1917 third and final battle of the recapture of the Sinai Peninsula by British forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of WWI
The Battle of Rafa completed British recapture of the Sinai Peninsula and marked the start of offensive operations into Ottoman Palestine.
Key Facts
- Date
- 9 January 1917
- Battle number in sequence
- Third and final battle for Sinai recapture
- Railway reached El Arish
- 4 January 1917
- Key redoubt captured by
- New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade
- Ottoman position
- El Magruntein, south of Rafah
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following British victories at Romani in August 1916 and Magdhaba in December 1916, Ottoman forces were pushed back to the southern edge of Palestine. The EEF advanced eastward supported by a newly constructed railway and water pipeline, with the railway reaching El Arish on 4 January 1917, making an assault on Rafa operationally feasible.
On 9 January 1917, the Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force attacked an entrenched Ottoman garrison at El Magruntein near Rafah. Australian Light Horsemen, New Zealand mounted riflemen, yeomanry, cameliers, and armoured cars encircled the fortified redoubts and trenches. In the late afternoon the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade captured the central redoubt, prompting the fall of the remaining defences.
The battle completed the British recapture of the Sinai Peninsula and marked the beginning of fighting in Ottoman-controlled Palestine, opening the way for the subsequent EEF advance northward into the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent