Second battle for Gaza
| date | April 17th bis 19th April 1917 |
|---|---|
| place | Gaza |
| output | Ottoman defensive victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 4 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions with around 33,000 men, 8,000 cavalry men and 170 guns, as well as 8 tanks | 3 infantry and 1 cavalry division with 19,500 men, 2,000 men cavalry and 101 artillery pieces |
| losses | |
|
about 6,300 men |
around 400 dead, 1,330 wounded and 240 missing |
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1915: Suez Canal
1917: Rafah - Gaza (1) - Gaza (2) - Beersheba - Gaza (3) - El Mughar - Jerusalem
1918: Jericho - Tell 'Asur - Jordan (1) - Jordan (2) - Abu Tellul - Megiddo
The Second Battle of Gaza took place on the Palestine Front during World War I , it began on April 17, 1917 and lasted three days. The outnumbered British under General Charles Dobell attacked the Turkish positions south of Gaza head-on. Despite the use of poison gas , which was first used in the Arab world and one of the Western Front delivered tank - Brigade failed attack.
prehistory
A second attack by the Ottomans on the Suez Canal , which was carried out with the support of the German Asia Corps under General Kress von Kressenstein , failed at the beginning of August 1916 against the Egyptian Expeditionary Force at the Battle of Romani . Immediately afterwards, the British began to gradually recapture the Sinai Peninsula and, as a result of the Battle of Magdhaba (December 28, 1916), were able to take the border fortress town of Al-Arish . On the newly formed Palestine Front , the Ottoman 4th Army, under the command of Ahmet Cemal Pasha, successfully defended the line from Gaza to Tell el Sheria. First British advances failed in March 1917 in the First Battle of Gaza .
After the new information received on April 10th about a reduction in the opposing Ottoman troop power, the British Commander-in-Chief General Archibald Murray decided to attack again. General Dobell, in command of the Eastern Force, and Murray had discussed the advantages of flanking Gaza from the east rather than a frontal attack, but the lack of water in the area prevented the British from considering this option. Dobell then launched a direct frontal attack against the well-prepared Ottoman positions. The 74th Division had moved into the outpost line along the Wadi Ghuzzee on April 7, and a tank division with eight heavy Mark I tanks and a delivery of 3,000 gas grenades had arrived at the Eastern Force. General Murray initially tormented himself with moral scruples about the use of chemical weapons. In the end he decided to use poison gas as a weapon of choice; several armored vehicles and a total of 25 aircraft of No. 5 (Corps) Wing force the decision in favor of the British. After the flank attack on Atawineh and Hareira failed, the mounted Australian Desert Column had to secure the right wing against the enemy desert positions. Murrays moved the headquarters from El-Arish to Khan Yunis. The Eastern Force front stood eight kilometers from Wadi Ghuzzee at Deir el Belah. At the same time General Chetwode , the commander of the Desert Column, together with the mounted Imperial Division under General Hodgson, moved the headquarters from Seirat to Tel el Jemmi. Shortly after 7:00 p.m. on April 16, the infantry divisions marched towards Wadi Ghuzzee, while the ANZAC Mounted Division at Deir el Belah and at 6:30 p.m. the New Zealand Mounted Brigade made the night march to the front position.
