The Capture of Jericho occurred between 19 and 21 February 1918 to the east of Jerusalem beginning the Occupation of the Jordan Valley during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Fighting took place in an area bordered by the Bethlehem–Nablus road in the west, the Jordan River in the east, and north of a line from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.Battles Nomenclature Committee 1922 p. 33 Here a British Empire force attacked Ottoman positions, forcing them back to Jericho and eventually across the Jordan River.
Winter rains put an end to campaigning after the advance from the Gaza–Beersheba line to the capture of Jerusalem in December 1917. This lull in the fighting offered the opportunity for the captured territories to be consolidated. Extensive developments were also required along the lines of communication to ensure that front-line troops were adequately supplied, approximately from their main bases at Moascar and Kantara on the Suez Canal.
General Edmund Allenby's initial strategic plans focused on his open right flank. If attacked with sufficiently large forces, he could be outflanked by an attack from the east—unlike his left flank which rested securely on the Mediterranean Sea to the west. His aim was to capture the territory east of Jerusalem stretching to the Dead Sea, where his right flank could be more secure. The area was garrisoned by Ottoman troops entrenched on hill-tops which the British infantry, Australian light horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades attacked. The infantry captured Talat ed Dumm on the main Jerusalem to Jericho road, while the light horse and mounted rifle brigades captured Jericho and the area to the south bordered by the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.
Background
The advance from Beersheba came to a halt in December.Bou 2009, p. 185Powles 1922, pp. 172–3 On 14 December Allenby reported to the War Cabinet that the rainy season would prevent any further operations, after Jerusalem was secured, for at least two months.Grainger 2006, p. 218 At this time, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force was paralysed by a breakdown in logistics forcing Allenby to send the Anzac and the Australian Mounted Divisions, along with the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade south of Gaza to shorten their lines of communication. He wrote: "I can't feed them, with certainty, and even now, a fortnight's heavy rain would bring me near starvation."Allenby to Robertson 25 January 1918 quoted in Woodward 2006, p. 160 On 1 January, the 5th Mounted Brigade began moving back through the rain and slush followed by the 4th Light Horse Brigades Field Ambulance, beginning the Australian Mounted Division's journey back to Deir el Belah south of Gaza.Hamilton 1996, p. 99 The Anzac Mounted Division did not move back quite so far; the 1st and possibly 2nd Light Horse Brigades moved back to Esdud while the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade bivouacked near Ayun Kara (also known as Rishon LeZion) not far from Jaffa.Powles 1922, p. 171Hurley, O'Keefe 1986, p. 112
Allenby wrote on 25 January: "I want to extend my right, to include Jericho and the N[orth] of the Dead Sea."Allenby to Robertson 25 January 1918 in Hughes 2004, p. 127 This advance would remove the more serious threat to his right by pushing all the enemy across the Jordan River and securing the Jordan River crossings. It would also prevent raids into the country to the west of the Dead Sea and provide a narrow starting point for operations against the Hedjaz Railway.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 303
General Jan Christiaan Smuts, a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, was sent to confer with Allenby regarding the implementation of a French qualification to the War Office's Joint Note No. 12—that no troops from France could be redeployed to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Smuts was on his way back to London in February when the first step was taken to accomplish his suggestion of crossing the Jordan River and capturing the Hedjaz Railway, and the front line was extended eastwards with the successful capture of Jericho.Woodward 2006, pp. 161–2Wavell 1968, pp. 176–7
Prelude
The country on the eastern side of the Judean Hills falls into the Jordan Valley in a confused mass of rocky ridges and deep narrow valleys.Wavell 1968 pp. 177–8 All the main wadis run from west to east; often with steep high banks, while the tributaries joined from all directions, breaking up the ridges making the hills, almost impossible to cross. Most tracks ran along the narrow beds of ravines where progress had to be made in single file. Further north at Jebel Kuruntul (also known as Jebel Quruntul, the Mount of Temptation and Mount Quarantania) the mountains end abruptly in a 1,000-foot (300 m) cliff.Blenkinsop 1925, p. 223Cutlack 1941, p. 103 Sometimes the attacking parties had to haul themselves and each other over abrupt cliffs to be in a position to fight at close quarters at the top.Cutlack 1941, pp. 102–3 Yet, in early Spring, the area was covered by wild flowers including cyclamen, anemones, poppies and tulips.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 305
Defending force Three Ottoman armies were deployed to defend their front line: the Eighth Army (headquartered at Tul Keram) defended the Mediterranean section, the Seventh Army (headquartered at Nablus) defended the Judean Hills sector, and the Fourth Army (headquartered at Amman) defended the eastern Transjordan section of the line.Keogh 1955 p. 219Hughes 1999 p. 73 Between 3,000 and 5,000 Ottoman troops from the 26th and 53rd Infantry Divisions XX Corps defended the area on the western edge of the Jordan Valley. They garrisoned a series of hill-tops from Tubk el Kaneiterah, near the Dead Sea, through Talat ed Dumm to the Wadi Fara. Here the XX Corps was entrenched at Ras um Deisis and El Muntar Iraq Ibrahim astride the Jericho road.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 Parts I II pp. 305, 655Erickson 2001 p. 193 There was also at least one regiment in the Jordan Valley near the Wadi el Auja.Keogh 1955 p. 204
