Battle of Aleppo (1918)

{{see also|Pursuit to Haritan|Capture of Damascus (1918)|Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Sharon (1918)|Battle of Nablus (1918)|Third Transjordan attack (1918)|Sinai and Palestine Campaign|First World War}}

Following the comprehensive success of the Battle of Megiddo, Sir Henry Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) at the War Office encouraged General Allenby commanding the Egyptian Expeditionary Force with the idea that the EEF could do anything and asked him to consider a cavalry raid to Aleppo.Wilson to Allenby 24 September 1918 in Hughes 2004 p. 186 Wilson added that the War Cabinet was prepared to take full responsibility for any unsuccessful outcomes.Wilson to Allenby received 24 September 1918 in Woodward 2006 p. 203

About 19,000 Ottoman soldiers had retreated northwards by 1 October, no more than 4,000 of whom were equipped and able to fight.Bruce 2002 p. 248 Liman von Sanders transferred his headquarters to Baalbek and ordered the remnants of Yildirim Army Group from Haifa and Deraa to concentrate at Rayak. The 146th Regiment was the last formation to leave Damascus on 30 September. After hearing the Barada Gorge was closed von Hammerstein left Damascus by the Homs road, following the III Corps, the 24th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division to Rayak where even remnants of the 43rd Division of the Second Army which had not been involved in fighting, were "infected with panic." Only the remnants of von Oppen's Asia Corps and the 146th Regiment marching to Homs remained "disciplined formations" by 2 October.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 594–5

Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel's Desert Mounted Corps at Damascus was already {{convert|150|mi|km}} away from its main supply base while Aleppo was a further {{convert|200|mi|km}} away. Allenby was prepared to advance only in stages as supply and geography dictated.Bruce 2002 pp. 248–9 He estimated on 25 September that there were 25,000 enemy troops in the Aleppo and Alexandretta area.Allenby to Wilson 25 September 1918 in Hughes 2004 p. 188

Aleppo has been in existence since the Hittite era, also known as Halab since the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age during the second millennium BC. The city had been captured by Arabs in 646, occupied by the Seljuk Turks in 1085 and incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1516. By the beginning of the First World War it had a population of 150,000. Situated on the Anatolian frontier, {{convert|200|mi|km}} north of Damascus, Aleppo was in 1918 not far from the strategically important railway junction of the Palestine and the Mesopotamian railway systems at Mouslimie Junction.Bou 2009 pp. 196–7Hill 1978 p. 188Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 616

Liman von Sanders ordered Mustapha Kemal to defend Aleppo, while he withdrew his headquarters and the German troops further north, without much hope of "holding anything south of the Taurus Mountains."Keogh 1955 p. 254

File:AWMB00370DamascusFeisal.jpg

This force which conducted the pursuit was made up of Prince Fisal's Sherifial Force; one column of 1,500 commanded by Colonel Nuri Bey and a second column of 1,500 commanded by Sherif Nasir,Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 611, 613 the 2nd, 11th and 12th Light Armoured Motor Batteries and the 1st (Australian), 2nd and 7th Light Car Patrols consisting of 24 armoured cars,Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 610 and the 5th Cavalry Division's 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade which accompanied the armoured cars to Hama on 21 October,Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 612 while the 13th and 14th Cavalry Brigades followed in support.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 615, 617

The 5th Cavalry Division and the armoured cars were organised into two columns. Column "A" consisted of the 5th Cavalry Division's headquarters, all the armoured cars and the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The 13th and 14th Cavalry Brigades formed Column "B."Preston 1921 pp. 288–91

Aleppo was garrisoned at the time by 4,000 Ottoman troops with about 20,000 in the city and nearby. This force was organised by Mustapha Kemal and Nehed Pasha commander of the Second Army to defend the city.Bruce 2002 pp. 253–4 With his headquarters at Katma, Mustapha Kemal deployed four divisions south of the city. The newly reorganised 1st and 11th Divisions of the newly created Ottoman XX Corps, (brought up to strength of between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers "by drafts and a reinforcement of one complete regiment from Turkey"),Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 617 note and the 24th and the 43rd Divisions held strong entrenched positions.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 613 note, 617 note

