THE

BATTLE

FOR

333

SYRIA

At 4:30 in the m o r n i n g of 19 S e p t e m b e r 1918 nearly 400 British

cannon s u d d e n l y o p e n e d f i r e o n the s u r p r i s e d a n d o u t n u m b e r e d
( 4 5 , 0 0 0 against 8,000) O t t o m a n d e f e n d e r s of the coastal plain. Fifteen
m i n u t e s later the infantry attack c o m m e n c e d . British, F r e n c h , and
I n d i a n t r o o p s p u s h e d the o v e r w h e l m e d d e f e n d e r s a s i d e , as the cavalry
p o u r e d through the g a p i n g hole in the O t t o m a n lines to win the
battle of M e g i d d o t h e " A r m a g e d d o n " of the B i b l e .
At d a w n , special b o m b e r s q u a d r o n s of the R o y a l Air F o r c e attacked
telephone a n d telegraph e x c h a n g e s b e h i n d e n e m y lines, effectively
cutting off all c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . Other R . A . F . w a r p l a n e s g u a r d e d the
skies over e n e m y a i r p o r t s , keeping G e r m a n reconnaissance planes on
the g r o u n d . L i m a n a n d his field c o m m a n d e r s were cut off from
information a n d f r o m one another.
As O t t o m a n units reeled b a c k w a r d , they found their lines of
retreat blocked by British units which had raced before a n d behind
t h e m t o s e c u r e control o f the key r o a d s . T h e A N Z A C cavalry galloped northward for thirty miles along the coastal plain, b u t then cut
inland, threatening to cut off the O t t o m a n line of retreat toward
D a m a s c u s . British military aircraft b o m b e d and strafed the retreating
T u r k s . M e a n w h i l e the few units Allenby had d e p l o y e d in the east
finally attacked inland. In the p r e d a w n d a r k n e s s of 23 S e p t e m b e r
battalions of the J e w i s h L e g i o n seized control of the crucial U m m
esh S h e r t ford across the J o r d a n river. T h e S e c o n d A u s t r a l i a n L i g h t
H o r s e B r i g a d e went a c r o s s it, a n d by evening the O t t o m a n forces
east of the river found themselves enveloped in a giant pincer.
At M a ' a n , in the s o u t h of T r a n s j o r d a n , a b o v e A q a b a , the T u r k i s h
garrison which h a d been beseiged by Feisal's forces ever since their
arrival f r o m A q a b a the year before, held out until A u s t r a l i a n cavalry
arrived to accept their s u r r e n d e r a n d protect them against the m a s sacre threatened by the A r a b besiegers. F u r t h e r north, Feisal's C a m e l
C o r p s d i s r u p t e d the railroad lines u p o n which the m a i n T u r k i s h
forces d e p e n d e d .
On 25 S e p t e m b e r Allenby o r d e r e d an a d v a n c e on D a m a s c u s , while
the r e m n a n t of the O t t o m a n forces b r o k e a n d fled. T h e occupation
of the principal towns of the S y r i a n provinces was i m m i n e n t ; decisions a b o u t occupation policy were m a d e rapidly. T h e r e is still
controversy as to who m a d e t h e m a n d why.
1

II
In the s u m m e r Allenby had told L o n d o n that, subject to his own
s u p r e m e military authority, he would accept F r e n c h a d v i s e r s to deal
with civil a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in areas of special interest to F r a n c e , so
long as L o n d o n would tell him what areas these were a n d whether