The Charge at Irbid occurred on 26 September 1918 as a consequence of the victory at the
Battle of Megiddo during the subsequent inland pursuit by
Desert Mounted Corps
The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Pales ...
to
capture Damascus in the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. The charge occurred when the
2nd Lancers of the
10th Cavalry Brigade,
4th Cavalry Division, attacked the
Ottoman Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
garrison defending the town of
Irbid.
Remnants of the
Ottoman Seventh
Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven.
Seventh may refer to:
* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
* A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts
Film and television
*"The Seventh", a second-season e ...
and
Eighth Armies were retreating in columns towards
Damascus from the
Judean Hills
The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...
via
Samakh, Jisr Benat Yakub, Kuneitra and Kaukab, followed by the
Australian Mounted and the
5th Cavalry Divisions, while remnants of the
Ottoman Fourth Army were retreating in columns towards Damascus along the Pilgrims' Road through
Deraa
Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jorda ...
.
The 4th Cavalry Division at Jisr el Mejamie and Beisan was ordered to march east to intercept this remnant of the Fourth Army. At Irbid the 2nd Lancers charged Ottoman rearguard units but were strongly counter-attacked and defeated. By the next morning the Ottoman force had withdrawn from the town.
Background
Liman von Sanders and Fourth Army withdraws
Otto Liman von Sanders
Otto Viktor Karl Liman von Sanders (; 17 February 1855 – 22 August 1929) was an Imperial German Army general who served as a military adviser to the Ottoman Army during the First World War. In 1918 he commanded an Ottoman army during the Sin ...
commander of the
Yildirim Army Group
The Yildirim Army Group or Thunderbolt Army Group of the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish: ''Yıldırım Ordular Grubu'') or Army Group F (German: ''Heeresgruppe F'') was an Army Group of the Ottoman Army during World War I. While being an Ottoman unit, ...
arrived at Deraa on the morning of 21 September, on his way to Damascus after escaping from Nazareth the morning before. At Deraa he received a report from the Fourth Army, which he ordered to withdraw to the
Yarmuk to
Irbid to Deraa line. He had found Deraa "fairly secure,"
[Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 545] due to the actions of its commandant Major Willmer, placing him in temporary command of the new front stretching from Deraa. During the evening of 21 September Liman von Sanders met the leaders of several thousand
druses, who agreed to remain neutral.
By 26 September the Fourth Army's Amman garrison (less the
rearguard captured at Amman) had not been "heavily engaged,"
[Wavell 1968 pp. 224–5] and "was still intact as a fighting force even though it was in rapid retreat."
[Bruce 2002 p. 241]
Sherifial Army
Three quarters of
Feisal's 4,000 strong force including Nuri esh Shalaan's camel force, were irregulars.
[Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 566–7] As
remnants of the Ottoman Fourth Army retreated northward via Deraa towards Damascus they were pursued by Arab forces.
4th Cavalry Division
During the cavalry phase of the
Battle of Sharon
The Battle of Sharon fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, began the set piece Battle of Megiddo (1918), Battle of Megiddo half a day before the Battle of Nablus (1918), Battle of Nablus, in which large formations engaged and responded to mov ...
the
4th Cavalry Division had
captured Afulah and Beisan, closing the last crossing points along the Jordan River between
Jisr ed Damieh
Jisr ed-Damiye ( ar, جسر الدامية , Jisr ed-Damieh, Bridge of ed-Damieh), known in English as Damiyah Bridge, as Prince Muhammad Bridge in Jordan, and as Gesher Adam ( he, גשר אדם, , Adam Bridge) in Israel, stretches over the Jordan ...
and Beisan, garrisoning Beisan and the Jisr el Mejamie crossing of the Jordan River north of Beisan.
On 25 September the
Central India Horse
The Central India Horse (formerly the 21st King George V's Own Horse, also known as Beatson's Horse) was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army and is presently part of the Indian Army Armoured Corps.
Formation
The regiment was r ...
,
[This is the 38th King George's Own Central India Horse not to be confused with the 39th King George's Own Central India Horse which had remained in India reston 1921, p.335, Falls 1930 Vol. 2, p. 667/ref> 10th Cavalry Brigade, which had been garrisoning Jisr el Mejamie since 23 September, was joined by the remainder of the 10th Cavalry Brigade. They arrived from Beisan with orders to advance as quickly as possible to Irbid and Deraa, and to contact Feisal's Sherifial Army. The brigade began their advance to Deraa on 26 September, when they left Jisr el Mejamie and crossed the Jordan River, while the remainder of the 4th Cavalry Division followed, leaving Beisan for Jisr el Mejamie. The division's rearguard; the 11th Cavalry Brigade arrived at Jisr el Mejamie at 18:30 on 26 September.][Maunsell 1926 p. 231][Preston 1921 p. 252][Gullett 1919 p. 39]
Prelude
The 4th Cavalry Division, Egyptian Expeditionary Force
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning ...