Mustapha Kemal ordered the weaker 41st Division to defend Alexandretta north west of Aleppo while the 44th Division was in reserve north of the Gulf of İskenderun with the 23rd Division at Tarsus. The 47th Division may also have been in this area. All the surviving German troops had been withdrawn and were concentrated near Tarsus. The Fourth Army's headquarters, the 48th, 3rd Cavalry and Composite Divisions, the Seventh Army's 26th and 53rd Divisions along with the Eighth Army's 7th, 16th, 19th, 20th and 46th Divisions had all been destroyed or dissolved.

The pace of the cavalry and armoured car pursuit, was dictated by supplies of petrol and ration and the stamina of the horses, with aircraft reconnaissances scouting ahead to locate enemy forces.Cutlack 1941 p. 169

From Hama a column of armoured cars carried out a reconnaissance towards Aleppo, leaving behind the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. They attacked some enemy cavalry at Khan Tuman, about {{convert|10|mi|km}} south of Aleppo before encountering between 2,000 and 3,000 entrenched Ottoman infantry of the 1st and 11th Divisions, holding a defensive position across the road through Ansarie and Sheikh Said {{convert|3|mi|km}} south of the city.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 612–3, p. 613 note Aerial and ground reconnaissances established the size of the rearguard and identified a further 6,000 or 7,000 soldiers holding Aleppo.

File:IWMQ12450Aleppo.jpeg

Major General H. J. Macandrew, commanding 5th Cavalry Division, sent Captain R. H. M. McIntyre commanding 7th Light Car Patrol under a flag of truce with a demand for the surrender Aleppo, which was rejected by Mustapha Kemal.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 613Hill 1978 p. 189 Subsequently, the armoured cars attempted a reconnaissance in a northwesterly direction looking for a way through the rocky hills to the southwest of Aleppo, towards the Alexandretta road. The country was found to be too rough for cars and they withdrew back to Khan Tuman to bivouac.

File:FallsSkMap41toAleppo.jpeg

While the armoured cars waited for reinforcement by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade on 24 and 25 October, they continued to reconnoiter the Ottoman defences south of Aleppo.Wavell 1968 pp. 231–2 The Sherifial Force commanded by Nuri Bey had advanced along the Hejaz railway on the right flank of the 5th Cavalry Division. Nuri Bey launched an attack, which may have included armoured cars, on the entrenched Ottoman position south of Aleppo on 25 October. This Sherifial Force was driven back by heavy fire from guns, machine guns and rifles all along the line of Mustapha Kemal's defences.

Nuri Bey's Sherifial Force was joined by a second Sherifial Force of 1,500 Hejaz Arab troops commanded by Sherif Nasir which Prince Feisal had ordered to advance from Homs to Aleppo.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 605–6, 611Bruce 2002 p. 252 Meanwhile, the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade caught up with the armoured cars at Zi'bre {{convert|13|mi|km}} south west of Aleppo. They relieved the armoured cars on outpost duty during the evening of 25 October while Column "B" of the 5th Cavalry Division reached Seraikin about {{convert|30|mi|km}} south of Aleppo.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 pp. 612–3

Macandrew planned an attack on the city from three sides to take place on 26 October. The armoured cars were to attack along the road from the south, Prince Feisal's Sherifial forces were to attack from the east while the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade moving round to the west of Aleppo was to cut the Alexandretta road.Bruce 2002 p. 255 However, during the night of 25 October, Nuri Bey's Arab Sherifial Force attacked the city from the east, and the Arab force commanded by Sherif Nazir advanced round the entrenched Ottoman defences, entered the city to make contact with supporters.

Hand–to–hand fighting occurred in the streets during the night. In the confusion Mustapha Kemal withdrew his headquarters out of the city, losing touch with his force defending the entrenchments to the south of Aleppo. By the morning of 26 October these defences were deserted.Keogh 1955 pp. 254–5Wavell 1968 p. 232 Aleppo had been captured by the Sherifial Forces by 10:00 on 26 October, having suffering 60 killed. MacAndrew arrived shortly after with the armoured cars.

