1917 Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War
The Battle of Mughar Ridge severed the Ottoman railway link to Jerusalem and forced the withdrawal of two Ottoman armies, opening the way for the British advance on Jerusalem.
Key Facts
- Date
- 13 November 1917
- Campaign
- Sinai and Palestine Campaign, WWI
- Key objective captured
- Junction Station (Wadi es Sara)
- Ottoman armies involved
- Seventh Army and Eighth Army (Yildirim Army Group)
- British force
- Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF)
- Operation phase dates
- 10–14 November 1917
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the British victory at Beersheba and the Third Battle of Gaza, Ottoman forces were driven from their main base at Sheria on 8 November 1917. Ottoman units along the Gaza–Beersheba line fell into retreat, compelling the EEF to pursue the Yildirim Army Group northward across the coastal plain and into the foothills of the Judean Hills.
On 13 November 1917, during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive, XXI Corps and the Desert Mounted Corps attacked the Ottoman Eighth Army across an extended front. A cavalry charge supported by infantry captured two fortified villages at Mughar Ridge in the centre of the line, while mounted units blocked an Ottoman counterattack at Summil and later struck a rearguard position at Ayun Kara on 14 November.
The capture of Junction Station cut the Ottoman railway connection with Jerusalem. As a direct result, the Ottoman Eighth Army withdrew behind the Nahr el Auja river, and the Seventh Army retreated toward Jerusalem, leaving British forces positioned to advance on the holy city.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent