigade rejoined the division while the 7th Mounted Brigade moved back into Desert Mounted Corps reserve. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade watered near Karm, before moving under orders of the Desert Mounted Corps from Shellal at 07:00 on 7 November via Imleih and Irgeig towards Sheria.

A detachment of Australian Mounted Divisional Train wagons, loaded with supplies at Karm for troops in the front line near Hareira, were handed over to troops in the firing line at midnight on 6/7 November. On 7 November the Australian Mounted Divisional Train again loaded their wagons at Karm before leaving at 16:00 to arrive at Beersheba at 04:00 on 8 November to distribute supplies.

EEF orders for 7 November
Chetwode issued orders during the night for the 10th (Irish) Division to capture the Hareira redoubt, and for the 60th (London) Division to transfer from the XX Corps to the Desert Mounted Corps. Chauvel ordered the 60th (London) Division to capture Tel el Sheria and then advance to Huj. He ordered the Anzac and Australian Mounted Divisions to begin their advance northwards to establish a line from Jemmameh and Huj, and he ordered Barrow commanding the Yeomanry Mounted Division, to take command of the force at Tel el Khuweilfe, including the 53rd (Welsh) Division. All arms were to advance strongly and decisively to capture as many of the Ottoman forces as possible.

7 November


"During the night the Turks made preparations for their withdrawal, and towards morning their artillery fire ceased, showing that their guns were on the move. At dawn however, when the 60th Division attacked Tel el Sheria, their rearguards were still in sufficient force to offer a stubborn resistance. At 06,00 the hill fell and the whole of our line was able to advance some two and a half miles beyond the Wadi Sheria. From our elevated position we gained a most spectacular view of the fighting round Tel el Sheria. Through field glasses it was possible to watch the whole progress of the fight, the storming parties of infantry, mounted men dashing hither and thither, and the bursting shells above the hill. It was a day of stirring sights. As soon as the infantry had forced a gap through the retreating lines of the Turks, the time arrived to use the cavalry, upon whom in the following days the brunt of the fighting descended. About 10.00 a fast-moving body of horsemen appeared from the rear. It was the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade, who, as they neared the crest, broke into a gallop, and with a thundering roar, dashed down towards the wadi ... In their wake followed a number of motor cars and many horsemen wearing the red cap bands and tabs of the staff."

Hareira redoubt
After the attacks by the 60th (London) Division supported by the 10th (Irish) Division, Ottoman defenders had been forced to withdraw from the Kauwukah and Rushdi systems on 6 November, back to the Hareira redoubt on the far side of the Wadi esh Sheria. Then the 10th (Irish), 60th (London) and 74th Divisions carried out the second stage of the attack. During the morning the 10th (Irish) Division extended their advance westwards to attack the entrenched, huge mound bristling with fortifications at Hareira redoubt, situated on a high mound 500 yd across the top, which had been strengthened with wire. This prominent position across the Gaza to Beersheba road on the western bank of the Wadi esh Sheria, had been easily defended by the Ottoman garrison during the Second Battle of Gaza, but now with the loss of the Kauwukah and Rushdi trench systems the approach for the Irish infantry division was no less difficult as the redoubt dominated the surrounding countryside. The very strong redoubt, garrisoned by 200 soldiers with 30 machine guns, included two lines of deep trenches with many machine gun emplacements.

The 31st Brigade (10th Division) advanced to the attack, supported by the 68th Brigade RFA and one howitzer battery of the C/268th. However, at 07:00 when their attack was launched, because of a breakdown in communications there was no covering barrage, the infantry brigade advanced over open ground "in full view of the enemy," across an open flat plain swept from end to end by artillery, machine gun and rifle fire. During the early stage of their advance, they were attacked by Ottoman shells which, mostly fell in the rear of the quickly moving soldiers, but as they closed in on the redoubt, they were also attacked by heavy machine-gun fire. The 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers with two companies of the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, advanced directly towards the redoubt, with their left flank on the long trench which extended from the Rushdi system across the Gaza to Beersheba road. Following on the right flank the 6th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, with four machine guns advanced towards the separate entrenchments to the north-east of the redoubt, defending Khan Abu Jerra.

