Topic: BatzS - El Qatiya
el Qatiya
Sinai, 23 April 1916
Falls Account, The Composition of the Turkish Force at Qatiya
As part of the Official British War History of the Great War, Captain Cyril Falls and Lieutenant General George MacMunn were commissioned to produce a commentary on the Sinai, Palestine and Syrian operations that took place. In 1928, their finished work, Military Operations, Egypt and Palestine - From the outbreak of war with Germany to June 1917, was published in London. Their book included a section specifically related to the battle of Romani and is extracted below.
MacMunn, G. & Falls, C., Military operations: Egypt and Palestine, (London 1930), p. 170:
The Composition of the Turkish Force at Qatiya
The composition and strength of the Turkish force is given in detail by the Historical Section of the Turkish General Staff. It was commanded by Colonel Kress von Kressenstein and consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions and one company 3rd Battalion, 32nd Regiment (afterwards to distinguish itself at Romani), an irregular camel regiment of four companies, two independent camel companies, a 75-mm, battery of the 8th F.A. Regiment and two guns of the 9th, two field ambulances and an ammunition column. Its strength was 95 officers and 3,560 other ranks (2,668 rifles), 6 guns, 4 machine guns, 225 horses, 1,009 dromedaries (presumably riding camels), 756 camels (presumably baggage camels), 96 donkeys. In his Despatches Sir A. Murray estimated the enemy force at 3,500, which is almost exactly its ration strength.
The account of the raid given by Kress is laconic. He writes”
"In March 1916 we heard for the first time that the English were making a railway from Qantara in the direction of Qatiya. A fighting reconnaissance, which I carried out in April with two battalions, an Arab camel regiment and one and a half batteries, against Qatiya and Dueidar, led to the capture of an English cavalry regiment and half a company of engineers, and confirmed the accuracy of the reports."
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Further Reading:
el Qatiya, Sinai, 23 April 1916
Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920
Citation: el Qatiya, Sinai, 23 April 1916, Falls Account, The Composition of the Turkish Force at Qatiya