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The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1/2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I, and came after the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the Battle of Beersheba had ended the Stalemate in Southern Palestine. The fighting occurred at the beginning of the Southern Palestine Offensive, and together with attacks on Hareira and Sheria on 6–7 November and the continuing Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe which had been launched by General Edmund Allenby on 1 November, it eventually broke the Gaza to Beersheba line defended by the Yildirim Army Group. Despite having held this line since March 1917, the Ottoman Army was forced to evacuate Gaza and Tel el Khuweilfe during the night of 6/7 November. Only Sheria held out for most of the 7 November before it too was captured.〔The several battles fought for the Gaza to Beersheba line between 31 October and 7 November, were all assigned the title ''Third Battle of Gaza'', although they took place many miles apart and were fought by different corps. (Nomenclature Committee 1922 p. 32, Falls 1930 Vol. 2 Sketch Maps 1–9 )〕 Following British defeats at the First and Second Battles of Gaza in March and April 1917, Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode commanding the EEF's Eastern Force and Kress von Kressenstein's Ottoman Empire force had each adopted a defensive posture and a stalemate had developed in Southern Palestine. Entrenched defences approximately on the lines held at the end of the second battle were strengthened, and both sides undertook regular mounted reconnaissances into the open eastern flank. In late June, Allenby replaced General Archibald Murray as commander of the EEF, which he quickly reorganised. At about the same time, the Ottoman Fourth Army was also restructured. As the stalemate continued in terrible conditions through the summer, reinforcements began to arrive to replace the large number of casualties suffered by the EEF during the previous fighting for Gaza, while several additional divisions also arrived. The Ottoman defenders were also reinforced at this time, and both sides carried out training while manning the front lines and monitoring the open eastern flank. By mid-October, as the Battle of Passchendaele continued on the Western Front, the last of the British reinforcements arrived as Allenby's preparations to commence a campaign of manoeuvre neared completion. Prior to the Second Battle of Gaza, the town had been developed into a strong modern fortress, with entrenchments, wire entanglements and a glacis on its south and south–eastern edges. A series of field works, mutually supported by artillery, machine guns and rifles, extended from Gaza eastwards to within of Beersheba. Beginning on 27 October, the EEF began a heavy and almost continuous bombardment of Gaza. During this time, the EEF's XXI Corps, holding the Gaza section of the line, had been mostly passive until the night of 1/2 November, when a series determined night-time assaults were mounted against the Gaza defences. Yet these attacks were only partially successful due to the strength of the garrison. The bombardment of Gaza intensified on 6 November and during the night of 6/7 November successful attacks were launched on several trench systems. On the morning of 7 November, Gaza was found to have been evacuated during the night. The Gaza to Beersheba line subsequently collapsed and the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies were forced into retreat. Following several battles during the pursuit, the EEF captured Jerusalem on 9 December 1917. == Background == Gaza was "a strong modern fortress, well entrenched and wired, with good observation and a glacis on its southern and south–eastern face." These defences which were too strong for a daytime attack were extended eastwards by a series of "field works" to from Beersheba. These fortifications were between apart, each mutually supported by fire from artillery, machine guns and rifles.〔Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 9〕 As the troops of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) began to concentrate in preparation for their attacks, they left their camps standing to deceive German and Ottoman aerial reconnaissances. The EEF assumed their opponents thought there were still six infantry divisions in the Gaza area and one in the eastern sector towards Beersheba.〔Preston 1921 p. 17〕 However, according to Falls, "()here is evidence that the (Army Group ) were fairly accurately informed of the British dispositions."〔Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 40–1〕 On 28 October, they knew the camps at Khan Yunis and Rafa were empty and accurately placed three infantry divisions east of the Wadi Ghuzzee with a fourth, the 10th (Irish) Division approaching the wadi. They estimated more cavalry at Asluj and Khalasa than was actually there.〔 The loss of Beersheba on 31 October stunned the Yildirim Army Group commander and staff.〔Erickson 2001 p. 172〕 The Beersheba garrison withdrew either to the Ottoman defences around Tel es Sheria or northwards to Tel el Khuweilfe to defend the Hebron road. Here a considerable force, including all available reserve units, was deployed in the Kuweilfeh area to stop a threatened advance up the Hebron road to Jerusalem about to the north.〔Dalbiac 1927 p. 125〕〔Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 108〕 According to Powles, " ... the Turkish line had been thrown back on its left, but not broken."〔Powles 1922 p. 142〕 The remainder of the Ottoman line stretching westward to the Mediterranean coast continued to be strongly defended, particularly at Hareira, Sharia and Gaza, but the loss of Beersheba had placed EEF mounted units across the Beersheba to Hebron and Jerusalem road, and three Eighth Army infantry battalions were sent by the German General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein to reinforce the Ottoman troops fighting at Khuweilfe to protect the road.〔Powles 1922 p. 142〕〔Carver 2003 p. 213〕〔Keogh 1955 p. 157〕 They established a new defensive line north of Beersheba, and the 19th Division was sent from the XXII Corps defending Gaza to reinforce the new line at Ebuhof.〔〔Erickson 2007 pp. 120–1〕 However, the objective of the EEF advance north of Beersheba was to separate the Ottoman forces supplied by the roads and railways from Ramleh on the maritime plain from those supplied by the motor road from Jerusalem north of Beersheba.〔 Such an advance would also place the EEF infantry corps in a position to begin to "roll up" the Ottoman flank.〔Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 78〕 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「Third Battle of Gaza」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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