The Capture of Wadi el Hesi and the associated Sausage Ridge, began during the evening of 7 November 1917, was fiercely fought for during 8 November and not cleared until the early hours of 9 November, at the beginning of the pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. The advancing British Empire units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) were held by rearguard units of the withdrawing Ottoman Empire units of the Yildirim Army Group, holding a strategically strong position to the north of Gaza.
After the EEF victory at the Battle of Beersheba, the Beersheba to Gaza line was broken in consequence of a series of attacks, at Tel el Khuweilfe, Hareira and Sheria and Gaza. The Ottoman 7th Division, one of the retreating Ottoman Army units, established a defensive line on the northern side of the Wadi el Hesi which included Sausage Ridge. After the wadi was fairly quickly crossed late on 7 November, Sausage Ridge protecting the road and railway along which the retreating Ottoman columns were traveling, was attacked on 8 November by the EEF's 52nd (Lowland) Division. However, supported by an Ottoman cavalry attack on the British infantry's northern flank, the Ottoman rearguard strongly defended the ridge all day and most of the night, until it was finally captured early on 9 November. By then the rearguard had successfully withdrawn along with the withdrawing Ottoman columns.
Background
After the capture of Beersheba on 31 October by General Edmund Allenby's forces, between 1 and 7 November strong Ottoman rearguards at Tel el Khuweilfe in the southern Judean Hills, at Hareira and Sheria on the maritime plain, and at Gaza close to the Mediterranean coast, held the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) in heavy fighting. Towards the end of the week the Ottoman Army was able to withdraw mainly at night in good order, under cover of effective rearguards. The Ottoman XXII Corps had not been defeated at Gaza, but conducted a skillful, tactical retreat from the town, demonstrating both operational and tactical mobility. The Gaza garrison withdrew in three detachments, the Ottoman 53rd Division moved eastwards, delaying the pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps, the Ottoman 3rd Division occupied a strong rearguard position at Beit Hanun, while the Ottoman 7th Division established the Wadi el Hesi line of defences. However, in conjunction with the captures in the centre of the line at Sheria, the occupation of Gaza enabled a swift direct advance northwards, preventing a strong consolidation of the Wadi el Hesi rearguard position. This wadi was the second of the major watercourse on the Palestine coast, flowing parallel with, and 12 miles (19 km) north of the Wadi Ghuzzee.
Prelude
On 7 and 8 November rearguards of the Ottoman Eighth Army, delayed the EEF's advance by Lieutenant General Edward Bulfin's XXI Corps and Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel's Desert Mounted Corps.
Ottoman withdrawal from Gaza
Gaza was defended during the third battle for Gaza, by the XXII Corps commanded by Refet Bey with headquarters at Jebaliye holding the strongly fortified positions around Gaza:
- the 53rd Division's 3,100 rifles had held from the Mediterranean shore to the eastern side of Gaza (veteran of the Second Battle of Gaza),
- the 3rd Division's 3,698 rifles on their left (veteran of the First and Second Battles of Gaza), and
- the 7th Division's 2,886 rifles had been in Eighth Army reserve at Deir Sineid. The corps had been supported by 116 guns, six large naval guns, and several batteries of 150mm howitzers. The rifle figures were as at 30 September 1917. Not mentioned are the machine guns, which progressively replaced 25% of the rifles in each infantry battalion, from 10 August 1917. These divisions would have been included in a general activation of Stoßtruppen style assault troops, across the whole Ottoman Army. On 1 September 1917, Enver Pasha ordered assault battalions and detachments to be established in the Yildirim Army Group.
After the limited fighting during the third battle, the Ottoman XXII Corps was not defeated, skillfully conducting a tactical retreat from Gaza, during which the corps demonstrated both operational and tactical mobility.
