Pursuit to Haritan

In southern Lebanon lived four varieties of Christians; the Maronite, Greek Uniats, Greek and Syrian Orthodox (Jacobite) lived alongside many Protestants, Druzes and Metawala. In the Southern Bukaa Valley and on the western slope of Mount Hermon, were more Druses, while in the Bukaa, Metawala and Syrian Orthodox Christians lived. In the Northern Lebanon, besides the same sects of Christians as in the south, more Metawala and an exclusive sect of Shiahs, the Ismailiyah lived. North of Damascus many Syrian Christians lived, and to both the north and the south some Metawala. Villages north to the Lake of Homs were Christian and Arab, while the city was mainly Moslem with a Christian minority of mainly Greek Orthodox. To the east of all these peoples, were the nomadic Bedouin Arabs of the Beni Khalid and Nueim tribes, who according to a British Army report came "from the steppe hills and desert east of Homs and Anti-Lebanon", to spend the summer in Bukaa. Following the comprehensive success of the Battle of Megiddo, Sir Henry Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) at the War Office encouraged Allenby with the idea that the EEF could do anything: "There is much talk here of the usual kind some saying you could go to Petrograd and some saying that all your force should now be transported to France, and some again who would like to see you march east to Baghdad!" He continued: "Your success being so complete, I should like you to consider the possibility of a cavalry raid on Aleppo, to be supported by infantry or not as the situation developed and as opportunities offered." He added that the War Cabinet was prepared to take full responsibility for any unsuccessful outcomes. The War Office desired a quick cavalry raid on Aleppo away. Allenby's EEF at Damascus was already away from its main supply base and he was prepared to advance only in stages as supply and geography dictated. However, the difficult problem of supplying even a small force as far north as Aleppo from base would need to be solved. Before either Damascus or Beirut had been captured, Allenby explained to Wilson that a raid on Aleppo "did not seem feasible unless supported by large-scale military and naval operations at Alexandretta." s == Prelude ==

Yildirim Army Group concentrate at Rayak Liman von Sanders had seen the Eighth Army destroyed and its headquarters dissolved and the loss of most of the Yildirim Army Group's artillery. The surviving 300 German and Ottoman soldiers who had formed the Haifa garrison arrived at Beirut on 26 September and were ordered to continue on to Rayak. Liman ordered von Oppen's Asia Corps (formerly part of the Eighth Army) to withdraw by train from Deraa at 05:30 on 27 September; he was delayed nine hours by a break in the line long north of Deraa, to arrive at Damascus the following morning; travelling straight on to Rayak where he was to establish a defensive line. Liman von Sanders transferred his headquarters to Baalbek on 29 September and Mustapha Kemal Pasha, commander of the Seventh Army, arrived at Kiswe with his army's leading troops. He was also ordered to Rayak to take over command of that sector, Jemal Pasha, commander of the Fourth Army also took command of the Tiberias Group defending Damascus while Jevad Pasha and the Eighth Army staff had been sent back to Constantinople. The 146th Regiment was the last formation to leave Damascus on 30 September. After hearing the Barada Gorge was closed von Hammerstein left Damascus by the Homs road, following the III Corps, the 24th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division to Rayak where even remnants of the 43rd Division of the Second Army which had not been involved in fighting, were "infected with panic." Only von Oppen's force which had travelled by train to Rayak before the Barda Gorge was closed and the 146th Regiment marching to Homs remained "disciplined formations" by 2 October. The 7th (Meerut) Division began their march to Beirut in three columns. The leading column consisted of the Corps Cavalry Regiment, one company of infantry and the 2nd Light Armoured motor Battery. The second column consisted of the 3rd and 4th Companies Sappers and Miners, the 121st Pioneers with the 53rd Sikhs and 2nd Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (28th Brigade). The remainder of the 28th Brigade with the 19th and 28th Brigades of infantry, the 261st, 262nd and 264th Brigades of Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the 522nd Field Coy, RE completed the 7th (Meerut) Division. The poorly maintained road along the coast was in places only wide with a one in five gradient as it passed over the Ladder of Tyre. During the advance to Tyre