Third Transjordan attack

Following the victory at the Battle of Jerusalem at the end of 1917, and the Capture of Jericho in February 1918, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) crossed the Jordan River, establishing bridgeheads in March prior to the First Transjordan attack on Amman. These bridgeheads remained after the Second Transjordan attacks on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt when a second withdrawal back to the Jordan Valley took place from 3 to 5 May. This marked the end of major operations in the area until September 1918. General Edmund Allenby, the commander of the EEF, decided to occupy the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918 for a number of reasons. A retreat out of the valley would further enhance the morale of the German and Ottoman forces, and their standing among the peoples living in the region, following their two Transjordan victories. As Allenby explains, By July, Allenby was "very anxious to make a move in September," when he aimed to capture Tulkarm, Nablus and the Jisr ed Damieh bridge across the Jordan River. He stated, "The possession by the Turks of the road Nablus–Jisr ed Damie–Es Salt is of great advantage to them; and, until I get it, I can't occupy Es Salt with my troops or the Arabs." He hoped the capture of this important Ottoman line of communication from Nablus along the Wadi Fara to the Jordan River at Jisr ed Damieh and on to Es Salt would also "encourage both my own new Indian troops and my Arab Allies." EEF front line From the departure of the Australian Mounted Division in August steps were taken to make it appear the valley was still fully garrisoned. On 11 September the 10th Cavalry Brigade, which included the Scinde Horse, left the Jordan Valley. They marched via Jericho, to Talaat de Dumm, then a further to Enab, reaching Ramleh on 17 September in preparation for the beginning of the Battle of Megiddo. Chaytor's Force held the right flank from their junction with the XX Corps in the Judean Hills north west of Jericho, across the Jordan Valley, and then southwards through the Ghoraniye and Auja bridgeheads to the Dead Sea. This area was overlooked by well sited Ottoman or German long range guns and an observation post on El Haud. Ottoman front line , Wadi el Auja, Wadi el Mellaha, El Musallabe, Bakr Ridge, El Baghalat, Kh Fasail, Meteil edn Dhib, El Musetter, and the fords from El Ghoraniye, to Umm esh Shert, Mafid Jozele and Jisr ed Damieh with the entrenched Shunet Nimrin position to the east overlooked by El Haud to the north east The Ottoman front line had been strengthened after the Second Transjordan attack. It began in the south, where Ottoman cavalry guarded tracks to Madaba before continuing with strongly wired entrenchments. In front of these, advanced posts extended from the foothills opposite the ford across the Jordan River at Makhadet Hijla to about north of the Jericho to Es Salt road. The road had been cut at the Ghorianyeh Bridge before the First Transjordan attack, in the vicinity of Shunet Nimrin. The front line was strengthened by advanced posts which were also wired on the left flank at Qabr Said, Kh. el Kufrein and Qabr Mujahid. From their right flank in the foothills a wired line of redoubts and trenches facing south ran from north of Shunet Nimrin, across the Jordan Valley to the Jordan River, south of the Umm esh Shert ford. This line was continued west of the river by a series of individual "wired-in redoubts with good fields of fire," then as a series of trenches and redoubts along the northern or left bank of the Wadi Mellaha. These were followed by a "series of trenches and redoubts towards Bakr Ridge which were entrenched but not wired. A strong advanced position of well built sangars and [sic] [which were] wired in was held at Baghalat." Liman von Sanders escapes Otto Liman von Sanders, the commander of the Yildirim Army Group, was forced out of his headquarters at Nazareth during the Battle of Nazareth on the morning of 20 September by elements of the 5th Cavalry Division. He drove via Tiberias and Samakh where he alerted the garrisons, to arrive at Deraa on the morning of 21 September, on his way to Damascus. At Deraa, Liman von Sanders received a report from the Fourth Army, which he ordered to withdraw to the Deraa to Irbid line without waiting for the troops which garrisoned the southern Hejaz. ==Prelude==

