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{{Short description|Battle of World War I}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Haifa
| partof = the [[Middle Eastern theatre of World War I]]
| image = Indian lancers in Haifa 1918.jpg
| image_size = 270
| caption = [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]] lancers marching through Haifa after it was captured
| date = 23 September 1918
| place = [[Haifa]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]
| coordinates =
| map_type =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory = Port changed hands enabling the British to land supplies closer to their front line.
| result = British (British Indian) victory
| status =
| combatant1 = {{flag|British Empire}} 
{{Flag|British Raj}} 
* '''[[Princely states]]'''
**[[File:Flag of Jodhpur.svg|23px]] [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]]
**[[File:Flag of Kingdom of Mysore.svg|23px]] [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]]
| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Ottoman Empire}} {{flag|German Empire}} {{flagcountry|Austria-Hungary}}
| commander1 = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Cyril Rodney Harbord]] [[File:Flag of Jodhpur.svg|23px]] [[Dalpat Singh Shekhawat]]{{KIA}}
| commander2 = Unknown
| units1 = [[15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade]]
| units2 = Haifa garrison
| casualties1 = 8 Indians killed 34 Indians wounded<ref name=hmso27>H.M.S.O. 1920, p.27</ref>
| casualties2 = Unknown killed and wounded '''Prisoners''' 2 German officers 23 Ottoman officers 664 other ranks<ref name=hmso27/> total: 1,350 prisoners
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Sinai and Palestine}}
}}

The '''Battle of Haifa''' was fought on 23 September 1918 towards the end of the [[Battle of Sharon]] which together with the [[Battle of Nablus (1918)|Battle of Nablus]] formed the set piece [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]] fought between 19 and 25 September during the last months of the [[Sinai and Palestine Campaign]] of the [[First World War]]. During the Battle of Haifa, the Indian [[15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade]], [[5th Cavalry Division (British Indian Army)|5th Cavalry Division]] and part of the [[Desert Mounted Corps]] attacked rearguard forces of the [[Ottoman Empire]] that resulted in the capture of the towns of [[Haifa]] and [[Acre (city)|Acre]]. This attack took place at the north western edge of the Esdraelon Plain (also known as the [[Jezreel Valley]] and the plain of [[Armageddon]]), {{convert|40|-|50|mi|km}} from Sharon.

The Battle of Megiddo had begun with an attack by British Empire infantry along an almost continuous line from the Mediterranean Sea across the Plain of Sharon into the foothills of the [[Judean Hills]]. They attacked the Ottoman front line and captured the headquarters of the [[Eighth Army (Ottoman Empire)|Ottoman Eighth Army]] at [[Battle of Tulkarm (1918)|Tulkarm]], the trenches at [[Battle of Tabsor (1918)|Tabsor]] and pivoted at [[Battle of Arara|Arara]]. The Eighth Army was outflanked on the coast and British Empire cavalry moved north through the gap created. The [[Desert Mounted Corps]] almost [[encirclement|encircled]] the infantry in the Judean Hills capturing their main [[Lines of communication|lines of supply, communications]] and retreat. By 25 September, one [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman army]] had been destroyed, and what remained of two others, were in retreat northwards to Damascus.

The 5th Cavalry Division was assigned the task of capturing Haifa and Acre after several earlier attempts were stopped by strong rearguard positions. A squadron from the Mysore Lancers, and a squadron from the [[Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry]], 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade formed the initial attack on an [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian]] artillery battery before moving forward with the Jodhpur Lancers and a light car patrol, to attack the main German rearguard position and capture the town. This day of 23 September every year is celebrated as Haifa Day.

==Background==
[[File:Photo of a Mysore Lancer during Charge at Haritan 1918.jpg|thumb|[[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysorean]] Lancer [[Sowar]] and horse]]
[[File:Indian lancer 1918 near Aleppo.jpg|thumb|[[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]] Lancer [[Sowar]] and horse]]

The [[5th Cavalry Division (British Indian Army)|5th Cavalry Division]] were formed with three [[brigade]]s, two of them composed of one British [[yeomanry]] regiment, and two [[British Indian Army]] cavalry regiments; one of which was usually lancers. Part of the [[Desert Mounted Corps]], it was supported by machine guns, artillery, and light armoured car units.<ref>DiMarco 2008 p. 328</ref> The division's third brigade was the [[15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade]], normally comprising three cavalry [[regiment]]s from the [[Indian Princely States]] of [[Jodhpur]], [[Mysore]] and [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]].