Opposing forces
Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) under General Archibald Murray
Eastern Force under Lieutenant-General Charles Macpherson Dobell
Chief of Staff: Lieutenant Colonel GP Dawnay
53rd (Welsh) Division: Major-General SF Mott
- 158th (North Wales) Brigade
- 159th (Cheshire) Brigade
- 160th (Welsh Border) Brigade
52nd (Lowland) Division: Major-General WEB Smith
- 155th (South Scottish) Brigade
- 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade
- 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade
54th (East Anglian) Division: Major-General SW Hare
- 161st (Essex) Brigade
- 162nd (East Midland) Brigade
- 163rd (Norfolk and Suffolk) Brigade
74th (Yeomanry) Division: Major-General ES Girdwood
- 229th Brigade
- 230th Brigade
- 231st Brigade
- Imperial Camel Brigade: Brigadier-General CL Smith
- Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade: Brigadier-General MH Henderson
Desert Column under Lieutenant-General Philip W. Chetwode
Anzac Mounted Division Major-General Harry G. Chauvel
- 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel CF Cox
- 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade: Colonel G. de L. Ryrie
- New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade: Brigadier-General Edward WC Chaytor
Imperial Mounted Division: Major-General HW Hodgson
- 3rd Light Horse Brigade: Brigadier-General JR Royston
- 4th Light Horse Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel JB Meredith
- 5th Mounted Brigade: Colonel EA Wiggin
- 6th Mounted Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel TMS Pitt
Turkish troops
4th Army under General Ahmet Cemal Pasha
VIII Corps? under Kreß von Kressenstein
- 3rd Division: Colonel Hüseyn Nurettin (coastline and Gaza)
- 53rd Division: Colonel Refet Bey (between Gaza and Tell el Scheria)
- 16th Division: Colonel Mehmet Riistü (eastern desert group)
- 3rd Cavalry Division: (southern desert group)
The battle
17th April
On April 17, the "Eastern Force" set out to break through to Gaza with two divisions on the line from Sheikh Abbas and Mansura. The Turkish resistance on Kurd Hill should be broken as soon as possible and the new positions entrenched. During the attack, the 54th Division was placed on the right flank, the 52nd Division on the left flank, while the 53rd Division was to advance through the Wadi Ghuzzee west of the road to Gaza to Tel el Ujul and the left in the sand dunes there Flank of the 52nd Division should cover. The newly assigned 74th Yeomanry Division was made available as a reserve along the Wadi Ghazee for reinforcement.
At 5 a.m., strong English artillery fire began on Gaza, and the necessary aerial reconnaissance was initially prohibited because of the use of poisonous gas. At dawn several tanks attacked the Mansura ridge, the terrain proved unsuitable and they were fought down by the Ottoman artillery. Two tanks supporting the 163rd Brigade's attack began their advance on Dumb-bell Hill at 4:30 a.m., the leading tank was hit by three shells and put out of action. The 53rd Division (General SF Mott) began their advance against Tel el Ujul at 7.15 am, 15 minutes before the 52nd Division attacked. At around 8 a.m. the general infantry attack was under way, and heavy-caliber warships also attacked Gaza and the enemy-occupied section of the dunes from the sea.
The 52nd Division attacked on both sides of the road to Gaza, while the 54th Division turned against the middle group of Turks southeast of Gaza. When the British infantry reached the front enemy positions, they were found intact and still fully manned, the poison gas had no effect. The British weather reports indicated particularly strong gusts; The poison gas probably evaporated into the air before it could have any effect on the ground. The Desert Column, which provided cover to the east at Tell ell Scheria and the heights at Atawineh and Hareira, protected against the Negev desert. Major General Chetwode was only supposed to attack the enemy forces on the right wing in front of the Hareira ridge in order to bind them, but otherwise hold back. The cavalry was reluctant to move against the right wing of the Ottoman left wing group (16th Division and 3rd Cavalry Division).
April 18
From the 53rd Division on the coast to the right wing of the Desert Column, the attack had stalled in front of the 10 miles wide Ottoman defense line, which was strengthened by well-hidden artillery. On April 18, the English infantry consolidated their new positions. Artillery bombardment of enemy positions from land and sea gave the troops time to hold down the Ottoman positions off Gaza and Hareira. In the course of the day the right wing of the "Eastern Force" was reinforced by the Imperial Mounted Divisions and the Camel Brigade. The necessary supplies of ammunition and water were brought to the front lines via Wadi Ghuzzee in order to renew the attack the next day. The right flank of the EEF was still covered by the Australian Mounted Division, but suffered heavy losses in the new positions from heavy fire.