Chaytor's Force While the Battles of Sharon and Nablus were taking place, it was necessary to deploy a strong force, to defend the right flank of the Desert Mounted Corps, the XXI and the XX Corps fighting from the Mediterranean coast and into the Judean Hills. Their right flank in Jordan Valley was protected by Chaytor's Force from the threat of a flanking attack by the Ottoman Fourth Army. This composite force commanded by Major General Edward Chaytor has been described by Bou as "nearly equivalent to two divisions," being a reinforced mounted infantry division of 11,000 men. By the end of operations on 30 September Chaytor's Force consisted of "8,000 British, 3,000 Indian, 500 Egyptian Camel Transport Corps troops." Medical support In addition to the Anzac Mounted Division's medical units, the 1/1st Welsh and the 157th Indian Field Ambulances, the Anzac Field Laboratory, and a new operating unit formed from personnel of the 14th Australian General and the 2nd Stationary Hospitals, were attached to Chaytor's Force. A receiving station was formed from the immobile sections of light horse and mounted rifle brigades' field ambulances, a section from the 1/1st Welsh and the 157th Indian Field Ambulances with an operating unit, the Anzac Field Laboratory, and a detachment from an Egyptian hospital. This Receiving Station took over the site near Jericho, occupied by the main dressing station during the two Transjordan attacks, which could accommodate 200 patients in mud huts, 400 patients in tents, and 700 patients in the abandoned Desert Mounted Corps headquarters. No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC), operating Bristol Fighters, was to carry out bombing and strategic reconnaissance missions, provide a general oversight of the whole Megiddo battlefield, and report all developments. Meanwhile, Nos. 111 and 145 Squadrons, which were equipped with S.E.5.a aircraft, were to constantly patrol over Jenin aerodrome throughout the day to bomb and machine gun all targets in the area, and prevent any aircraft from taking off. Airco DH.9 aircraft from No. 144 Squadron were to bomb the Afulah telephone exchange and railway station, the Messudieh Junction railway lines, and the Ottoman Seventh Army headquarters and telephone exchange at Nablus. The newly arrived Handley Page bomber, armed with 16 bombs and piloted by the Australian Ross Smith, was to support No. 144 Squadron's bombing of Afulah. Jordan Valley deployments Chaytor took command of the Jordan Valley garrison on 5 September 1918. The right sector, under the command of Brigadier General Granville Ryrie, was held by the 2nd Light Horse Brigade and the 20th Indian Brigade. The left sector, under the command of Brigadier-General W. Meldrum, was held by the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions British West Indies Regiment, supported by a field artillery battery and an Indian mountain battery. The 39th Battalion Royal Fusiliers formed the sector reserve, while the 1st Light Horse Brigade was in force reserve. While the Ottoman Fourth Army continued to hold the eastern side of the Jordan Valley, Es Salt, Amman and the Hejaz railway, Chaytor's smaller force was to continue the EEF's occupation of the Jordan Valley. As soon as possible, Chaytor's Force was to advance northwards to capture the Jisr ed Damieh bridge, which would cut a main line of retreat for the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies. This was also a main line of communication between the two armies west of the Jordan River in the Judean Hills with the Fourth Army in the east. The expectation was that, the attacks on the Eighth Army by the XXI and Desert Mounted Corps, and the start of the Battle of Nablus attacks on the Seventh Army, would force the Fourth Army to withdraw northwards along the Hejaz railway to conform with the withdrawals of the Seventh and Eighth Armies. From 16 September, the Ottoman front line was closely monitored, while the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the British West Indies Regiment's infantry battalions carried out demonstrations to the north on the western side of the Jordan River. Chaytors Force was prepared to exploit all withdrawals by the Fourth Ottoman Army, including a third Occupation of Es Salt and a Second Battle of Amman. In addition to the close patrol work, demonstrations against Ottoman defences were made during the nights of 17 and 18 September, by the 1st Light Horse Brigade and a regiment of 2nd Light Horse Brigade, which rode out from the bridgeheads in the Jordan Valley. The Ottoman "heavy high-velocity gun" retaliated, firing shells on Jericho, and to the north of town on Chaytor's headquarters in the Wadi Nueiame. Yildirim Army Group The Yildirim Army Group commanded by von Sanders consisted of 40,598 front line infantrymen armed with 19,819 rifles, 273 light machine guns and 696 heavy machine guns in August 1918. The high number