Early on the morning of the 13th the attack on the enemy positions began.

The Yeomanry Division and the Camel Corps Brigade advanced on the left of our line, with the 52nd Division on their right. Then came the 75th Division and the Australian Mounted Division, the latter covering a front of about eight miles. The orders to this division were to watch the right flank of our line, and attract the enemy's attention, as on the previous two days. In view of the large area of country to be covered, the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade, now Corps Reserve, was stationed at Khurbet Jeladiyeh. The 7th Mounted Brigade relieved the 5th, the horses of which were exhausted. The 2nd and 7th Brigades had only been withdrawn from the line late on the evening of the 11th, and had thus had but one day's complete rest. One of the chief difficulties of the Corps Commander at this time, and one which increased daily, lay in the fact that one or another of his brigades was always on the verge of coming to a standstill owing to the exhaustion of its horses. This fact compelled the continual movement of brigades from one part of the line to another, to relieve others unable to carry on the pursuit, thus increasing the fatigue and distress of the horses.

The country in which our troops were now operating is an undulating, treeless plain, rising here and there[Pg 78] into isolated, rocky hills, similar in character to the country farther south. It is, however, much more populous than southern Palestine, and is extensively cultivated, though at this time of year the crops had all been gathered, and the land was as bare as a village common. Partly, no doubt, for purposes of defence, and partly to avoid wasting the fertile plain land, most of the villages are built on the tops of the hills, where the rock, outcropping over large areas, renders the land unsuitable for cultivation. Many of these villages are surrounded by trees and small enclosed gardens, and some are encircled by stout mud walls. All of them command the surrounding country for a wide space, and, with their walls and cactus hedges, form admirable strong points, very difficult to reduce without the aid of heavy artillery. The village of El Mughar, on its high and rocky ridge, is one of the most prominent of these hill strongholds, and forms a notable landmark from the flat country to the west and south of it.

The 8th Mounted Brigade, leading the Yeomanry Division, approached Yebnah about eight in the morning, and two troops were sent forward to gallop into the village from either side. This was the usual method adopted by our cavalry, when approaching villages during a rapid advance, unless they were definitely known to be strongly held by the enemy. If there proved to be few Turks in the village, or none at all, these troops would signal back to their regiment or brigade to advance. If, however, the village proved to be strongly held, the few men in the exploring troops, moving in extended order and at a very fast pace, seldom sustained many casualties, while they nearly always succeeded in gaining a fairly accurate idea of the numbers of the enemy, the location of his machine guns, etc.

[Pg 79]

In the present case Yebnah was found very lightly held, and the 8th Brigade at once pushed through it, and advanced to the attack of the villages of Zernuka and Kubeibe, on which rested the extreme right flank of the enemy's line. The Turks were found in force in these two places, and the brigade was unable to make any substantial progress, in the face of very heavy machine-gun fire.

The 6th Mounted Brigade remained in divisional reserve at Yebnah, and the 22nd was ordered to try and push between Zernuka and El Mughar, and seize the village of Akir, behind the enemy's line. Intense machine-gun fire from Zernuka, however, on the flank of the line of advance, prohibited the brigade from moving forward till this place had been taken.

A brigade of the 52nd Division attacked the village of Katrah from the south about nine o'clock, and captured it by a fine bayonet charge, taking 600 prisoners and a large number of machine guns. The brigade then advanced on El Mughar, and succeeded in reaching the Wadi Jamus, about half a mile farther north. From the wadi to El Mughar the ground sloped gently upwards, devoid of any cover, and traversed by no depression capable of concealing troops. The infantry extended along the wadi, and attempted to advance up the slope towards El Mughar, but were checked by a tremendous fire from machine guns and riflemen concealed in the gardens of the village, and from field guns in action farther north. It was soon apparent that they could not hope to cross the wide stretch of open ground, and they were withdrawn into the shelter of the wadi. The 52nd Division then sent a message to the Yeomanry, asking the latter to co-operate by attacking El Mughar from the east.

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General Barrow ordered the 6th Mounted Brigade, which was now extended from Yebnah to El Gheyadah, about a mile north of Beshshit, to carry out the attack.

From his position at El Gheyadah, General Godwin had observed that the infantry advance on El Mughar had been held up, and was anticipating an order to co-operate with his brigade. He had accordingly already got one of his regiments, the Bucks Yeomanry, into the Wadi Jamus, at a point about a mile south-east of Yebnah, and had sent officers' patrols forward to reconnoitre a line of approach. The reports of these patrols confirmed the General's own impression that the enemy position could only be reached by a mounted charge. The country west of El Mughar was just as bare and open as that to the south, over which our infantry had found themselves unable to advance. On the other hand, the absence of obstacles favoured a galloping attack, and, though the distance to be traversed in the open (over two miles) was considerable, there appeared to be a good prospect of the enterprise succeeding, provided it was adequately supported by the R.H.A. and machine gunners.

