Key Facts
- Start date
- 1 November 1917
- Duration
- Approximately 7 days
- British formations involved
- 53rd (Welsh) Division, Anzac Mounted Division, 5th Mounted Brigade
- Strategic road cut
- Beersheba–Jerusalem road via Hebron
- Campaign
- Southern Palestine Offensive, Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Strategic Narrative Overview
Beginning 1 November, the 53rd (Welsh) Division, Anzac Mounted Division, and 5th Mounted Brigade launched repeated assaults against strongly held Ottoman positions at Tel el Khuweilfe. British infantry, Yeomanry cavalry, and Australian and New Zealand mounted brigades all attacked without success. On 6 November, the 53rd Division, flanked by the Imperial Camel Brigade, mounted another inconclusive assault with artillery support, and fighting continued into 7 November amid coordinated EEF offensives at Hareira and Sheria.
01 / The Origins
Following the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's victory at the Battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917, British Empire forces launched a series of coordinated attacks to break the Ottoman-German Yildirim Army Group's front line stretching from Gaza to Beersheba. Capturing Tel el Khuweilfe was critical to severing the road north toward Hebron and Jerusalem, threatening the Seventh Army headquarters and the southern flank of Ottoman defensive positions in the Judean Hills.
03 / The Outcome
Ottoman defenders at Tel el Khuweilfe began withdrawing on 7 November after losing Hareira, the evacuation of Gaza, and the weakening of the Sheria position threatened to outflank them. Although the EEF failed to storm the position directly, sustained pressure had drawn Ottoman reserves away from other sectors, contributing to the broader collapse of the Gaza–Beersheba line and advancing the Palestine Campaign.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.