of machine guns reflected the Ottoman Army's new tables of organization and the machine gun component of the German Asia Corps. The infantry were organised into 12 divisions and deployed along the of front line from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea: the Eighth Army from the coast into the Judean Hills, the Seventh Army in the Judean Hills and towards the Jordan, with the Fourth Army east of the Jordan River. An operational reserve was formed from the 2nd Caucasian Cavalry Division in the Eighth Army area and the 3rd Cavalry Division in the Fourth Army area. Fourth Army The Ottoman Fourth Army consisting of 6,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry supported by 74 guns was commanded by General Mohammed Jemal Pasha. The army was headquartered at Amman. This army was composed of the VIII Corps' 48th Infantry Division, the Composite Division of a German battalion group, the Caucasus Cavalry Brigade, the division-sized Serstal Group, the 24th and 62nd Infantry Divisions, with the 3rd Cavalry Division in reserve. There were 6,000 Ottoman soldiers with 30 guns in the II Corps, known as the Seria Group or Jordan Group, which garrisoned the Hejaz railway along the line from Ma'an southwards towards Mecca. ;Deployment The Seventh and Fourth Armies touched at Baghalat, west north west of Umm esh Shert. Both sides of the Jordan River were defended by the 24th Infantry Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division, and both sides of the Ghoraniyeh to Es Salt Road were held by the VIII Corps's 48th Division. The Composite Division was on their left, while the Caucasus Cavalry Brigade and the Mule-Mounted Infantry Regiment held outposts extending southwards towards the Dead Sea. The II Corps was responsible for some of the Hejaz Railway, a strong detachment of about seven battalions was at Ma'an and about eight battalions were deployed between Ma'an and Amman. The Fourth Army's reserve was formed by the German 146th Regiment, the 3rd Cavalry Division and part of the 12th Regiment at Es Salt. ==Battle of Nablus eastern flank 19 to 21 September==

Chaytor's Force continued to vigorously patrol the eastern flank as the Battles of Sharon and Nablus developed. They were opposed on the western side of the Jordan River by the Ottoman 53rd Division (Seventh Army) to the west of Baghalat and units of the Fourth Army, which held the Ottoman front line to east of Baghalat. The Auckland Mounted Rifle and Wellington Mounted Rifle Regiments carried out patrols north from the Wadi Aujah and west of Baghalat before dawn on 19 September, but were "compelled to withdraw" due to heavy artillery and machine gun fire. Progress made by the 160th Brigade (53rd Division, XX Corps) in the Judean Hills enabled one of its mountain batteries to direct fire at the Ottoman front line position on the Bakr Ridge during the afternoon. Three companies of the 2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment, (Chaytor's Force) supported by the 160th Brigade's battery, "drove in" Ottoman outposts and captured a ridge to the south of Bakr Ridge at 15:25, despite intense enemy artillery and machine gun fire. Although heavily shelled, they dug in and held their position. The British West Indies Regiment advances towards Bakr Ridge were consolidated, and continued at dawn on 20 September, when their 2nd Battalion captured Bakr Ridge. An attack by the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (Chaytor's Force) at Mellaha opposed by machine gun and rifle fire, was less successful. An advance by the 1st and 2nd Battalions, British West Indies Regiment had by 7:00 captured Grant Ridge, Baghalat and Chalk Ridge. A large Ottoman force was seen south of Kh. Fusail in the late morning on the western side of the Jordan River. By 19:00 the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade had begun its advance towards Tel sh edh Dhib. Jericho was shelled again in the mid-afternoon. The last aerial reconnaissance of the day reported seeing a brigade of Desert Mounted Corps' cavalry entering Beisan on the Esdrealon Plain. They also reported that three large fires were burning at Nablus railway station, while fires were also reported at the Balata dumps, and the whole Ottoman line from El Lubban to the Jordan appeared to be "alarmed", according to Cutlack. Only the Fourth Army remained intact by 21 September after the successful attacks during the Battle of Sharon and the Battle of Nablus. Allenby's next priority became the destruction of the Fourth Army, which had begun to move to conform with the withdrawals of the Seventh and Eighth Armies. Chaytor's Force was to advance eastwards to