Sunday 31 May 2015
The cross is prophetic in that a Messiah and His coming was foretold but His prime directive did not involve a rebellion or recapturing of any old order but the heralding of a way of life, values and culture that would span the globe as a Judeo-Christian culture. Evidence of the same appears in the uniform commercial code that delivers a collection of uniform promises(do unto others as you would have them do unto you) that enables modern commerce. This commitment to a code based on such promises is essentially an economic as well as a political social contract and it is global in addition to having domestic influence in domestic politics(social contract). What symbolizes His work is His death on a cross and this is important every day even though it may not be Easter. If he died by guillotine in the 16 Century, it is doubtful whether a guillotine would memorialize His life and sacrifice while we are in need of constant reminders in a world full of distractions. However, there is another remarkable symbol chosen before the cross and celebrated by the early church that involved a fish that encapsulated both his death in sacrifice and also His regenerative message of life. The fish is always a symbol of regenerative life with or without Christ since out of water came life.
The fish was chosen before the cross as a symbol of the early church while the cross is first and foremost a symbol of death. Nonetheless, it is a symbol of the church and of unity under the blood of Christ and is now a symbol of not only sacrifice but of regeneration. Remember life in remembering the cross.
The fish was chosen before the cross as a symbol of the early church while the cross is first and foremost a symbol of death. Nonetheless, it is a symbol of the church and of unity under the blood of Christ and is now a symbol of not only sacrifice but of regeneration. Remember life in remembering the cross.
Saul suffered from a case of Herodism. The long term cure was worship with David as the lead musician and repentance in the kata forms of Abraham. Saul was eased by the worship but what about the kata forms? He did not make repentance a habit. Certainly David and also Hezekiah, in study, may have learned something from this for later on in life. They will have a pill for Herodism soon at Walgreens. Some Modern tv content may be the cause of infection.
Globalization; It can be heavenly as a system of unifying, umbrella principles that allow for convergence, systematization and standardization. It is not necessarily a biblical Babylon but Babylon of history is emblematic of this convergence. In the new testament, it is prophetic symbolism. The language represents this convergence as babel; a language of many inputs. It is always adding new words to its lexicon. It is also mentioned in the new testament but as a symbol to depict a phenomena. It is globalization. It is capable of resembling our expectations of a heavenly magnanimity in safeguarding the meaningfulness of human life. This is to contrast any decent into negation or a fog of nihilism that leads to circling backward into negation until there is cannibalizing nullity. The breaking of natural, metaphysical laws causes this circling backward in historical progression. See the book of Genesis. You go back to where you started although previously, you could have called someone on your cell phone to help. Now, you have no networks or satellites in the chaos. The system that gives hope is lost in a nihilist fascism. The parent that does not have custody of the children is awarded child support but everybody knows the answer in the legislation or the jurisprudence. Hopefully, society agrees once more to go forward with a social contract; one with certain safeguards. Safeguarding the rules and principles is essential to its fruition and maintenance for the various populations and societies involved. Real authority is exercised in safeguarding the system and trying to figure out those who choose their ego over honoring the safeguards and due process. There is sufficient technology and legislation to achieve this to ensure the safeguarding of the meaningfulness of human life. Cultures that do not celebrate this meaningfulness tend to fall back into a circular pattern of socio-moral digression instead of linear, peaceful progression. They do not progress. When the circle is global in a global phenomena , it is war and conflict on a global scale. World War 1 and 2 are examples. It can be heavenly where people are allowed to enjoy the natural progression of life, having a wife and children. This is globalization on a micro scale since families are the building block of any society and culture and those societies that honor this thrive. They had a 90 percent marriage rate and a 1 percent divorce rate some time ago. They still do today if you look very closely. Have you noticed that the wicked witch of the west and Maleficent were both green and most likely with envy? It is because they did not respect the meaningfulness of human life, rejected every potential spouse or their actual spouse, claimed it as authority in the home, frustrated their weddings and then they want to share their misery. See the Passion For The Christ(movie). They chose atomization and singleness instead of a nucleus of a family. Everything revolves around them to death. This is not the message of globalization. The message is human family.
Monday 25 May 2015
The information Super Highway.... It is highway 101.
Epictetus informs us least about the present conditions. While providing us with proverbial and ecclesiastical writings, he works within a paradigm of divine reason and absolute concepts of truth; both of which have been discluded in the Postmodern discourse. Moreover, he does not provide any insight into the end of grand narratives, the decentering of the humanist subject, micropolitics, simulacrum, or any of the other characteristics of postmodernism. The ancient concept of self in relation to the postmodern concept of self is one of great contrast. In many senses, the postmodern concept appears to be a fulfilment of the ancients' warnings and fears of what would happen to men who lack the knowledge of self. To answer this question, I used Alcibiades, Epictetus, Jameson, and Kroker.
The ancient concept of self found in Plato and Epictetus is that of a divinely rational and spiritual being which lives in conflict with his physical nature. These theorists teach us that if a man is to live a just or right life, self knowledge is a necessity, enabling him to take care of himself.[xii] They also demonstrate that deception of self can only occur, leading to mistakes in life, when one is ignorant and possesses the conceit of knowledge[xiii]. A man ignorant of his own needs will fall into error and lead a life of misery. As a result, the admittance and embrace of one's ignorance is the first step one must take to acquire self knowledge. Unless we are convicted that we do not know anything, we will continue to make errors out of a state of false knowledge.[xiv] Upon recognition of our ignorance, we can begin to inquire and to examine ourselves and our true nature.[xv] Essentially, knowledge of the self should bring man into acquaintance with virtue.[xvi] It is through the acquisition of virtue that a man will know how to take care of himself and others, pursuing a path of human development that will lead to improvement as opposed to corruption.
Both Plato and Epictetus see human development as the improvement of one's soul and not as the improvement of things which one may possess.[xvii] As a result, they both express the necessity for men to make contact with that which is divine. Plato says that a man who knows that he does not know, entrusts his affairs to a superior being[xviii] which for him is God as he places faith in his divine oracle.[xix] Although these theorists concepts of God are not the same, they both place man under the charge of the divine. For Epictetus, man is under the charge of reason which is that part of the divine imparted to men in creation.[xx] In their writings, there is an evident relationship between human development and self knowledge. Man and mankind can develop so that they either improve upon their condition or become corrupted. The course of human development which one takes is dependent upon the extent of the knowledge of self which one acquires. The knowledge of the things of this world without the knowledge of self, will result in a man pursuing knowledge to satisfy his desire for riches, power, and wealth,[xxi] leading to debauchery as opposed to betterment.
If human development is simply motivated by the desire to find ways to acquire more comforts, wealth, riches, and might, it will lead to misery as men are ignorant and become increasingly ignorant through their pursuit.[xxii] As Plato said, it is "...not he who has riches, but he who has wisdom that is delivered from his misery."[xxiii] As a result, the soul will develop in accordance with its materialistic or its spiritual goals.