The 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers was halted about 300 yd from the redoubt, when their supporting company began to work around the southern face of the redoubt along the wadi, while the Inniskilling Fusiliers on the right attacked and captured the "hairpin-shaped" defence north of the wadi, threatening the Khan Abu Jerra defences, these two attacked also threatened the Hareira redoubt with encirclement. When this became clear, most of the garrison evacuated the Hareira redoubt, before the Irish Fusiliers assaulted the position with machine guns, trench mortars and overwhelming numbers. The Irish Fusiliers captured 28 prisoners and four large trench mortars, while the Inniskilling Fusiliers captured two 150 mm howitzers, the attackers suffering 276 casualties during the fighting. Later the Labbi and Mustapha trenches to the north-west and north of the redoubt were occupied without opposition.

"Last night was bitterly cold and I got no sleep. Had no coat or blanket. The men were cold too but for a fair amount of digging to do reversing trenches in case of counter attack. To-day was the 'grand finale' of the Turks great Gaza–Beersheba line. We finished clearing up the Rushdi system with very little opposition and then attacked the Hareira system. Hareira is a hollow hill like a volcano about 200 feet high, round the south-eastern side of which runs the Wadi-Es-Sheria in a deep gulley. This gulley has on its southern side a lower hill or spur of the main hill. The Turk seem to have expected the attack from the south and west and also up the Wadi bed, as most of the defences were facing that way, and they had large mortars aligned on the Wadi as the most likely place for attack. However, Allenby's scheme of rolling up the Turks left allowed us to attack this redoubt from the eastward and although the Division were allotted most of the day to take the place, it was ours in a couple of hours, with a lot of prisoners and supplies, but, better still, a water supply and a clear road for the cavalry."

During the morning of 8 November, a detachment of the 10th (Irish) Division advanced along the road to Gaza, when they found touch with the Composite Force of the XXI Corps near Atawineh. This was the final action of the XX Corps, before they handed back to the XXI Corps their borrowed transport, making it impossible for the XX Corps in advance of their present position. During the series of battles fought by the XX Corps from 31 October, the corps had captured 2,177 prisoners, 45 guns, seven trench mortars and 50 machine guns, and suffered almost 5,500 casualties.

Infantry attack Sheria position
Having captured the Sheria railway station on 6 November, the 60th (London) Division's advance towards Tel el Sheria was stopped when the Londoners, lit up by the light from the exploding ammunition dump, were targeted by Ottoman machine gunners from the shadows. Their attack was postponed until 03:30 the next morning. The focus of the Londoners' attack, the 250 ft Tel el Sheria, was situated on the eastern side of the railway, beside the line, with the Wadi esh Sheria flowing across the southern side of the Tel and the Wadi Barrata flowing passed its western side. After flowing passed the Tel esh Sheria, the Wadi esh Sheria branched into the Wadi Abu Khuff, then after a short distance eastwards, followed a camel's hump, at first due north, then east and then south, to branch into the Wadi Barrata passed Khan Barrata, while the wadi eventually stretched eastwards towards Tel el Khuweilfe. A strong Ottoman rearguard formed partly from the Zuheilika Group and the 16th Division, commanded by Colonel Ali Fuad Bey, had taken up a fortified rearguard position with well-dug trenches, located in a carefully prepared area at the top of a ridge with a long bare slope approach, about 1 mi north of Sheria railway station.

Although the attack by the 60th (London) Division was to be resumed at 03:30, to allow time for the incessant explosions of the Sheria ammunition dump, which continued until 02:30, to diminish, and although the leading battalions had begun moving forward at 03:30, a further postponement until 05:30 about an hour before sunrise, was necessary. The 2/17th Battalion London Regiment (180th Brigade) and the 2/22nd Battalion London Regiment (181st Brigade), which were to make the attack had some distance to march over broken ground, and the 2/22nd Battalion London Regiment did not arrive until 05:30. Then a bayonet attack was to be launched with machine gun, but no artillery support.

The attack was launched at daybreak by the 2/22nd and 2/23rd Battalions London Regiment advancing about 500 yd on the eastern side of the railway, with the 2/21st and 2/24th Battalions London Regiment, (181st Brigade) further east. The 2/22nd and 2/23rd Battalions London Regiment advanced to the Samarra ridge, while the 2/21st and 2/24th Battalions, London Regiment had moved towards Barrata, when touch was lost until the morning. The position of the 180th Brigade had been uncovered during these movements, so the 2/22nd Battalion London regiment (181st Brigade) and the 2/20th Battalion London Regiment (180th Brigade) were ordered to move into touch with brigade headquarters, when the 2/23rd Battalion London Regiment joining them. Meanwhile, the 2/17th and 2/20th Battalions London Regiment (180th Brigade) advanced on the western side of the railway.