capture Es Salt and Amman, and to intercept and capture the 4,600-strong southern Hejaz garrison. Asia Corps retreat Liman von Sanders had been out of contact with his three armies until he reached Samakh on the afternoon of 20 September. As soon as he was able, he placed the 16th and 19th Infantry Divisions of the Asia Corps (Eighth Army) under his direct orders. These two divisions made contact with Asia Corps commander von Oppen to the west of Nablus during the morning of 21 September, when Asia Corps was being reorganised; remnants of the 702nd and 703rd Battalions (Asia Corps) were amalgamated into one battalion, while the 701st Battalion remained intact. At 10:00 that morning, von Oppen was informed that the EEF was approaching Nablus and that the Wadi Fara road was blocked. He attempted to retreat down to the Jordan at the Jisr ed Damieh bridge via Beit Dejan, east south east of Nablus, but found this way blocked by Chaytor's Force. He then ordered a retreat via Mount Ebal, leaving behind all guns and baggage. Asia Corps bivouacked at Tammun with the 16th and 19th Divisions at Tubas on the evening of 21 September, unaware that Desert Mounted Corps had already occupied Beisan. Capture of Kh Fasail on 21 September The Seventh and Fourth Armies had begun to withdraw, and before dawn on 21 September Chaytor ordered the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment to advance and capture Kh Fasail, north of Baghalat on the road to the Jisr ed Damieh bridge. The regiment, supported by one section of their brigade's machine gun squadron and two guns from 29th Indian Mountain Battery, advanced along an old Roman road on the western bank of the Jordan River, with patrols pushed towards Jisr ed Damieh and Umm esh Shert. They captured Kh Fusail and Tel es edh Dhiab, along with 26 prisoners and two machine guns. Shortly afterwards the regiment discovered an Ottoman defensive line stretching from the ford at Mafid Jozele on the Jordan River to El Musetterah to the north west, defending the Jisr ed Damieh bridge. Units of the Seventh Army were seen withdrawing along the Wadi el Fara road from Nablus towards the Jisr ed Damieh bridge. This Ottoman defensive line was reported at 08:05 to be strongly held, but movement in the rear was detected and at 16:15 the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment reported they were withdrawing from Mafid Jozele. Meldrum's Force, commanded by Brigadier-General W. Meldrum, was formed at 20:30 from the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and their machine gun squadron, mounted sections of the 1st and 2nd Battalions British West Indies Regiment, the 29th Indian Mountain Battery, and the Ayrshire (or Inverness) Battery RHA. This force concentrated half an hour later east of Musallabeh, to begin their advance to Kh. Fusail where they arrived just before midnight. At the same time, the Commander Royal Artillery (CRA) pushed guns forward into Mellaha to attack Ottoman guns on Red Hill on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, while the 1st Light Horse Brigade took over the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade position at Madbeh. Aerial reconnaissance flights during the evening of 21 September, confirmed that Shunet Nimrin in the rear of Meldrum's Force was still strongly garrisoned, and that the roads and tracks running west from Amman were carrying normal traffic. ==Battle for Jordan River crossings 22 September==

Jisr ed Damieh Chaytor ordered Meldrum to cut the Wadi el Fara road from Nablus to Es Salt west of the Jordan River, occupy the headquarters of the Ottoman 53rd Division at El Makhruk, and capture the Jisr ed Damieh on the Wadi el Fara road over the Jordan River. The Auckland and Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiments advanced north along a Roman road, across a narrow plain between the Judean Hills to the west, but exposed to artillery fire on the eastern side across the Jordan River. The Auckland Mounted Rifle Regiment's objective was to capture the Damieh crossing from the north east, while the Wellington Mounted Rifle Regiment's objectives were to make a frontal attack on El Makhruk, capture the headquarters of the Ottoman 53rd Division, and cut the Nablus road. Meanwhile the Auckland and Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiments, supported by the 1st Battalion, British West Indies Regiment, advanced to attack the Ottoman garrison holding Jisr ed Damieh. After a "hot fight" by the infantry and mounted riflemen, they forced the defenders to withdraw in disorder, and the bridge was captured intact. Umm esh Shert and Mafid Jozele fords To the south of Jisr