The Battle of Tabsor was fought on 19–20 September 1918 beginning the Battle of Sharon, which along with the Battle of Nablus formed the set piece Battle of Megiddo fought between 19 and 25 September in the last months of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. During the infantry phase of the Battle of Sharon the British Empire 60th Division, XXI Corps attacked and captured the section of the front line nearest the Mediterranean coast under cover of an intense artillery barrage including a creeping barrage and naval gunfire. This Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory over the entrenched Ottoman Eighth Army, composed of German and Ottoman soldiers, began the Final Offensive, ultimately resulting in the destruction of the equivalent of one Ottoman army, the retreat of what remained of two others, and the capture of many thousands of prisoners and many miles of territory from the Judean Hills to the border of modern-day Turkey. After the end of the battle of Megiddo, the Desert Mounted Corps pursued the retreating soldiers to Damascus, six days later. By the time the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire five weeks later, Aleppo had been captured.
During the Battle of Tabsor the 3rd (Lahore), 7th (Meerut) and 75th Divisions attacked the entrenched Ottoman Empire Eighth Army defending the Tabsor defences. These defences were located in the middle section of the front line, assigned to the XXI Corps. On their left the Battle of Tulkarm was being fought with the Battle of Arara fought on their right. Together with the cavalry phase, these battles make up the Battle of Sharon, which, with the Battle of Nablus, fought by the XX Corps and Chaytor's Force, have become known as the Battle of Megiddo. Megiddo developed into a major set piece offensive, when large formations of the Allied EEF, attacked and responded to the reactions of three Ottoman armies, each time following a predetermined plan. The offensive resulted in defeat for Ottoman forces in Palestine, Syria and the Transjordan.
These operations began the Final Offensive, ultimately resulting in the destruction of the equivalent of an Ottoman army and the retreat in disarray of what remained of two armies. The defeat of the Yildirim Army Group, commanded by Otto Liman von Sanders, resulted in the capture of many thousands of prisoners and many miles of territory stretching from the Judean Hills. After the battle of Megiddo, Desert Mounted Corps pursued the retreating German and Ottoman soldiers to Damascus, which was captured six days later, when the pursuit continued on to close to the border of modern-day Turkey. Five weeks after the Final Offensive began and with Aleppo captured, the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire ending the fighting in this theatre.
The Battle of Tabsor began with an intense creeping bombardment, during which three infantry divisions of the XXI Corps attacked the Tabsor defences; the only continuous trench-and-redoubt system on the Ottoman front line. As they advanced, their left flank was protected by the 60th Division, which advanced up the coast to Nahr el Faliq, before capturing Tulkarm, the headquarters of the Eighth Army. Their right flank was secured by the 54th (East Anglian) Division, with the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie pivoting on the Rafat salient. Defending the Ottoman front line against the attacks by the 3rd (Lahore), 7th (Meerut) and 75th Divisions were four divisions of the Ottoman Eighth Army: the 7th, 20th and 46th Infantry Divisions of the Ottoman XXII Corps and the 19th Division of the German Asia Corps. By the end of the first day of battle, the Ottoman 7th Division had ceased to exist and the Ottoman front line (which had previously stretched east-west from the coast) had been pushed and bent back to run north-south. The Seventh Army, further inland, was forced to withdraw when the Eighth Army was outflanked, to conform with the new Ottoman front line.
Background
By July, it was clear that the German Spring Offensive in France, which had forced the postponement of offensive plans in Palestine, had failed, resulting in a return to trench warfare on the Western Front. This coincided with the approach of the campaign season in Palestine and the Middle East.Woodward 2006 p. 190Bruce 2002 p. 207 General Edmund Allenby, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), was "very anxious to make a move in September", when he expected to capture the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Army headquarters at Tulkarm and Nablus, the road to Jisr ed Damieh and Es Salt in the hills east of the Jordan River. "Another reason for moving to this line is that it will encourage both my own new Indian troops and my Arab Allies."Allenby letter to Wilson 24 July 1918 in Hughes 2004 pp. 168–9
Reorganisation of EEF infantry After the 52nd (Lowland), the 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions and nine British infantry battalions from each of the 10th, 53rd, 60th and 75th Divisions were sent to France between May and August 1918, the remaining British infantry battalions were reinforced by British Indian Army battalions.Wavell 1968 p. 183Cutlack 1941 p. 121Gullett 1941 pp. 653–4The 75th Division was formed from British Territorial and Indian battalions. [Falls 1930 Vol. 1 p. 319] The 75th Division had received the first Indian battalions in June 1917. ["75th Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 30 August 2012.] Infantry brigades were now reorganised with one British battalion and three British Indian Army battalions,Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 662–5, 668–671 with the exception of one brigade in the 53rd Division which had one South African and three Indian battalions. The British Indian Army's 7th (Meerut) Division arrived from the campaign in Mesopotamia in January 1918, followed by the 3rd (Lahore) Division in April 1918.Woodward 2006, p. 170Perrett, pp.24–26Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 413, 417Allenby had been informed after the capture of Jerusalem in December 1917 that "the 7th Indian Division would arrive from Mesopotamia" and on 1 April it relieved the 52nd Division which sailed for France, the "3rd Indian Division" arrived from Mesopotamia on 14 April 1918. [Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 293, 350, 413] Only the 54th (East Anglian) Division remained, as previously, an all British division.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 670–1