they encountered "few if any Turkish troops." Three days supplies were delivered by sea to Tyre, for the three columns to pick up on their way north. By 6 October the leading column had entered Sidon also known as Saida, where more supplies arrived, again by ship. The Ottoman 43rd Division which had arrived early in October had been assigned the defence of Beirut. The XXI Corps Cavalry Regiment with attached infantry company and the 2nd Light Armoured Motor Battery arrived at Beirut on 8 October. The city was occupied without opposition when 600 prisoners were captured. Lieutenant General E. S. Bulfin, commander of the XXI Corps, established his headquarters in the city's main hotel, to oversea devolution of the city's administration to the French following the terms of the Sykes–Picot Agreement. He appointed Colonel de Piépape, commander of the infantry Détachment Français de Palestine et de Syrie, military governor at Beirut. He also appointed French military governors to Sidon and Tyre. When detachments of French troops arrived from Haifa by sea to garrison the three towns, they found some unrest caused by disappointed Arab Sherifial representatives. The infantry Détachment Français de Palestine et de Syrie arrived at Beirut on 20 October, and the cavalry Regiment Mixte de Marche de Palestine et Syrie, detached from the 5th Light Horse Brigade, arrived on 24 October. The 54th (East Anglian) Division arrived at Beirut on 31 October 1918. On 11 October Allenby reported to the War Office: Chauvel recalled in 1929: Occupation of Tripoli On 9 October Allenby issued orders for the speedy occupation of Tripoli by the 7th (Meerut) Division. The town and the port of El Mina were strategically important because supplies could be unloading at the port and quickly transported inland to Homs on the main road to Aleppo. The capture of Tripoli would vastly improve the lines of communication supporting the pursuit. Tripoli was occupied unopposed on 13 October by the 7th (Meerut) Division led once again by the XXI Corps Cavalry Regiment and the 2nd Light Armoured Motor Battery following Bulfin's orders for the continuation of the coastal advance northwards. The 5th Cavalry Division was ordered on 9 October to advance to Homs, where they could be supplied overland, along the fairly good road from Tripoli, as a direct result of that town, with its small port of jetties "suitable for landing stores in fine weather", being occupied. On 22 October a casualty clearing station was landed at Tripoli to evacuate 5th Cavalry Division sick and wounded. == Pursuit from Damascus ==

Yildirim Army Group withdraw from Rayak After an RAF attack on Rayak, Liman von Sanders withdrew the Rayak force on 2 October sending most of his troops including Colonel von Oppen's Asia Corps under the command of Mustapha Kemal to Aleppo, to prepare a defence. This force retreated to Homs via Ba'albek on their way to Aleppo; the first place offering the possibility of a strong defence, while the remnant Fourth Army prepared a rearguard defence of Homs. 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions' pursuit The country north from Damascus, with its grand mountains and fertile valley and slopes, was described as being more beautiful than that to the south of the city. The Nahr el Litani or Leontes river flowing south between the parallel ranges of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon enters the sea between Tyre and Sidon. Along the valley cattle, sheep and goats grazed and barley and wheat were grown with oats in the north. The only breaks in the north-south Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges occur from Damascus to Beirut and from Homs to Tripoli. On 5 October the advance north was resumed although supply would be difficult. Allenby anticipated capturing the ports of Beirut and Tripoli, which would improve supplying rations to Desert Mounted Corps. "Nevertheless his decision [to continue the pursuit] was born of rare ambition and resolution." It would be a "bold move" as the British Empire troops would be well beyond range of support from the rest of the EEF. Allenby briefed Chauvel on his Aleppo campaign plans at Chauvel's new headquarters in a former Yilderim Army Group building in the south–western suburbs during his day-trip to Damascus on 3 October. The Australian Mounted Division commanded by H. W. Hodgson was to garrison Damascus, while the 5th Cavalry Division commanded by Major General Henry Macandrew and the 4th Cavalry Division commanded by Major General G. de S. Barrow advanced to Rayak northwest of Damascus, to establish a new forward line to stretch east to Beirut. Heavy Artillery Group crossing the Leontes River during their march to