Following the successful advance and virtual [[encirclement]] of the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies in the [[Judean Hills]] with the captures of Afulah and Nazareth, the [[Yildirim Army Group]] general headquarters was out of communication with its three armies.<ref name="Maunsell213">Maunsell 1926 p.213</ref><ref name="Carver232">Carver 2003 p. 232</ref><ref name="Blenkinsop236">Blenkinsop 1925 p. 236</ref> All direct routes northwards were controlled by the [[Desert Mounted Corps]]. Thus, the retreating Seventh Army and what remained of the Eighth Army were forced to withdraw along minor roads or tracks, eastwards across the Jordan River, towards the Hedjaz railway.<ref name="Bruce 2002 p. 231">Bruce 2002 p. 231</ref><ref>Maunsell 1926 p. 221</ref> The capture of Haifa was essential for any further advances by the [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]] since the roads leading to the [[port]] were little more than tracks and its capture was urgently required for landing supplies.<ref>Paget 1994 Vol. 2 p. 295</ref><ref name=gazette>{{London Gazette|date=27 December 1918|issue=31087|supp=y|page=15188}}</ref>

==Prelude==
[[File:IWM Q12323.jpeg|thumb|1st Australian Light Armoured Car Patrol on the coast road west of Mount Carmel]]

Shortly after midnight on 21/22 September, the [[18th King George's Own Lancers]], part of the [[13th Cavalry Brigade (British Indian Army)|13th Cavalry Brigade]], were advancing along the Acre road to the west of the town when they were attacked by an Ottoman battalion from Haifa. They routed the battalion after a short fight inflicting 30 casualties and capturing more than 200 prisoners.<ref name="Wavell214–5">Wavell 1968 pp. 214–5</ref>

On 22 September an aerial reconnaissance reported that Haifa had been evacuated by the Ottoman army. This was found to be inaccurate when the Haifa Annexation Expedition was stopped by accurate Ottoman artillery and machine gun fire.<ref>Hill 1978 pp. 171–2</ref> A reconnaissance by armoured cars of the Light Car Patrol encountered a redoubt {{convert|200|yd|m}} from the road to Haifa. This strong rearguard with machine guns was supported by effectively positioned artillery deployed on the lower slopes of Mount Carmel. The redoubt was fired on by the cars' machine guns and quickly surrendered, while {{convert|2|mi|km}} further on they encountered an Austrian battery of light field guns supported by German machine gunners which stopped the reconnaissance force.<ref name="Gullett38–9">Gullett 1919 pp. 38–9</ref><ref name="Bruce234">Bruce 2002 p. 234</ref> They controlled the approach road from the east which ran between the mountain and the Nahr el Muqatta. This strong position could not be outflanked because the Nahr el Mugatta river was edged on both sides by marshes making it virtually impossible to cross.<ref name="Bruce234"/> The 5th Cavalry Division was ordered to capture Haifa and Acre {{convert|12|mi|km}} north west the following day.<ref>DiMarco 2008 p. 332</ref>

==Battle==
[[File:Falls map 21.jpeg|thumb|Falls Map 21 Cavalry advances 19 to 25 September. Detail shows capture of Haifa and Acre]]
On 23 September 1918 the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was ordered to capture Haifa. The area between the Nahr al-Muqaṭṭaʿ, also known as the [[Kishon River]], and the slopes of [[Mount Carmel]] was well defended by Ottoman gun emplacements and artillery. The brigade's Jodhpur Lancers were tasked to capture this position, while the Mysore Lancers moved around to attack the town from the east and north.<ref name=haifa/>