In the dim early morning light, the Ottoman defenders swept the bed of the wadi with machine gun and rifle fire from Tel esh Sheria, before facing the Londoner's attacks at close quarter, with bombs (probably grenades) and bayonets. The fighting was "especially fierce." The 2/22nd Battalion London Regiment on the right and to the east of Tel esh Sheria "charged up the slope" to capture the Ottoman position. "The battalion then crossed the railway (which bent sharply eastward north of Tel esh Sheria), and established itself about a thousand yards beyond it." During this second advance they captured almost 100 prisoners. The 2/23rd Battalion, London Regiment which had closely followed the 2/22nd Battalion London Regiment, extended the line to the right. Later troops from the 181st Brigade extended the line to the left of the 74th (Yeomanry) Division which had captured/occupied Kh. Barrata. On the left of the railway the attack by the 180th Brigade was launched by the 2/17th and 2/20th Battalions, London Regiment. The 2nd/20th Battalion London Regiment charged silently across the wadi to engage in hand-to-hand fighting, before storming up Tel esh Sheria and capturing 74 prisoners, while the 2/17th Battalion pushed four machine guns onto a mound to the west of the brigade's position. Later the two battalions advanced about 1500 yd beyond Tel esh Sheria in touch with the 181st Brigade. These two brigades' attacks were equally successfully, although suffering about 400 casualties during the assaults. Nearly 200 prisoners were collected, while the Ottoman "dead left on the field outnumbered the prisoners."

The 60th (London) Division captured Tel el Sharia in the "early afternoon," but the defenders withdrew in "good order," to a long ridge on the north side of and overlooking, the Wadi esh Sheria, about 1500 yd north of the station, from which the Ottoman defenders dominated a long bare slope without any cover with machine gun and heavy artillery fire during the afternoon. The positions captured by the 60th (London) Division, including a bridgehead, suffered a very strong counterattack, launched against the 180th Brigade positions at about 09:30, which reached to within 200 yd of the Londoners' lines. This attack was stopped by machine gun and rifle fire, supported by artillery, but the Londoners were unable to launch a counterattack.

When the 60th (London) and 74th Divisions reached Sheria they found the Zuheilika Group with remnants of the 16th Division were fresh and well equipped, holding a strong position on the north side of the wadi which ran through the town. The approach across the wadi was swept by machine-gun fire and artillery was ranged on the crossings on both sides of the town. On the left two battalions of the 180th Brigade attacked the trenches on the north side while on the right two battalions of the 181st Brigade faced serious machine-gun fire and artillery. The Ottoman defenders had a group of machine guns on top of Tel es Sheria, a huge mound dominating the whole area, manned by the fresh Zuheilika group which resisted the Londoners' attack with "skill and determination throughout the day" and later mounted a counterattack. An attempt by the 4th Light Horse Brigade to dislodge them was unsuccessful.

Light horse charge


With the attacks by the 180th and 181st Brigades stopped 1500 yd north of Sheria railway station, the Australian Mounted Division was ordered to attack and capture the Ottoman position, with the 179th Brigade acting as advanced guard. However, the Australian support was unable to dislodge the Ottoman rearguard and it was not until the evening of 7 November, that the position was captured by the reserve brigade of the 60th Division.

At 10:15, Chauvel ordered the Australian Mounted Division to "drive enemy from front of 60th Division" and to "gain touch with A. & N. Z Mounted Division." After quickly watering the horses, at about 11:00 the two regiments of the 4th Light Horse Brigade passed through the front of the 60th (London) Division, the 11th Light Horse Regiment on the left and the 12th Light Horse Regiment on the right. This movement attracted very heavy fire, which stopped the mounted attack. However, one troop of the 11th Light Horse Regiment which was not aware the attack had been halted, remained mounted to charge up the hill, leaping over a line of trenches to ride right through the Ottoman lines. They were annihilated a moment later, before they could dismount and retrieve their rifles from their backs. Meanwhile, the remainder of the 11th and the 12th Light Horse Regiments continued their attack dismounted, to gain a few hundred yards in front of the 60th (London) Division, where their advance was halted. They remained in position throughout the afternoon while being fired on by Ottoman machine guns. At the same time, the 60th (London) Division was also engaged in severe local fighting and, at times, suffered from very heavy shell fire.

