The EEF's capture of Beersheba on 31 October 1917 broke the Gaza–Beersheba stalemate and opened the path to the subsequent conquest of Jerusalem.
Key Facts
- Date
- 31 October 1917
- Charging regiments
- 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments (4th Light Horse Brigade)
- EEF infantry divisions
- 60th (London) and 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions
- EEF casualties (two Gaza battles)
- More than 10,000
- Ottoman command
- Yildirim Army Group, three divisions of Ottoman Fourth Army
- Campaign
- Southern Palestine Offensive, Sinai and Palestine campaign, WWI
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After EEF defeats at the first and second battles of Gaza in March and April 1917, a stalemate developed along the Gaza–Beersheba line. German General Kress von Kressenstein reinforced Ottoman defences while General Allenby, newly appointed EEF commander, reorganised his forces and planned a decisive manoeuvre, aided by intelligence from the Jewish Nili spy ring detailing Ottoman defensive positions.
On 31 October 1917, XX Corps infantry from the 60th and 74th Divisions attacked from the southwest while the Anzac Mounted Division struck the eastern defences. In the late afternoon, the Australian Mounted Division's 4th Light Horse Brigade conducted a mounted infantry charge with bayonets, overrunning Ottoman trenches and capturing Beersheba along with part of the withdrawing garrison.
The fall of Beersheba broke the Gaza–Beersheba defensive line and initiated the Southern Palestine Offensive. It enabled the EEF to outflank Ottoman positions, ultimately leading to the capture of Jerusalem in December 1917 and the collapse of Ottoman control over southern Palestine.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
General Edmund Allenby, Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode.
Side B
1 belligerent
General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, General Erich von Falkenhayn.