December 1st, 1917 - The Battle of Jerusalem

Conflict: Word War I

Combatants: British vs. Germans/Turks

Location: Israel

Outcome: British victory

In mid-November of 1917, British forces under General Edmund Allenby began operations to seize Jerusalem from the Turks. On December 1st of 1917, the Ottoman Turks launched counterattacks against the attacking British with temporary gains but were ultimately repulsed. The Turks would surrender the city by the end of the same month after suffering 25,000 casualties.

Hong Kong (Indian) Mountain gun battery in action, November 1917 by an unknown photographer

Points of Interest:

• British forces entered the city of Jerusalem on December 10th.

• Allenby served as High Commissioner for Egypt after the war.

Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby in 1916 by an unknown photographer

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Ellis, John, & Cox, Michael (2001). The World War I Databook. Bodmin, UK: MPG Books Ltd.

Keegan, John (2001). An Illustrated History of the First World War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.