The First Transjordan attack on Amman (known to the British as the First Attack on Amman)Battles Nomenclature Committee 1922 p. 33 and to their enemy as the First Battle of the JordanErickson 2001 p. 195 took place between 21 March and 2 April 1918, as a consequence of the successful Battle of Tell 'Asur which occurred after the Capture of Jericho in February and the Occupation of the Jordan Valley began, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. During the First Transjordan attack large incursions into Ottoman territory occurred. Firstly the Passage of the Jordan River, was successfully captured between 21 and 23 March, followed by the first occupation of Es Salt in the hills of Moab between 24 and 25 March. The First Battle of Amman took place between 27 and 31 March when the Anzac Mounted Division and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (fighting dismounted as infantry) were reinforced by two battalions of 181st Brigade followed by a second two battalions from the 180th Brigade (60th London Division) and artillery. The Fourth Army headquarters located in Amman was strongly garrisoned and during the battle received reinforcements on the Hejaz railway, the strength of which eventually forced the attacking force to retire back to the Jordan Valley between 31 March and 2 April. The Jordan Valley would continue to be occupied by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) through the summer until the middle of September 1918 when the Battle of Megiddo began.
During the winter of 1917/1918, the considerable territorial gains by the EEF as a consequence of victories at the Battle of Mughar Ridge in November and the Battle of Jerusalem in December, from the Gaza–Beersheba line to the Jaffa–Jerusalem line, were consolidated. The front line was adjusted in February 1918 when the right flank of the Jaffa–Jerusalem line was secured by the capture of land to the east of Jerusalem and down into the Jordan Valley to Jericho and the Dead Sea. The Capture of Jericho was also a necessary precursor, along with the action of Tell 'Asur, and advances by Allenby's force across the Jordan River and into the hills of Moab towards Es Salt and Amman.
In March, after several unsuccessful attempts by a British Empire force of Australian, British and New Zealand swimmers, the first Transjordan attack began with the passage of the Jordan River. The swimmers eventually got lines across the fast-flowing river while under fire from Ottoman forces on the east bank, and pontoon bridges were quickly constructed so that infantry and New Zealand mounted troops could cross the river to attack Ottoman defenders on the east bank where a bridgehead was eventually established. Subsequently, John Shea's force of infantry and mounted troops crossed the river and advanced eastwards across the high country; the central column of infantry moving along the main road quickly captured the Ottoman position at Shunet Nimrin on rising ground from the Jordan Valley and the town of Es Salt high in the hills.
Meanwhile, the mounted columns continued marching to the north and south of the infantry column on to Amman east of Jericho on the high plateau. Their objective was to effectively cut the main supply line to the north and south of Amman by destroying long sections of the Hejaz Railway, including tunnels and the Ten Arches Bridge over which the railway travelled near the town. Amman was strongly defended by the Ottoman Army and the blown up sections of the railway were quickly replaced to allow reinforcements to continue to arrive and strengthen the defenders. British Empire infantry and artillery reinforcements were also sent forward from Es Salt, both of which took considerable time to cover the difficult and unfriendly terrain. Although the combined force of infantry and mounted troops made a determined attack on Amman, Shea was forced to retreat to the Jordan Valley from both Amman and Es Salt when it became clear the defenders were too strong, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible to achieve the operation's objective. The only territorial gains following the offensive were the establishment of bridgeheads on the eastern side of the river.
Background
The War Office promised General Edmund Allenby, Commander in Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), substantial reinforcements after his successful capture of Jerusalem. The Imperial War Cabinet was keen to know when Allenby would be ready to make further advances; they wished operations against the Ottomans to continue as forcefully as possible within the means at Allenby's disposal and they attached importance to the cutting the Hejaz Railway.Robertson to Allenby 7 March 1918 in Hughes 2004 pp. 134–5 The French, however, imposed an important qualification to Joint Note 12 which gave qualified approval for a decisive offensive against the Ottoman armies; no British troops in France could be deployed to the EEF. It was therefore decided to reinforce the EEF with one or possibly two British Indian Army cavalry divisions from France and three divisions from the Mesopotamian campaign, which were to be supported by more artillery and aircraft.Woodward 2006 p. 161–2Wavell 1968 pp. 176–7
On 7 March 1918, the promised reinforcements were reduced to just one Indian division and four batteries of 6-inch howitzers from Mesopotamia due to arrive by the end of May. Further, Indian infantry battalions and cavalry regiments based in France were, during March and April, to be substituted for British infantry and mounted formations which had had long experience serving in Palestine; they would go to the Western Front. Four additional aircraft squadrons were, however, promised for the coming summer, in addition to squadrons then being formed and a Canadian construction battalion was to be sent from France as soon as its replacement, in the process of formation in Canada, arrived on the Western Front. Also promised were enough railway track to complete the doubling of the railway to Rafa and a single line beyond Haifa. By July it was hoped that 152 locomotives and 3,245 wagons would be available, with a promise of more if required; railway personnel and labour to run this railway were to come from Mesopotamia.