In a negative manifestation of the Ancient's concept of self, Postmodern man lives in plato's "cave" of delirium, false consciousness, virtual reality, depraved emotion, and fragmented existence as Jameson and Kroker demonstrate.
Jameson tells us that man, as the centred subject, has been dissolved by seeking increasing efficiency, developing a postmodern world of organisational bureaucracy.[xxiv] He possesses a decentered psyche and no longer experiences alienation and anxiety in addition to other human emotions but is a fragmented being where, although there is no longer a self present to do the feeling[xxv], one can experience intensities; "...free floating and impersonal and (which) tend to be dominated by a peculiar kind of euphoria."[xxvi] These intensities are fed by man's new appetite for a world transformed into images of itself and never ending spectacles. Postmodern society is the society of the "cave" where mental space is that of a degraded "objective spirit"[xxvii] and where cultural production only represents society's ideas and stereotypes about the past. The dim fire light of Plato's cave makes it difficult to not only see and know oneself but to emerge from one's hovel and look upon the "putative real world"[xxviii] illuminated by the elucidating sun. All that postmodern man sees is a trace of his mental images of the past and of reality upon the confining walls of the society of the simulacrum which has colonised his unconscious through media and advertising.
Assuming to know, we have become self deceived, as the ancients warned. And by seeking to improve things as opposed to the self, we have come upon the "...ultimate contemporary fetishisation of the human body...acquiring a glossy skin, a stereoscopic illusion."[xxix] Through seeking to relentlessly improve things and not the soul, we have crushed human life altogether through technology; that alienated power which turns back on us and against us and seems to "...Constitute the massive dystopian horizon of our collective as well as our individual praxis."[xxx] The ancients warned us that if human improvement is motivated only by the attainment of comforts, it would lead to misery. And without the knowledge of self, there is nothing left "...but that which is deplorable and reprehensible..."[xxxi]. We fulfil our addiction to images of the past, stereotypes, or texts, removing any "...practical sense of the future and of the collective project, thereby abandoning the thinking of future change to fantasies of sheer catastrophe and inexplicable cataclysm, from visions of "terrorism" on the social level to those of cancer on the personal."[xxxii] As we glorify and shape ourselves for the "Almighty" commodity, "having" has become more important than being(Debord) and all we can look forward to is imaginary tranquillity at the price of real happiness(Rousseau).
Through virtual reality, postmodern man can buy imaginary tranquillity. HE has become "...crash bodies always on the hunt for a new techno-thrill."[xxxiii], not self knowledge. HE has come to a point where he has been born into the "cave" or electronic cage of virtual reality. He has "..always lived virtually...(where he)...have never had direct knowledge of a (natural) world outside the electronic frontier."[xxxiv] These observations give credence to the ancients exhortations, albeit, in a negative sense. But, HE will get a sense of the real world once he works in Latin America, England or Europe. He will also have a wife and seven children.
The self, as Kroker demonstrates, has become virtual such that it is purely aesthetic, disappearing into the "...electronic vortex of the floating self (and) is finally liberated of (fixed) identity, of determinate gender, of (localised) history, and of (bodily) subjectivity...which means the triumph of illusion...(while)...the virtual self...vanishes down the electronic highway from nothing to nowhere."[xxxv]
The information highway is like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You have to be careful how to take a bite. Postmodern man is the willing practitioner of this new world of the floating self, spasm, and of organs without bodies as he accepts and pursues the material promises of this world which purport maximum information, wealth and mobility, but which, in fact, give us little understanding and (lead to) alienated masses harmoniously dependent on elite command centres.[xxxvi]
Essentially Postmodernism is the phenomenon of the continuing realization of tensions in the emergence of new technology and their application in societies where these societies are founded on bedrock values that sustain their existence. The book of Eli (movie) demonstrates this circle of tension in emergence, application(either for life or death) and the bedrock values that are called upon to sustain. It cannot involve the undoing of such values or the term postmodernism would be a synonym for nihilism. It would be civilizational antithesis, undoing and a lamentation; not a celebration and progression forward with a maintenance of essential mores, values and beliefs via the media. Postmodernism is not an undoing or undressing of the essence. It is to maintain the shield and decorum in spite of technological change in every facet of life and this will include the court room. Postmodernism is the adjustment between new entertainment and information technologies and the traditional values that make the development of such technologies economically viable and a subject of consumer demand. There is little society (civil or otherwise) or abundant economic activity in any economy without such values. Postmodernism is not nihilism. However, this new virtual experience has given us a techno-skin and has shut down a whole range of human experiences, replacing them with thrills and intensities as Jameson concurs. We have come to a historical place where technology is the latest and most grisly manifestation of Nietzsche's will to power, leaving the self as a torn and fragmented victim. Nevertheless, Kroker says that to "Know your self" is still an attainable goal but that self recognition is not so much about knowing the self but about becoming aware and "...discovering anew the shock of the real."[xxxvii] We now see that the phenomenon of the "will to power" can be abused as Horkeimer and Adorno point out in the observation that mankind is becoming more barbaric. It is synonymous with Chompsky's Manufacturing of Consent. All the same, knowing the self is about walking out of the "cave" of the electronic cage of virtual reality and into the real (if not the natural) world. Yet, as the ancients say, the knowledge of self is a process of training of the spirit as an athlete trains the body for competition. There may be a circle of dna within human beings that militates toward destruction and cannibalism such that if we do not aspire to our higher breadth of nature in being( Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16), there is tragedy. We may need a supernatural helper to overcome this loop of dna and one was offered some time ago to achieve this. The media can also help to maintain this aspiration as there is much evidence in the world about the depravity of human nature. See World War II. The media does not have to reflect this dark light. It begins with awareness and awareness begins with the acceptance of ignorance and, in the postmodern, the shock of the real. "Media" in Spanish means "half " or "half truth". It is not the real. So let it be that man leaves the illusions of the simulacrum, the "cave", and of virtual reality so that he may begin to pursue knowledge without assuming to know and hopefully realise a new humanity not filled only with the "hope" of catastrophe and holocaust but improvement within the human condition. Humanity is an achievable goal.
April 25th, 1994-Warren A. Lyon.
[ii]The inclusion of new voices within the political process was witnessed in canada during the nation wide deliberations and negotiations involving the CharlotteTown and the Meech Lake Accords which considered the interests and concerns of various regions, women's groups, native rights, and the concerns of other special interest groups.
[iii]Ernsto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. (p. 165.)
[iv]ibid; p. 165, p. 181.
[v]ibid; p. 182.
[vi]ibid.; p. 183.
[vii]ibid; p. 173.
[viii]ibid; p. 175.
[ix]ibid; p. 191.
[x]ibid; p. 192.
[xi]ibid; p. 193.
Epictetus, Dialogue in Common Sense. (New York: Philosophical Library, 1974) p. 39)
[xiii]Plato, OP. Cit.; p. 483 and Epictetus, OP. Cit.; p. 58-p. 59.
