Battle

Megiddo

19 — 25 September 1918

A breach on the coast opens the passes, then closes the main retreat routes.

Military history

How does a breach near the sea deprive the hill armies of communications and retreat routes?

On 19 September 1918, British and Indian infantry attack across the Plain of Sharon after a sudden barrage. Allenby has concentrated his forces there while concealing movements and sustaining a misleading show of activity in the Jordan Valley. Cavalry passes behind the infantry, crosses the defiles, and reaches the northern road junctions. In the hills, Ottoman defenders continue to fight, but their routes are closing as aircraft attack the columns. The defeat of the Seventh and Eighth Armies forces the Fourth, east of the Jordan, to withdraw in turn. The march on Damascus begins after this sequence.

Rebuild a force capable of attacking

The transfer of British troops to France requires reorganization and the integration of Indian battalions. Allenby then has marked local superiority. He chooses the plain to advance quickly and supply the effort rather than attempting the entire breakthrough through the hills.

Conceal the point of attack

Movements towards the coast take place at night. In the Jordan Valley, Chaytor’s demonstrations sustain the impression of an attack in the east. Air superiority limits enemy observation; dummy camps and decoys reinforce the plan but do not create superiority on their own.

Reach the exits before the defenders

Afula and Beisan concentrate communications for the forces west of the Jordan. The cavalry must reach them before the passes are firmly blocked. Farther east, Arab detachments and aircraft damage the railway around Deraa from 16–17 September; this does not yet mean the city has been taken.

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Chronological dossier

Battle · 26 — 30 August 1914TannenbergThe Germans strip the north, strike Samsonov's two wings separately, then close the roads through Neidenburg, Passenheim and Willenberg around his centre.Battle · 19 February 1915 — 9 January 1916Gallipoli CampaignMines halt the naval gamble; separate landings remain contained below the ridges, then deception enables the evacuation of Anzac, Suvla and Helles.Battle · 21 February–18 December 1916VerdunThe 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.Battle · 31 May — 1 June 1916Battle 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.Battle · 4 June — 20 September 1916Brusilov 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 · 1 July — 18 November 1916Battle 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.Battle · 24 October — 12 November 1917CaporettoThree 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.Battle · 20 November — 7 December 1917CambraiPredicted fire, tanks and infantry break through without announcing the assault; attrition, the bridges and Bourlon close the exploitation window, then a more effective German counter-offensive in the south forces the British to shorten the salient.

Military history

Sources

Primary command sourceEdmund Allenby, rapport du 31 octobre 1918

London Gazette, 30 décembre 1918, no 31087, pp. 15183–15189, §§ 2–21 ; chaque page est accessible en remplaçant le numéro dans l’URL.

Strength figures with categories, concentration, missions, fighting, routes, resistance and chronology; a victor’s report, read in cross-check.