Aleppo from Tripoli in February 1919 The 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions left Damascus together on 5 October without wheeled transport and guns which rejoined at Khan Maysalun from Damascus and above sea-level after passing through the city. The Sherwood Rangers regiment which had been on the lines of communication at Kuneitra rejoined the 14th Cavalry Brigade, 5th Cavalry Division. The 12th Light Armoured Motor Battery and the 7th Light Car Patrol also joined the divisions. From Khan Meizelun the 4th Cavalry Division moved to Zebdani on the railway between Damascus and Rayak while the 5th Cavalry Division moved towards Rayak by the main road through Shtora. During the night of 5/6 October, a report was received that the Ottomans had withdrawn from Rayak. Here the remains of 32 German aircraft were found, "including some of the latest type, [which] had been either abandoned or burnt by the enemy." Military equipment, engineers' stores, several locomotives and rail trucks were captured at Rayak. The 14th Cavalry brigade also captured 177 prisoners and some guns when they occupied Zahle a few miles north of Rayak, also without opposition. Desert Mounted Corps numbers, however dropped dramatically each day as increasing numbers of men became ill, weakening the corps' effectiveness. On 14 October, the 4th Cavalry Division moved to Shtora , in the Rayak Valley. Allenby and Chauvel spent some days visiting the troopers while the division was at Ba'albek with a brigade at Lebwe. According to Maunsell, "the Middlesex Yeomanry were down to twenty-six officers and men, while Jacob's Horse had an average of twenty-five men per squadron only. The difficulty of looking after the horses can be imagined and we had to have numbers of Turk prisoners to help." But Falls notes that it was unable to do so "still less to support the 5th in case of need at Aleppo." Thus, Maunsell writes, "the Great War, so far as the 4th Cavalry Division was concerned, was ended." Reorganisation of 5th Cavalry Division At Baalbek, General MacAndrew reorganised his 5th Cavalry Division into two columns; the lead unit Column "A" consisted of the divisional headquarters, 24 cars in three batteries of armoured cars, and three light car patrols armed with machine guns, supported by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade (less the Hyderabad Lancers on the line of communications). The country was "fairly flat" with a good surface for the cars to negotiate and with their heavy machine–gun fire they were a strong raiding force. 5th Cavalry Division and Sherifial Force pursuit The 5th Cavalry Division had not been so badly affected by sickness and was able to continue the pursuit as it had garrisoned Afulah and Nazareth well away from the mosquito infested areas along the Jordan River. Nor were they involved in the fighting at Jisr Benat Yakub, when they were in reserve to the Australian Mounted Division. Allenby now ordered the 5th Cavalry Division to advance to Homs while the 4th Cavalry Division, which barely had enough men to carry out normal camp duties, remained to garrison the Zahle-Rayak-Baalbek area. "B" Battery HAC and armoured cars, with the remainder of the division in the rear column, a day's march behind. The leading column of the cavalry reached Lebwe on 13 October, El Qa'a on 14 October and El Quseir on 15 October a total of passing through the fertile plain of the Nahr el Litani valley where bread, meat and grain was easily requisitioned at each place. overlooking Homs The 5th Cavalry Division's fighting strength of 2,500 included the strongest column of armoured cars so far employed in the theatre. These included the 2nd, 11th and 12th Light Armoured Motor Batteries and the 1st (Australian), 2nd and 7th Light Car Patrols. The 4th Cavalry Division was to advance to Homs in support. Occupation of Hama The remaining soldiers in the 48th Infantry Regiment which had been part of the 16th Division, Asia Corps (formerly Eighth Army) at the beginning of the Battle of Megiddo on 19 September, set up a rearguard at Hama. However, the rearguard was eventually forced to withdraw on 19 October as Desert Mounted Corps approached. The pursuit was to be reinforced by Feisal, who "promised to despatch 1,500 troops from Homs under Sherif Nasir, and hoped to raise some thousands more of local Arabs on his march." The retreating Yildirim Army Group had blown up the bridge over the Orontes River at Er Rastan north of Homs. The 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade (5th Cavalry Division) with the 5th Field Squadron R. E. arrived to repair the span of the bridge on 19 October. Repairs were complete by 06:00 on 21 October and by that afternoon