Part V: The First World War Building up to Megiddo in VS .NET

Generator QR-Code in VS .NET Part V: The First World War Building up to Megiddo

As a prelude to the breakthrough, the British mounted an elaborate deception plan to convince the Turks that the blow would fall in the Jordan Valley The ANZAC Mounted Division moved into the area and began simulating the presence of the whole Desert Mounted Corps with dummy gun parks, battery positions, horse lines, camps, and a buzz of activity Simultaneously, the Arab army advancing north through the desert beyond the Jordan intensified its efforts against the Hejaz Railway (see the later sidebar With Lawrence in Arabia for more on the Arab army s role) Lieutenant General Sir PW Chetwode s XX Corps held the right of Allenby s line, responsible for 70 kilometres (45 miles) of front To its left, concentrated on a 25-kilometre (15-mile) frontage, was Lieutenant General Sir Edward Bulfin s XXI Corps Immediately behind Bulfin was the Desert Mounted Corps (4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions and the Australian Mounted Division) Across no-man s land, squabbles had seen General Liman von Sanders, who had successfully defended the Gallipoli peninsula, replaced Falkenhayn as Turkish commander The experience at Gallipoli made him a firm believer in holding ground at any price His preparations suited static defence rather than mobile warfare Furthermore, Allenby s deception plan had convinced von Sanders that the British offensive would begin in the Jordan Valley and most of his strength concentrated in that area Sanders command consisted of three armies, none of which was stronger than a weak corps: On the right Djevad Pasha s Eighth Army of 10,000 men and 157 guns included most of the German Asia Corps and held a 30-kilometre (20-mile) front from the sea to Furqa From Furqa to the Jordan Valley the front became the responsibility of Mustapha Kemal s Seventh Army of 7000 men and 111 guns Across the Jordan was Djemal Kucuk s Fourth Army with 8000 men, including the German 146th Regiment, and 74 guns In reserve were 3000 men and 30 guns Sanders General Headquarters was in Nazareth, too far behind the front It was connected to HQ Eighth Army at Tul Karm and HQ Seventh Army at Nablus by telephone lines than ran through a main switchboard at Afula

So thorough had Allenby s preparations been that the British had won the battle before it began At 430 am on 19 September the combined artillery of XXI and the Desert Mounted Corps began bombarding the forward trenches of the Turkish Eighth Army At times, no fewer than 1000 shells per minute were exploding in the enemy positions As the guns lifted their fire to targets in the rear, Bulfin s infantry swamped the stunned defenders Chauvel s

19: The Middle East and Beyond, 1914 1918

mounted columns began to pass through into the open country beyond, while the infantry divisions began wheeling eastwards to roll up what remained of Djevad s army As soon as it was light enough to bomb, the Royal Air Force eliminated the central telephone exchange at Afula In Nazareth, Sanders was ignorant of what was happening At noon he was able to talk to Kemal, who told him that Djevad had been routed and that as the right flank of his own Seventh Army had been turned, he also had to withdraw The only other piece of intelligence Kemal offered was that Allenby s cavalry was streaming forward For the Turks, the situation rapidly escalated from disastrous to catastrophic The remnant of Djevad s army was moving eastwards along the Tul Karm Mus udye road As well as complicating Kemal s withdrawal, this provided the Royal Air Force with a splendid series of targets that they strafed to destruction The night was one continuous movement for both sides At 530 am on 20 September the 5th Cavalry Divsison s 13th Brigade galloped into Nazareth itself Sanders s staff put up a fierce but hopeless fight, while the general escaped to Tiberias by car Elsewhere, the 4th Cavalry Division took Bet Shean (Beisan) and the Australian Mounted Division captured Jenin, both lying squarely across Kemal s intended line of retreat Kemal, already fighting a skilful rearguard action against the British infantry, realised that he was in danger of being surrounded and decided to retreat eastwards towards the Jordan Valley At first light on 21 September, the Royal Air Force discovered Kemal s Seventh Army strung out along the Wadi Far a For four hours aircraft bombed and strafed the Turks panic-stricken column continuously The enemy became a dispersed mob of fugitives fleeing across the hills When the British cavalry entered the valley it took possession of 90 guns, 50 lorries, 1000 carts, and much else besides This was the first occasion in history when air power alone completed the destruction of an army