Military History

Eastern Attack – 54th (East Anglian) Division

On the left of the 54th (East Anglian) Division, advancing from Sheikh Abbas, the 162nd (East Midland) Brigade stretched from the intersection of the Wadi Mukaddeme with the Gaza to Beersheba road in the west, to the 163rd (Norfolk & Suffolk) Brigade on the right advanced on a 1,500 yards (1,400 m) front, its right towards the north east to an Ottoman redoubt 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Kh Sihan, with the Imperial Camel Brigade on their right. The 161st (Essex) Brigade formed a divisional reserve.

The attack by the 162nd Brigade on the left was almost immediately fired on by artillery from behind Ali Muntar and by machine guns and mountain guns firing from nearby hostile trenches. The 10th Battalion London Regiment attacked on the left with the 4th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment on the right, and the 11th Battalion London Regiment in support. During the attack the left half of the 10th Battalion London Regiment became separated from their right. This occurred when the left section faced a non-connected line of trenches, through which they were able to fight their way across the Gaza to Beersheba road at 08:30, forcing an artillery gun to withdraw. A member of the Signal Section twice successfully climbed telegraph poles and cut the line, before being killed during a third attempt by an artillery shell. The left section of the 10th Battalion London Regiment became completely isolated from the right section when a gap of 800 yards (730 m) formed between the two sections of the battalion. They had also advanced out of sight of the 156th Brigade (52nd Division) on their left, and although their exposed left flank on the Wadi Mukaddeme was partly covered by the advance of two machine gun sections, the left section of the 10th Battalion was "hopelessly exposed." Subsequently, the 52nd (Lowland) Division advanced their right to ease the situation, but the advanced group was eventually forced to withdraw back across the road when two Ottoman battalions counterattacked strongly. They were forced back another 600 yards (550 m) before supporting machine guns in the Wadi Mukaddeme stopped the counterattack. Meanwhile, the right half of the 10th Battalion London Regiment had kept touch with the 4th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment, which was held up 500 yards (460 m) from Ottoman trenches. A small party from the Northamptonshire Regiment, including Lewis gunners, attacked a parapet, shooting Ottoman soldiers defenders at point blank range, "but this small party was eventually destroyed."