General Jan Christiaan Smuts, a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, had been sent to Palestine in early February to confer with Allenby regarding the implementation of Joint Note No. 12. At that time he encouraged Allenby in the view that if of the Hejaz Railway near Amman could be destroyed, the Ottoman Army garrisons along the railway south from Amman to Medina would be isolated and weakened, which could result in further Arab uprisings.Woodward 2006 p. 162 Allenby had written to General William Robertson, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, in late January regarding his wish to cut the Hejaz Railway at Amman – an important Ottoman line of communication to the garrisons to the south of Amman, which would considerably weaken their positions. Without reliable supplies and reinforcements Bedouin and Arab forces in the region could be encouraged to attack and rebel against these weakened Ottoman Empire forces and lengthen Allenby's right.Allenby letter to Robertson 25/1/1918 in Hughes 2004 p. 127Pugsley 2004 p. 141It has been suggested the capture of the town of Amman was the objective of the first Transjordan attack; that it was to be developed into a base from which to mount an attack on the Maan station to the south as this was considered to be the most important Hejaz railway station between Deraa and Medina. [Bruce 2002, pp. 191–2] Allenby continues: "If I could destroy 10 or 15 miles of rail and some bridges and get touch with the Arabs under Feisal – even temporarily – the effect would be great."He may have had in mind a similar attack carried out by the Anzac Mounted Division on 23 May 1917 when of railway including bridges were destroyed on the Ottoman railway from Beersheba to Auja. [Wavell 1968, p. 90, Powles 1922, pp. 110, 113] For a description of the procedure used to destroy the rails see Powles 1922, p. 112.
A necessary prerequisite to the first Transjordan attack was a broadening of the EEF' base to better support the proposed attack on the Hejaz Railway at Amman. During the Battle of Tell 'Asur between 8 and 12 March 1918, the front line in the Judean Hills was pushed further north giving a substantially stronger base for attacks eastwards.Blenkinsop 1925 p. 223Falls 1930 Vol. 2 Part II p. 657 A general advance on a front of between and up to a maximum of depth of between by the XX Corps and XXI Corps, pushed Ottoman forces north from the River Auja on the Mediterranean coast, north on both sides of the road from Jerusalem to Nablus, capturing Ras el Ain and Tell 'Asur and from Abu Tellul and Mussallabeh on the edge of the Jordan Valley.Bruce 2002 p. 189Keogh 1955 p. 208
The Balfour Declaration Although it was not published in the Middle East at the time, the Balfour Declaration was published in London in November 1917 and became widely known. The declaration, which established the idea of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine, contained a proviso that such a homeland would not be at the expense of the rights of the Palestinians already living there.Bruce 2002 p. 192Bruce claims the contents of the declaration were soon known to Arab leaders. [Bruce 2002 p. 192]
The establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine depended on a compliant Palestinian population and the British were eager to conciliate wherever possible. Orders were issued to be "carefully friendly to the Arab tribes" from east of the Jordan River, as they fought with the Sharif of Mecca against the Ottomans. These Arabs were to be treated with the greatest consideration, all payments to them were made in cash and all friction was to be avoided. Politically, Britain needed Feisal's support and Feisal needed British military support and the British encouraged the people to look to Feisal and the Hashemites as their new rulers.Hughes 1999 pp. 95–6
Military cooperation between the Arabs and the British Empire forces was expected during these Transjordan operations although it was to be fairly limited.Kinloch 2007 p. 255 T. E. Lawrence and the forces of the Arab Revolt based on Aqaba had blown up lengths of rail track, bridges and Ottoman supply trains with explosives. In early March Sherifian Arabs led by the Emir Feisal and guided by Lawrence were raiding Ottoman units south of El Kutrani and were in some force about Tafila on 11 March but withdrew a week later. In response the Ottoman Army sent a strong force including a German infantry battalion south from Amman to defend the railway and the important town of Ma'an. The Bedouin near Madaba were inclined to be hostile to the Ottoman Army and it was hoped that the planned attack on Amman might attract their support.Cutlack 1941 p. 105Hill 1978 p. 143
Prelude On 1 March, aircraft of No. 1 Squadron AFC reconnoitred El Kutrani and reported a camp of 150 tents, 14 large dumps, 150 rolling stock including three trains and seven gun positions south-west of the station. Nearby a new aerodrome with six hangars and a number of tents had two large two-seat aircraft on the ground. A combined Australian and British air raid on 4 March by Nos 1 and 142 Squadrons dropped 45 bombs on this aerodrome without much success. During the period the whole area on the Jordan front and the Amman position, including all camps and defence positions, was reconnoitred and mapped. At Shunet Nimrina a considerably increased Ottoman presence was noted on 3 March and successfully bombed on 6 March.Cutlack 1941 pp. 106 & 109
The establishment of a bridgehead on the east bank of the Jordan River and the advance to Es Salt and Amman was to be preceded by diversionary attacks across the entire front and coordinated with an Arab raid led by T. E. Lawrence on the Deraa Hejaz railway station.