ed Damieh, the Umm esh Shert ford was captured by the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (Chaytor's Force). At 03:00 on 22 September they took advantage of the absence of Ottoman defenders at Mellaha, to advance to occupy trenches overlooking the ford at Umm esh Shert, which was captured shortly afterwards. The Mafid Jozel ford was captured by the 2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment, reinforced by the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 1st Light Horse Brigade. Despite encountering strong resistance at Mellahet umm Afein, this force attacked and "drove in" the rearguard defending the ford and an Ottoman column withdrawing across the ford. Mafid Jozele was captured by 05:50 on 23 September, along with 37 prisoners, but the bridge had been destroyed at the ford. The last remaining Ottoman defences on the western bank of the Jordan south of the Jisr ed Damieh bridge had thus been captured, although most of the Ottoman defenders of these two fords managed to escape. Fourth Army withdrawal While at Deraa on 21 September during his withdrawal from Nazareth to Damascus, Liman von Sanders ordered the Fourth Army to withdraw. They were to move without waiting for the II Corps/Southern Force, which had also begun to withdraw north from Ma'an and the southern Hejaz railway. The army was in general moving northwards from Amman along the railway towards Deraa by 22 September, where they were ordered to form a rearguard line from Deraa to Irbid. Aerial reconnaissance aircraft spotted the Ottoman army withdrawal from Amman towards Deraa. Ottoman units in the hills to the south west, and a column of all arms, were seen moving from the Es Salt area towards Amman. The aircraft bombed and machine gunned this column, then flew back to report at Ramleh. ==Advance to Es Salt 23 September==

Chaytor's Force issued orders at midnight for attacks on Shunet Nimrin, Kabr Mujahid and Tel er Ramr when the retreat of the Fourth Army became apparent at 23:35 on 22/23 September. These attacks were to be carried out by the 2nd Light Horse Brigade and the mobile sections of the 20th Indian Brigade, armed with 1,500 rifles and supported by three sections of machine guns and 40 Lewis guns. This force moved eastwards along the main road from Jericho, across the Jordan River at Ghoranyeh to Es Salt towards Shunet Nimrin, while the immobile section remained in defence in the right sector of the occupied Jordan Valley. The CRA was to support this advance by targeting Shunet Nimrin. Before Haifa on the Mediterranean coast, was captured by the 14th Cavalry Brigade during the Battle of Sharon, Chaytor's Force had crossed the Jordan River on 23 September to climb to the Plateau of Moab and Gilead on their way to capture Es Salt that evening. (See Gullett's Map 35.) Chaytor's Anzac Mounted Division headquarters moved at 14:25 to the Ghoraniyeh crossing of the Jordan River on the main road to Es Salt from Jericho. By 18:15 in the evening, the 20th Indian Brigade had reached Shunet Nimrin with a squadron of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade as advance guard. Here they found the 150-mm long-range naval gun "Jericho Jane", also known as "Nimrin Nellie", abandoned on its side in a gully beside the road. Patterson's Column, which had been formed at 15:00 on 22 September by the 38th and 39th Battalions Royal Fusiliers (Chaytor's Force) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Patterson, concentrated at the Auja bridgehead just across the Jordan River to the north of Ghoraniyeh, ready to follow the 20th Indian Brigade to Shunet Nimrin. This was the third time Es Salt had been captured by the EEF in six months. The 3rd Light Horse Regiment (1st Light Horse Brigade) had captured Es Salt on 25 March, and the 8th Light Horse Regiment (3rd Light Horse Brigade) had captured Es Salt on 30 April. At about the same time, airmen reported that camps at Samakh and Deraa were burning and long trains "with steam up [were] facing east" and north, but "would never arrive anywhere" because the railway lines were cut. Retreating German and Ottoman forces from Nablus were seen approaching Deraa. "And this was the refuge towards which the Fourth Army from Amman was making in headlong retreat!" The 2nd Light Horse Brigade continued their advance to Es Salt up the Wadi Jeria and Wadi Sir, reaching Ain es Sir at 10:30, with forward patrols to the cross roads and north east of the village. During this advance the brigade was fired on by two Ottoman 77 mm guns located near Sueifiye. These guns fired 16 shells, then withdrew as the light horse patrols approached. The brigade bivouacked for