A fragile Ottoman front
The Ottoman armies lack men, equipment, and reserves. Their deployment rests on the assumption that the main attack will come through the hills.
Battle
Megiddo
19 — 25 September 1918
Deception opens the coastal plain, then cavalry turns the breakthrough into collapse.
Military history
How did a concealed concentration on the coast turn a tactical breakthrough into the disappearance of an Ottoman army?
Megiddo was a battle of deception and depth. The Ottomans expected the British main effort in the hills; Allenby concentrated his forces on the coastal plain, where cavalry could reach roads and headquarters.
British secrecy
Allenby minimizes signs of the coastal concentration and maintains activity in the eastern sector.
The plain as an accelerator
Once the line is open, the plain allows mounted formations to cross in a few hours distances that would take infantry far longer.
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Chronological dossier
VerdunThe German concentration opens the right bank but does not take Verdun; reliefs, artillery and the Sacred Way stabilise both banks, then the October and December offensives recapture Douaumont, Vaux and most of the eastern gains.CaporettoThree coordinated penetrations through Plezzo, the Isonzo valley and the ridges shatter the IV and XXVII Corps, then the pursuit drives the Italian army back to the Piave.AmiensThe Allies combine tanks, artillery, aviation and infantry to break German defences before they can be rebuilt.TannenbergThe Germans strip the north, strike Samsonov's two wings separately, then close the roads through Neidenburg, Passenheim and Willenberg around his centre.Gallipoli CampaignMines halt the naval gamble; separate landings remain contained below the ridges, then deception enables the evacuation of Anzac, Suvla and Helles.Battle of the SommeThe bombardment produces opposite results in different sectors; gains in the south and at Bazentin run into strongpoints and reserves, then four months of adaptation push the front back without opening it.Brusilov OffensiveFour armies prepare several sectors and open the Austro-Hungarian front together; when reserves belatedly concentrate towards Kovel, the Stokhid, German reinforcements and lengthening supply lines exhaust the exploitation.Battle of JutlandHipper draws Beatty towards Scheer, then Beatty leads the pursuit back onto Jellicoe; two unfavourable deployments force Scheer to disengage through battle turns, smoke and torpedoes, before a night escape saves his fleet without loosening the blockade.
Military history
Sources
Contemporary official historyCyril Falls, Military Operations Egypt and Palestine
Chapitres sur l’offensive de septembre 1918
Chronology, orders of battle, and mounted exploitation.
Modern studyEdward J. Erickson, Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I
Passages sur la Palestine et la retraite de 1918
State of the Ottoman forces and limitations of command.
View ↗Institutional overviewAustralian War Memorial London, « Megiddo: Allenby’s Masterstroke »
Dossier consacré à l’offensive de Megiddo de septembre 1918
Deception in the Jordan Valley, the breakthrough at Sharon, mounted exploitation, map reconstruction, and the significance of the victory.
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