The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign had been formed by Australian light horse, British yeomanry, and New Zealand mounted rifles brigades, supported by horse artillery, infantry and support troops. They were later joined by Indian cavalry and a small French cavalry detachment.
The Desert Mounted Corps (DMC) comprised the ANZAC Mounted Division, the Australian Mounted Division and the Yeomanry Mounted Division, with infantry formations attached when required, as had Desert Column. In the first month of its existence, the corps continued training and patrolling no man's land preparing for manoeuvre warfare. Their first operations would be the attack, along with the XX Corps of the Battle of Beersheba. Having captured their objective they were involved in a series of battles, before the old Gaza to Beersheba line was finally broken a week later. During the pursuit they fought two Turkish armies at the Battle of Mughar Ridge before advancing to capture Jerusalem during the Battle of Jerusalem in December 1917.
In 1918, units of Desert Mounted Corps participated in the Capture of Jericho in February, the First Transjordan attack on Amman in March and the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt in April, while occupying the Jordan Valley during the summer. As a result of the German spring offensive on the Western Front the corps went through a reorganisation, when the majority of the British yeomanry regiments were dismounted and sent as infantry reinforcements to France. The Yeomanry Mounted Division and the 5th Mounted Brigade were disbanded, to be replaced by Indian cavalry regiments, which formed the 4th Cavalry Division and 5th Cavalry Division. They arrived in the Jordan Valley in May to join the corps and in September with four divisions, participated in the major offensive operations of the Battle of Sharon, a section of the Battle of Megiddo. The subsequent pursuit to Damascus followed by the Pursuit to Haritan, advances of almost into Turkish territory, resulted in the capture of 107,000 prisoners and over 500 pieces of artillery. At the end of October, the Armistice of Mudros ended the war against the Ottoman Empire and the corps became an occupation force in Syria. By March 1919 units were patrolling Egypt during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919. The Desert Mounted Corps was disbanded in June 1919.
Background
The main responsibility of the British Empire forces in Egypt was the defence of the Suez Canal. Its passage greatly decreased the time at sea of men and materials from India, Australasia and the Far-East. The loss of the canal to the Ottoman Empire would be a huge propaganda coup for their opponents and increase the probability that Egypt would be reconquered by them.Mortlock 2010, p.3
After previously commanding the Cavalry Corps and the Third Army on the Western Front in France. General Edmund Allenby assumed command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force on 28 June 1917.Powles 1922, p.122 At the time the situation in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I was not promising. The British forces had withdrawn in defeat from Gallipoli and in the campaign in Mesopotamia had been surrounded and forced to surrender after the siege of Kut. In the Sinai campaign, the Turks had demonstrated their willingness to take the battle to the British, with their attack on the Suez Canal.Woodward 2006, p.4 Then after some initial British success at Romani, Maghaba and Rafa, they had just suffered two comprehensive defeats in the first and second battle of Gaza.Preston 1921, p.1 Following which they had remained on the defensive.Gullett 1941, p.354
Allenby's envisaged the employment of his mounted forces on a much larger scale than his predecessor had.Preston 1921, p.7 So under the command of Lieutenant-General Harry Chauvel the Desert Mounted Corps was formed on 12 August 1917.Powles 1922, p.12Preston 1921, pp.8–9 It had been intended to use the name II Cavalry Corps, but the name was chosen in recognition of its predecessor the Desert Column.Bou 2009, p.166 Chauvel outlined the reasons on 3 September 1920: "The name of the original Desert Column was preserved as far as possible in the title of the new Cavalry Corps, as most of the troops composing it had fought throughout the Sinai Campaign, and by them much had already been accomplished."Preston 1921 p. viii The corps initially had three divisions, the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division (ANZ MTD DIV) with the 1st Light Horse, 2nd Light Horse and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades. The Australian Mounted Division (AUS MTD DIV) with the 3rd Light Horse, 4th Light Horse and the 5th Mounted Brigade. Finally the Yeomanry Mounted Division (YEO MTD DIV) with the 6th Mounted, 8th Mounted and the 22nd Mounted Brigades. Two other brigades the 7th Mounted and the Imperial Camel Corps were the corps reserve. However the dismounted strength of these brigades, of three regiments, was only the equivalent in rifle fire to an infantry battalion, as one man in every four was required to control their horses.Preston 1921, p.168 Other components in the brigade were a horse artillery battery, a machine gun squadron, a signal troop, a field troop, a mobile veterinary section, a mounted field ambulance and an ammunition column.Powles 1922, p.3
Reorganisation
In April 1918 in response to the German spring offensive in France, every available man that could be spared was sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. The Desert Mounted Corps lost the majority of its yeomanry regiments, who were dismounted and retrained to serve as infantry or machine-gun companies. This necessitated the disbandment of the Yeomanry Mounted Division. Which could have had serious consequences on the corps future operations. But the yeomanry were replaced in theatre by experienced British Indian Army cavalry regiments, that had been fighting in France since 1914. Allenby used these new regiments to raise two new divisions. The 4th Cavalry Division with the 10th Cavalry, 11th Cavalry and 12th Cavalry Brigades. The 5th Cavalry Division was slightly different having the 13th Cavalry, 14th Cavalry and the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigades.
