Battle of Beersheba 31 October 1917–6 November 1917

The town of Beersheba had both strategic significance, commanding transport links to Jerusalem, and logistical importance, containing wells vital to replenishing troops and pack animals in the desert. It was accordingly well defended by German-led Ottoman garrisons and surrounded by trenches guarded by hilltop redoubts. Manoeuvre was key to the battleplan of the Allied commander, Allenby. A frontal assault by infantry captured the key redoubt of Hill 1070 enabling a downward bombardment on the Ottoman trenches from the west. Meanwhile, a series of sorties by mounted brigades first cut the garrison’s line of retreat, then turned their entrenchments from the east, capturing the other key redoubt at Tel es Saba. Battered and stretched to breaking point, the Ottoman defences were then skewered by Allenby’s remaining mounted troops who rode on to capture the town. Allenby then moved swiftly to confront the remaining Ottoman forces at Tel es Sheria and Tel el Khuwaitem.