A squadron of the Mysore Lancers and a squadron of the [[Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry]], supported by [[B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company]], attacked the Austrian battery of light field guns on the slopes of Mount Carmel at 14:00 hours. The squadron of Mysore Lancers had moved into position by climbing up a steep track to capture and silence the guns, while the Jodhpur Lancers launched the main mounted attack on the rearguard of German machine gunners, which blocked the road {{convert|2|mi|km}} on from the redoubt captured the day before by the Light Car Patrol.<ref name="Gullett38–9"/><ref name="Bruce235">Bruce 2002 p. 235</ref>

The Jodhpur Lancers charged the Ottoman position, crossing the [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] railway line, but came under [[machine gun]] and artillery fire. The charge was further obstructed by [[quicksand]] on the river banks, so they manoeuvred to the left onto the lower slopes of Mount Carmel. The regiment secured the position capturing thirty prisoners, two machine guns, two camel guns and opening up an access route into Haifa. The Jodhpur Lancers continued their charge into the town, surprising the defenders. Those Mysore Lancers who had been giving fire support to the attacking regiment, mounted and followed them into the town. Together the two regiments captured 1,350 German and Ottoman prisoners, including two German officers, 35 Ottoman officers, 17 artillery guns including four 4.2 guns, eight 77mm guns and four camel guns as well as a 6-inch naval gun, and 11 machine guns. Their own casualties amounted to eight dead and 34 wounded. 60 horses were killed and another 83 injured.<ref name=haifa>{{cite web|access-date=6 February 2012|publisher=NDTV|title=Battle of Haifa: 23 Sep 1918|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/battle-of-haifa-23-sep-1918-54867&cp}}</ref><ref name="Bruce235"/><ref name="Massey190–4">Massey 1920 pp. 190–4</ref>

{{blockquote|We tried to cover the Turks’ retreat, but we expected them to do something, if only keep their heads. At last we decided they were not worth fighting for.|A captured German officer<ref>in Gullett 1919 pp. 38–9</ref>}}

==Aftermath==
Soon afterwards the 13th Cavalry Brigade captured Acre, to the north, together with its garrison of 150 men and two artillery guns.<ref name=gazette/> On 26 September, the 300 strong remnant of the Haifa garrison arrived at Beirut and were ordered inland to Riyak, to the north of Damascus.<ref>Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 594</ref>

Allenby reported on 25 September to the War Office regarding the proposed advance to Aleppo and the general situation of the battle:
{{blockquote|I have your HW wire and that from Troopers proposing a Cavalry raid to Aleppo. I don't think Aleppo possible; but am sending 3 Divisions of Cavalry, as soon as I can, to Damascus. Chaytor's Division of Anzac Light Horse is about Amman now, and will deal with enemy coming from the South. Prisoners number well over 40,000 and are still coming in. I have Australian mounted troops at the S. end of Lake Tiberias, and they are pushing to Tiberias. If I get Damascus, Beirut falls to us certainly; and I hope to push troops, Northwards, thither, by the coast–road from Haifa, feeding from the sea, stage by stage.|Allenby to Wilson CIGS War Office 25 September 1918<ref>Hughes 2004 p. 183</ref>}}

By 29 September, the 7th (Meerut) Division was concentrated at Haifa with the XXI Corps Cavalry Regiment at Acre in preparation for their march to Beirut.<ref>Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 563, 597</ref>
The Hyderabad Lancers commanded by' Major Mahomed Azmatullah Bahadur was the Hero of the Haifa War
The Jodhpur Lancers' commander Major [[Dalpat Singh (soldier)|Dalpat Singh]], who was killed in the battle, was posthumously awarded the [[Military Cross]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/a-delhi-traffic-circle-a-faraway-port-and-a-tale-of-rare-heroism-gallantry-world-war-israel-ottoman-haifa-teen-murti-4634757/ |title=A Delhi traffic circle, a faraway port, and a tale of rare heroism, gallantry |author=Sushant Singh |newspaper=Indian Express |date=1 May 2017 }}</ref> The Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers are now represented by the [[61st Cavalry Regiment (India)|61st Cavalry Regiment]] in the [[Indian Army]] and still commemorate the battle every year on 23 September as Haifa Day.<ref>{{cite web | title=Haifa Day: Indian Army Commemorates Hundred Years Of Liberation Of Israeli City | website=outlookindia.com/ | date=14 February 2022 | url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/haifa-day-india-commemorates-hundred-years-of-liberation-of-israeli-city/317008 | access-date=3 April 2023}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Teenmurtidelhi.jpg|Memorial to the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, [[New Delhi]]
File:Mysore Lancers Memorial, Bangalore.jpg|Mysore Lancers Memorial at [[Bangalore]] for lives lost in Egypt & Palestine
File:Mysore Lancers Memorial (Closeup), Bangalore.jpg|[[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]] Lancers Memorial at [[Bangalore]] for lives lost in [[Egypt]] & [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]
</gallery>

