The Palestine Campaigns by Field-Marshal Earl Wavell

Author:Field-Marshal Earl Wavell [Wavell, Field-Marshal Earl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, World War I, Europe, Great Britain, General, Germany, France
ISBN: 9781786258205
Google: gddvCwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2016-01-18T02:59:44+00:00

The first phase, which took place at 11 p.m. on November 1st, consisted in the storming of Umbrella Hill, which projected from the Turkish lines and flanked the approach to their trenches further west. It was successfully assaulted by the 7th Scottish Rifles of the 156th Brigade, who carried all their objectives by 11.30 p.m. A pause of four hours had been arranged between the first and second phases, to give the enemy time to settle down after the Umbrella Hill attack and to persuade him that this was merely an isolated operation. There were of course obvious risks in the method adopted, but it was important to secure Umbrella Hill before advancing further west, and it was hoped that the interval of four hours would be sufficient to lull the enemy’s suspicions of further attack on the same night. As it turned out, this was so. For some hours after the capture of Umbrella Hill the Turkish artillery was active, but it died down shortly before 3 a.m., the hour fixed for the second phase. At 3 a.m., under cover of ten minutes’ intense bombardment, the main attack was made, and was successful. Six tanks rendered valuable support, in spite of the unsuitability of the sand for their manoeuvre. At 6.30 a.m. the furthest objective, Sheikh Hasan, was captured. The final objectives were reached everywhere, except in the centre, where some of the Turkish rear trenches resisted the assault of the 163rd Brigade. On one portion of their front the Turks had laid land mines which exploded by contact and blew up the leading wave of one of the storming battalions.

Some 550 prisoners, three guns and thirty machine guns were taken and a thousand Turks were afterwards buried on the field. The losses of the XXI. Corps were, however, heavy, about 350 killed, 350 missing and 2,000 wounded.

The attack had been most skilfully planned and gallantly executed and had fulfilled its purpose of fixing the garrison of Gaza and compelling its reinforcement. The capture of Sheikh Hasan turned the flank of almost the whole of the prepared defences of the town and seriously menaced the Turkish position. The enemy’s losses during the bombardment and attack had been extremely heavy and obliged him to add a division from his reserve to the garrison of Gaza.

To turn again to the right flank. Before the capture of Beersheba it had only been possible to determine in outline the further operations of the XX. Corps and Desert Mounted Corps. It was the intention of General Chetwode to advance with the divisions of his corps in the same order as at Beersheba, if the situation permitted. The 53rd Division on the left was to make a frontal attack on the Kuuwukah system of trenches, while the 60th and 74th in that order from the right were to take the extreme left of the Turkish prepared position in flank and rear, aiming at Tel esh Sheria. The 10th Division was to form the reserve. Further

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