ddycher Posted 31 December , 2009 Share Posted 31 December , 2009 All Having gotten as far as I could with 75th Division actions in the Judaean Hills in Nov'1917 (be happy to share if anyone is interested) I am currently tracking the 232nd Bde through events of December 1917. Generally a quiet month where the Bde were in and out of the line but mostly involved in road building. However there are some ref's to action in the following hill areas : Cantle Hill Limepit Hill Horseshoe Hill I know these are in the Ramleh - Ludd - Dantrah area but have been unable to place so far. Anybody have any thoughts / recommendations. Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 1 January , 2010 Share Posted 1 January , 2010 Dave, More clues needed here I am even having difficulty with one of your 'Known's Dantrah? Could this be Kh Dathrah? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 2 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 2 January , 2010 Michael My bad - apologies - Sloppy typing. Am indeed talking about Kh. Dathrah. Dathrah was taken by the 232nd Bde (specifically the 2/5th Hants) on the 15th of December. Apparently to take Dathrah the 2/5th Hants first had to take Cantle and Limepit Hills. However looking N.E from Sheikh Obeid Rahil I am struggling to get a picture of either of these on the way to Dathrah. Unless they are the hills : a. to the N.E of Budrus and b. to the W of Kibbiah however I had the positioned the 2/5th Hants further to the NW. This during the 75th Divisions advance to the N.E of Beit Nabala. Currently looking at the attack on the Bde front from the 2/4th Somersets at Kh. el Bornat S.E to the 2/3rd Gurkhas at Kibbiah. Gets little more than a couple of lines in the OH (not mentioning the hills at all only advances up the hillside to Ibanneh. Dathrah likewise is not mentioned). Advance of the EEF merely states that some resistance was met at Kh. Ibanneh. WRT Horseshoe Hill (or Horse Shoe Ridge) - pure guess work at the moment but I think this along with Mound Hill must have been somewhere north of Beit Nabala and possibly around Kh. el Bornat. These hills were taken on the 22nd December as the 232nd again pushed forward to take Kh. el Beida and Kh. el Bireh. I am trying prove my guess that Horse Shoe Ridge is the U shaped ridge with Kh. el Bireh on one side and Kh. el Bornat on the other. Have not found any documentary evidence to support this yet though. Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 3 January , 2010 Share Posted 3 January , 2010 Very sorry Dave, but I'm afraid that all I can offer here, is to remind you of the Conder/Kitchener PEF maps [of May 1878 in this case] The shading used gives one a very good idea of the topography, however it will not help with names used in 1917! The PEF maps are here http://www.jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/maps/pal/htm...al002368494.htm and Sheet XIV is the one for Kh Dathrah; it is about 3¾ miles in from the western edge regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 3 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 3 January , 2010 Thanks Michael. These maps and the written volumes to match (which are downloadable from www.archive.org) what I am using to track the campaign. Best Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 4 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 4 January , 2010 Just read again my last response which comes over as arrogant in the extreme. Apologies it was not intended that way Michael. As always I appreciate your support and input which has been invaluable to my own studies. Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 4 January , 2010 Share Posted 4 January , 2010 Take it easy old chap! No offence taken here, whatsoever. I said it was a 'reminder' well knowing from past experience that you are amply supplied with reference books, and no doubt better organized than myself on the electronic front. But, how nice to find such polite company in OTs (Oops, sorry, I see that we are now called OFs - Other Fronts) another reason why so I rarely stray into Western Fields With very best regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 25 January , 2010 Share Posted 25 January , 2010 (edited) A small step forward on this one For Horse Shoe Hill please see the map section below [which is taken from the OH's map No. 19, Megiddo 1918 (layered map with Turkish Dispositions 19 September 1918)] Never mind that it's the wrong date it must be the same Horse Shoe Hill, and indeed proves your guess see 2nd Jan above "I am trying prove my guess that Horse Shoe Ridge is the U shaped ridge with Kh. el Bireh on one side and Kh. el Bornat on the other." regards Michael Edited 25 January , 2010 by michaeldr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 26 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 26 January , 2010 Michael. That's great - exactly what I was looking for. Much obliged. Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddycher Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 Back in this area for the first time in a while. Have found some contemporary refs which appear to refer to Beit Nabala as Nebellasam which I had never come across before. Geography and the weather stated fits but cant be 100% sure though as the memoires seem to cite larger engagement than that reflected in the war diaries. Anybody have a reference to Nebellasam in their research ? regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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