This action secured the Wadi el Hesi crossing during the Southern Palestine Offensive, allowing British Empire forces to pursue retreating Ottoman columns northward.
Key Facts
- Operation start date
- Evening of 7 November 1917
- Operation end date
- Early hours of 9 November 1917
- EEF attacking unit
- 52nd (Lowland) Division
- Ottoman defending unit
- 7th Division, Yildirim Army Group
- Key terrain feature
- Sausage Ridge, north of Gaza
- Campaign context
- Sinai and Palestine Campaign, World War I
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the British Empire's victory at the Battle of Beersheba and subsequent breaching of the Beersheba–Gaza line at Tel el Khuweilfe, Hareira, Sheria, and Gaza, the Ottoman 7th Division established a rearguard defensive line along the northern bank of the Wadi el Hesi, including the commanding position of Sausage Ridge, to cover the withdrawal of Ottoman columns along the road and railway.
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force crossed the Wadi el Hesi on the evening of 7 November 1917, then committed the 52nd (Lowland) Division to assault Sausage Ridge on 8 November. The Ottoman rearguard, aided by a cavalry attack on the British northern flank, held the ridge throughout the day and most of the night before it was finally cleared in the early hours of 9 November.
Although British forces captured Wadi el Hesi and Sausage Ridge, the Ottoman rearguard successfully delayed the advance long enough for the withdrawing Ottoman columns to escape. The capture of the position nonetheless opened the pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive, enabling the EEF to continue its northward advance.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent