Capture of Jisr ed Damieh

Capture of Jisr ed Damieh
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
British pontoon bridge at Jisr ed Damieh
Date 22 September 1918 Location The bridge at Jisr ed Damieh across the Jordan River Result Meldrum's Force victory
Belligerents
British Empire	Ottoman Empire  German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Edmund Allenby Edward Chaytor Wiliam Meldrum	Otto Liman von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mohammed Jemal Pasha
Units involved
Meldrum's Force New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade mounted sections of the 1st and 2nd Battalions British West Indies Regiment 29th Indian Mountain Battery Inverness-shire Battery Royal Horse Artillery (all detached from Chaytor's Force)	Seventh Army Fourth Army

The Capture of Jisr ed Damieh took place on 22 September 1918 during the Third Transjordan attack of the Battle of Nablus which, along with the main Battle of Sharon formed the Battle of Megiddo fought during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Units of Chaytor's Force under the commanded by Brigadier-General William Meldrum, and known as "Meldrum's Force", attacked and captured the bridge. This successful attack cut the most direct line of retreat from the Judean Hills for the Seventh and remnants of the Eighth Armies, while units from these two armies were moving towards, and crossing the Jisr ed Damieh bridge over the Jordan River. This victory by Meldrum's Force opened the way for Chaytor's Force to advance along the main Nablus to Es Salt road to capture Es Salt and to continue on to the victory at the Second Battle of Amman.

The main attack by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), commanded by General Edmund Allenby, during the battle of Sharon focused on the Mediterranean coastal sector and western Judean Hills, with a simultaneous attack by the XXI Corps on the Ottoman Eighth Army and breakthrough by the Desert Mounted Corps. Meanwhile, in the Nablus battle area in the Judean Hills, on the right flank of the main attack, the XX Corps faced the Ottoman Seventh Army, while Chaytor's Force held the extreme right flank in the Jordan Valley, against the Ottoman Fourth Army. Once it became apparent that the initial attacks and subsequent cavalry breakthrough during the Battle of Tulkarm, Battle of Tabsor and Capture of Afulah and Beisan were succeeding, the XX Corps Battle of Nablus began in the Judean Hills towards Nablus. Also Chaytor's Force began their attacks northwards in the Jordan Valley, then crossed the Jordan River to capture Es Salt and Amman. This advance resulted in the capture of about half of the Fourth Army at Amman and Ziza and many miles of territory. The remnants of the Fourth Army retreated in disarray towards Damascus where most were captured.

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