[xiv]Plato, Op. Cit.; p. 486
[xv]Epictetus, Op. Cit.; p. 37.
[xvi]Plato, Op. Cit.; p. 507.
[xviii]Plato, Op. Cit.; p. 483.
[xix]Plato, Op. Cit; p. 508.
[xx]Epictetus, Op. Cit.; p. 39.
[xxi]Plato, Op. Cit.; p. 502, p. 506., Epictetus, Op. Cit.; p. 36
[xxiii]Plato, Op. Cit.; P. 506.
[xxv]Jameson, p. 15.
[xxvi]ibid; p. 16.
[xxvii]ibid, p. 25.
[xxviii]ibid.
[xxx]ibid., p. 35.
[xxxi]ibid; p. 48.
[xxxii]ibid., p. 46.
[xxxiv]ibid., p. 37.
So after you have videoed everything you can to explore the video and film medium, how do you feel? You have degraded the sanctity of the human being and thereby yourself in the process. It is 1936. Your real profession is chiropractic care with art collection. Maybe you don't feel very good about anything or very authoritative any longer after videoing the most unusual things( as dramatized and aired on the Dish Network) or the mundane and most natural phenomena between birds, bees and frogs and you yearn for a sense of eternal closeness while you get very upset with anyone who happens to read Job 31 and Psalms 101 habitually as a way of life and maintains his household accordingly. Why doesn't he or she feel like you? The year is 1936 and you decide that there could be others outside there some where who can't find their way back spiritually so you write a book to, somehow, justify your hellish existence where the only way to maintain or find that lost sense of dignity is to where a uniform that is made out of really thick wool material and good cowhide leather where ever possible. You could have read Paradise Lost and believed that the Lord can forgive anyone who does not deny His power(the abominable sin) and this power includes the power to forgive. You would have to ask and mean it determinedly. He answers such a one. The devil was too proud to ask, too proud to accept it and too determinedly independent, rebellious and angry to submit to a God for His forgiveness. In this, he did not believe and denied God's power. Believe this prophecy; many anti-christs shall come. Google it.
Sunday 24 May 2015
After watching ten hours of World War II color film footage, there were many lessons to be learned.
What follows is an actual movie proposal:
After watching ten hours of World War II color film footage, there were many lessons to be learned. After the lessons and observations, someone notices that there seems to be an anticipation for a third such conflict to hasten further globalization. The evidence of globalization was noticed in the various Bugs Bunny cartoons. The whole entire world does not speak English. There is room for a French sophisticated cat or skunk and for a Spanish speaking mouse or super hero. If you can't ride a subway for a while, watch Bugs Bunny and you might feel a little closer to your neighbor. It is only enjoyed by those with the highest average Iqs and you will be accepted by everyone. It is like the New York and London Times best seller list put together. You are also likely to get a job of sorts. Aside from the observations, the anticipation of something tremendous possibly involving a third such global conflict continued inappropriately as an undercurrent in society so a few directors( a team of them) decided to embark on the largest film project ever that dramatizes and depicts the third truly global conflict but not the end of the world; not that such a conflict should ever happen. There are too many good ideas on the shelf and too much common sense in the world for anyone to sacrifice human life in and "end of the world as we know it" due to an ego or two who have not learned how to communicate with their fingers fast enough by text to resolve conflict or by using those slide and pull tablet smart phones where you have to pull and slide sometimes for ten minutes before you can do anything. A dial pad button on all such phones could help. Who knows? It will be twenty hours with ten parts and it will remind everyone why they celebrate VE day ! Hurray! One interesting twist in the plot line will involve Grand children of Nazi deserters who joined western military establishments and who were trained to be very loyal,it is believed, like in Salt; the movie.
After watching ten hours of World War II color film footage, there were many lessons to be learned. After the lessons and observations, someone notices that there seems to be an anticipation for a third such conflict to hasten further globalization. The evidence of globalization was noticed in the various Bugs Bunny cartoons. The whole entire world does not speak English. There is room for a French sophisticated cat or skunk and for a Spanish speaking mouse or super hero. If you can't ride a subway for a while, watch Bugs Bunny and you might feel a little closer to your neighbor. It is only enjoyed by those with the highest average Iqs and you will be accepted by everyone. It is like the New York and London Times best seller list put together. You are also likely to get a job of sorts. Aside from the observations, the anticipation of something tremendous possibly involving a third such global conflict continued inappropriately as an undercurrent in society so a few directors( a team of them) decided to embark on the largest film project ever that dramatizes and depicts the third truly global conflict but not the end of the world; not that such a conflict should ever happen. There are too many good ideas on the shelf and too much common sense in the world for anyone to sacrifice human life in and "end of the world as we know it" due to an ego or two who have not learned how to communicate with their fingers fast enough by text to resolve conflict or by using those slide and pull tablet smart phones where you have to pull and slide sometimes for ten minutes before you can do anything. A dial pad button on all such phones could help. Who knows? It will be twenty hours with ten parts and it will remind everyone why they celebrate VE day ! Hurray! One interesting twist in the plot line will involve Grand children of Nazi deserters who joined western military establishments and who were trained to be very loyal,it is believed, like in Salt; the movie.
Did you know Hitler used to strangle people in private, videoed it and then put snippets of his evil on a large film screen during his rallies? It supported his reign of absolute terror. He was not elected democratically and even if he was, it would mean that he was not commensurately representative of the freedoms associated with democratic governments and institutions. It is an evil notion to suggest Hitler was elected democratically. A fascist abuse of the electoral process is not democratic.
The river Frog...the frog burps and says "love ya neigba" or "ribbit." He met a dark tree frog and light tree frog. The lighter tree frog tried to make himself white by breaking all the natural laws in hurting the darker tree frog. He asked the tree frogs if they understand the river. He also asked the tree frog with the copper-tone account if he thought this was apartheid South Africa? The dark tree frog did not buy any copper-tone but he ate lots of mint leaf as it helps the frog breath. "Try the Chinese tadpoles and call it a day and just decide to feel good about yourself. You must have tried the norse type already and you are still not satisfied with yourself. Just get a mate and have some children. The river flows and is natural but if you hurt other frogs in your environment to try and change yourself or achieve some false notion of acceptance, you must have damaged the tree in the process. River frogs don't want that nonsense. The tree feeds you." The river frog was white. Now, all the frogs have to learn how to live by the river where all frogs and their tadpole like origins originated. This did make the river frog happy since he could not stand festering ignorance in his world and it seems to get worse these days when you live too far away emotionally from the river.
There is the phenomena of Cain and Abel in every society and economy...
There is the phenomena of Cain and Abel in every society and economy. As such, all societies and economies are managed economies to ensure that the abuses and the violence that could take place in un-managed, raw market phenomena do not occur, leading to the stalling detriment of the economy. In this way, economic life remains viable for the majority and feeds into a robust and vibrant economy. Cain chose not to repent and refused a relationship with God; hence the violence. With out a doubt, vegetables could always go well with barbecue lamb and ultimately Cain was accepted. God spoke to him and simply said "cast your net on the other side." Why would you kill your brother simply because your Heavenly Father loves you enough to talk to you? There is always next year to try and win a barbecue contest. Sibling rivalry is the most evil emotion in the whole, entire world according to the word of God.
