This is coolbert:
Here with a response to a Military Thoughts blog entry by anonymous from way back when:
"Australian cavalry fought at meggido but it was the Indian cavalry which captured the musmus pass"
And this is absolutely 100 % correct. The vital Mus mus pass captured by the cavalry of the British Indian Army, the 2nd Lancers having the honor. As it was in the days of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose 3,400 years earlier, so it was with the Indian Lancers in 1918!!
The overall commander of the Ottoman forces, Liman von Sanders realizing the importance of Mus mus pass and detailing a significant contingent for the defense thereof:
"a total of six [infantry] companies and 12 machine guns."
That capture of Mus mus again an accomplishment of the 2nd Lancers, on the attack, a critical objective of major importance. From the book:
"Megiddo 1918: The Last Great Cavalry Victory" - - By Bryan Perrett.
"The Capture of Mus mus Pass, 21 September 1918."
"Major-General Barrow's 4th Cavalry Division had been given the responsibility of securing the Mus mus Pass, the 2nd Lancers, under the command of 30-year-old Captain DS. Davison, were to lead the assault."
Mus mus pass captured with little loss to the attacking force, the Turk suffering numerous men SPEARED BY THE LANCERS IN A MANNER AS MIGHT HAVE BEEN SEEN LAST DURING THE NAPOLEONIC ERA!!
From: "Armageddon 1918", Cyril Falls..
". . . Forty six were speared and virtually all the rest, numbering 470, were taken prisoners. On their side the lancers had only a single man wounded..."
The Battle of Megiddo and the pursuit of the Ottoman forces AN EXTENSIVE USE OF CAVALRY THE LIKES OF WHICH ARE NEVER AGAIN TO BE SEEN IN WARFARE?
coolbert.
Dear Coolbert '
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight into the action. I have been trying very hard to find the details about the actions of 2nd Lancers(Gardner's Horse) during the Palestine campaign ,and these are the first inputs I've found of their actions .The very method in which the charge was carried out makes puts the action by the gardner's horsemen amongst the last succesful classical cavalary charges on the lance(I'm sure Marshal Ney would have approved of it).It was just the advance guard consisting of the D(Jat)sqn which actually won the battle for the gardner's horse.I would be grateful if you can tell me where else can I read more about the battle, as it is definately an interesting battle to read about from a cavalary officers point of view as it combined speed surprise and shock action to the credit of cavalary.