Gaza to Beersheba road
At 01:00 on 7 November during the EEF occupation of Gaza the 233rd Brigade of the 75th Division (XXI Corps) took control of Outpost Hill on the eastern outskirts of Gaza without meeting any opposition. Only individual Ottoman riflemen opposed their occupation of Green Hill and the Labyrinth at 05:00, and by 07:00 the 233rd Brigade had patrols on Ali Muntar. However, on their right, the 234th Brigade (75th Division) was delayed by Ottoman units in strength armed with machine guns, defending Beer trench and Road Redoubt on the Gaza to Beersheba road. These rearguards targeted the EEF rear during the day, delaying the hand over of the transport, from XX Corps to the XXI Corps.
Tank and Atawineh Redoubts were defended by strong Ottoman rearguards, which targeted the increasing numbers of EEF infantry, with their artillery. The EEF units advanced behind Atawineh, Road and Tank Redoubts' flanks and eventually occupied them by nightfall. Allenby had decided by noon on 7 November, to leave them as "their garrison must surrender, and I am not wasting men by assaulting them." During the morning of 8 November, a detachment of the 10th (Irish) Division (XX Corps) advanced along the road to Gaza from Beersheba, to find touch with the Composite Force of the XXI Corps near Atawineh, having passed the undefended Hairpin redoubt on Sausage Ridge.
Ottoman 53rd Division
After evacuating Gaza the Ottoman 53rd Division advanced eastwards towards Huj, marching across the front of the advancing cavalry, to stop the threatened breakthrough by Desert Mounted Corps, and to cover the retreating columns. The superior strength of this Ottoman division, temporarily halted and drove in the advance squadrons of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade and the 7th Mounted Brigade on their right, but withdrew towards the Wadi el Hesi when threatened by the 1st Light Horse Brigade. However under cover of this attack, the Ottoman 16th and 26th Divisions were able to withdraw, without being harassed.
Wadi el Hesi defences
A second group of the retreating Gaza garrison had marched through the previous night, to gain distance and time to establish light field defences on a strong position just north of the Wadi el Hesi, seven miles (11 km) north north east of Gaza. In the sand dunes and in the cultivated area nearby, they constructed a series of short trenches. Behind these defences they resisted the EEF advance all day, making a determined stand on the Wadi el Hesi. It was towards this line held by the 7th Division, that the 53rd Division had withdrawn, while the 3rd Division held Beit Hanun.
Rising in the Judean Hills, the Wadi el Hesi stretched west to enter the sea seven miles (11 km) north of Gaza. When not flowing, water was available all year round, either in large pools, or just below the surface. On the northern bank, in the small village of Herbie, in the areas of cultivation, and in the sand dunes, the Ottoman rearguard constructed lines of trenches, which made the most of the natural strengths of the area. However, this second line was not nearly as strong as the Gaza to Beersheba line, and was vulnerable to attack from the south over the sand dunes.
The aim of this rearguard was to delay the EEF advance until the arrival of the winter rains. In the mud, the Ottoman Army was hopeful that it could to hold the EEF until spring, when reinforcements from the Baghdad campaign in Mesopotamia were expected to arrive in Southern Palestine, along with Ottoman divisions from Salonika. German battalions might also become available following Russia's withdrawal from the war.
EEF pursuit
On 7 November, the 54th (East Anglian) Division (XXI Corps) had taken over garrison duties in Gaza, while their 162nd Brigade advanced through the gardens and fields to the main road, north of the town. While it has been suggested the 54th (East Anglian) Division subsequently occupied the Wadi el Hesi, due to supply problems this division was forced to remain at Gaza. Although dumps of rations, ammunition and engineer stores had been formed in concealed positions in the XXI Corps area before the Third Battle of Gaza, the corps was not in a position to move any distance. Almost all of their transport except ammunition tractors had been transferred to the XX Corps and the Desert Mounted Corps for their attacks during the Battle of Beersheba.
The XXI Corps ordered the 52nd (Lowland) Division to take up a line from the Jaffa road north of Sheikh Radwan to the sea on the northern outskirts of Gaza, and the 157th Brigade (52nd Division) with a squadron of the XXI Corps Cavalry Regiment on their right, began the infantry pursuit by passing through the 54th (East Anglian) Division to advance along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, to occupy Sheikh Hasan by 12:15. The 157th Brigade was also supported by the 264th Brigade RFA (with footed wheels) and the 413th Field Company Royal Engineers. By 16:00, these troops were seen marching along the coast towards the mouth of the Wadi el Hesi, the nearest likely defensive line north of Gaza.
