Battle of Rafa

Overview

The Battle of Rafa, also known as the Action of Rafah, fought on 9 January 1917, was the third and final battle to complete the recapture of the Sinai Peninsula by British forces during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War. The Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) attacked an entrenched Ottoman Army garrison at El Magruntein to the south of Rafah, close to the frontier between the Sultanate of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, to the north and east of Sheikh Zowaiid. The attack marked the beginning of fighting in the Ottoman territory of Palestine.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Rafa on 9 January 1917 completed the British recapture of the Sinai Peninsula, the third and final operation in a sequential campaign to clear Ottoman forces from Egyptian territory. By reducing the entrenched Ottoman garrison at El Magruntein, the Desert Column of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force secured the frontier between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The action carried immediate strategic weight beyond Sinai: it marked the opening of offensive operations into Ottoman Palestine, shifting the Sinai and Palestine campaign from a defensive consolidation phase to active forward operations in enemy-held territory. Ottoman losses of 1,434 from a garrison of approximately 2,000 effectively destroyed the defending force, removing a potential threat to the EEF's flank as it prepared to advance.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (1)