the 5th Cavalry Division's headquarters, the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade (less the Hyderabad Lancers on the lines of communication south of Damascus) and the armoured cars arrived at Hama. Pursuit continues towards Aleppo Column "A" of Macandrew's 5th Cavalry Division continued the pursuit on 21 October to reach north of Hama. The armoured cars conducted an extended reconnaissance on 22 October to reach Ma'arit el Na'aman, away at noon without sighting the enemy. They continued their journey another towards Aleppo to arrive near Khan Sebil, north of Hama and halfway to Aleppo, at 14:30. A running battle was fought between the mobile forces of one German armoured car and six lorries and the 5th Cavalry Division's armoured cars. The 5th Cavalry Division's armoured cars eventually reached Zor Defai from Hama and only south of Aleppo, in the late afternoon of 22 October before they turned back to just north of Khan Seraikin, where they bivouacked at Seraqab from Khan Sebil and from Aleppo. Air support flown by Ross Smith in Palestine, February 1918. Bristol Fighters of No. 1 Squadron moved their base forward from Ramleh to Haifa and by mid October were required to patrol and reconnoitre an exceptionally wide area of country, sometimes between , flying over Rayak, Homs, Beirut, Tripoli, Hama, Aleppo, Killis and Alexandretta in support of the pursuit by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and the armoured cars of Desert Mounted Corps. They conducted aerial reconnaissances and bombing raids, bombing the German aerodromes at Rayak on 2 October where 32 German machines, were seen three hours later by two Bristol Fighters to have been abandoned or burnt. On 9 October five Bristol Fighters attacked with bombs and machine–guns, troops getting on trains at Homs railway station. A similar attack took place on 16 October when trains at Hama station were the target. On 19 October the first German aircraft seen in the air since the aerial fighting over Deraa, a D.F.W. two–seater was forced to land. The aircraft was destroyed on the ground by firing a Very light into the aircraft after the German pilot and observer had moved to safety. The Mouslimie railway junction of the Baghdad and Palestine railways north of Aleppo, was bombed on 23 October and at noon five Australian aircraft bombed the city and Aleppo railway station. == Sherifial Force captures Aleppo ==

The ancient city of Aleppo, which had been incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1516 with a population by the beginning of the First World War of 150,000, is north of Damascus and a few miles south of the strategically important railway junction of the Palestine and the Mesopotamian railway systems at Mouslimie Junction. Mustapha Kemal, commander of the Seventh Army, and Nihat Pasha, commander of the Second Army, organised the 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers to defend Aleppo. While an attack was planned by the commander of the armoured cars to take place on 26 October, Sherifial forces commanded by Colonel Nuri Bey and Sherif Nasir following an unsuccessful daylight attack on 25 October proceed that night with a successful attack. They captured Aleppo after fierce hand-to-hand fighting through the city streets which lasted most of the night. == Advance to Haritan ==

After the capture of Aleppo, the remnant of the Seventh Army commanded by Mustapha Kemal which had withdrawn from Damascus, was now deployed to the north and northwest of that city. The Second Army of about 16,000 armed troops commanded by Nihad Pasha was deployed to the west in Cilicia and the Sixth Army with another 16,000 armed troops commanded by Ali Ihsan which had been withdrawn from Mesopotamia was to the northeast around Nusaybin. These Ottoman forces grossly outnumbered the 15th Imperial Service Brigade. However, on 26 October the Jodhpore and Mysore lancer regiments of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade without artillery support, but with a subsection of the 15th Machine Gun Squadron, as part of Macandrew's preempted attack on Aleppo, advanced over a ridge to the west of the city to cut the Alexandretta road. They continued their advance north west of Aleppo towards Haritan. A strong Ottoman column was seen retiring north of Aleppo along the Alexandretta road by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The Mysore Lancers advanced at the charge; three squadrons in line of squadron columns, the fourth squadron in support to capture a rearguard position held by 150 Ottoman soldiers armed with rifles and artillery. About 50 survived and 20 were taken prisoner. The Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers made a