NZ and the first Battle of Gaza 26 March 1917

[TerryK]

In December 1916 Lieutenant-General Murray decided to use the Desert Column to capture Gaza. Major-General Chauvel’s Australian & New Zealand Mounted Division was ordered to encircle Gaza to prevent the escape of the garrison. The responsibility for holding off the enemy reserves further inland was given to the Imperial Mounted Division. Once the Gaza garrison was isolated by the mounted troops, 12,000 infantrymen would be launched against the vital ground of Ali Muntar, overlooking Gaza. The assault divisions lacked sufficient transport to operate away from the railway for more than twenty-four hours, so Gaza had to be captured within one day. Gaza was initially defended by two infantry battalions, totalling about 2,000 men, but the garrison was reinforced before the British attack. Z-Day for the operation was 26 March 1917.

At 2.30 a.m. on 26 March, Chauvel led the Anzac Mounted Division, the Imperial Mounted Division, and the Imperial Camel Corps (ICC) Brigade towards their crossing points on Wadi Ghazze. A heavy fog descended before the regiments reached the wadi, limiting visibility to less than twenty metres. The leading light horse regiment crossed quickly and safely at around 5 a.m., despite the darkness and the murk. An hour later, the 2nd LH Brigade was approaching Sheikh Abbas, where scouts surprised two German aircraft on the ground. They galloped towards them, but were too late to prevent them from taking off. The widely-dispersed regiments rode on quickly, galloping when necessary to capture enemy patrols. At 11 a.m. the 7th Australian Light Horse Regiment reached the sea north of Gaza, surrounding the defenders of the town.

The 53rd Division had trouble crossing the wadi in the fog, and the leading infantry brigades were not across until well after dawn. By 9 a.m. they were ready to begin the assault towards Ali Muntar, but the artillery preparation was slow and there was some confusion about the exact locations of the assault forces. The mounted troops watched the infantry attack begin in the early afternoon. They marvelled at the courage and discipline of the infantrymen as they advanced uphill, with no cover, against well-sited Turkish machine guns and under heavy shrapnel fire from guns in Gaza. Casualties were heavy.

After a Turkish prisoner revealed that the Gaza garrison was much larger than the two battalions Chetwolde believed to be there, Chetwode told General Chauvel to attack Gaza from the north to help the infantry. The mounted men began their advance into Gaza at 4 p.m. The New Zealanders galloped across an open valley and seized the undefended northern spur of Anzac Ridge, before dismounting and advancing on foot up the ridge and into the town. One Canterbury squadron advanced along the crest of the ridge, reaching the abandoned enemy redoubt at Ali Muntar at 6.40 p.m., just as British infantry arrived from the south.

The centre of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment line was forced to halt briefly on the outskirts of a cemetery. Further progress was held up by a Turkish strongpoint in a nearby group of houses. One of two captured enemy guns was pressed into service to clear the enemy out of the houses.

Meanwhile, the infantrymen of the 53rd Division had made slow but steady progress up the Es Sire Ridge towards Ali Muntar. Casualties were heavy, but, with New Zealand assistance, Ali Muntar was in British hands by nightfall.

Chetwode believed that Chauvel’s horses had not been watered since crossing Wadi Ghazze before dawn, and that the only water was inside Gaza. He also thought that strong enemy reinforcements were nearing Gaza, and that Ali Muntar, the key to Gaza, was not in EEF hands. Chetwolde was wrong on all counts: the Gaza garrison was on the point of collapse; the enemy relief forces were about to be ordered to halt; many of Chauvel’s horses had had a drink during the day; and the infantry held Ali Muntar. At 5 p.m. the slow-moving support elements of the mounted brigades were ordered by Chetwolde to pull back to Wadi Ghazze. An hour later, Chetwode began to withdraw Chauvel's mounted troops. The infantry divisions were also ordered to pull back to a defensive position on the enemy side of the wadi. By dawn, all of the mounted troops were on the home bank of the wadi. The infantry also withdrew during the night.

Defeat had been snatched from the jaws of victory, and the first Battle of Gaza was over. The Turks lost about 300 men killed, 1,000 wounded and 1,000 prisoners. 523 EEF men were killed, nearly 3,000 were wounded, and 250 became prisoners of the Turks. The Anzac division lost six men killed and sixty-four wounded. Twenty-five horses in the division were killed. The NZMR Brigade lost two men killed and twenty-nine wounded.

General Murray inaccurately claimed that a great success had been achieved, and that the Turks had barely escaped annihilation. After greatly exaggerating the number of enemy casualties, Murray told the War Office in London that his troops were delighted with themselves, and that none of them had been hard-pressed during the battle. When read alongside good news from Baghdad, Murray’s despatch suggested that the Turkish Army was on its last legs, and that an immediate advance by the EEF into Palestine stood a good chance of success. Murray was told to finish the job at Gaza, and then to go for the Holy City of Jerusalem.

[alliekiwi]

Thanks for that, Terry. I've often wondered about the Mounted Rifles post-Gallipoli, but not read much about them. Will have to do so, as one of my great uncles was in the Wellington Mounted Rifles at this time.

Very interesting summation of events!

Allie

[TerryK]

You are welcome. My book on the post-Gallipoli campaigns of the NZMR Brigade is due out in October or November this year.

[Aaron Nelson]

Terry,

I would be most interested in your book, my Great Grandfathers cousin 7/369 James McOnie -McLay was with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, Im unsure if he was in campaigns post Gallipoli, regardless however it would be a great read. The Mounted troops I beleive have largely been overlooked by NZ Historians.

regards Aaron.

[Ozzie]

The Anzacs had this until the HQ stuffed up. Chetwode and Murray had a lot to answer for.

The soldiers did not forget Gaza easily.

Kim

[jnorthall]

At 2.30 a.m. on 26 March, Chauvel led the Anzac Mounted Division, the Imperial Mounted Division, and the Imperial Camel Corps (ICC) Brigade towards their crossing points on Wadi Ghazze.

Could someone confirm which brigades of the ANZAC Mounted and Imperial Mounted went into battle on 26th March 1917?