The Battle of Rafa, also known as the Action of Rafah, fought on 9 January 1917, was the third and final battle to complete the recapture of the Sinai Peninsula by British forces during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War. The Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) attacked an entrenched Ottoman Army garrison at El Magruntein to the south of Rafah, close to the frontier between the Sultanate of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, to the north and east of Sheikh Zowaiid. The attack marked the beginning of fighting in the Ottoman territory of Palestine.
After the British Empire victories at the Battle of Romani in August 1916 and the Battle of Magdhaba in December, the Ottoman Army had been forced back to the southern edge of Palestine as the EEF pushed eastwards supported by extended lines of communication. This advance depended on the construction of a railway and a water pipeline. With the railway reaching El Arish on 4 January 1917, an attack on Rafa by the newly formed Desert Column became possible. During the day-long assault, the Ottoman garrison defended El Magruntein's series of fortified redoubts and trenches on rising ground surrounded by flat grassland. They were eventually encircled by Australian Light Horsemen, New Zealand mounted riflemen, mounted yeomanry, cameliers and armoured cars. In the late afternoon, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade captured the central redoubt and the remaining defences were occupied shortly afterwards.
Background
Following their victory at the Battle of Romani on 4 August 1916, the ANZAC Mounted Division with the 5th Mounted Brigade attached and infantry in support, went onto the offensive. Their advance depended on the construction of a railway and a water pipeline. With the railhead about 40 miles (64 km) away, on 23 December 1916, the ANZAC Mounted Division, less the 2nd Light Horse Brigade but with the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade attached, occupied El Arish during day-long fighting at the Battle of Magdhaba. Meanwhile, the 52nd (Lowland) Division, having marched from Romani, established a garrison at El Arish and began to fortify the town on the Mediterranean Sea, 30 mi (48 km) from the railhead.
El Arish was 90 mi (140 km) by road from the nearest British base, at Kantara, on the Suez Canal, initially making resupply difficult. The arrival of the Royal Navy on 22 December, quickly followed by the first stores on 24 December, meant that during the next fortnight the important Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) forward base grew quickly as 1,500 tons of supplies arrived by ship. Supplies of all kinds were unloaded by the Egyptian Labour Corps and distributed by the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps. Vitally important, the supply activities at El Arish were protected by the infantry garrison and ground-based artillery, supported by the navy. On 4 January 1917, the first construction train arrived at El Arish, but it was some time before the railway, with its vast capacity to support the development of infrastructure and the supply of large garrisons, was fully developed.
General Sir Archibald Murray, the commander of the EEF, was keen to complete the advance across the north of the Sinai, to put pressure on the southern Ottoman army. Believing an attack would compel Ottoman forces to abandon their desert bases and outposts on the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, he ordered an advance from El Arish to Rafa, a distance of 27 mi (43 km), to begin as soon as possible.
Prelude
On 28 December, Major General Harry Chauvel, commander of the ANZAC Mounted Division, ordered the 1st Light Horse Brigade to reconnoitre Bir el Burj, 12 mi (19 km) along the road from El Arish towards Rafa. The road was found to be suitable for cars and artillery, and a further reconnaissance by the same brigade two days later to Sheikh Zowaiid, 20 mi (32 km) from El Arish, reported rolling stretches of pasture, crops and poppies. A small advance guard moved ten mi (16 km) further, to within sight of the main Ottoman defences at El Magruntein, reporting "great activity" in the area.
The weather cleared on 5 January, allowing a patrol from No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC), to observe 2,000 to 3,000 Ottoman soldiers digging defences south of Rafa in the area of El Magruntein. Two days later, British air patrols found Ottoman garrisons in strength at El Kossaima and Hafir el Auja in central northern Sinai, which could threaten the right flank of the advancing EEF or reinforce Rafa. While the British air patrols were absent on 7 January, German airmen took advantage of the growing concentration of EEF formations and supply dumps, bombing El Arish during the morning and evening. The next day the patrols from No. 1 Squadron AFC were in the air all day, covering preparations for the attack on Rafa.
Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode, commanding the Desert Column, rode out of El Arish at 16:00 on 8 January towards Rafa where a 2,000-strong Ottoman garrison was based. Chetwode's mounted force was the same one that Chauvel had commanded during the Battle of Magdhaba in December, with the addition of the 5th Mounted Brigade (which had been garrisoning El Arish) and the 7th Light Car Patrol consisting of four gun cars and three stores cars. Risking an aerial attack during daylight hours, the force began the 30 mi (48 km) journey before sunset to ensure there was enough time for the force to reach El Magruntein. For the first few miles they trekked over heavy sand dunes, which were difficult to negotiate for the doubled teams of horses pulling the guns and ammunition wagons. Once the great shallow trough, worn down by traffic since ancient times, along the Old Road or Pilgrims' Way appeared, the guns and ammunition wagons travelled on the firm middle way while the mounted units rode on either side. The vanguard of the column reached Sheikh Zowaiid at about 22:00; the Desert Column bivouacked near the crossroads to the west of the village. Here the first grass the horses had seen since leaving Australia was found on the edge of the fertile maritime plain, 16 mi (26 km) north of El Arish.
The plan for the attack at Rafa the next morning, 9 January, was a repetition of Chauvel's successful encirclement attack at Magdhaba. The regiments and motor cars would surround the Ottoman garrison position, gallop up under fire, then dismount to attack the defenders in their treble system of trenches and field-works around the earthwork redoubts on the knoll.