the night on the road from Ain es Sir to Ain Hummar when a strong picquet line was maintained throughout the night. (See Falls Sketch Map 24 Amman detail) Most of the land to the west of Amman was cleared of enemy forces during the afternoon of 24 September, and by that evening Chaytor's Force, less the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, the 38th Royal Fusiliers at Shunet Nimrin and the Jisr ed Damieh detachment, was concentrated at Es Salt with mounted troops at Suweileh. Raid on Hejaz railway Four officers and 100 men from the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment carried out a successful raid from Suweileh on the Hejaz railway line north of Amman during the night of 24/25 September. This force, carrying nothing but tools and weapons, advanced to the railway, where they destroyed part of the Hejaz railway line north of Amman near Kalaat ez Zerka station. They "returned next morning without the loss of a man" to rejoin their regiment eleven hours and later. Allenby's assessment of the battle ==Battle of Amman 25 September==

Amman was an important city on the Ottoman lines of communication. All of the supplies and reinforcements for the Ottoman army force defending the line on the eastern edge of the Jordan Valley had passed through it. Now the city was on the main line of retreat. The defences at Amman had been greatly strengthened since the First Transjordan attack on Amman, with the construction of a series of redoubts that were defended by machine guns. However, the boggy ground which had limited movement during the first attack in March, was by the early autumn, firm and now favoured a rapid mounted attack. Orders were issued for the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and the 2nd Light Horse Brigades to advance at 06:00 on 25 September to capture Amman followed by the 1st Light Horse Brigade who left at 06:30. They were to strongly assault the defenders, if the town was lightly held. If Amman was found to be held in strength the assault on the town was to be deferred until infantry could reinforce the mounted infantry. Only the outlying or forward trenches were to be attacked, artillery was to fire on the town, all lines of retreat northwards were to be cut. Aerial bombing of Amman was requested. The 1st Battalion British West Indies Regiment arrived at Suweileh at 07:00 to take over garrison duties from the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade. One regiment of the 1st Light Horse Brigade was sent at 10:00 to reinforce the left flank of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and came under Meldrum's command. The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment advanced half an hour later, on the right of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment, with the 2nd Light Horse Brigade on their left. They eventually forced the Ottoman front line defenders to retire back to the main line of defence, which was also strongly supported by machine guns. At noon the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment advanced towards "the main entrance to Amman," but they were stopped by fire from concealed machine guns. However, by 13:30, fighting in the streets of the town was underway, when the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment continued their steady advance, and the 5th Light Horse Regiment entered the southern part of the town. At 14:30, a second regiment of 1st Light Horse Brigade was ordered to reinforce the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade's left. The Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment advanced to a position from which they were able to enfilade the defenders in the Citadel, and shortly afterwards the 10th Squadron, with a troop of the 8th Squadron, attacked and "stormed" the Citadel. The mounted infantry method of systematically "galloping to points of vantage and bringing fire to bear on the flanks of such machine gun nests," combined with quick outflanking of machine guns eventually won all obstacles, and the opposition was broken. During the Third Transjordan attack, Chaytor's Force suffered 139 casualties, consisting of 27 killed, 7 missing and 105 wounded. Of these the Anzac Mounted Division suffered 16 men killed and 56 wounded, while the 2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment suffered 41 casualties. Historian Earl Wavell notes that "the Anzac Mounted Division here ended a very fine fighting record. It had taken a gallant part in practically every engagement since the EEF had set out from the Canal two and a half years previously." ==Aftermath==

