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The occupation of the Jordan Valley by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) began in February 1918 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. After the Capture of Jericho in February the Auckland Mounted Rifle Regiment began patrolling an area of the Jordan Valley near Jericho at the base of the road from Jerusalem. Towards the end of March the First Transjordan attack on Amman and the First Battle of Amman were launched from the Jordan Valley followed a few weeks later by the equally unsuccessful Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt at the end of April. During this time the occupation of the Jordan was fully established and continued through the summer of 1918. The occupation ended in September with the Battle of Megiddo which consisted of the Battle of Sharon and the Battle of Nablus. The Third Transjordan attack and Second Battle of Amman were fought as part of the Battle of Nablus. Despite the difficult climate and the unhealthy environment of the Jordan Valley, General Edmund Allenby decided that, to ensure the strength of the EEF's front line it was necessary to extend the line which stretched from the Mediterranean, across the Judean Hills to the Dead Sea to protect his right flank. This line was held until September, providing a strong position from which to launch the attacks on Amman to the east and northwards to Damascus. During the period from March to September the Ottoman Army held the hills of Moab on the eastern side of the valley and the northern section of valley. Their well placed artillery periodically shelled the occupying force and, particularly in May, German aircraft bombed and strafed bivouacs and horse lines. As a consequence of the major victory at Megiddo the occupied area was consolidated with other former Ottoman Empire territories won during the battle. == Background == After the capture of Jerusalem at the end of 1917 the Jordan River was crossed by infantry and mounted riflemen and bridgeheads established at the beginning of the unsuccessful first Transjordan attack on Amman in March. The defeat of the second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt and the withdrawal to the Jordan Valley on 3 to 5 May, marked the end of major operations until September 1918.〔Bruce 2002 p. 203〕 The focus shifted to the German Spring Offensive launched by Ludendorff on the Western Front, which began the same day as the First Transjordan attack on Amman, completely eclipsing its failure. The British front in Picardy held by 300,000 soldiers collapsed when powerful assaults were launched on both sides of the Somme by a force of 750,000, forcing Gough's Fifth Army back almost to Amiens. On one day; 23 March German forces advanced and captured 600 guns; in total 1,000 guns and 160,000 suffered the worst defeat of the war. The British War Cabinet recognised at once that the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire must be at least postponed.〔Woodward 2006, p. 169〕〔Wavell 1968, p. 183〕〔Carver 2003 p. 228〕 The effect of this offensive on the Palestine Campaign was described by Allenby on 1 April 1918: "Here, I have raided the Hedjaz railway 40 miles East of Jordan & have done much damage but my little show dwindles now into a very insufficient () affair in comparison with events in Europe." Overnight Palestine went from being the British government's first priority to a "side show."〔Woodward 2006, p. 176〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「British occupation of the Jordan Valley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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