This cavalry charge north of Damascus captured retreating Ottoman and German forces, helping seal the collapse of the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group in Palestine.
Key Facts
- Date
- 2 October 1918
- Distance north of Damascus
- 17 miles (27 km)
- Column strength at Khan Ayash
- Approximately 2,000 combatants
- Unit leading charge
- 9th Light Horse Regiment, 3rd Light Horse Brigade
- Preceding action
- Capture of Damascus, 1 October 1918
- Parent campaign
- Sinai and Palestine Campaign, World War I
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the decisive Egyptian Expeditionary Force victory at the Battle of Megiddo on 25 September 1918, remnants of the Ottoman Seventh, Eighth, and Fourth Armies retreated toward Damascus. After Damascus was encircled and captured by 1 October, the surviving Ottoman Yildirim Army Group forces continued withdrawing northward along the road to Rayak and Homs.
On the morning of 2 October 1918, two squadrons of the 9th Light Horse Regiment rode ahead to block the road north of Khan Ayash while a third squadron charged directly into a large column of approximately 2,000 retreating German and Ottoman troops, splitting the column and forcing its surrender some 17 miles north of Damascus.
The charge secured the surrender of a significant body of retreating Ottoman and German combatants, eliminating a rearguard force that had temporarily halted the Australian advance the previous day and further dismantling the Yildirim Army Group's capacity to withdraw and regroup in Syria.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent