4 August 1916: Attack
The British expected the Ottoman attack to come on 4 August 1916 at the earliest, but probably not until several days later. On 3 August the 2nd ALH Brigade left the British lines before dawn to spend the day patrolling and harassing Ottoman outposts, while the 1st ALH Brigade, with just a few hours’ sleep after their own patrols, manned the defences. Before dusk, they were deployed along the line south from Katib Gannit, The 2nd ALH Regiment took the right flank and the 3rd ALH Regiment the left, with the 1st ALH Regiment in reserve. At around 9pm, the 2nd ALH Brigade began to return, emerging from the tangle of sand dunes to filter through the thinly held piquet line. Soon afterwards, sporadic firing began to be heard along the line, as what were taken to be Ottoman patrols tried to follow the returning Australians. However, by midnight the firing had increased, and it became clear that more than just patrols were involved. By chance, the area occupied by the Australian piquets had been designated as the concentration point for the Ottoman forces, before making their main assault around what they thought would be the open British right flank. In fact, Lawrence had guessed the Ottoman plan exactly correctly.
As the weight on the Australian line increased, the regimental and then brigade reserves were fed forward, although the darkness and poor communications led to considerable delays and confusion on both sides. By 2am heavy Ottoman attacks were being made on the Australian line, outnumbering the defenders by up to ten-to-one. At 3am, Mount Meredith, near the centre of the Australian line, was over-run, and the 1st ALH Brigade began to fall back as word spread along the line. As they fell back, so the Ottomans stormed forward, with hand-to-hand fighting in many places.
Many of the Mehmetçik (the Ottoman equivalent of a ‘Tommy’ or a ‘Digger’) were without boots, which allowed them to move faster over the soft sand than the heavy boots and puttees of the Australians, and several piquets were completely overrun before they could reach their horses. Some of the retreating Australians were encumbered by wounded comrades, and so intense was the dark that at least one Lighthorseman hauled a wounded comrade onto his horse, only to find he had picked up a Mehmetçik by mistake.
The British expected the Ottoman attack to come on 4 August 1916 at the earliest, but probably not until several days later. On 3 August the 2nd ALH Brigade left the British lines before dawn to spend the day patrolling and harassing Ottoman outposts, while the 1st ALH Brigade, with just a few hours’ sleep after their own patrols, manned the defences. Before dusk, they were deployed along the line south from Katib Gannit, The 2nd ALH Regiment took the right flank and the 3rd ALH Regiment the left, with the 1st ALH Regiment in reserve. At around 9pm, the 2nd ALH Brigade began to return, emerging from the tangle of sand dunes to filter through the thinly held piquet line. Soon afterwards, sporadic firing began to be heard along the line, as what were taken to be Ottoman patrols tried to follow the returning Australians. However, by midnight the firing had increased, and it became clear that more than just patrols were involved. By chance, the area occupied by the Australian piquets had been designated as the concentration point for the Ottoman forces, before making their main assault around what they thought would be the open British right flank. In fact, Lawrence had guessed the Ottoman plan exactly correctly.
As the weight on the Australian line increased, the regimental and then brigade reserves were fed forward, although the darkness and poor communications led to considerable delays and confusion on both sides. By 2am heavy Ottoman attacks were being made on the Australian line, outnumbering the defenders by up to ten-to-one. At 3am, Mount Meredith, near the centre of the Australian line, was over-run, and the 1st ALH Brigade began to fall back as word spread along the line. As they fell back, so the Ottomans stormed forward, with hand-to-hand fighting in many places.
Many of the Mehmetçik (the Ottoman equivalent of a ‘Tommy’ or a ‘Digger’) were without boots, which allowed them to move faster over the soft sand than the heavy boots and puttees of the Australians, and several piquets were completely overrun before they could reach their horses. Some of the retreating Australians were encumbered by wounded comrades, and so intense was the dark that at least one Lighthorseman hauled a wounded comrade onto his horse, only to find he had picked up a Mehmetçik by mistake.
An Australian camp, with Majors Wright, Ottoman troops parading near Jerusalem. British artillery moving into position,
Johnson and Reghetti.
The Australians now conducted one of the most difficult manoeuvres in the military drill book: a controlled and steady fighting retreat, made even more difficult by the extreme dark. It would have been incredibly easy for order to break down, and the men to either intentionally (after several hours heavy fighting against huge odds) or unintentionally (in the darkness) miss commands to dismount and reform, and instead continue to race back to the safety of the rest of the army. Lieutenant Colonel G. Bourne, commander of the 2nd ALH Regiment, was intensely aware of the precarious position:
“Which of us will forget the scamper away? How so many did get away is a marvel… Here we experienced for the first time, the moral effect of turning our backs on the enemy, and the question arose in our minds as we rode, ‘Can we reform?’ The order ‘Sections about – Action front’ was given as we reached the position, and was splendidly carried out.”
The Australian line deployed back into place without hesitation, and over the next hour or more a succession of short withdrawals were carried out, demonstrating remarkable levels of courage and discipline. On the left of the Australian line, after taking Mount Meredith, the 31st (OT) Regiment had paused to take stock, but in the centre and on the right the pressure continued. The 32nd and 39th (OT) Regiments continued to swing around this southern flank, pushing not only north against the Australian line, but also creeping westwards in an attempt to pass around behind them. At dawn, shortly before 4.30am, Chauvel began feeding the 2nd ALH Brigade into the line. He sent them to reinforce the positions at Wellington Ridge, just behind Katib Gannit, where the Ottomans were threatening to push straight into the British camp and get behind the 52nd Division’s line. He had to hope that the scattered British units further west would be able to blunt the Ottoman thrust that threatened to get around into the rear and cut the entire force off.
Johnson and Reghetti.
The Australians now conducted one of the most difficult manoeuvres in the military drill book: a controlled and steady fighting retreat, made even more difficult by the extreme dark. It would have been incredibly easy for order to break down, and the men to either intentionally (after several hours heavy fighting against huge odds) or unintentionally (in the darkness) miss commands to dismount and reform, and instead continue to race back to the safety of the rest of the army. Lieutenant Colonel G. Bourne, commander of the 2nd ALH Regiment, was intensely aware of the precarious position:
“Which of us will forget the scamper away? How so many did get away is a marvel… Here we experienced for the first time, the moral effect of turning our backs on the enemy, and the question arose in our minds as we rode, ‘Can we reform?’ The order ‘Sections about – Action front’ was given as we reached the position, and was splendidly carried out.”
The Australian line deployed back into place without hesitation, and over the next hour or more a succession of short withdrawals were carried out, demonstrating remarkable levels of courage and discipline. On the left of the Australian line, after taking Mount Meredith, the 31st (OT) Regiment had paused to take stock, but in the centre and on the right the pressure continued. The 32nd and 39th (OT) Regiments continued to swing around this southern flank, pushing not only north against the Australian line, but also creeping westwards in an attempt to pass around behind them. At dawn, shortly before 4.30am, Chauvel began feeding the 2nd ALH Brigade into the line. He sent them to reinforce the positions at Wellington Ridge, just behind Katib Gannit, where the Ottomans were threatening to push straight into the British camp and get behind the 52nd Division’s line. He had to hope that the scattered British units further west would be able to blunt the Ottoman thrust that threatened to get around into the rear and cut the entire force off.