So many phones; not enough humanity!
So many phones; not enough humanity! A commitment to the ten commandments and the teachings of Christ give us the civil society in which people can be creative. Let us not forget that the final denominator is humanity. Enjoy Londinium TV Channel!
Saturday 23 May 2015
As you accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins...
As you accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins( or as the real person you wish to conceive of as an outlet for your anger), it does not mean that you need to stop smoking right away or to do anything else to change your life. You cast your anger, beatings and abuse on Jesus while you do whatever want to do all day long and you may just decide to stop smoking when you want to. At least you are not mistreating another human being or using another human being as an outlet for your anger. Who knows what might happen afterwards but you might decide to hold a door open for someone someday but maybe not right away and that's okay. At least it's much more cost effective than that other way you heard about as explained by your Grandfather who is now a preacher and much happier. He explained how he stole someone's running shoes in high school and then killed the same person after he became an ironing board store owner in the 1960's. He referred to the person as "his beat up". He repented and his bad angers went away. As your habit of anger dissipates(your husband, dog or son might know-usually those closest to you), you will develop the habit of adoration.
Friday 22 May 2015
Thursday 21 May 2015
Post modernism equates to the simple fact that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Common sense( not to be construed as old fashioned) values and traditions are still quite helpful; especially when you are raising children and this includes those born on or after October 11th, 2001. Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you is simple natural law as recorded in Genesis. If you want your neighbor to respect your tent (see Genesis) or fence post, shouldn't you respect his? If he doesn't, you call the police; right?
Wednesday 20 May 2015
Metro-sexual means a tough guy with a good nail clip in his jeans...
Metro-sexual means a tough guy with a good and well tailored suit, good cologne and a tie that does not sit below the belt buckle. In fact, you can achieve this by buying everything off-the rack at TJ MAxx or Marshalls and then you can visit a local tailor who will love you like a good community member in terms of tailoring and promote his business for $14.95 to finish basic alterations. It does not mean effeminate and it never did. It may have meant a return to basics in discreet and simple dress sense that is also neat and demonstrates an imperfect but certain discipline. It is the "goes well with anything" common sense that does not disdain respect for a woman's need to have a tender bible study moment where it teaches you about partnership and friendship between a man and a woman. This is the basis of all relationships. It's just "crazy, stupid love" and if you don't lift bibles on a regular basis, she might just start to look around maybe. It means its okay to be a consumer and have two-three pairs of jeans and three golf shirts. You need at least one extra shirt so that you can give one away if someone asks you for the shirt on your back. See Luke 6:29-30. Enjoy your cinnamon tea or rugged black coffee at the pastry shop and its okay to hold your late' cup with a humble, unshakable confidence and this is with your pinkies pointing down and in line with your dear fingers around the cup! In addition to social acceptance, you might also get a wife and you can call her on your
smart phone to tell her you a running late for dinner on the way back from your spinning class.
Luke 6:29: If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
smart phone to tell her you a running late for dinner on the way back from your spinning class.
Luke 6:29: If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Tuesday 19 May 2015
For what its worth...every nation may want an opportunity to fight the battle of Megiddo because every generation spends more time reading biblical prophecy than reading recorded history. But, it takes a lot of work to bring an army to the battle ground generation after generation. Google "battle of Megiddo" on your smart phone and sip a coke classic! Google 2nd Peter 3:10 and Matthew 24. Be salt and light and if you are, when shall the end come?
Battle of Megiddo (1918)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other battles fought in the vicinity of Megiddo, see Battle of Megiddo (disambiguation).
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The Battle of Megiddo (Turkish: Megiddo Muharebesi) also known in Turkish as the Nablus Hezimeti ("Rout of Nablus"), the Nablus Yarması ("Breakthrough at Nablus") was fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, on the Plain of Sharon, in front of Tulkarm, Tabsor and Arara in the Judean Hills as well as on the Esdralon Plain at Nazareth,Afulah, Beisan, Jenin and Samakh.
The Battle of Megiddo was the final Allied offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. The contending forces were the Allied Egyptian Expeditionary Force, of three corps including one of mounted troops, and the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group which numbered three armies, each the strength of barely an Allied corps. The series of battles took place in what was then the central and northern parts of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Israel, Syria and Jordan. After forces of the Arab Revolt attacked the Ottoman lines of communication, distracting the Ottomans, British and Indian infantry divisions attacked and broke through the Ottoman defensive lines in the sector adjacent to the coast in the set-piece Battle of Sharon. The Desert Mounted Corps rode through the breach and almost encircled the Ottoman Eighth and Seventh Armies still fighting in the Judean Hills. The subsidiary Battle of Nablus was fought virtually simultaneously in the Judean Hills in front of Nablus and at crossings of the Jordan River. The Ottoman Fourth Army was subsequently attacked in the Hills of Moab at Es Salt and Amman.
These battles resulted in many tens of thousands of prisoners and many miles of territory being captured by the Allies. Following the battles, Daraa was captured on 27 September, Damascus on 1 October and operations at Haritan, north of Aleppo, were still in progress when the Armistice of Mudros was signed ending hostilities between the Allies and Ottomans.
The operations of General Edmund Allenby, the British commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, achieved decisive results at comparatively little cost, in contrast to many offensives during the First World War. Allenby achieved this through the use of creeping barrages to cover set-piece infantry attacks to break a state of trench warfare and then use his mobile forces (cavalry, armoured cars and aircraft) to encircle the Ottoman armies' positions in the Judean Hills, cutting off their lines of retreat. The irregular forces of the Arab Revolt also played a part in this victory.
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[hide]Background[edit]
The ancient fortress of Megiddo stands on Tell el Mutesellim (Tel Megiddo), at the mouth of the Musmus Pass near El Lajjun, controlling the routes to the north and the interior by dominating the Plain of Armageddon. Across this plain (also known as the Plain of Megiddo), several armies from the ancient Egyptians, to the French under Napoleon had marched and fought towards Nazareth in the Galilean Hills. By 1918 this plain, which had become known as the Esdraelon Plain, was still strategically important as it linked theJordan Valley and the Plain of Sharon 40 miles (64 km) behind the Ottoman front line, and together, these three valleys formed a semicircle round the main Ottoman positions in the Judean Hills held by their Seventh and Eighth Armies.[3][4]
Allied situation[edit]
The Entente Powers had declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914. In early 1915 and in August 1916 the Ottomans, with German commanders, aid and encouragement, had attacked the Suez Canal, a vital link between Britain and India, Australia and New Zealand. Under General Archibald Murray, the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) stopped the Ottoman army at the Battle of Romani and drove them back to Magdhaba and across the Sinai to Rafa to reoccupy Egyptian territory and secure the safety of the Suez Canal. Having constructed a railway and water pipeline across the desert, Murray then attacked southern Palestine. In the First Battle of Gaza and the Second Battle of Gaza in March and April 1917, the British attacks were defeated.