==Citations==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|series=Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence|title=Veterinary Services|editor1-last=Blenkinsop|editor1-first=Layton John|editor2-last=Rainey|editor2-first=John Wakefield|year=1925|publisher=[[HMSO]]|location=London|oclc=460717714}}
* {{cite book|title=The Last Crusade: The Palestine Campaign in the First World War|last=Bruce|first=Anthony|year=2002|publisher=John Murray|location=London|isbn=978-0-7195-5432-2}}
* {{cite book|title=The National Army Museum Book of The Turkish Front 1914–1918: The Campaigns at Gallipoli, in Mesopotamia and in Palestine|last=Carver|first=Michael, Field Marshal Lord|year=2003|publisher=Pan Macmillan|location=London|isbn=978-0-283-07347-2}}
* {{cite book|first=Louis A.|last=DiMarco|title=War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider|location=Yardley, Pennsylvania|publisher=Westholme Publishing|year=2008|oclc=226378925}}
* {{cite book|title=Military Operations Egypt and Palestine: From June 1917 to the End of the War|last=Falls|first=Cyril|series=Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence|others=A. F. Becke (maps)|year=1930|volume=II Part 2|publisher=HMSO|location=London|oclc=256950972}}
* {{cite book|title=Australia in Palestine|editor-last1=Gullett|editor-first1=Henry S.|editor-last2=Barnet|editor-first2=Charles|editor-last3=Baker (Art Editor)|editor-first3=David|year=1919|publisher=Angus & Robertson|location=Sydney|oclc=224023558}}
* {{cite book|title=Chauvel of the Light Horse: A Biography of General Sir Harry Chauvel, GCMG, KCB|last=Hill|first=Alec Jeffrey|author-link=Alec Hill|year=1978|publisher=Melbourne University Press|location=Melbourne|oclc=5003626}}
* {{cite book|title=History of the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade during the Great War 1914–1918|author=|publisher=HMSO|year=1920|url=http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?index=1&ref=Ior/l/mil/17/6/78}}
* {{cite book|first=William Thomas|last=Massey|year=1920|title=Allenby's Final Triumph|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027811573|publisher=Constable & Co|location=London|oclc=345306}}
* {{cite book|title=Prince of Wales' Own, the Seinde Horse, 1839–1922|last=Maunsell|first=E. B.|year=1926|publisher=Regimental Committee|oclc=221077029}}
* {{cite book|title=Egypt, Palestine and Syria 1914 to 1919|series=A History of the British Cavalry 1816–1919|volume=V|last=Paget|first=G. C. H. V Marquess of Anglesey|year=1994|publisher=Leo Cooper|location=London|isbn=978-0-85052-395-9}}
* {{cite book|chapter=The Palestine Campaigns|last=Wavell|first=Field Marshal Earl|author-link=Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|editor-last=Sheppard|editor-first=Eric William|edition=4th|title=A Short History of the British Army|year=1968|orig-year=1933|publisher=Constable|location=London|oclc=35621223}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.today/20130219031031/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/09/2703.htmLittle Piece of New Delhi in Haifa] – Israel Defense Forces

{{World War I}}
{{Ottoman battles in the 20th century}}

{{Coord|32|49|0|N|34|59|0|E|type:event|display=title}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haifa, Battle Of (1918)}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1918]]
[[Category:1918 in British-administered Palestine]]
[[Category:Battles of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving British India]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving Germany]]
[[Category:Battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:History of Haifa|Battle of Haifa (1918)]]
[[Category:September 1918 events]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Rajputs]]

Battle of Haifa (1918) - Revision history

SheldonTopper4 at 10:11, 22 March 2026

Ajay Kumar: Add new article