By the evening of 25 September, the 1st Light Horse Brigade held the Amman railway station area, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade held the area to the south, while the 2nd Light Horse Brigade bivouacked on the western slope of Hill 3039. The 20th Indian Brigade along with the VIIIXX RHA Brigade and 1st Battalion British West Indies Regiment were ordered to march to Amman, leaving the 39th Royal Fusiliers at Suweileh to take over the defence of Es Salt. Allenby wrote to Henry Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the War Office regarding his plans for the Anzac Mounted Division: "I shall leave one cavalry division in the Amman area to operate against and cut off the enemy retreating Northwards from Ma'an, and thereafter it will proceed to Damascus and rejoin Desert Mounted Corps." Pursuit of Fourth Army north of Amman and Jericho to Semakh and Deraa with positions of the 4th Light Horse Brigade at Samakh, the 4th Cavalry Division, retiring Ottoman forces, the Ottoman Fourth Army headquarters at Deraa and Chaytor's Force at Amman on 25 September Only a rearguard of the Fourth Army was captured at Amman. The remainder of the garrison was already retreating northwards, following orders received from Liman von Sanders on 21 September, four days before Chaytor's attack. Those who had escaped by train, before the line was cut by Chaytor's Force during the night of 24/25 September, were forced to detrain south of Deraa. Here they found the railway line cut by Arab Sherifial forces. The 1st Light Horse Brigade was ordered to capture the nearest water in the Wadi el Hamman north of Amman, to deny it to the retreating columns. A regiment of the brigade captured Kalaat ez Zerka railway station, north east of Amman. Here, "after a short action" on 26 September, they captured 105 prisoners and one gun. The next day the 1st Light Horse Regiment advanced to Qalat el Mafraq, north north east of Amman. Here they captured several trains, one Red Crescent train full of wounded, along with 10 officers and 70 other ranks found sick at Kh es Samra. A total of 6,000 or 7,000 retreating soldiers from the three Ottoman armies, mostly from the Fourth Army, escaped the combined encirclement by the XX Corps, the XXI Corps, the Desert Mounted Corps and Chaytor's Force, to retreat towards Damascus. Consisting of Ottoman, Arab and Circassian soldiers, the II Corps had three options: to pass to the east of Amman along the Darb el Haj direct to Damascus, although water would be a problem in that desert region, to attack Chaytor's Force at Amman, or to move westwards, to try to get to the Jordan Valley. Patterson's Column was ordered to entrench Shunet Nimrin, Es Salt and Suweileh in case they moved westwards. On the Royal Fusiliers' right the 2nd Light Horse Brigade closely guarded the country to the south, in particular the Madaba to Naur to Ain Hummar road across the plateau, with a strong detachment occupying Ain es Sir. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade sent a detachment at about midday on 26 September to investigate a report of Ottoman and German soldiers with guns at Er Rumman, but none were found. They subsequently sent a second detachment east of Amman to watch the Darb el Haj. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade was ordered to blow up the railway line as far to the south as they could, in order to obstruct and delay the northward movement of the Ottoman II Corps. They cut the railway line just north of Ziza Station. By 08:30 on 27 September, they had captured some Ottoman soldiers south of Leban Station, to the south of Amman. One of the prisoners said the advanced guard of a 6,000 strong retreating column had reached Kastal, south of Amman. Aircraft located the Ottoman Southern Force at 06:55 on 28 September at Ziza, about south of Amman, where three trains were in the station. A message dropped at 15:15 called on them to surrender. They were warned that all water north of Kastal was in EEF hands, and that they would be bombed the next day, if they refused to surrender. No answer had been received by 08:45 on 29 September, and arrangements were made for the bombing to be carried out in the afternoon. The remainder of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, less details and patrols, left Amman at 13:45. They moved slowly at first, through hilly and stony country between Amman and Leban, then trotted to Ziza, where they arrived at 17:20. The Bedouin force which surrounded the Ottoman II Corps were Beni Sakhr Bedouin Arabs. They demanded that the Ottoman force be handed over to them. This was refused, and after the arrival of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, the