Ottoman Army positions in southern Jordan

[domsim]

I have been involved in an archaeological survey of Roman sites in southern Jordan, between Shobak and Ma'an. We have been finding and recording probable Ottoman Army fixed defensive positions, especially aorund Ma'an and the Hejaz Railway from the Ist World War period.

I have had a look at the maps in the Public Record Office but there are no detailed trench maps for this area. There are sketch maps in the aerial reconnaissance reports by X-flight 14 Squadron R.F.C and they also detail photographic flights as well. However the photographs are no longer with the reports. The Imperial War Museum do not have them in their archives.

I was wondering if anybody knew the whereabouts of these photos or on a more general level if there were any published material from the Turkish?German point of view (trench maps, aerial photographs & orders of battle)?

Any information would be gratefully accepted.

[Guest Pete Wood]

I'm bringing this to the top as I think it may have been overlooked.

Robert D, Kaan et al, do you have any maps of this area....??

[Robert Dunlop]

I can't find Ma'an on the attached map so have presented the whole area. If you give me an approximate fix (Jericho is bottom left and Amman is middle right) then I will happily give you a magnified view of the area.

If it is outside the scope of this map, then if you can provide me with some additional info on where to look and I will try again.

Robert

[Guest _KaaN_]

Hi,

Will be visiting the library in the weekend, hopefully find the maps regarding subject and the exact location.

Regards

Kaan

[domsim]

Thanks for the replies to my query. The area I am interested is south-east of the Dead Sea. This was not an operational area for British or Commonwealth troops during most of the 1914-1918 period, except for technical officers attached to the Arab Northern Army. Therefore it is not dealt with in much detail by the Official Histories, except where T E Lawrence is concerned!

The Arabs captured Aqaba at the head of the Red Sea and then used it as a base to raid the Hejaz Railway in the area of our survey. Ma'an was the main garrison/railway repair depot/ airfield in the area. Incidently I have seen a report of the interrogation of a captured Ottoman pilot who gave details of the garrison at Ma'an and mentioned the hangars at the airfield were underground (any information on the site of the airfield would be useful). We found and surveyed a quite complex set of trenches and outworks at Ma'an which remained in Ottoman hands despite repeated attempts by the Arab Army to capture it. It was finally abandoned when the British & Commonwealth forces pushed across the Jordan River in September 1918 and cut off the forces guarding the railway in the south. The Ma'an garrison was captured at Ziza (modern Jiza) south of Amman by New Zealand mounted troops.

I was just wondring if there were any Turkish sources/maps/photographs for this area? I have a copy of El-Edroos's 'History of the Hashemite Army' and this just rehashes a lot of the Official History material and maps are not very detailed.

Thanks.

[domsim]

Incidently I have stuck a query on the war in the air board and just to repeat I was wondering if anybody has ever seen aerial reconnaissance photographs taken by C/X flight 14 Squadron RFC/RAF 1917-1918, of southern Jordan and if so wherwe are they?

The reconnaissance reports are in the PRO but ther is no sign of the photographs.

[michaeldr]

domsim,

Under the book reviews of this forum’s main site, ‘The Long, Long Trail,’ you will find one for “The Changing Land Between the Jordan and the Sea.” The sea referred to here is the Mediterranean and therefore the book covers an area to the west of your zone of interest. However the experience of the author, Benjamin Z. Kedar, may be of interest.

His book is made up of double-page spreads comparing aerial photographs from 1917-18, 1944-45 (RAF), the 1960s and the 1990s. One would have imagined that the majority of the earliest photographs would have been either British or Australian, however this is far from being the case. Indeed they form a tiny minority, with most of the WWI shots in fact coming from German sources. Kedar visited London during his research for the book and in his introductory chapter mentions the following:

“In the Imperial War Museum in London I was able to see a small number of the many photographs taken by the British, and when I asked the whereabouts of the rest, I was told: ‘Please do understand that ours is a very small island; we cannot keep just everything.’”

As I have already said, Kedar’s book deals with the region to the west of your interest, however if you can get hold of a copy then pages 44-45 may possibly be of interest as they give some details of Hauptmann Erich Steiner’s flight Der’a-‘Aquaba-‘Uneyzeh-Der’a on 26 August 1918 together with some photographs. In his footnotes Kedar mentions “This sketch [a map of Steiner’s route] is based on Steiner’s Kreigsranglisten-Auszug and other official papers, most of which were generously placed at my disposal, together with his Levantine photographs, by his daughter Nanna Steiner of Munich and by his son Knud U. K. Steiner of Espoo, Finland. The photographs will be ultimately deposited with the Aerial Photographs Unit, Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.”

Perhaps an e-mail to the above institution will turn-up something of use to you?

Best of luck

Michael D.R.

[domsim]

Michaeldr

Thanks for the reply, this line of enquiry sounds very promising. The route you mention runs right through our area. I shall see if I can get hold of a copy of the book.

Thanks again.

[Robert Dunlop]

Thanks for the instructions. This is the area?

Robert

[Guest stevenbec]

Your could try the AWM ( Australian War Memorial) webb site.

As we had a Flight from 1 Sqn AFC attached to Lawrence in late 1918.

There are many photo's held by AWM on the desert taken by 1 Sqn AFC.

You may get lucky.

S.B

[domsim]

Robert

Thanks for the reply-yup this is the area of our survey and further north to around Shobak and Qalat al-Hasa as well if that is on your map.

I shall try and attach a photo (I'm new to this so I might mess it up). It shows one of the stone built defensive positions covering the main viaduct of the Hejaz railway to the east of Ma'an. Hope it comes out!