(EEF) began the pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps
The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Pales ...
to Damascus via Deraa away, the day before the Australian Mounted Division
The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, light horse and yeomanry division. The division was formed in Egypt, and along with the Anzac Mounted Division formed p ...
with the 5th Cavalry Division in reserve, began their pursuit around the northern end of the Sea of Galilee to Damascus.[These advances have been characterised as a "race for Damascus". ullett 1919 pp. 39–40, Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 567/ref>
]
Battle
Late in the afternoon of 26 September, the 10th Cavalry Brigade was attacked by the Fourth Army's flank guard which held the country round Irbid in force. With the 2nd Lancers leading, the EEF's 10th Cavalry Brigade, 4th Cavalry Division, left Jisr el Mejamie at 08:00 on 26 September. As the regiment negotiated a "difficult defile in the gorge of the Wadi el Ghafr,"[Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 577–8] west of Irbid they came under rifle fire from the plateau above. As a consequence the regimental commander ordered an immediate attack. The 2nd Lancers attempted a mounted attack; the charge failing when they suffered severe losses.
The 2nd Lancers' "C" Squadron was ordered to advance through the village of Bariha north-west of Irbid and get into position to attack Irbid from the east, "B" Squadron was to follow and attack mounted from the north while a third squadron (probably D Squadron), simultaneously attacked Irbid from the south with "A" Squadron in reserve. The machine gun squadron was to target attacking machine guns. (See Falls Sketch Map 40 for movements of "A" and "D" Squadrons)[Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 578]
"C" Squadron became lost, mistaking Bariha for Irbid and played no part in the attack. "B" Squadron was held up by machine gun fire and failed to get into position; instead taking up a position north of Irbid, from which they fired Hotchkiss light machine guns in support of "D" Squadron's attack. After dismounting its Hotchkiss troop to provide covering fire, the approach of the, by now 48 strong "D" squadron, without its Hotchkiss troop, was heavily fired on by machine guns from the northern edge of Irbid. The ground was too rough for a charge, the squadron swinging west to attack the north-western corner of the town, but the leading troop continued straight on, to be annihilated. Only eight NCOs
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
and men of "D" Squadron managed to retreat.
The Berkshire Battery Royal Horse Artillery
The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...
(RHA) did not get into position until 17:00; too late to help "D" Squadron, 2nd Lancers. However, hearing heavy firing the Central India Horse reached the plateau but its "C" Squadron, following the 2nd Lancers' "C" Squadron to Bariha also became useless, while "D" Squadron Central India Horse' advance towards Irbid was forced to move to the south. They reached a hill due south of Irbid with "B" Squadron Central India Horse in the same area, "A" Squadron 2nd Lancers had taken cover in a wadi on the western side of Irbid, when darkness ended the engagement. The 2nd Lancers and the Central India Horse suffered 46 killed and wounded, mainly from "D" Squadron 2nd Lancers.[Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 579–80]
Aftermath
After holding its ground until dark, the Fourth Army remnant withdrew from Irbid during the night of 26 September, to Er Remte.
During the night the scattered squadrons of the 2nd Lancers and Central India Horse established contact and at dawn on 27 September, patrols found Irbid "clear of the enemy."
This was the first failed attack by the 4th Cavalry Division since 19 September. "Haste to force the issue before dark, allied with the confidence born of many victorious actions
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fi ...
, had caused the usual precautions to go by the board ... there had been little or no reconnaissance of the ground; no one had any idea of the strength of the enemy force."
Feisal's 4,000 strong force including Nuri esh Shalaan's camel force made a forced march overnight on 26/27 September, crossing the railway north of Deraa and tearing up rails to arrive at Sheikh Sa'd north north-west of Deraa, at dawn on 27 September. Auda abu Tayi captured a train and 200 prisoners at Ghazale Station, while Talal took Izra'
Izraʾ ( ar, إِزْرَع ) is a town in the Daraa Governorate of Syria, to the north of the city of Daraa. It is the administrative centre of the Izra' District, and sits at an altitude of 599 metres. Izra' had a population of 19,158 in 200 ...
a few miles to the north. They captured a total of 2,000 prisoners between noon on 26 September and noon on 27 September, when the Anazeh
Anizah or Anazah ( ar, عنزة, ʻanizah, Najdi pronunciation: ) is an Arabian tribe in the Arabian Peninsula, Upper Mesopotamia, and the Levant.
Genealogy and origins
Anizah's existence as an autonomous tribal group, like many prominent m ...
an Arab tribal confederation, attacked the rearguard defending Deraa. Fighting in the town continued into the night.
Between 6,000 and 7,000 German and Ottoman soldiers remaining from the Ottoman Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Armies had managed to retreat via Tiberias or Deraa towards Damascus, before these places were captured by Desert Mounted Corps on 25 and 27 September respectively, and were at or north of Muzeirib.[Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 567]
Notes
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irbid, Charge at 1918
Conflicts in 1918
1918 in British-administered Palestine
Battles of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire
Battles of World War I involving British India
September 1918 events