In 1916, the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule had broken out in the Hejaz, led by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. Although the Ottomans defended Medina, at the end of the Hejaz Railway against them, part of the Sherifian Army, led by Hussein's son, the Emir Feisal, and British liaison officer T. E. Lawrence, extended the revolt northwards. Finally Lawrence and bedouin tribesmen won the Battle of Aqaba in July 1917. The capture of the port ofAqaba allowed the Allies to supply Feisal's forces and deprived the Ottomans of a position behind the right flank of the EEF.
General Edmund Allenby had been appointed to succeed Murray in command of the EEF, and was encouraged to renew the offensive. After receiving reinforcements, he broke through the Ottoman defences in the Third Battle of Gaza and defeated an Ottoman attempt to make a stand to the north at the Battle of Mughar Ridge. Despite Ottoman counter-attacks, the EEF captured Jerusalem in the second week in December 1917.
After a pause of several weeks caused by bad weather and the need to repair his lines of communication, Allenby advanced eastward to capture Jericho in February 1918. However, in March, the Germans launched their Spring Offensive on the Western Front, intending to defeat the Allied armies in France and Belgium. Allenby was ordered to send reinforcements (two complete divisions, another 24 infantry battalions from other divisions and nine dismounted yeomanry regiments) to the Western Front.[5] Allenby's tank force was also returned to France.[6] In total approximately 60,000 officers and men were transferred to the Western Front in 1918.[7]
However, Allenby maintained pressure on the Ottoman armies by twice sending mounted and infantry divisions across the Jordan. The first attack briefly cut the Hejaz Railway near Amman before the attackers retreated. In thesecond attack, Allenby's troops captured Es Salt on the road to Amman, but fell back when their communications were threatened. Despite these failures, Allenby had established two bridgeheads across the Jordan north of theDead Sea which were retained during the ensuing occupation of the southern Jordan Valley.[8]
Ottoman situation[edit]
At the same time (effectively from 8 March), the Ottoman command changed.[9] The highest level Ottoman headquarters in Palestine was the Yıldırım Army Group. (Yıldırım translates roughly as "thunderbolt".[10]) The Army Group had originally been formed to recapture Baghdad which had been captured by the British in March 1917. Instead it had been diverted to Palestine where the British were close to capturing Jerusalem. The Army Group's commander was the German General Erich von Falkenhayn, who wished to continue a policy of "yielding defence" rather than hold positions at all costs. He was also prepared to retreat to shorten his lines of communication and reduce the need for static garrisons. However, he was unpopular among Ottoman officers, mainly because he relied almost exclusively on German rather than Turkish staff officers, and was blamed for the defeats at Gaza and Jerusalem.[11] He was replaced by another German General, Otto Liman von Sanders, who had commanded the Ottoman defence during the Gallipoli Campaign.[9] Liman reasoned that continued retreat in Palestine would demoralise the troops, ruin their draught animals, encourage the Arab Revolt to spread further north into the Ottoman rear areas and also lead to all the Ottoman forces to the south in the Hejaz being finally isolated.[12] His forces halted their retreat and dug in to resist the British, even reoccupying some ground near the Jordan as Allenby's two raids across the Jordan were repulsed.[13]
Until late September 1918, the strategic situation of the Ottoman Empire appeared to be better than that of the other Central Powers. Their forces in Mesopotamia were holding their ground, while in the Caucasus they had captured Armenia, Azerbaijan and much of Georgia in an advance towards the Caspian Sea. Liman von Sanders was expected to repeat his defence of Gallipoli and defeat the British invasion in Palestine.[14]
However, some other commanders were worried about an assault on their extended front in Palestine. They wished to pull their troops back, so an attack would have to cross undefended ground and lose any tactical surprise. However Liman would have had to abandon what seemed to be good defences and decided that it was too late to pull back.[15]
Allied reorganisation[edit]
During the summer of 1918, Allenby's forces were built back up to full strength. Two British Indian Army cavalry divisions, the 4th Cavalry Division and 5th Cavalry Division, arrived from the Western Front and were reorganised to include one British yeomanry regiment in five of their six brigades.[16] Two Indian infantry divisions, the 3rd (Lahore) Division and the 7th (Meerut) Division, were transferred from the Mesopotamian Campaign to replace two divisions which had been sent to the Western Front.[16] Four of Allenby's infantry divisions (the 10th, 53rd, 60th and 75th) were reformed on the pattern of British Indian Army, with three Indian and one British infantry battalion in each brigade[17] except one brigade in the 53rd Division which had one South African and three Indian battalions.[18] The remaining British infantry division, the 54th (East Anglian) Division, retained its all-British composition, although a brigade-sized detachment of French North African and Armenian troops was attached to the division.[17]
There was a comparative lull in activity while Allenby's divisions were reorganised and retrained, but some local attacks were made, especially in the Judean Hills. On 19 July, the Ottomans and Germans mounted a brief attack atAbu Tellul near the Jordan, but were defeated by Australian Light Horse regiments with heavy casualties to the German 11th Reserve Jäger battalion, which was subsequently withdrawn from Palestine.[19]
Arab Northern Army[edit]
As Allenby's reorganisation proceeded, the Arab Northern Army (part of the Arab Revolt) was operating east of the Jordan under the overall leadership of the Emir Feisal. Feisal's headquarters were at Aba el Lissan, about 15 miles (24 km) south-west of the Ottoman position at Ma'an, and his army received support from the British through the port of Aqaba. Assistance to Feisal included liaison officers, detachments of armoured cars, Indian machine gunners and a French Algerian mountain battery,[20] 2,000 camels from three disbanded battalions of the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade,[21] weapons, ammunition and above all, money (almost always in coin). In mid-1916, this had started as a monthly subsidy of £30,000. By the time Allenby launched his Megiddo offensive, it had grown to £220,000 a month.[22]
The 4,000 regular soldiers of the Arab Northern Army maintained a blockade of the Ottoman garrison at Ma'an after an unsuccessful attack at Al-Samna earlier in the year.[23] They were commanded by Jaafar Pasha, formerly an Ottoman officer who had been sent to lead a rebellion against the British by the Senussi in Egypt, but had joined the Arab Revolt after being captured. Most of these regulars were former Arab conscripts in the Ottoman Army who had deserted or, like Jaafar, had changed sides after becoming prisoners of war.[24]
