Battle of Tafilah | |||||||
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Part of the Arab Revolt on the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Battle of Tafilah (Arabic: معركة الطفيلة) was fought at Tafilah, Jordan during the Arab Revolt of World War I.
Background
Following the victories at the battles of Aqaba and Wadi Musa. The North Arab Army prepared for a pincer movement to control Tafilah with three armies, the first led by Sherif Nasir, Auda Abu Tayi and Nuri al-Said, the second by Sherif Mastour and Hamad bin Jazi of Howeitat, and the third by Sherif Abdul Moen. In addition to the forces commanded by Prince Zeid bin Hussein, Jaafar Al-Askari and Sherif Abdallah Al-Ghafer.
Sherif Nasir forces had to mobilize from Al-Jafr towards Tafilah, while Sherif Mastour advanced from Wadi Araba, Sherif Abdul Moen from Shoubak, and Sherif Abdallah Al-Ghafer from Ghor es-Safi near the Dead Sea.
On 12 January 1918, Sherif Nasir forces which consisted of an infantry regiment, two mountain guns, a machine gun company, and 1,000 men from Howeitat and Bani Sakher managed to liberate Jurf ed-Darawish at the Hejaz railway, which was defended with two cannons and a number of machine guns, despite the heavy snowfall.[1] The battle ended with the capturing of 200 Ottoman soldiers, including thirty officers.[2] In addition, they confiscated two trainloads of supplies for the Ottoman army.
Battle
On 14–15 January 1918, the combined Arab forces entered Tafilah, which was defended by Zeki Pasha al-Halabi and Shiekh Dhiab Al-Oran, who decided to defect and join the Arab Revolt. Officer Muhammad Ali al-Ajlouni was appointed to manage the spoils and prisoners following the liberation.[3]
On 24 January, the British intercepted a massage from Djemal Pasha to an officer stationed to the south of Amman, which urged him to join another force on its way to attack Tafilah.[4] On 24–25 January, Ottoman commander Hamid Fakhri led a campaign to recapture Tafilah. His forces included a squad of 1,000 infantry soldiers with artillery, machine guns and knights, accompanied by the gendarmerie forces in Al-Karak led by Lieutenant Mohammed Al-Hamwi. Prince Zeid ordered Rasim Sardst to intercept the advancing troops in the valley between Tafilah and Hasa. On 26 January, the battle which was a defensive engagement turned into an offensive rout,[5] with villagers from Aymah joining the battle from the northwest. With Abdullah al-Dulaimi forces attacking from the flank, that made the Ottomans surrounded from three sides, which increased their casualties including their commander who was shot and killed.[6] The artillery garrison of Rasim Sardst and machine-gun artillery of Sobhi Al-Omari destroyed the Ottoman offence, which forced the remaining 29 officers and 200 soldiers to surrender.[7]
The battle was described in the official history of the war as a "brilliant feat of arms".[8] T. E. Lawrence was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership at Tafilah and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.[8][6]
Aftermath
The Arabs headed south and laid a 5-day siege on Ma'an, 13–17 April 1918. Though failing to capture the city, the Hejaz railway southwards was wrecked.[9][10]
References
- ^ Barr 2008, p. 224.
- ^ Al-Shyyab 2020, p. 5942.
- ^ Al-Shyyab 2020, p. 5943.
- ^ Barr 2008, p. 225.
- ^ Lawrence 1935, pp. 470–483.
- ^ a b Barr 2008, p. 227.
- ^ Al-Shyyab 2020, pp. 5943–5944.
- ^ a b Mack 1976, pp. 158, 161.
- ^ Lawrence 1935, pp. 341–342, 519–520.
- ^ Faulkner 2016, pp. 389–593.
Sources
- Al-Shyyab, Ibrahim Ahmad (2020). Mohammad Ali Ajlouni: A Figure of the Great Arab Revolt (1893–1971). Palarch’s Journal Of Archaeology Of Egypt.
- Barr, James (2008). Setting the Desert on Fire: T. E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia 1916–1918. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393070958.
- Faulkner, Neil (2016). Lawrence of Arabia's War: The Arabs, the British and the Remaking of the Middle East in WWI. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300226393.
- Lawrence, T.E. (1935). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc.
- Mack, J.E. (1976). A Prince of Our Disorder: The life of T. E. Lawrence. Boston, MA: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-54232-6 – via Internet Archive (archive.org).