Attack force
The mounted units of the Desert Column involved in the attack under Chetwode's command were:
- ANZAC Mounted Division, commanded by Chauvel, composed of the 1st and 3rd light horse brigades, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, and the Inverness-shire, Leicestershire and Somerset Royal Horse Artillery territorial batteries
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions Imperial Camel Corps Brigade with the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery
- 5th Mounted Brigade with B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) (18-pounders)
- 7th Light Car Patrol consisting of six Ford light armoured motorcars (LAMs) equipped with machine-guns
No. 1 Squadron AFC, which had been based at Mustabig during the El Arish and Magdhaba operations, moved forward five mi (8.0 km) west of El Arish to support the attack.
Ottoman defenders
Rafa was defended by the Ottoman 31st Infantry Regiment (3rd Division), supported by one mountain gun battery. British aerial reconnaissance had reported this force was between 2,000 and 3,000 strong. They were well entrenched in four main positions on the high ground about Hill 255, known as El Magruntein. Their central redoubt, rising about 200 feet (61 m) to dominate the surrounding grassland, was supported by three systems of redoubts which the British called A, B and C. These redoubts were linked and supported by trenches on the slopes spreading out to the south-east, south and south-west. These strong, well prepared and sited redoubts and trenches provided all-round defence, with a clear view of the battlefield devoid of cover for some 2,000 yards (1,800 m). The only weakness was to the rear of the position, in the north-east.
Battle
The Desert Column began the final approach to attack Rafa on 9 January 1917, without any reserve ammunition for the artillery, rifles or machine-guns. The column's commander, Chetwode, had ordered all wheeled vehicles, excepting the guns, to remain at Sheikh Zowaiid. His brigadiers complied with the order, but only under protest. It had been the intention of Desert Column headquarters that the reserve ammunition would be sent onward after daylight, but during the battle the system broke down and this did not occur, resulting in a critical failure of the ammunition supply. In many cases, supplies were rushed forward, but failed to reach the units requiring them on the firing line.
At 01:00 the 1st Light Horse and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles brigades led the Desert Column. Half a mile (0.80 km) from Sheikh Zowaiid, they encountered a hostile Bedouin camel patrol which was captured. At 06:15 the Auckland Mounted Rifle Regiment (New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade) was first to reach the boundary pillars, crossing the Egyptian-Ottoman frontier. These two brigades rode to a position from which to attack the Rafa defences, from the south, east and north. They were followed at 02:30 by the remainder of the ANZAC Mounted Division, part of the 5th Mounted Brigade, the Imperial Camel Brigade, and six Ford motor cars of the 7th Light Car Patrol. Two troops of the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars (5th Mounted Brigade) remained at Sheikh Zowaiid to protect the ammunition column, while a squadron followed the caravan road towards Rafa.
By 06:45 the ANZAC Mounted Division headquarters was established 4.5 mi (7.2 km) west of Karm Ibn Musleh on the frontier to the south of Rafa and El Magruntein. The 1st and 3rd light horse brigades and the artillery took up positions to the south to guard against the Ottoman garrison retreating to the south-east, with the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade located three-quarters of a mile (1.21 km) to the west. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was about one mi (1.6 km) to the north with the 5th Mounted Brigade forming the Desert Column's reserve. By 07:00 a patrol of the Wellington Mounted Rifles had cut the telegraph line running east from Rafa towards Shellal and Gaza, isolating the Rafa garrison, Chauvel had reconnoitred the El Magruntein defences and the British Empire horse artillery batteries had begun firing on the redoubts at El Magruntein.
Just after 08:00 the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade circled northwards, moving into position for their attacks on the C4 and C5 groups of redoubts and trenches, while the 1st Light Horse Brigade moved into position to attack the C3, C2 and C1 groups. After these objectives were captured, the two brigades were to attack the central redoubt. Meanwhile, three battalions of the Imperial Camel Brigade were ordered to attack the D group of fortifications. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade formed the ANZAC Mounted Division's reserve. In preparation for the attack, the divisional artillery had pre-selected targets and at 09:30 the Leicestershire, Inverness-shire and Somerset batteries of the Royal Horse Artillery and B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company began a 30-minute preparatory barrage. Under cover of this, the attacking troops began their advance, and by 09:45 they had approached to within 2,000 yd (1,800 m) of the Ottoman entrenchments.
Attack begins
As the 1st Light Horse Brigade advanced from the direction of El Gubba, westward towards El Magruntein and the "C" group of redoubts, they encountered heavy machine-gun and shrapnel fire from German and Ottoman guns. To the south, the Imperial Camel Brigade advanced towards the B4 redoubt, and at 10:30 the 5th Mounted Brigade was ordered "to demonstrate against the works further west." When they arrived at a plateau 2,500 yd (2,300 m) from El Magruntein, the Warwickshire Yeomanry on the right was ordered to attack the B1 and B2 redoubts, while the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars were "sent to the left along the edge of the sand-dunes" to attack the right of the A1 redoubt, the most westerly of the defences. The troops dismounted to begin their attack 2,000 yd (1,800 m) from their objectives, but were immediately engaged by heavy machine-gun fire and shrapnel from two guns.
By 10:00 the attack from the north, led by the Auckland Mounted Rifles and supported by two machine-guns, with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment on their right, had ridden into Rafa as they circled around El Magruntein. Here, they quickly captured the village along with six German and two Ottoman officers, 16 other ranks and 21 Bedouins. Two troops were sent to watch for the approach of Ottoman reinforcements; one troop to the north towards Khan Yunis and one to the east towards Shellal.