File:Australian light car patrol at Aleppo (AWM photo B00707).jpg

Part of Macandrew's preempted attack on Aleppo, went ahead at 07:00 on 26 October when the Jodhpore and Mysore lancer regiments of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade without artillery support, but with a subsection of the 15th Machine Gun Squadron, advanced to the Alexandretta road on the edge of Aleppo. They continued on to Haritan where they twice charged a rearguard but they were strongly resisted forcing the cavalry to eventually retire. The Ottoman force also retired to establish a rearguard position at Deir el Jemal with an extensive {{convert|25|mi|km}}-long line of defence {{convert|4|mi|km}} behind the Deir el Jemal position.Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 613–7

The Ottoman forces now defending what remained of the Ottoman Empire consisted of the remnant of the Seventh Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal which had escaped the Megiddo battlefield, the captures of Damascus and Aleppo, was now deployed to the north and northwest of Aleppo with the Second Army of about 16,000 armed troops commanded by Nihad Pasha to the west in Cilicia while the Sixth Army with another 16,000 armed troops commanded by Ali Ihsan, which had been withdrawn from Mesopotamia was to the northeast around Nusaybin.Hill 1978 p. 191Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 613 note

A cemetery for the British and Commonwealth casualties of WWI and WWII is located in an area near Sheikh Maqsoud,{{cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/91006/aleppo-war-cemetery/|title=Aleppo War Cemetery|website=Commonwealth War Graves Commission}} which had later some maintenance work following the Syrian civil war.{{cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/learn/news-and-events/news/2020/02/20/11/00/cwgc-makes-tentative-return-to-aleppo|title=CWGC makes tentative return to Aleppo|website=Commonwealth War Graves Commission|date=20 February 2020}}

{{Reflist|3}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book |title=Light Horses: A History of Australia's Mounted Arm |last=Bou |first=Jean |series=Australian Army History |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Port Melbourne |isbn=9780521197083}}
• {{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|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069925/|title=The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914–1918|last=Cutlack|first=Frederic Morley| year=1941|edition=11th|series=Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918|volume=VIII|publisher=Australian War Memorial|location=Canberra|oclc=220900299}}
• {{cite book |title=Military Operations Egypt & Palestine from June 1917 to the End of the War |last1=Falls |first1=Cyril |series=Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence |author2=Becke, A. F. (maps) |year=1930 |volume=2 Part II |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |location=London|oclc=256950972}}
• {{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 |editor1-first=Matthew |editor1-last=Hughes |title=Allenby in Palestine: The Middle East Correspondence of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby June 1917 – October 1919 |series=Army Records Society|volume=22 |year=2004 |publisher=Sutton Publishing |location=Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire|isbn=978-0-7509-3841-9}}
• {{cite book |title=Suez to Aleppo |last=Keogh |first=E. G. |author2=Joan Graham|year=1955 |publisher=Directorate of Military Training by Wilkie & Co. |location=Melbourne|oclc=220029983}}
• {{cite book |title=The Desert Mounted Corps: An Account of the Cavalry Operations in Palestine and Syria 1917–1918 |url=https://archive.org/details/desertmountedco00presgoog |last=Preston |first=R. M. P. |year=1921 |publisher=Constable & Co. |location=London|oclc=3900439}}
• {{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 & Co. |location=London|oclc=35621223}}
• {{cite book |title=Hell in the Holy Land: World War I in the Middle East |last=Woodward |first=David R. |year=2006 |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington |isbn=978-0-8131-2383-7}}

{{Refend}}

{{World War I}}

{{Ottoman battles in the 20th century}}

{{Coord|36|13|N|37|10|E|type:event|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleppo, Battle of}}

Category:Battles in 1918

Category:1918 in Ottoman Syria

Category:Battles of the Arab Revolt

Category:Battles of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign

Category:Battles of World War I involving Australia

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:Aerial operations and battles of World War I

Category:History of the Royal Air Force during World War I

Category:Aleppo vilayet

Category:October 1918

Category:Battles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Category:Military history of Aleppo

Category:20th century in Aleppo