Charge at Kiswe | |||||||
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Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Arab Revolt |
Ottoman Empire German Empire |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Edmund Allenby Harry Chauvel Henry John Macandrew |
Otto Liman von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Pasha Jevad Pasha |
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Units involved | |||||||
5th Cavalry Division Desert Mounted Corps |
remnants of the Tiberias Group a portion of the 24th, 26th and 53rd Divisions and the 3rd Cavalry Division assigned to the defence of Damascus Fourth Army Army Troops/rearguard from Yildirim Army Group |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
5 killed and 4 wounded | 594 prisoners |
The Charge at Kiswe took place on 30 September 1918 about 9 miles (14 km) south of Damascus, during the pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps following the decisive Egyptian Expeditionary Force victory at the Battle of Megiddo, the Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub and the Charge at Kaukab during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. As Desert Mounted Corps rode along the main road from Nablus, units of the 14th Cavalry Brigade, 5th Cavalry Division, were ordered to charge a rearguard north of Kiswe, protecting columns of the Ottoman Fourth Army, retreating towards Damascus.
Following the victories at the Battle of Sharon and Battle of Nablus during the Battle of Megiddo, remnants of the Yildirim Army Group's Fourth Army retreated from Amman along the Pilgrim's Road, via Deraa (captured by Arab forces), while the Seventh and Eighth Armies retreated in columns towards Damascus from the Judean Hills. Rearguards established at Samakh, at Tiberias and at Jisr Benat Yakub were all captured by the Australian Mounted Division with the 5th Cavalry Division in reserve. On the way to Deraa from the Jordan River, the rearguard at Irbid was attacked by the 4th Cavalry Division.