Capture of Sheria
The strong Ottoman position on the ridge dominated a long bare slope without any cover, from where they fired their machine guns and heavy artillery, at the Londoners during the afternoon. Just before dusk, Chauvel ordered the 179th Brigade, which had not taken part in the earlier fighting, to capture the strong Ottoman rearguard, which had stopped the combined light horse and infantry attacks. The Sheria position was finally captured and the high ground facing west. At 16:00 the 4th Light Horse Brigade supported by two artillery batteries of the Australian Mounted Division, was ordered to cross the Wadi esh Sharia dismounted, to cover the concentration of the 60th (London) Division, before the final assault on Tel esh Sheria, which took place just before dark The London Regiment battalions in the 179th Brigade had been ordered to move forward at the same time, with the 2/15th Battalion on the right and the 2/14th Battalion on the left leading, while the 2/13th and 2/16th Battalions remained in support. The attacking battalions and light horsemen crossed the Wadi esh Sheria at 17:00. Despite heavy shell fire, they crossed the low ground near the wadi, to drive the defenders from the northern bank of the wadi "with the bayonet", after some stubborn fighting, just on dark suffering 24 casualties. Later they advanced to establish an outpost line with its left on the Sheria to Huj road 4.5 mi north of the Wadi esh Sheria, when patrols established the Ottoman rearguard had withdrawn. After their eventual successful attack with the Londoners, across the Wadi esh Sheria, it was some time before the 4th Light Horse Brigade could disengage, when was withdrawn into corps reserve.

"We were to move to Sheria after the 60th Division, but this was countermanded and we had nothing special to do except stroll about and see all that was going on, and to prevent any Turks doubling back into their trench systems ... The Desert Mounted Corps were waiting behind us for the word to push off and presently away they went. It was a thrilling sight, and the whole battle area was just perfect for using cavalry. They swept up the rising ground towards Sheria in a big left-handed sweep, moving in lines of sections at about 250 yd interval between the lines. The frontage was about 2 mi, and the thunder of the hoofs and the glitter of arms was a sight never to be forgotten. They rounded up prisoners and guns, a train complete, a hospital, a bakery in full blast, and many other odds and ends. I saw 4 guns brought in and 750 prisoners and got a photo of them. One prisoner said he was a doctor, educated in the American College at Constantinople. I think he was Eurasian. He had a wife and children and carried his black bag of instruments. The little boy was greatly delighted with a piece of chocolate I gave him."

The 179th occupied the high ground facing west with the 180th Brigade concentrated behind them, with the 181st Brigade "so far as the tactical situation permitted in rear of Anzac Mounted Division." All units were ordered to prepare to move on Zuheilikah early the next morning.

The XX Corps casualties suffered from 31 October to 7 November, were 932 killed, 4,444 wounded and 108 missing. They captured 2,177 prisoners, 45 guns, seven trench mortars and 50 machine guns.

5th Mounted Brigade
The Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars marched as fourth units of the 5th Mounted Brigade column along the western slopes of the Arab el Teiaha from 01:30 on 7 November. At 07:00 D Squadron was detached to the 60th (London) Division while the remainder moved behind the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and Warwickshire Yeomanry to reach the north bank of the Wadi Sheria at 16:00. During the day, the 5th Mounted Brigade had taken cover in the Wadi Barrata, east of and parallel to the railway and in other tributaries of the Wadi esh Sheria further east. Brigade commander asked permission to work round to the right, which was granted at 16:45. The 3rd Light Horse and the 5th Mounted Brigades were ordered to ride round the right flank of the 60th (London) Division to attack mounted. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade having just arrived from Karm 12 mi away was in the rear. After riding 2 mi to the east to find a place to cross the wadi, two regiments of the 5th Mounted Brigade drew swords and cantered out, "into the open north of the wadi" but returned after dark, without encountering any enemy. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade meanwhile advanced along the railway line to make touch with the 2nd Light Horse Brigade (Anzac Mounted Division) at 19:30. At 17:00 the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars moved off as the rear unit of the 5th Mounted Brigade to cooperate with the 3rd Light Horse Brigade in a night attack on the Zuneilika ridge. At 18:00 the brigade crossed the railway near the Wadi es Sadeh advancing 3 mi east by north but failed to locate the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. At 20:00 the brigade returned to water the horses and bivouacked at 23:00 north of the Wadi Sheria.