Meanwhile, Arab irregulars raided the Hejaz Railway from Aba-el-Lissan and Aqaba, often accompanied by Lawrence and other British liaison officers.[25] In particular, in the weeks following the failure of Allenby's second attack across the Jordan, they carried out demolitions on a 80 miles (130 km) stretch of line around Mudawara, due east of Aqaba, effectively closing the line for a month and ending Ottoman operations around Medina at the end of the railway.[26]
Prelude[edit]
Allenby's plan[edit]
Allenby intended to break through the western end of the Ottoman line, where the terrain was favourable to cavalry operations. His horsemen would pass through the gap to seize objectives deep in the Ottoman rear areas and isolate their Seventh and Eighth Armies.[28]
As a preliminary move, the Arab Northern Army would attack the railway junction at Daraa beginning on 16 September, to interrupt the Ottoman lines of communication and distract the Yildirim headquarters.[29][30]
The two divisions of XX Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode, would make an attack in the Judean Hills beginning on the night of 18 September, partly to further distract Ottoman attention to the Jordan Valley sector, and partly to secure positions from which their line of retreat across the Jordan could be blocked.[12] Once the main offensive by XXI Corps and the Desert Mounted Corps was launched, XX Corps was to block the Ottoman escape route from Nablus to the Jordan crossing at Jisr ed Damieh and if possible capture the Ottoman Seventh Army's headquarters in Nablus.[31][32][33]
The main breakthrough was to be achieved on the coast on 19 September by four infantry divisions of XXI Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Bulfin, massed on a front 8 miles (13 km) wide. The fifth division of XXI Corps (the 54th) was to make a subsidiary attack 5 miles (8.0 km) inland of the main breach.[12] Once the breakthrough was achieved, the corps, with the 5th Light Horse Brigade attached, would advance to capture the headquarters of the Ottoman Eighth Army at Tulkarm and the lateral railway line by which the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies were supplied, including the important railway junction at Messudieh.[29][32][34]
The strategic move was to be made by the Desert Mounted Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel. Its three mounted divisions were massed behind the three westernmost infantry divisions of XXI Corps. As soon as XXI Corps had breached the Ottoman defences, they were to march north to reach the passes through the Carmel Range before Ottoman troops could forestall them, and pass through these to seize the communication centres of Al-Afuleh and Beisan. These two communication centres were within the 60 miles (97 km) radius of a strategic cavalry "bound", the distance mounted units could cover before being forced to halt for rest and to obtain water and fodder for the horses. If they were captured, the lines of communication and retreat for all Ottoman troops west of the Jordan would be cut.[28]
Finally a detachment consisting of the Anzac Mounted Division, the 20th Indian Infantry Brigade, two battalions of the British West Indies Regiment and two battalions of Jewish Volunteers in the Royal Fusiliers, amounting to 11,000 men[35][36] commanded by Major General Edward Chaytor and known as Chaytor's Force, was to capture the Jisr ed Damieh bridge and fords in a pincer movement. This important line of communication between the Ottoman Armies on the west bank of the Jordan with the Ottoman Fourth Army at Es Salt, was required by Allenby before Chaytor could proceed to capture Es Salt and Amman.[34][37]
Entente deceptions[edit]
Secrecy was an essential part, as it had been at the Battle of Beersheba the preceding year. It was feared that the Ottomans could thwart the preparations for the attack by making a withdrawal in the coastal sector.[38] Laborious efforts were therefore made to prevent the Ottomans discerning Allenby's intentions and to persuade them that the next Entente attack would be made in the Jordan Valley. All westward movements of personnel and vehicles from the Jordan Valley towards the Mediterranean coast were made during the night while all movements eastwards were made during daytime. The detached Anzac Mounted Division in the Jordan Valley simulated the activity of the entire mounted corps. Troops marched openly down to the valley by day, and were secretly taken back by lorry at night to repeat the process the next day. Vehicles or mules dragged harrows along tracks to raise dust clouds, simulating other troop movements. Dummy camps and horse lines were constructed and a hotel in Jerusalem was ostentatiously commandeered for an Expeditionary Force headquarters.[12][39][40]
Meanwhile, the 2nd (British) Battalion of the Imperial Camel Corps joined Arab irregulars in a raid east of the Jordan. They first captured and destroyed the railway station at Mudawara, finally cutting the Hejaz Railway,[41] and then mounted a reconnaissance near Amman, scattering corned beef tins and documents as proof of their presence.[42] Lawrence sent agents to openly buy up huge quantities of forage in the same area.[12] As a final touch, British newspapers and messages were filled with reports of a race meeting to take place on 19 September, the day on which the attack was to be launched.[43]
Though Allenby's deceptions did not induce Liman to concentrate his forces against the River Jordan flank,[44] Allenby was nevertheless able to concentrate a force superior to the Ottoman XXII Corps by nearly five to one in infantry and even more in artillery on the Mediterranean flank, where the main attack was to be made, undetected by the Ottomans.[12] Earlier in the year (on 9 June), units of the 7th (Meerut) Division had captured two hills just inland from the coast, depriving the Ottomans of two important observation points overlooking the Allied bridgehead north of the Nahr-el-Auja.[45] Also, the Royal Engineers had established a bridging school on the Nahr-al-Auja much earlier in the year, so the sudden appearance of several bridges across it on the eve of the assault did not alert any other Ottoman observers.[46]
Entente air superiority[edit]
These various deceptions could not have been successful, without the Entente forces' undisputed air supremacy west of the Jordan. The squadrons of the Royal Air Force and theAustralian Flying Corps outnumbered and outclassed the Ottoman and German aircraft detachments in Palestine.[46] During the weeks before the September attack, enemy aerial activity dropped markedly. Although during one week in June hostile aeroplanes crossed the British front lines 100 times, mainly on the tip–and–run principle at altitudes of 16,000–18,000 feet (4,900–5,500 m), by the last week in August this number had dropped to 18 and during the three following weeks of September it was reduced to just four enemy aircraft. During the 18 days before the start of the battle, only two or three German aircraft were seen flying.[47] Eventually, Ottoman and German reconnaissance aircraft could not even take off without being engaged by British or Australian fighters,[12] and could therefore not see through Allenby's deceptions, nor spot the true Allied concentration which was concealed in orange groves and plantations.