By April 1918, 35 infantry and two pioneer battalions were being prepared to move to Palestine.Roy 2011, pp.170–171 Those battalions with identification numbers from 150 upwards were formed by removing complete companies from experienced regiments then serving in Mesopotamia and forming new battalions. The 2/151st Indian Infantry was one such battalion formed from one company each from the 56th Punjabi Rifles and the 51st, 52nd and 53rd Sikhs. One regiment, the 101st Grenadiers, formed a second battalion by dividing itself into two with two experienced and two new companies in each battalion. The parent battalions also supplied first line transport and experienced officers with war time service. The 3/151st Indian Infantry had the commanding officer, two other British and four Indian officers included in the 198 men transferred from the 38th Dogras. The sepoys transferred were also very experienced. In September 1918 the 2/151st Indian Infantry had to provide an honour guard for Allenby; among the men on parade were some who had served on five different fronts since 1914, and on eight pre-war campaigns.Roy 2011, p. 174
Of the 54 Indian battalions deployed to Palestine, 22 had recent experience of combat, but had each lost an experienced company, which had been replaced by recruits. Ten battalions were formed from experienced troops who had never fought or trained together. The other 22 had not seen any prior service in the war; in total, almost a third of the troops were recruits.Erickson, p. 126 Within 44 Indian battalions, the "junior British officers were green, and most could not speak Hindustani. In one battalion only one Indian officer spoke English and only two British officers could communicate with their men."Woodward 2006 p. 182 Not all of the Indian battalions served in the infantry divisions, some were employed in defence of the lines of communication.Roy 2011, p. 170
Front line By September 1918 the front line held by the EEF began virtually at sea level at a point on the Mediterranean coast about north of Jaffa, just north of Arsuf, ran about south-east across the Plain of Sharon, then east over the Judean Hills for about , rising to a height of above sea level. From the Judean Hills the front line fell steeply to below sea level in the Jordan Valley, where it continued for about to the Dead Sea and the foothills of the Mountains of Gilead/Moab.Gullett 1919 pp. 25–6Wavell 1968 p. 205
Prelude
British plans and preparations On the first quarter of the front line, which stretched across the Plain of Sharon from the Mediterranean Sea, the XXI Corps deployed 35,000 infantry, the Desert Mounted Corps 9,000 cavalry and the artillery's 383 guns for their attacks on the Eighth Army. On the remaining three quarters of front line, ending at the Dead Sea, 22,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry and 157 guns of the XX Corps and Chaytor's Force were deployed facing the Ottoman Seventh and Fourth Armies.Wavell 1968 p. 203
The Battle of Sharon was to begin with an attack on an -long stretch of front line between the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway running north from Lydda towards Tulkarm (cut at the front line) and the Mediterranean, where Allenby massed three mounted divisions behind three of the XXI Corps' infantry divisions supported by 18 densely deployed heavy and siege batteries. Together the five infantry divisions of the XXI Corps, commanded by the British Lieutenant General Sir Edward Bulfin, had an advantage of 4.4–to–1 in total numbers, and three times the defenders' heavy artillery.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 448Woodward 2006 pp. 190–1Blenkinsop 1925 pp. 236, 241 "Concentration, surprise and speed were key elements in the blitzkrieg warfare planned by Allenby."Woodward 2006 p. 191
The four infantry divisions of the XXI Corps were to begin the Battle of Sharon by attacking in overwhelming strength, supported by the greatest possible weight of artillery. The first objective of breaking the German and Ottoman front line was assigned to the 60th Division. They were to create a gap sufficiently large to enable the cavalry to safely advance to the rear of the German and Ottoman forces in the Judean Hills.Wavell 1968 pp. 197–8 The second objective of assaulting the Tabsor defences was assigned to the 3rd (Lahore), 7th (Meerut) and 75th Divisions. After their successful initial attack, they were to attack the Jiljulieh- Kalkilieh-Et Tire line.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 484
After the cavalry breakthrough on the coast, the XXI Corps would advance to capture the headquarters of the Ottoman Eighth Army at Tulkarm and cut the railway lines. Sections of the lateral rail line in the Judean Hills between Tulkarm and Nablus and a branch of the Jezreel Valley railway, were to be denied to the Seventh and Eighth Ottoman Armies. These lines, including the important railway junction at Messudieh, transported their supplies into the Judean Hills.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 Part II pp. 455–6 The British infantry divisions were to continue their attack by swinging north–east, pivoting on their right to push the defenders back out of their trenches away from the coast and back into the Judean Hills towards Messudieh.Wavell 1968 pp. 198–9