Each of the cavalry brigades had one yeomanry and two Indian regiments, except the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade which had three regiments of Indian Imperial Service Troops. With the move from the Sinai desert into southern Palestine there was now no need for a camel force. In June the Imperial Service Camel Brigade was also disbanded, its battalions were instead mounted on horses and used to form the 5th Light Horse Brigade. Which replaced the yeomanry 5th Mounted Brigade in the Australian Mounted Division, bringing that division back up to full strength. The corps now comprised four divisions but had lost its mounted reserve force, and there was no increase in the ten horse artillery batteries, it did however gain its own infantry sub unit, the 20th Indian Brigade.
Formation Between General Murray's recall in early June, and the arrival of Allenby late in June 1917, Chetwode as commander of Eastern Force gave Chauvel as commander of Desert Column, oversight for the establishment of the Yeomanry Mounted Division.Hill 1978 p. 116Falls 1930 Vol. 1 p. 357Keogh 1955 pp. 125–6
On 21 June, the Imperial Mounted Division became the Australian Mounted Division. On 26 June the 6th Mounted Brigade was transferred from the Australian Mounted Division, and the 22nd Mounted Brigade from the ANZAC Mounted Division, and along with the recently arrived 8th Mounted Brigade, formed the Yeomanry Mounted Division. The 7th Mounted Brigade with the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade were corps troops.Falls 1930 Vol. 1 p. 357, Vol. 2 pp. 661–2
Desert Column was reorganised from two mounted divisions of four brigades, into three mounted divisions of three brigades: The ANZAC Mounted Division, Australian Mounted Division and the Yeomanry Mounted Division.Wavell 1968 pp. 190–1
Allenby indicated to Robertson on 12 July, that he planned to reorganise the EEF into two infantry and a mounted corps, directly under General Headquarters.Hughes 2004 p. 35 The structure of the EEF, would resemble the organisation of the force Allenby had commanded in France, which had reflected contemporary British combat doctrine, in the middle of 1917.Erickson 2007 pp. 112–3Grainger 2006 pp. 239–40 Further, in order for him to directly command these corps in the field, Allenby created two EEF headquarters. His battle headquarters was established near Khan Yunis, while the remainder of his headquarters staff stayed in Cairo, so they could deal with the political and administrative aspects of control of Egypt and martial law.Allenby to Robertson 12 July 1917 in Hughes 2004 p. 35
On 12 August a conventional corps headquarters, designated the XX Corps and commanded by Lieutenant General P. W. Chetwode replaced Eastern Force. The headquarters of the XXI Corps commanded by Lieutenant General E. S. Bulfin (arrived from Salonika as officer commanding the 60th (London) Division) was formed, while the headquarters of Desert Column was renamed Desert Mounted Corps commanded by Lieutenant General H. G. Chauvel.Cutlack 1941 pp. 63–4Hill 1978 p. 118Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 16
Service history 1917
The first operation planned for the Desert Mounted Corps was to break through the Turkish lines, in southern Palestine, which stretched for from Beersheba in the east to the Mediterranean coast at Gaza in the west.Powles 1922, p. 128 Once Beersheba was secured the mounted troops would be concentrated on the British right to cut off and destroy the retreating Turkish forces.Preston 1921, p. 11 Any mounted attack on Beersheba would require a march of over dry and unknown country. So prior to the attack a reconnaissance of the Turkish positions was carried out mapping tracks and wadi crossings. Chauvel deployed his corps, with one division forward occupying a lightly held line between Shellal and El Gamli. Which was also responsible for short patrols into no man's land and longer patrols to reconnoitre the Turkish defences. A second division supported the front line based around Abasan el Kebir. While the third division was resting at Tel el Marrakeb. Each month the divisions moved around so no one division spent longer at the front than was necessary.Preston 1921, p.12
To prepare for the coming offensive each man was issued an officers-style saddle wallet, in which they could carry three days' rations and some spare clothing. Attached to the saddle were two nosebags with or two days of grain for the horse. A third day's grain and two days' rations for the men were carried with the divisional train.Preston 1921, pp. 12–13Powles 1922, p. 135 Every two weeks the forward division would move en masse towards Beersheba; leaving in the afternoon they marched all night to be in a position on the high ground in front of town by dawn the next day. There they remained all day and returned to their base the following night. These long-range patrols got the men and horses used to desert travel, with no water available for the horses from the afternoon they left until they returned. These patrols were not without danger and they were often attacked by Turkish aircraft and artillery which had previously registered approach routes, wadi crossings and the high ground.Preston 1921, p.13 The patrols accustomed the Turks to the appearance of British troops in front of Beersheba, without them taking any offensive action before withdrawing again.Gullett 1941, p.375 This patrol routine continued until the end of October when the corps moved forward for the coming offensive.Preston 1921, p.17