Ottoman dispositions[edit]
Under the Yildirim Army Group were, from west to east: the Eighth Army (Jevad Pasha) which held the front from the Mediterranean coast to the Judean Hills with five divisions (one of which had recently arrived at Et Tire, a few miles behind the front lines), a cavalry division and the German "Pasha II" detachment, equivalent to a regiment; the Seventh Army (Mustafa Kemal Pasha) which held the front in the Judean Hills to the Jordan River with four divisions and a German regiment; and the Fourth Army (Jemal Mersinli Pasha), which was divided into two groups: one faced the bridgeheads which Allenby's forces had seized over the Jordan with two divisions, while the other defended Amman and Ma'an and the Hejaz Railway against attacks by Arab forces with two divisions, a cavalry division and some miscellaneous detachments.[48]
In August 1918, the Yildirim Army Group's front-line strength was 40,598 infantrymen armed with 19,819 rifles, 273 light and 696 heavy machine guns,[49][clarification needed] and 402 guns.[1]
Although the Ottomans had fairly accurately estimated the total Allied strength, Liman lacked intelligence on the Allied plans and dispositions and was forced to dispose his forces evenly along the entire length of his front. Moreover, almost his entire fighting strength was in the front line. The armies' only operational reserves were the two German regiments and the two understrength cavalry divisions. Further back there were no strategic reserves other than some "Depot Regiments", not organised as fighting units, and scattered garrisons and line of communication units.[citation needed]
After four years of warfare, most Ottoman units were understrength and demoralised by desertions, sickness and shortage of supplies (although supplies were not short at Damascus when Desert Mounted Corps arrived there on 1 October 1918. It was possible to find food and forage for three cavalry divisions; 20,000 men and horses "without depriving the inhabitants of essential food."[50]). Liman nevertheless relied on the determination of the Turkish infantry and the strength of their front-line fortifications.[49] Although the numbers of artillery pieces and especially of machine guns among the defenders were unusually high, the Ottoman lines had only thin belts of barbed wire compared with those on the Western Front,[51] and Liman was unable to take into account the improved British tactical methods in set-piece offensives, involving surprise and short but accurate artillery preparation based on aerial reconnaissance.[52]
Battle[edit]
Opening attacks[edit]
On 16 September 1918, Arabs under T. E. Lawrence and Nuri as-Said began destroying railway lines around the vital rail centre of Daraa, at the junction of the Hedjaz Railway which supplied the Ottoman army at Amman and the Palestine Railway which supplied the Ottoman armies in Palestine. Lawrence's initial forces (a Camel Corps unit from Feisal's Army, an Egyptian Camel Corps unit, some Gurkha machine gunners, British and Australian armoured cars and French mountain artillery) were soon joined by up to 3,000 Ruwallah and Howeitat tribesmen under noted fighting chiefs such as Auda abu Tayi and Nuri es-Shaalan. Although Lawrence was ordered by Allenby only to disrupt communications around Daraa for a week and Lawrence himself had not intended a major uprising to take place in the area immediately, to avoid Ottoman reprisals, a growing number of local communities spontaneously took up arms against the Turks.[53][54]
As the Ottomans reacted, sending the garrison of Al-Afuleh to reinforce Daraa,[55] the units of Chetwode's Corps made attacks in the hills above the Jordan on 17 and 18 September. The 53rd Division attempted to seize ground commanding the road system behind the Ottoman front lines. Some objectives were captured but a position known to the British as "Nairn Ridge" was defended by the Ottomans until late on 19 September. Once it was captured, roads could be constructed to link the British road systems with those newly captured.[56]
At the last minute, an Indian deserter had warned the Turks about the impending main attack. Refet Bey, the commander of the Ottoman XXII Corps on the Eighth Army's right flank, wished to withdraw to forestall the attack but his superiors Jevad Pasha, commanding the Ottoman Eighth Army, and Liman (who feared that the deserter was himself an attempted intelligence bluff) forbade him to do so.[12][54]
At 1:00am on 19 September, the RAF Palestine Brigade's single Handley Page O/400 heavy bomber dropped its full load of sixteen 112-pound (51 kg) bombs on the main telephone exchange and railway station in Al-Afuleh. This cut communications between Liman's headquarters at Nazareth and Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies for the following vital two days, dislocating the Ottoman command.[57][58][59] DH.9s of No. 144 Squadron also bombed El Afule telephone exchange and railway station, Messudieh railway junction and the Ottoman Seventh Army headquarters and telephone exchange at Nablus.[60][61][62]
Breakthrough of Ottoman line[edit]
Main article: Battle of Sharon (1918)
At 4:30am, Allenby's main attack by XXI Corps opened. A barrage by 385 guns (the field artillery of five divisions, five batteries of 60-pounder guns, thirteen siege batteries of medium howitzers and seven batteries of the Royal Horse Artillery),[63] 60 trench mortars and two destroyers off the coast fell on the Ottoman 7th and 20th Divisions' front-line positions defendingNahr el Faliq.[63] As the opening bombardment turned to a "lifting" barrage at 4:50am, the British and Indian infantry advanced and quickly broke through the Ottoman lines.[51] Within hours, the Desert Mounted Corps were moving north along the coast, with no Ottoman reserves available to check them.
"Concentration, surprise, and speed were key elements in the blitzkrieg warfare planned by Allenby."[65] By the end of the first day of battle, the left flank unit of the British XXI Corps (the 60th Division) had reached Tulkarm[66] and the remnants of the Ottoman Eighth Army were in disorderly retreat under air attack by Bristol F.2 Fighters of No. 1 Australian Squadron, through the defile at Messudieh and into the hills to the east, covered by a few hastily-organised rearguards. Jevad Pasha, the army commander, had fled, and Mustafa Kemal Pasha at Seventh Army headquarters was unable to re-establish control over Eighth Army's troops.[citation needed]
Throughout the day, the RAF prevented any of the German aircraft based at Jenin from taking off and interfering with the British land operations. Relays of two S.E.5s from Nos. 111 and 145 Squadrons, armed with bombs, circled over the German airfield at Jenin all day on 19 September. Whenever they spotted any movement on the ground, they bombed the airfield. Each pair of aircraft were relieved every two hours, machine-gunning the German hangars before departing.[67]
Encirclement of two Ottoman Armies[edit]
Main articles: Battle of Tulkarm, Battle of Tabsor, Battle of Arara, Battle of Nazareth, Capture of Afulah and Beisan, Capture of Jenin and Battle of Haifa (1918)
During the early hours of 20 September 1918, the Desert Mounted Corps secured the defiles of the Carmel Range. The 4th Mounted Division passed through these to capture Afulah and Beisan, complete with the bulk of two depot regiments. A brigade of the 5th Mounted Division attacked Nazareth, where Liman von Sanders's HQ was situated, although Liman himself escaped. In the late afternoon a brigade from the Australian Mounted Division occupied Jenin, capturing many retreating Ottomans. The 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, of the 5th Mounted Division, captured the port of Haifa on 23 September.[66][68]
Once nothing stood between Allenby's forces and Mustafa Kemal's Seventh Army in Nablus, Kemal decided that he lacked sufficient men to fight the British forces.[69] With the railway blocked, the Seventh Army's only escape route lay to the east, along the Nablus-Beisan road that led down the Wadi Fara into the Jordan valley.[70]
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On the night of 20–21 September the Seventh Army began to evacuate Nablus.[70] By this time it was the last formed Ottoman army west of the Jordan and although there was a chance that Chetwode's XX Corps might cut off their retreat, its advance had been slowed by Ottoman rearguards. On 21 September, the Seventh Army was spotted by aircraft in a defile west of the river. The RAF proceeded to bomb the retreating army and destroyed the entire column. Waves of bombing and strafing aircraft passed over the column every three minutes and although the operation had been intended to last for five hours, the Seventh Army was routed in 60 minutes. The wreckage of the destroyed column stretched over 6 miles (9.7 km). British cavalry later found 87 guns, 55 motor-lorries, 4 motor-cars, 75 carts, 837 four-wheeled wagons, and scores of water-carts and field-kitchens destroyed or abandoned on the road.[71] Many Ottoman soldiers were killed and the survivors were scattered and leaderless. Lawrence later wrote that "the RAF lost four killed. The Turks lost a corps."[72]
According to Chauvel's biographer, Allenby's plan for the Battle of Megiddo was as "brilliant in execution as it had been in conception; it had no parallel in France or on any other front, but rather looked forward in principle and even in detail to the Blitzkrieg of 1939."[73] Over the next four days, the 4th Cavalry Division and Australian Mounted Division rounded up large numbers of demoralised and disorganised Ottoman troops in the Jezreel Valley. Many of the surviving refugees who crossed the Jordan were attacked and captured by Arabs as they approached or tried to bypass Daraa.[citation needed]
Main article: Battle of Samakh (1918)
Liman deployed a rearguard to hold Samakh, on the Sea of Galilee. This town was to be the centre of a line stretching from Lake Hule to Daraa. A charge by one and a half Australian Light Horse regiments before dawn on 25 September, followed by intense hand-to-hand fighting, eventually captured the town. This victory broke the proposed defensive line and ended the Battle of Sharon.[74][75]
Judean Hills fighting[edit]
Main article: Battle of Nablus (1918)
As the Desert Mounted Corps and XXI Corps achieved their objectives, the units of XX Corps resumed their advance. Nablus was captured about noon on 21 September by the 10th Division and the Australian 5th Light Horse Brigade from XXI Corps. The British 53rd Division halted its advance towards the Wadi el Fara road when it became clear that the retreating Ottomans had effectively been destroyed by aerial attacks.
