Topic: BatzS - Jifjafa
The Jifjafa Raid
Sinai, 10 - 14 April 1916
The Transcription:
ENEMY CAMP IN EGYPT CAPTURED
AN AUSTRALIAN EXPLOIT.
ONLY TWO TURKS ESCAPE.
The Secretary of the War Office yesterday issued the, following for publication:
The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in Egypt reports that on April 13 a successful reconnaissance was made by a 'column of Australian troops at Jifjaffa.
The column moved out on the night of April 12 - 13 and reached Hill 1,082, three miles west by south of Jifjaffa, by 5.30 a.m.
The enemy's camp was attacked at 7 a.m. and was occupied after a brisk fight,
The enemy's known casualties were six killed and five wounded, and one Austrian engineer Lieutenant and 33 Turks, of whom four were wounded, taken prisoners. Our only casualty was one non-commissioned officer killed. Only two unwounded mounted men of the enemy escaped. Our troops destroyed all well plant.
The Katia oasis has been occupied by our troops.
Though the Turks have never got beyond the Suez Canal, the fact remains that for more than a year they have been occupying Egyptian territory. The Sinai Peninsula, which lies between the canal and the Turco-Egyptian boundary, from Rafa and the Gulf of Akaba, has never been cleared of the enemy. Occasionally we have made short reconnaissances into the desert from the canal defences, and air raids over it.
The operations now narrated are the most considerable since the Turkish raid on the Canal in February last year.
There are three routes from Turkey to Egypt across the desert, all of which were used on that occasion. The most northern runs behind the Mediterranean sand-dunes from Rafa through El Arish, Katia, to Kantara. Our troops have occupied the Katia district, 30 miles east of the Canal, a very valuable acquisition owing to the fact that it has a good supply of water, in which the land is so deficient. The middle route runs from El Audja, believed to be the terminus of a railway from Beersheba, across the heart of the Peninsula, and reaches the Canal just south of Ismailia. This was the main line of the Turkish advance. Jifjaffa, which has been occupied by our troops, lies on it, and is about 60 miles east of the Canal. The third line of approach is from Akaba to Suez, and between the second and third line lies the post of El Hassana, recently bombed by our airmen.
Further Reading:
The Jifjafa Raid, Sinai, April 10 to 14
Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920
Citation: The Jifjafa Raid, Sinai, April 10 to 14, 1916, Times Account, 17 April 1916