,
Afulah and
Beisan, to
Lajjun, Jenin,
Jisr el Majami, and
Samakh. Also shown are the three main lines of retreat, bombed by EEF aircraft, of the Seventh and Eighth Ottoman Armies and the retreat of the
Asia Corps across the Jordan River In preparation for the Battle of Megiddo, the Desert Mounted Corps, consisting of the
4th and
5th Cavalry Divisions, the
Australian Mounted Division's
3rd and
4th Light Horse Brigades, concentrated near
Ramleh,
Ludd (Lydda), and
Jaffa. Here dumps were formed of all surplus equipment, before the brigades and divisions moved up close behind the XXI Corps infantry divisions, near the Mediterranean coast. Each mounted division of about 3,500 troopers, consisted of three brigades, each brigade being made up of three regiments. Five of the six brigades of the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions, most of which had recently arrived from France, consisted of one British yeomanry regiment and two
British Indian Army cavalry regiments, one of which was usually
lancers, including the
Indian Princely States'
15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade of three lancer regiments. Some of the cavalry regiments were armed in addition to their
Lee–Enfield rifles,
bayonets and swords, with lances. The Australian Mounted Division consisting of three light horse brigades, each with three regiments, containing a headquarters and three squadrons. With 522 men and horses in each regiment, they were armed in addition to their rifles and bayonets with swords. The mounted divisions were supported by
machine gun squadrons, three
artillery batteries from the
Royal Horse Artillery or the
Honourable Artillery Company, and light armoured car units—two
Light Armoured Motor Batteries, and two
Light Car Patrols. By 17 September the 5th Cavalry Division, which would lead the advance, was deployed north-west of
Sarona, from the front line, with the 4th Cavalry Division in orange groves to the east, from the front, and the Australian Mounted Division in reserve near Ramleh and Ludd, from the front line. All movement, restricted to the night hours, culminated in a general move forward on the eve of battle during the night of 18/19 September, when the Australian Mounted Division moved up to Sarona. The supplies for the three divisions concentrated in the rear in divisional trains, in massed horse-drawn transport and on endless strings of camels, clogging every road in the area. One iron ration and two days' special emergency ration for each man, and 21 pounds (9.5 kg) of grain for each horse, was carried on the trooper's horse, with an additional day's grain for each horse, carried on the first-line transport limbered wagons.
Advance to Lejjun During the initial cavalry advance up the coastal
Plain of Sharon to Litera on the Nahr el Mefjir, the Desert Mounted Corps was to advance, "strictly disregarding any enemy forces" which were not on the path of their advance. The mounted units were to cross the
Mount Carmel Range from the coast to the
Esdraelon Plain, through two passes. The 5th Cavalry Division took a northern and more difficult track from Sindiane to Abu Shusheh, south-east of Haifa, heading towards Nazareth, while the 4th Cavalry Division followed by the Australian Mounted Division in reserve crossed the mountain range by the historic southern Musmus Pass, (used by armies of the
Egyptian Pharaoh Thothmes III in the 15th century BC, and the
Roman Emperor Vespasian in the 1st century AD) to
Lejjun before advancing to Afulah in the centre of the Esdrealon Plain. This southern pass was about 14 miles (23 km) long and about wide, as it followed the
Wadi Ara up the side of the Samarian Hills to above sea level, before falling to the plain. During their advance, the Australian Mounted Division halted for ten minutes every hour, when saddle girths may have been loosened and a few minutes sleep snatched, with the reins looped around an arm jammed deeply into a pocket. The Esdrealon Plain, also known as the
Jezreel Valley, and the Plain of
Armageddon, stretches to the white houses of Nazareth in the foothills of the Galilean Hills on its northern edge away, to Jenin on its southern edge at the foot of the Judean Hills, through Afulah to Beisan on its eastern edge, close to the Jordan River. The road and railway network, on which the German and Ottoman forces in Palestine depended for supplies and communications, crossed this plain via the two important communication hubs of Afulah and Beisan. (See Falls Map 21 Cavalry advances detail) The railway passed from the plain into the Judean Hills south of Jenin, to wind through a narrow pass in the foothills before climbing to Messudieh Junction, where it again branched. One line ran westward to
Tulkarm and Eighth Army headquarters, before turning south to the railhead to supply the Eight Army front line troops on the coastal plain, while the main railway line continued south-eastward to Nablus, and the Seventh Army headquarters. No defensive works of any kind had been identified on the Esdrealon Plain, or covering the approaches to it during aerial reconnaissance flights, except German troops known to garrison the commander of the
Yildirim Army Group,
General Otto Liman von Sanders' headquarters in Nazareth. However, at 12:30 on 19 September, Liman von Sanders ordered the 13th Depot Regiment at Nazareth and military police, a total of six companies with 12 machine guns, to occupy Lejjun to defend the Musmus Pass against a possible attack. The 4th Light Horse Brigade had been detached to various escort and guard duties. The
4th Light Horse Regiment served as escort to the Desert Mounted Corps' headquarters, while the
11th Light Horse Regiment escorted divisional transport. The remainder of the brigade moved to
Liktera at 03:00 on 20 September to organize and escort the transport convoy through the Musmus Pass. The transport of the Australian Mounted Division, and the Desert Mounted Corps, was consolidated by the brigade at Liktera, before moving at 14:00 to Kerkuk, where the 5th Cavalry Division's transport joined their column. At 16:30 the combined transport began moving through the Musmus Pass. 'A' echelon arrived at Lejjun at 21:00 on 20 September. The question of whether or not it was Allenby's plan has been raised in the literature. According to Chauvel, Allenby had already decided on his plan before the Second Transjordan attack in April/May. Victory at the Battle of Megiddo depended on the intense British Empire artillery barrage successfully covering the front line infantry attacks, and to drive a gap in the line so the cavalry could advance quickly to the Esdraelon Plain away during the first day of battle. Control of the skies was achieved and maintained by destroying German aircraft or forcing them to retire. Constant bombing raids by the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and
Australian Flying Corps (AFC), were carried out on Afulah, Tulkarm and Nablus, which cut communications with the Yildirim Army Group commander, Liman von Sanders at Nazareth. After entering the Esdraelon Plain the Desert Mounted Corps was to ride as far as the Jordan River to encircle the Seventh and Eighth Ottoman Armies in the Judean Hills, where they were still busy fighting the XXI and the XX Corps. If the Esdraelon Plain could be quickly captured, the railways cut, the roads controlled, the lines of communication and retreat cut, two Ottoman armies could be captured. The main objectives for 20 September were: • The 5th Cavalry Division's
attack on Nazareth and Liman von Sanders' Yildirim Army Group's headquarters from Asurf, before clearing the plain to Afulah. Without communications, no combined action could be organized by the Ottoman forces, and the continuing EEF infantry attack forced the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies to withdraw northwards from the Judean Hills. They withdrew along the main roads and railways from Tulkarm and Nablus through the
Dothan Pass to Jenin. After capturing Jenin, the 3rd Light Horse Brigade was to wait for them. ==Battle==