Mounted and infantry attacking force By February, logistics had sufficiently developed to support the advance towards Jericho, and Allenby ordered Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode to capture Jericho as soon as the weather cleared.Kinloch 2007, p. 249 While the remainder of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force held the front line and garrisoned the captured territories in southern Palestine, Chetwode's XX Corps the 60th (2/2nd London) Division was to make the attack towards Jericho, supported by his 53rd (Welsh) Division and one infantry brigade from the 74th (Yeomanry) Division on the left. They were to move towards the Wadi el Auja, which flowed eastwards into the Jordan River (not to be confused with the Wadi el Auja which flowed westwards into the Mediterranean Sea from the same watershed). At the same time, Chauvel's Desert Mounted Corps, mounted force formed by the 1st Light Horse Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (both brigades from the Anzac Mounted Division), was to cover the right flank of Chetwode's infantry and advance towards Rujm el Bahr on the Dead Sea.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 Part II pp. 655, 663Cutlack 1941, p. 102Brief Record of the Advance of the EEF 1919 pp. 37–79The 2nd Light Horse Brigade remained on the maritime plain, near the Mediterranean Sea, holding a portion of the front line. [Powles 1922 p. 173]
The plan was for the 60th (London) Division to advance to Mukhmas north-north-east of Jerusalem, then advance forward east through El Muntar Iraq Ibrahim and Ras et Tawil. Their left flank was to be covered the 53rd (Welsh) Division, which was to capture the high ground at Rammun north of Mukhmas while their right was covered by the Anzac Mounted Division.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 304 The second stage required the 60th (London) Division to advance to a point yet to be decided, in three brigade columns: the right to Jebil Ekteif south of the main Jericho road, the centre to Talat ed Dumm, and the left column moving along the "Ancient Road" running east from Mukhmas. Their final advance would take them to the edge of the ridge overlooking Jericho and the Jordan Valley; there was no plan for them to enter the valley. Each infantry column was to be supported by a 60-pounder or 6-inch artillery battery, a Field artillery brigade and a field company of Royal Engineers.
On 14 February, preliminary operations were carried out by the XX Corps; the 60th (London) Division which advanced to Mukhmas north-north-east of Jerusalem, while on their left flank the 53rd (Welsh) Division captured the village of Deir Diwan.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 306 At this time the 1st Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades were at Ayun Kara; they marched out for Bethlehem arriving there on 17 and 18 February. While the infantry attacks were progressing along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho on 19 February, the two brigades of the Anzac Mounted Division were to move in a flanking movement towards Nebi Musa. They were to make their way down into the Jordan Valley towards Rujm el Bahr to cut off enemy retreat from Jericho, and drive the remaining Ottoman defenders to the eastern side of the Jordan River.Downes 1938 pp. 679–81
Air support On 3 January, two Australian aircraft discovered boats carrying corn and hay moving from Ghor el Hadit (behind Point Costigan) and Rujm el Bahr at the northern end of the Dead Sea. These were bombed and sprayed with bullets repeatedly until the boat service stopped.Cutlack 1941 pp. 99–100
On 10 January, as part of the preparations for the attack on Jericho, six aircraft dropped 48 bombs on Amman and Kissir, a Hedjaz railway station to the south, resulting in several direct hits on rolling stock, station buildings and troops. Aircraft patrols were then directed to fly over Jericho and Shunet Nimrin on the western and eastern sectors of the Jordan Valley on alternate days. These patrols closely watched and reported tactical details, including the number of tents and camps, the state of supply dumps, the conditions of roads and tracks, and traffic on the railway.Cutlack 1941 p. 100
Battle Infantry attack on 19 February The 60th (London) Division advanced with their 180th Brigade in the centre, their 181st Brigade on the left, and their 179th Brigade with the Wellington Mounted Rifle Regiment covering their right flank. At Ras et Tawil, the 2/23rd Battalion, London Regiment (181st Brigade) suffered 50 casualties in attacking some 300 entrenched Ottomans, capturing 25 prisoners and two machine guns; the Ottomans abandoned their position soon after. To the north-east of El Muntar Iraq Ibrahim, during a further advance by the 2/20th Battalion, London Regiment along a narrow ridge on the south bank of the Wadi Fara, they captured the high ground suffering 66 casualties. Meanwhile, on the left flank of the 60th (London) Division, the 160th Brigade of the 53rd (Welsh) Division captured Rammun, where the 2/10th Battalion Middlesex Regiment had some hard fighting, and the heights to the south. The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment moved from Bethlehem to the Greek monastery of Mar Saba and onto the El Buqeia plateau, where Ottoman forces were entrenched astride the Mar Saba to Jericho road south of Nebi Musa.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 307 The remainder of the 1st Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades moved from Bethlehem towards El Muntar.
Chetwode and Chauvel watched these operations begin from the Mount of Olives more than above sea level; by the time the light horse and mounted rifles brigades reached Jericho on 21 February they were nearly below sea level.Hill 1978, p. 142
20 February Infantry attack