Battle of Mughar Ridge

The Battle of Mughar Ridge, officially known by the British as the Action of El Mughar, took place on 13 November 1917 during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. Fighting between the advancing Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and the retreating Yildirim Army Group, occurred after the Battle of Beersheba and the Third Battle of Gaza. Operations occurred over an extensive area north of the Gaza to Beersheba line and west of the road from Beersheba to Jerusalem via Hebron.

Strong OttomanThe Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The Ottoman Empire's defeat and the occupation of part of its territory by the Allied Powers in the aftermath of World War I resulted in its partitioning and the loss of its Middle Eastern territories. Ottoman Army positions from Gaza to the foothills of the Judean Hills had successfully held out against British EmpireThe British Empire, was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britain's economic lead. British Empire forces for a week after the Ottoman army was defeated at Beersheba. But the next day, 8 November, the main Ottoman base at Sheria was captured after two days' fighting and a British Yeomanry cavalry charge at Huj captured guns; Ottoman units along the whole line were in retreat.

The XXI Corps and Desert Mounted Corps attacked the Ottoman Eighth Army on an extended front from the Judean foothills across the Mediterranean coastal plain from 10 to 14 November. Beginning on 10 November at Summil, an Ottoman counterattack by the Seventh Army was eventually blocked by mounted units while on 13 November in the centre a cavalry charge assisted by infantry captured two fortified villages and on 14 November, to the north at Ayun Kara an Ottoman rearguard position was successfully attacked by mounted units. Junction Station (also known as Wadi es Sara) was captured and the Ottoman railway link with Jerusalem was cut. As a result of this victory the Ottoman Eighth Army withdrew behind the Nahr el Auja and their Seventh Army withdrew toward Jerusalem.

Aftermath

Junction Station was occupied during the morning and during the following days other villages in the area were found to have been abandoned.

Units of the 75th Division supported by several armoured cars occupied Junction Station during the morning of 14 November cutting the Jaffa to Jerusalem railway. Seventeen days of operations virtually without rest, had resulted in an advance of 60 miles (97 km) from Beersheba; major and minor engagements occurring on 13 of those days. Most of the mounted units had covered at least 170 miles (270 km) since 29 October 1917 capturing 5,270 prisoners and over 60 guns and about 50 machine-guns. At Junction Station two train engines and 60 trucks in the station were captured along with an undamaged and fully functioning steam pumping plant which supplied unlimited, easily accessible water. Junction Station, with its branch line running south to El Tineh and extensions southwards towards Beersheba and Gaza was an important centre for both sides' lines of communication.

On 14 November at 06:30 4th Light Horse Brigade entered El Tineh with the rest of the AustralianAustralia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First British Fleet arrived in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. Australia sent many thousands of troops to fight for Britain during WWI.Australian Mounted Division following a couple of hours later. Here good wells containing plenty of water were found but without steam pumps and so watering was not complete until 16:00. The horses had done all that had been asked of them, existing during this time on only 9 1⁄2 lbs of grain ration (practically no bulk food) and scarce water while all the time carrying about 21 stone (290 lb). That they were able to carry on into the Judean Hills after only a limited period of rest established a remarkable record. Meanwhile, the Australian Mounted Divisional Supply Train followed the fighting units as closely as they could, moving out from Beersheba via Hareira and Gaza on 11 November to Isdud on 14 November; to Mesymie the day after and Junction Station on 16 November.

During 14 November infantry in the 52nd (Lowland) and 75th Divisions concentrated and reorganised their ranks. The advance was taken over by the Yeomanry Mounted Division which crossed the railway north of Junction Station and the Anzac Mounted Division which pressed the retreating Ottoman Army northwards near the coast.

On 14 November the New ZealandThe Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire. Subsequently, a series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state.New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (commanded by Brigadier General William Meldrum) ran into a determined and well entrenched Ottoman rearguard near Ayun Kara, which they attacked. Fierce close quarter fighting against the Ottoman 3rd Infantry Division continued during the afternoon. Although severely threatened, the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade eventually prevailed and went on to occupy Jaffa two days later.

The Anzac Mounted Division had been ordered to cut the road linking Jaffa to Jerusalem by capturing Ramleh and Ludd. This was the only main road from the coast through Ramleh up the Vale of Ajalon to Jerusalem. During the morning Meldrum's New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade crossed the river close to the sand dunes with 1st Light Horse Brigade on its right. By 09:00 El Kubeibeh had been occupied by the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade before pushing on towards the Wadi Hunayn. Here Ottoman rearguards were encountered in the orange groves and on the hills between El Kubeibeh and the sand dunes. About noon the 1st Light Horse Brigade drove an Ottoman rearguard from a ridge facing Yibna where the Anzac Mounted Division had bivouaced the night before and occupied the village of Rehovot also called Deiran. At the same time the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade fought off a strongly entrenched rearguard at Ayun Kara. After conceding considerable ground the Ottoman soldiers made a vigorous counterattack but were finally defeated.

15–16 November 1917

At midnight on 14 November Falkenhayn ordered a general withdrawal and in the days following the Ottoman Seventh Army fell back into the Judean Hills towards Jerusalem while the Eighth Army retreated north of Jaffa across the Nahr el Auja. The Ottoman armies suffered heavily and their subsequent withdrawal resulted in the loss of substantial territory; between 40–60 miles (64–97 km) was invaded by the British north of the old Gaza–Beersheba line. In its wake the two Ottoman armies left behind 10,000 prisoners of war and 100 guns.

The day after the action at Ayun Kara, the 75th Division and the Australian Mounted Division advanced towards Latron where the Jaffa to Jerusalem road enters the Judean Hills, while the Anzac Mounted Division occupied Ramleh and Ludd. An Ottoman rearguard above Abu Shusheh blocked the Vale of Ajalon on the right flank of the advance on Ramleh. This rearguard position was charged and overwhelmed by the 6th Mounted Brigade (Yeomanry Mounted Division). On 16 November Latron itself was captured and the first British unit to enter Jaffa; the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade (Anzac Mounted Division) occupied the city, without opposition. They administered Jaffa until representatives of the director of Occupied Enemy Territory arrived. And marking the end of the British Empire's first advance into Palestine, the Ottoman Eighth Army retired to the northern bank of the Auja River some 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Jaffa and the Seventh Army retreated into the Judean Hills. Since the advance from Gaza and Beersheba began very heavy casualties and losses had been inflicted. The invasion had spread 50 miles (80 km) northwards into Ottoman territory while over 10,000 Ottoman prisoners of war and 100 guns had been captured by the victorious Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "World War", "World War I", and "Battle of Mughar Ridge", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.