Beit Hanun
On the eastern side of Gaza, the 75th Division (XXI Corps) commanded by Major General Philip Palin, with the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade attached, had been ordered to exploit any potential breakthrough. The cavalry brigade, which had been carrying out patrol duties based at Tel el Jemmi, during fighting for the Gaza to Beersheba line, rode through the ruins of Gaza at 09:00. They arrived at Beit Hanun at 13:00, where the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade encountered part of the Gaza garrison defending a strong rearguard position on a ridge 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of Beit Hanun.
The Hyderabad and Mysore Lancers had advanced through Jebaliya to link with the Glasgow, Lancashire, and Hertfordshire squadrons of the XXI Corps Cavalry Regiment, holding the high ground at Beit Lahl 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Gaza, to threaten the Ottoman flank. At about noon Ottoman munitions at the railhead near Beit Hanun were blown up. Early in the afternoon, the 12th Light Horse Regiment (4th Light Horse Brigade, Australian Mounted Division) rode to the north-west to give the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade a message, as the cavalry brigade had been out of contact with XX Corps and the Desert Mounted Corps. They met one mile (1.6 km) east of Beit Hanun at 14:45. The light horsemen delivered orders for the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade to "try and close the gap" by attacking the Ottoman rearguard on the Wadi el Hesi near Tumra to the north of Beit Hanun. (See sketch map showing the advance by the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and the 52nd (Lowland) Division on 7 November 1917).
While the Corps Cavalry Regiment captured Beit Lahia, the Hyderabad Lancers advanced at 15:00 to capture the ridge west of Beit Hanun at Sheikh Munam, but the village was strongly defended by numerous Ottoman machine gun detachments. Despite meeting considerable resistance, they advanced to the ridge overlooking Beit Hanun from the east, capturing the position, twenty-three prisoners, a 5.9-millimetre (0.23 in) gun / 150-millimetre (5.9 in) howitzer and a large quantity of ammunition. They also captured the water pumping machinery intact; however, this ran on gas made from charcoal which had to be converted before it could be used. As a consequence, the regiments were forced to withdraw back to Jebaliye for water. At 16:55 the Ottoman rearguard was reported to still be holding Beit Hanun, with concentrations of forces at Al Majdal (also known as el Mejdel), the ancient place of Ashkelon and Beit Duras. By evening lancers from the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade had pursued the Ottoman force as far as Tumrah and Deir Sineid.
Battle
On the far left of the EEF pursuit, the 157th Brigade (52nd Division) and attached cavalry, artillery and engineers, had advanced seven miles (11 km) north of Gaza along the shore covered by cliffs, to within one point five miles (2.4 km) of the Ottoman army entrenchments on the banks of the Wadi el Hesi, the sand dunes giving good cover to their approach from the south. By dusk on 7 November, the 157th Brigade had reached and crossed the Wadi el Hesi near its mouth.
On 8 November, the Royal Scots Fusiliers and King's Own Scottish Borderers battalions of the 155th Brigade (52nd Division), crossed the wadi behind the Highland Light Infantry battalions of the 157th Brigade (52nd Division) and "extended their line northwards ... into an area of sand–dunes bounded by the coast on the left and a ridge, called by the mapmakers 'Sausage Ridge', behind which the road and railway ran." Sausage Ridge extended from the southern edge of the village of Burbera, southwards for three miles (4.8 km) towards Deir Sineid, ending nearly on the right bank of the Wadi el Hesi, three point five miles (5.6 km) inland from the coast. The ridge was held in strength by the Ottoman 7th Division rearguard which held the EEF advance in determined fighting for most of the day, with the division successfully covering the majority of the retreating columns as they withdrew north along the road and railway to the east, and behind Sausage Ridge.