Later operations around Daraa[edit]
German and Turkish aircraft had continued to operate from Daraa, harassing the Arab irregulars and insurgents still attacking railways and isolated Ottoman detachments about the town. At Lawrence's urging, British aircraft began operating from makeshift landing strips at Um el Surab nearby from 22 September. Three Bristol F.2 Fighters shot down several of the German aircraft. The Handley Page 0/400 ferried across petrol, ammunition and spares for the fighters and two Airco DH.9s, and itself bombed the airfield at Daraa early on 23 September and nearby Mafraq on the following night.[76]
Capture of Amman[edit]
Main article: Third Transjordan attack (1918)
On 22 September, on the western side of the Jordan River, the Ottoman 53rd Division was attacked at its headquarters near the Wadi el Fara road, by units from Meldrum's Force. This force consisted of the New Zealand Mounted Brigade (commanded by Brigadier General W. Meldrum), the Machine Gun Squadron, the mounted sections of the 1st and 2nd British West Indies Regiment, the 29th Indian Mountain Battery and Ayrshire (or Inverness) Battery RHA. Meldrum's force captured the commander of the 53rd Division, its headquarters and 600 prisoners, before defeating determined Ottoman rearguards to capture the Jisr ed Damieh bridge.[77][78][79][80]
The Ottoman Fourth Army had remained in its positions until 21 September, apparently unaware of the destruction of the Ottoman armies west of the Jordan until refugees reached them. That day, Liman ordered the Fourth Army to retreat to Daraa and Irbid, about 18 miles (29 km) to the west. The Fourth Army began to retreat from the Jordan and Amman on 22 September in increasing disorder due to attacks by British and Australian aircraft on 23 September which caused heavy casualties to the retreating troops on the roads between Es Salt and Amman. On the same day, Chaytor's Force advanced across the Jordan River to capture Es Salt.[81][82]
On 25 September the Ottoman troops who had reached Mafraq by train from Amman, but who could proceed no further because the railway ahead was demolished, came under heavy aerial attack which caused many casualties and much disorder. Many Ottoman soldiers fled into the desert but several thousand maintained some order and, having abandoned their wheeled transport, continued to retreat northwards towards Daraa on foot or horseback, under constant air attack.[81]
Chaytor's Force captured Amman on 25 September.[78] The Ottoman detachment from Ma'an, also trying to retreat northwards, found its line of retreat blocked at Ziza, south of Amman, and surrendered intact to the Anzac Mounted Division on 28 September, rather than risk slaughter by Arab irregulars.[82][83]
| “ | I desire to convey to all ranks and all arms of the Force under my command, my admiration and thanks for their great deeds of the past week, and my appreciation of their gallantry and determination, which have resulted in the total destruction of the VIIth and VIIIth Turkish Armies opposed to us. Such a complete victory has seldom been known in all the history of war. | ” |
—E. H. H. Allenby General Commander in Chief EEF 26 September 1918[84] | ||
Aftermath[edit]
Main articles: Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub, Charge at Irbid, Charge at Kaukab, Charge at Kiswe, Capture of Damascus (1918), Pursuit to Haritan and Battle of Aleppo (1918)
Capture of Damascus[edit]
Allenby now ordered his cavalry to cross the Jordan, to capture Daraa and Damascus. Meanwhile, the 3rd (Lahore) Division advanced north along the coast towards Beirut and the 7th (Meerut) Division advanced on Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley, where the rearmost Ottoman depots and reinforcement camps were situated.[citation needed]
On 27 September, the 4th Mounted Division moved to Daraa, which had already been abandoned to Arab forces, and then advanced north on Damascus in company with them. The retreating Ottomans committed several atrocities against hostile Arab villages; in return, the Arab forces took no prisoners. Almost an entire Ottoman brigade (along with some German and Austrians) was massacred near the village of Tafas on 27 September, with the commander Jemal Pasha[citation needed]narrowly escaping. The Arabs repeated the performance the next day, losing a few hundred casualties while wiping out nearly 5,000 Turks in these two battles.[citation needed]
The 5th Mounted and Australian Mounted Divisions advanced directly across the Golan Heights towards Damascus. They fought actions at Benat Yakup, Kuneitra, Sasa and Katana, before they reached and closed the north and north-west exits from Damascus on 29 September.[85] On 30 September, the Australians intercepted the garrison of Damascus as they tried to retreat through the Barada gorge. Damascus was captured the next day, with the Allies capturing 20,000 prisoners.[86] Jemal Pasha fled, having failed to inspire last-ditch resistance.
Overall, the campaign to the fall of Damascus resulted in the surrender of 75,000 Ottoman soldiers.[86]
Pursuit to Aleppo[edit]
After the fall of Damascus, the 5th Mounted Division and some detachments of the Arab Northern Army advanced north through Syria, capturing Aleppo on 26 October. They subsequently advanced to Mouslimmiye, where Mustafa Kemal (who had replaced Liman von Sanders in command of the Yıldırım Army Group) had rallied some troops under XXII Corps HQ. Kemal held his positions until 31 October, when hostilities ceased following the signing of the Armistice of Mudros.[citation needed]
Effects[edit]
The successful action at Megiddo resulted in the battle honour "Megiddo" being awarded to units of the British, Dominion and Empire forces participating in the battle. Battle honours for the two subsidiary battles of Sharon and Nablus were also awarded.[87]
Edward Erickson, a historian of the Ottoman Army, later wrote:
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