Topic: BatzP - El Burj
El Burj, Palestine, 1 December 1917
Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir Account
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One of the most important and authoritative books that was written by Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir, Turkish General Staff, a Turkish officer at the centre of major historical events in Palestine from 1917 to 1917. The book he wrote was called Yilderim which translates into English as either "lightning" or "thunderbolt". This was the name given to the Army formed under the command of General Falkenheyn in 1917. It fought in Palestine until the cessation of hostilities.
The book was 1st published in 1922 in Ottoman Script by the Turkish General Staff War History Department in Ankara. At that time, Turkey was in a state of internal chaos. Mustafa Kemal Pasha was still fighting against the Greeks and British. Hüsnü completed his book on 1 May 1921 in occupied Istanbul and joined the National forces of Mustafa Kemal Pasha in Anatolia with the manuscript. The 2nd edition was published in 2002. The translation presented here comes from the 1st edition.
Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir, Yildirim, p. 245.
1st December
On both enemy fronts the artillery fire was less than usual and nothing important occurred. The front was stabilised (Map 28). In the zone of the 19th Division the front was advanced from south of Nalin to the Beit aur el Fuqa road. The enemy remained in El Tahta. Later the storm battalion of the 19th Division with the detachment of the 54th Division attacked El Burj. They captured some machine guns but the enemy attacked their rear and threw them back to the hills north of the road with heavy loss.
Further Reading:
Turkish Army, Hücüm Müfrezesi - Storm Troopers
Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920
The Battle of El Burj, 1 December 1917
Citation: El Burj, Palestine, 1 December 1917, Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir Account