second unsuccessful charge after the position had been strong reinforced by as many as 2,000 soldiers commanded by Mustapha Kemal. Fighting continued throughout the day until at about 23:00 when the 14th Cavalry Brigade (5th Cavalry Division) arrived and the Ottoman force withdrew ending the last engagement of the war in the Middle East. The next day armoured cars reported the rearguard had withdrawn to Deir el Jemal. On 29 October, Sherifial Arabs occupied Muslimiya Station; the junction of the Baghdad and Palestine railways, cutting communications between Constantinople and Mesopotamia, ending Ottoman control of of territory. By 30 October the rearguard position at Deir el Jemal had not withdrawn and to the north a new long defensive line, in part crossing the Alexandretta road had been established. This line was defended by a force six times greater than Macandrew's, made up of the newly created XX Corps' 1st and 11th Divisions with between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers sourced from drafts and a reinforcement of one complete regiment, and the 24th and 43rd Divisions commanded by Mustapha Kemal Pasha who had his headquarters at Katma. The 5th Cavalry Division kept this line under observation while waiting to be reinforced by the Australian Mounted Division. Australian Mounted Division advance The Australian Mounted Division was ordered to advance to reinforce Macandrew's 5th Cavalry Division at Aleppo. Chauvel ordered Major General H. W. Hodgson's Australian Mounted Division to advance to Aleppo away. The division marched out of Damascus on 27 October riding through Duma and Nebk east of the Anti-Lebanon range to reach Homs on 1 November; where they learned the war against the Ottoman Empire was finished. Four regiments of the division, along with the 4th Light Horse Brigade headquarters had been deployed at Kuneitra on the lines of communication since 28 September. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade had been deployed in the Damascus area along with the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments on guard duty. The 10th Light Horse Regiment had been deployed to Kaukab and placed in charge of the prisoner of war camp there until 30 October when they too moved out for Homs. The advance of the Australian Mounted Division began on 25 October when the garrison at Kuneitra moved out leaving the Hyderabad Lancers to continue guard duties. They joined the division at El Mezze at 15:30 on 26 October when the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments rejoined their 4th Light Horse Brigade. The ration strength of the division on 26 October was 4,295 soldiers. Orders to advance to Homs were received on 27 October and they left Damascus the next day. After reveille at 05:00 the 12th Light Horse Regiment marched out at 10:30 on 28 October to join the 4th Light Horse Brigade at 12:00 before marching through Damascus to Khan Kussier where they arrived at 17:00. After reveille at 05:30 and watering at 07:00 on 29 October, the march resumed at 09:00 arriving at Kuteife at 13:15 to bivouac. After reveille at 04:00 the march was resumed at 06:00 on 30 October, arriving at Kustul at 12:00 where they halted 1 hour and 15 minutes before proceeding on to Nebk where they arrived at 15:55 and bivouacked for the night. At 07:45 on 31 October the march was resumed, arriving at Kara at 11:30 where they lunched and the horses were watered before resuming the march at 13:15 to arrive at Hassie at 19:00 to bivouac for five hours. At 23:00 the march was resumed to Homs where they arrived at 08:30 on 1 November 1918 "all weary & tired." The 12th Light Horse Regiment suffered 58 casualties during this advance. They had ridden in four days to reach the small village of Jendar south of Homs at 21:00 on 31 October, or near Hassie at 16:00 on 31 October, when Hodgson received news of the armistice by wireless. The armistice was concluded on 31 October. Wavell noted that this was "three years almost to a day since Turkey had entered the war," The 4th Light Horse Brigade was still at Homs the next day when Chauvel visited their camp and inspected the men and horses. == Aftermath ==

