Page 82 - All About History - Issue 70-18
P. 82
Greatest Battles
Allied 01
Unleashing sabotage
Orchestrated by TE Lawrence, Arab
Powers irregulars raid key rail routes around Deraa. German 02
Confusion
general Otto Liman von Sanders reinforces east of the and diversion
TROOPS 57,000 River Jordan, believing it will be the focus of British Bombing raids by the RAF on Ottoman
communication hubs, most notably at El Afule,
CAVALRY 12,000 general Edmund Allenby’s attack. starve the enemy of information. When the 53rd
Division of XX Corps advances on the east of
GUNS 540 the Judea Hills, it looks like the beginning of the
expected attack – yet it is primarily a diversion.
05
GENERALEDMUND
ALLENBY 04
LEADER
Allenby conceived and executed the
final Allied advance in the Middle
East brilliantly.
Strengths: Allenby was
experienced in the crucible of war
and an astute tactician who excelled
at getting the best out of his men.
Weaknesses: Nicknamed ‘the Bull’
due to his ferocious temper, Allenby 03
often terrified his subordinates.
06
DESERTMOUNTED
CORPS An enemy hoodwinked
KEY UNIT 03 02
After many ruses disguising his actual
This cavalry force played a key role troop locations, Allenby’s main thrust launches at the
in the defeat of the Ottoman armies Plains of Sharon. It begins at 4:30am with an intense
in the Middle East. artillery bombardment. The shells rain down for barely
Strengths: Fast and highly mobile, 15 minutes, and are instantly followed by a massed
the Desert Mounted Corps often infantry advance. Heavily outnumbered, the vulnerable
overwhelmed Ottoman positions. Ottoman line is swiftly broken. The infantry surge
Weaknesses: These horsemen punches an ever-widening gap through collapsing
were lightly armoured and therefore defences unprepared for such a ferocious assault.
afforded little protection against
Ottoman guns.
04
The cavalry advances
The yawning hole in the Ottoman line allows
HOTCHKISSM1909 the Desert Mounted Corps to gallop through. As Liman has
committed almost all his forces along the front, there is
KEY WEAPON little in reserve, leaving Allenby’s cavalry to progress rapidly
Minutes from capture
First produced in 1909, this gas- northwards across favourable ground without encountering 05
operated light machine gun could be much resistance. Within two days of the artillery barrage, Riding for Nazareth, where Liman has his
belt or strip-fed. the towns of El Afule and Beisan have fallen to the headquarters, the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
arrive on the 20th just after dawn. Ottoman
Strengths: This easily movable gun Mounted Corps, blocking the enemy’s retreat. communications are so scrambled, so the cavalry
had an equally mobile tripod. unit’s approach is the first the general knows of the
Weaknesses: Parts of the M1909 scale of the battle. He escapes, one account saying
regularly broke and were often still in pyjamas, eventually reaching Deraa.
difficult to replace, although this
was partly due to poor training.
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