April 19th
The Eastern Force carried out new attacks against Mansura and Sheikh Abbas with two infantry divisions, the troops then pivoted to the left to take Al Muntar. While this attack was supported by five tanks that had to break through the eastern apron on Gaza, the 53rd Division tried to advance on the western side with two tanks in the sand dunes on the coast. The 74th Yeomanry Division remained in reserve. The Anzac Mounted Division and the Imperial Mounted Division renewed the attack on the Atawineh Redoubt in the east. The 22nd Mounted Brigade defended at Shellal and repulsed two enemy attacks by 3 p.m.
The situation was now so favorable on the Turkish side that a counter-offensive against the enemy right wing could be launched. The Turkish 3rd Cavalry Division advanced successfully on the left wing, and in the later evening hours the infantry followed to attack the English, who were slowly retreating to the starting position.
Towards the end of the afternoon, General Dobell discovered that on April 19 there was no longer any prospect of a successful breakthrough. The reports of his division commanders about the condition of the troops and the low ammunition reserves and the high number of injuries determined him to end the offensive operations.
At 7 p.m. the middle group had beaten off the third Turkish counterattack with heavy losses, these positions remained in English hands. The 53rd Division stayed on the coast on Samson Ridge, the 52nd Division stopped in front of Outpost Hill, and new defenses were built on Blazed Hill. The new position of the 54th Division, which was in the open and in enemy fire, could not be maintained. The division was withdrawn to Sheikh Abbas, where it found support from the troops of the 74th Division. The Imperial Camel Brigade, lying in the open area, whose right flank reached to Kh. Sihan, was withdrawn at 7.45 p.m. to the area southwest of Sheikh Abbas. The outpost line of the Desert Column in front of Dumbbell Hill was also withdrawn closer to the right wing of the 54th Division. The front established itself on the edge of the heights of Sheikh Abbas Ridge, south of Wadi el Baha, to 1.6 km north of Shellal near Hiseia.
Result
Darkness on April 19 ended the fight, and both sides were expecting to renew the battle the next day. Although several infantry brigades of the EEF had managed to break into the Ottoman trenches, they were so weakened by the fierce defense of the enemy that they would not have been able to maintain their territorial gains in the expected counterattacks. The attack could not seriously shake the Turkish defense of the city of Gaza anywhere, the failure raised the morale of the Turks, who were now confident that they could continue to hold the positions around Gaza. The Turks, who were completely unaware of the use of poison gas, had between 391 and 402 dead, between 1,337 and 1,364 wounded and between 242 and 247 missing. The EEF's unsuccessful efforts resulted in the loss of 6,325 dead and wounded. Specifically, the 52nd Division lost 1,874 men, the 53rd Division 584, the 54th Division 2,870, the Anzac Mounted Division 105, the Imperial Mounted Division 547 and the Imperial Camel Brigade 345 men.
An Ottoman counterattack was expected on April 20, when German planes bombed the enemy's field camp and strong Turkish cavalry formations massed at Hareira. There was not a major blow, but there were numerous local attacks. One of these attacks, which threatened Wadi Sihan, was repulsed by the artillery of the 54th Division alone. In June 1917 Murray was replaced by General Allenby , Dobell also had to leave, his "Eastern Force" was reorganized as XX Corps . The operational breakthrough of the Gaza position was not achieved by the British until early November in the subsequent Third Battle of Gaza , and was crowned with the capture of Jerusalem in early December .
literature
- Cyril Falls, George MacMunn: Official History of the Great War Military. Operations Egypt and Palestine. Volume 1: From the outbreak of war with Germany to June 1917. HM Stationery Office, London 1928.
- John D. Grainger: The Battle for Palestine 1917. Boydell Press Woodbridge, Rochester NY 2006, ISBN 1-84383-263-1 .
- Matthew Hughes: Allenby and British Strategy in the Middle East 1917-1919. Frank Cass Publishers, Abingdon 1999, ISBN 0-7146-4920-1 .