Beni Sakhr force became openly hostile. Chaytor arrived at about 17:00, and informed the Ottoman commander that his soldiers were to "be prepared to defend" themselves for the coming night. The Ottoman commander Colonel Kaaimakan Ali Bey Whahaby agreed to be a hostage in exchange for the cooperation of his men with Chaytor's Force, and left for Amman with Chaytor at 17:30. The 5th and 7th Light Horse Regiments galloped through the encircling Arabs into the Ottoman position, and placed troops in position at intervals in the Ottoman line, where they remained until the morning. Two small clashes between Beni Sakhr Arabs and Ottomans occurred before dark, but a cordon was put round the Ottoman force after the arrival of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade. The Beni Sakhr were warned to keep back, though they attempted to raid the hospital. During the night, several attacks by the Beni Sakhr Arab force were driven off by Ottoman machine gun fire and light horse rifles. All prisoners were mustered. Walking sick cases were collected under shelter of the station buildings, and cot cases were transferred to 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance cacolets. The prisoners escorted by 5th Light Horse Regiment, less one squadron at Amman with one squadron 7th Light Horse attached, moved off to Amman at 07:15. All arms and equipment were collected and put in railway trucks. This task was finished by 15:30. The Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment remained to guard the sick until transport was organised. One hundred sick walking cases were sent on to Amman in New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade transport wagons and the 2nd Light Horse Brigade commenced its return journey to Amman. They arrived at 21:00, while the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade remained in charge at Ziza. These large numbers of evacuations to Jericho, eight to ten hours away, travelled mostly in motor lorries. Motor ambulances were reserved for the most severe cases. The trip was broken about south of Es Salt, where the Welsh Field Ambulance fed the patients and rested them for two hours before they resumed their journey. One group of motor ambulances drove between Amman and the Welsh Field Ambulance, and a second group drove from the Welsh Field Ambulance to Jericho. Motor lorries and some cars of No. 35 Motor Ambulance Convoy evacuated the sick from the Anzac Mounted Division receiving station near Jericho to the casualty clearing station at Jerusalem. Before the returning 2nd Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigades reached Jerusalem on their way back to Deiran, they, along with the 1st Light Horse Brigade still the Amman area, were struck by a heavy outbreak of disease. The divisional collecting station was brought forward from Suweileh on 30 September, and at one time treated as many as 246 cases, the majority of which were seriously ill. The 1st Light Horse Brigade evacuated 126 cases during the seven days following 28 September, and 239 cases by 10 October. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade evacuated 316 cases and the 2nd Light Horse Brigade had 57 cases, many of whom suffered a high fever of 105° to 106 °F. More than 700 cases of mostly malignant malaria were reported during the first 12 days of October, and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade lost about one third of its strength. Of the approximately 5,000 New Zealanders, about 3,000 were either in hospital or in convalescent depots, mostly with malaria. Of the many hundreds sent to hospital with malaria, many died, many recovered in hospital but later suffered a relapse and went to hospital again, many men were invalided home as a result of malaria, with their health badly undermined. With so many men sick amongst the British Empire forces, it became common for one man to be placed in charge of eight horses. At this time, the horses were fed newly threshed barley, which resulted in the deaths of 15 horses in Chaytor's Force, while a further 160 became seriously ill. The brigade left the Jordan Valley after three days at Jericho, bivouacking at Tallat ed Dumm on 8 October. They paused at midday on 9 October at the Mount of Olives, near Bethany, then "rode down into the Valley of Jehosophat for the last time, past the Garden of Gethsemane, up round the old walls and then through the streets of Jerusalem, past the Jaffa Gate, on to the Hebron road." The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade rested for a few days near Jerusalem, then returned to Richon le Zion on 14 October to rest and recuperate. ==Notes==