Breakthrough advance to Kh. Ameidat


A few days after Beersheba was captured the Ottoman line was broken by the infantry at Sheria, and between Gaza and the sea making possible the, "[u]p til then ... grandest cavalry drive of the war." During the late afternoon of 6 November Desert Mounted Corps had ordered the Anzac Mounted Division (less the New Zealand Mounted Brigade and Field Squadron) to take over the left of the Yeomanry Mounted Division line. By 09:00 the next morning, the Anzac Mounted Division was steadily pushing back Ottoman posts to gain space for manoeuvre, with orders to connect with the Australian Mounted Division at Kh. Buteihah. However, the Australian Mounted Division was not in a position to advance until after dark, because of delays in the capture of Tel esh Sheria. The result of the fighting on 6 November caused the Ottoman defenders to reinforce Tel esh Sheria and Khuweilfe, so that a gap opened between the two positions, covered for the first couple of miles on the left by the 60th (London) Division. The Anzac Mounted Division found the gap on the eastern side of Sheria, between Sheria and Kh Umm el Bakr, and went through at daylight on 7 November, heading north. The division passed through the infantry (probably the 74th (Yeomanry) Division) to the west of Kh. Umm el Bakr at 05:00, and between 07:00 and 10:00 they advanced 5 - 10 mi into Ottoman territory to reach Kh. Ameidat railway station on the Beersheba line. Here they captured hundreds of prisoners, along with a huge ammunition dump, before establishing a line from Ameidat Station to Kh. Shuteiwy el Oseibi.

Chauvel was informed at 11:00 that the Anzac Mounted Division had captured Ameidat Station, having passed through a gap in the Ottoman defences, which they found less than 2 mi from Sheria. They found the gap after the division had crossed the Wadi esh Sheria just north of Kh Umm el Bakr. Had the Australian Mounted Division advanced to the "east of the Wadi Barrata", instead of coming to the aid of the 60th (London) Division, it could have also gone "through the gap."

News of the fall of Gaza arrived at 12:30, and in the afternoon patrols of one squadron each, were sent by the Anzac Mounted Division towards Tel en Nejile 4 mi to the north on the railway, and towards Kh. Jemmame 4 mi to the north-west. However, a strong Ottoman rearguard holding Tel Abu Dilakh ridge about 2 mi away stopped them. Although the rearguard was attacked by the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, they continued to hold their position until after dark, when they retreated in good order, covering their infantry, artillery and supply convoys while steadily fighting the EEF, with well-placed machine guns. Although there was no water in the area, the 1st and 2nd Light Horse Brigades were joined by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at 19:30.

Aftermath
Soon after it had been established that Gaza had been evacuated, the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade advanced north through the ruined city on 7 November, to capture a ridge overlooking Beit Hanun but without reinforcements, they were forced to withdraw to water.

When the EEF broke through at Sheria, the Yildirim Army Group had not enough reinforcements to respond, effectively." However, the Yildirim Army Group had gained most of 7 November to conduct an orderly retreat north, after destroying the stores in Tel el Sheria and Deir Sneid dumps and depots. The retreating forces, helped by well-placed rearguards, aimed to get far enough in front of the advancing EEF, to be able to prepare a strong defensive line, rest and then stop the EEF onslaught. Lack of water for the EEF in the area of their advance, also slowed the pursuit. The 60th (London) Division bivouacked for the night of 7/8 November on the Samarra ridge, to the south of the Wadi esh Sheria, after handing over its captures from the Kauwukah and Rushdi trench systems to the 10th (Irish) Division.

On the morning of 8 November, Ali Fuad's force consisting partly of the Zuheilika Group and remnants of the 16th Division commanded by Colonel Ali Fuad Bey was operating independently of the Seventh and Eighth Armies to the north of Tel esh Sheria.

During the morning of 8 November, the 52nd (Lowland) Division's 156th Brigade advanced north to the Wadi Hesi, their 155th and 157th Brigades captured Sausage Ridge. However, the strength of the rearguard and their determined fierce fighting for Sausage Ridge, prevented the 155th and 157th Brigades capturing the position until 21:00. By then the retreating Seventh and Eighth Armies had had two full days to withdraw.

The Desert Mounted Corps' first objective on 8 November was the capture of the water at Nejile, and Huj on their way towards the Mediterranean coast, where they hoped to cut the Ottoman line of retreat from Gaza. The Anzac Mounted Division captured the water at Jemmameh, while the Australian Mounted Division with the 60th (London) Division, advanced to capture Huj. Their 5th Mounted Brigade captured some guns during a second mounted charge, after the 31 October charge at Beersheba. The Yeomanry Mounted Division and the Imperial Camel Brigade were ordered to move from the Tel el Khuweilfe area to join the pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps and the Sheria water supply was to be developed and reserved for the Yeomanry Mounted Division.