sep 25, 1918 - Battle of Samakh

Description:

The Battle of Samakh was a key engagement on 25 September 1918 during the concluding phase of the Battle of Megiddo, part of the broader Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. This battle occurred as part of the Battle of Sharon, coinciding with the Battle of Nablus, and involved the Desert Mounted Corps led by Australian Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel. After capturing the Esdraelon Plain, the corps targeted Samakh, a strategic point on the Sea of Galilee, essential for covering the Ottoman retreat towards Damascus.

Commanded by German General Otto Liman von Sanders, the Ottoman and German rearguard at Samakh was ordered to resist fiercely to protect the retreating forces of the three Ottoman armies. On the morning of 25 September, the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade launched a pivotal attack. Beginning with a mounted charge and transitioning to intense close-quarters combat within the town and its railway station, the battle was marked by severe fighting that lasted several hours.

The capture of Samakh effectively concluded the Battle of Sharon, facilitating the Desert Mounted Corps' subsequent advance towards Damascus. This victory was instrumental in the broader success of the Allied forces, leading to the capture of Damascus and contributing significantly to the eventual Armistice of Mudros, which ended hostilities between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire in October 1918.

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