Having decided on a mounted attack, General Godwin brought up the Dorset Yeomanry, and galloped them across the open in small parties, into the shelter of the Wadi Jamus. This regiment was directed on the left, or northern, end of the enemy position, and the Bucks on a portion of the ridge to the right of the Dorsets' objective, and immediately north of the village itself. The Berks Yeomanry was held in reserve, west of the wadi and near the south end of Yebnah. The Berks Battery R.H.A., which was at Beshshit, and the Machine Gun Squadron were ordered to provide covering fire from the south.[Pg 82] The 8th Mounted Brigade, which was attacking Zernuka, would afford protection to the left flank of the 6th during the action.

map

Diagram illustrating the action of El Mughar

The Berks Battery was soon in action among some trees north of El Beshshit, registering the village of El Mughar, and the ridge to the north of it. The machine gunners, taking advantage of some broken ground south-east of Yebnah, got into the Wadi Shellal el Ghor, and worked their way along it to a position about 1000 yards south-west of El Mughar village.

As soon as the steady bursts of fire from the wadi apprised General Godwin that his machine guns were in action, he gave the order to advance, and the two regiments scrambled up the steep sides of the Wadi Jamus into the open, and trotted forward over the plain in extended order, the squadrons of each regiment following one another at a distance of about 200 yards. Two machine guns on pack horses accompanied each regiment, moving on the outer flanks.

The appearance of the cavalry was the signal for a tremendous fire on both sides. Every weapon the enemy had in action was turned on the advancing lines of cavalry, while the Berks Battery and the 6th Brigade Machine Gun Squadron poured an intense fire on the ridge of Mughar, sweeping it from end to end.

The regiments trotted quietly across the open till they were some half a mile from the enemy position, when they shook out into a fast canter, and swung up the rocky slope at the Turks. A hundred yards from the top the order to charge was given, and the men sat down and rode.

The leading squadron of the Bucks went through the Turks with the sword in ten seconds, killing[Pg 83] many of them, and galloped right over the ridge before they could pull up. Ere the enemy troops had time to rally, the second and third squadrons dashed into them, completing the rout. In a few minutes from the time when the order to charge was given, the Bucks Yeomanry had secured their objective, and commenced to consolidate on the position.

The Dorset Yeomanry, on the left, encountered more broken ground, and the leading squadron dismounted and attacked with the bayonet. The other two squadrons, however, stuck to their horses, and reached the top first. There was not much momentum left in the charge by the time the cavalry met the enemy, but the long swords do not need much pace behind them to do their work properly, and the issue of the fight was never in doubt. Before the dismounted squadron had gained the summit of the ridge, the other two had cleared the position, and the surviving Turks were in flight or had surrendered. Incidentally it may be remarked that the squadron on foot lost more heavily, both in men and horses, than the two that had gone in with the sword.

While the position was being cleared and consolidated, a number of the enemy in the village opened fire on our troops with machine guns, inflicting some loss, and interfering with the work. Two squadrons of the Berks were sent up at a gallop, and fought their way into the village on foot, clearing the Turks out of it, and taking about 400 prisoners.

About 600 enemy dead were counted on the position afterwards, and many more were killed, as they were trying to escape, by the fire of the machine guns which had accompanied each regiment in the[Pg 84] charge. In addition to those taken in Mughar village, 1100 prisoners fell into our hands, with three guns and a large number of machine guns. The enemy's right was completely broken. His troops evacuated Kubeibe and Zernuka after dark, and fell back in considerable confusion.

Our casualties in the two regiments were 129 officers and men and 265 horses killed and wounded, not an unduly heavy bill when compared to the number of enemy dead, and, still more, to the great results obtained.

The 22nd Mounted Brigade rode forward to attack Akir, as soon as Mughar had been taken, but was held up till nightfall by unexpectedly strong enemy opposition. The Brigade rounded up seventy prisoners and a few machine guns retiring from El Mughar, and occupied Akir next morning, the enemy having retired during the night.

Meanwhile, in the centre, the 75th Division had captured Mesmiye with the bayonet, taking 200 prisoners, and reached a point on the Deir Sineid line about two miles west of Junction Station in the evening. The Turks attacked in considerable force during the night, but were driven off, and the division entered Junction Station early next morning.

The Australian Mounted Division advanced a few miles, covering the right flank of the 75th Division, and seized Tel el Turmus without encountering serious opposition. During the day the headquarters of this division, at the village of El Jeladiyeh, three miles east of El Suafir el Sharkiye, got into touch by helio with the 53rd Division twenty miles away to the east, and exchanged news. This was the first and last communication between the two parts of our force, from the day of the battle of Sharia, till the 7th of December, when the 10th A.L.H. Regiment[Pg 85] gained touch with the 53rd Division in t............