General Wavell's figures of 75,000 prisoners and 360 guns captured by the EEF between 18 September and 31 October were also quoted in the Turkish official history of the campaign. According to Falls, "the thoroughness of the Turkish defeat is almost without a parallel in modern military history." The EEF had suffered the loss of 782 killed and 4,179 wounded soldiers. Between 19 September and 31 October the casualties totalled 5,666; Desert Mounted Corps suffering 650 of these. The total battle casualties of the Suez Canal, the Sinai, the Levant and the Jordan campaigns; from January 1915 totalled 51,451. Tuesday 16 December was selected as a day of thanksgiving for victory throughout the EEF when religious services were held during the morning with games and sports organised for the afternoon. The force Mustapha Kemal commanded "would have met the fate of the rest within a few weeks, when a frontal attack would have been combined with a landing at Alexandretta." It was saved by the Armistice. Armistice These enormous losses and the threat from the EEF were not alone responsible for the armistice; General Milne's army was advancing towards Thrace and Constantinople to threaten Anatolia. In addition, Erickson argues that "the Salonika beachhead created a strategic crisis for which there was no answer." The Ottoman Empire's highest-ranking British prisoner, Major General CharlesTownshend, was sent to Lesbos where he announced the Ottoman Empire's "intention to seek an armistice." Negotiations took place at Mudros and, as Erickson recounts, the "armistice was signed on the deck of the battleship Agamemnon on October 30, 1918." Writing in 1920, Dinning described how the news was received amongst the troops around Baalbek: "We parked outside the lights of Baalbek ... The news of the Turkish Armistice, beginning this midday, had just come through. I think the dinner was a sort of thanksgiving meal. There was most excellent good soup, a roast pigeon each, some sweets and savoury, and flagon after flagon of cocoa – good for this nipping and eager air, for this is the opening of winter. The alternative to this had been bully beef and jam. Chauvel was in Aleppo when the armistice with the Ottoman Empire was announced. Eleven days later the war in Europe also came to an end. Implementation of the armistice There are other views of the armistice and its implementation: The terms of the Armistice required the Ottoman Empire: Chauvel, from his GHQ at Homs recommended the removal of Mustapha Kemal who subsequently lost command of the Seventh Army. On 19 February Allenby addressed the squadron: Occupation According to Bruce, the "success of the Allied campaign in the Middle East between 1914 and 1918, which helped to bring down an empire, was never matched by its political outcomes." On 23 October, Allenby reported to the War Office that he had appointed Major General Sir A. W. Money chief British administrator of Palestine, the Occupied Enemy Territory South, Colonel de Piépape to administer the future French Zone Occupied Enemy Territory North and General Ali Pasha el Rikabi to administer the Occupied Enemy Territory East. Allenby was informed on 27 October that he was to be the sole intermediary on political and administrative questions to do with the Arab Government. Wingate wrote to Allenby on 2 November: The objectives of peace in the region were declared on 7 November 1918. Falls writes, "the goal aimed at by France and Great Britain in their conduct in the East of a war unchained by German ambition is the complete and definite freedom of the peoples so long oppressed by the Turks, and the establishment of national governments and administrations deriving their authority from the initiative and free choice of the native population." At Versailles, however, France demanded the enforcement of the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Arab zone was divided in two; the southern portion became the Transjordan with French Syria in the north. According to Bruce, "in Palestine it became clear that the price of a permanent imperial presence was likely to be high, as violence flared soon after the end of the war." Anti-British and anti-Armenian demonstrations led Allenby to order Chauvel to occupy the towns of Marash, Urfa, Killis and Aintab and dismiss the Ottoman commander of the Sixth Army, Ali Ihsan. To carry out these orders required Desert Mounted Corps to move to Aleppo and be reinforced by an infantry brigade, but there was some delay in the remainder of the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions moving north and Allenby "went to Constantinople by battleship, interviewed the Turkish ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Army and demanded the acceptance of his conditions and the removal of Ali Ihsan without discussion ... his terms were accepted." In the aftermath, conflict in the region continued. Bruce notes that "the conflicting claims of Jews and Arabs eventually led to the development of open warfare between them in 1937 and was to lead to the ending of the British mandate in 1948. The territorial claims of the two groups still remain unreconciled and their relationship continues to be characterized by sporadic violence and discord." == Notes ==