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First Battle of the Jordan

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Ottoman prisoners being escorted from Es Salt
Ottoman prisoners being escorted from Es Salt

The First Transjordan attack on Amman (known to the British as the First Attack on Amman) and to their enemy as the First Battle of the Jordan took place between 21 March and 2 April 1918, as a consequence of the successful Battle of Tell 'Asur which occurred after the Capture of Jericho in February and the Occupation of the Jordan Valley began, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. During the First Transjordan attack large incursions into Ottoman territory occurred. Firstly the Passage of the Jordan River, was successfully captured between 21 and 23 March, followed by the first occupation of Es Salt in the hills of Moab between 24 and 25 March. The First Battle of Amman took place between 27 and 31 March when the Anzac Mounted Division and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (fighting dismounted as infantry) were reinforced by two battalions of 181st Brigade followed by a second two battalions from the 180th Brigade (60th London Division) and artillery. The Fourth Army headquarters located in Amman was strongly garrisoned and during the battle received reinforcements on the Hejaz railway, the strength of which eventually forced the attacking force to retire back to the Jordan Valley between 31 March and 2 April. The Jordan Valley would continue to be occupied by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) through the summer until the middle of September 1918 when the Battle of Megiddo began. During the winter of 1917/1918, the considerable territorial gains by the EEF as a consequence of victories at the Battle of Mughar Ridge in November and the Battle of Jerusalem in December, from the Gaza–Beersheba line to the Jaffa–Jerusalem line, were consolidated. The front line was adjusted in February 1918 when the right flank of the Jaffa–Jerusalem line was secured by the capture of land to the east of Jerusalem and down into the Jordan Valley to Jericho and the Dead Sea. The Capture of Jericho was also a necessary precursor, along with the action of Tell 'Asur, and advances by Allenby's force across the Jordan River and into the hills of Moab towards Es Salt and Amman. In March, after several unsuccessful attempts by a British Empire force of Australian, British and New Zealand swimmers, the first Transjordan attack began with the passage of the Jordan River. The swimmers eventually got lines across the fast-flowing river while under fire from Ottoman forces on the east bank, and pontoon bridges were quickly constructed so that infantry and New Zealand mounted troops could cross the river to attack Ottoman defenders on the east bank where a bridgehead was eventually established. Subsequently, John Shea's force of infantry and mounted troops crossed the river and advanced eastwards across the high country; the central column of infantry moving along the main road quickly captured the Ottoman position at Shunet Nimrin on rising ground from the Jordan Valley and the town of Es Salt high in the hills. Meanwhile, the mounted columns continued marching to the north and south of the infantry column on to Amman 30 miles (48 km) east of Jericho on the high plateau. Their objective was to effectively cut the main supply line to the north and south of Amman by destroying long sections of the Hejaz Railway, including tunnels and a viaduct over which the railway travelled near the town. Amman was strongly defended by the Ottoman Army and the blown up sections of the railway were quickly replaced to allow reinforcements to continue to arrive and strengthen the defenders. British Empire infantry and artillery reinforcements were also sent forward from Es Salt, both of which took considerable time to cover the difficult and unfriendly terrain. Although the combined force of infantry and mounted troops made a determined attack on Amman, Shea was forced to retreat to the Jordan Valley from both Amman and Es Salt when it became clear the defenders were too strong, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible to achieve the operation's objective. The only territorial gains following the offensive were the establishment of bridgeheads on the eastern side of the river.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article First Battle of the Jordan (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

First Battle of the Jordan
Prince Al Hasan Street, Amman منطقة المدينة

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Ottoman prisoners being escorted from Es Salt
Ottoman prisoners being escorted from Es Salt
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Second Battle of Amman
Second Battle of Amman

The Second Battle of Amman was fought on 25 September 1918 during the Third Transjordan attack as part of the Battle of Nablus which together with the main Battle of Sharon form the major set piece offensive known as the Battle of Megiddo of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. After cutting the road from Nablus to Es Salt on 22 September Chaytor's Force captured the bridge over the Jordan River at Jisr ed Damieh while units of the Seventh Army and remnants of the Eighth Army were still in retreating towards the bridge from the Judean Hills. Having cut this line of retreat, Chaytor's Force proceeded eastwards to attack and capture Es Salt, before riding on to attack and capture the Ottoman rearguard of the Fourth Army defending Amman. These British Empire victories of the Third Transjordan attack over Yildirim Army Group forces, followed two unsuccessful EEF attacks across the Jordan River in March and April 1918. The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), commanded by General Edmund Allenby, began the Battle of Sharon in the early morning on the Mediterranean coast with attacks by the XXI Corps on the Eighth Ottoman Army followed by a breakthrough by the Desert Mounted Corps. Meanwhile, on their right the Battle of Nablus began with an attack by the XX Corps in the Judean Hills against the Asia Corps and sections of the Seventh Army defending Nablus, during the afternoon of 19 September once it became apparent the Battle of Sharon was succeeding, while Chaytor's Force held the extreme right flank in the Jordan Valley against the Fourth Ottoman Army and began their attacks northwards in the Jordan Valley to capture the Jisr ed Damieh bridge. After leaving a detachment to hold the Jisr ed Damieh bridge and two other fords against any further retreating columns, Chaytor's Force advanced eastwards to attack and capture the garrisons at Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt. With the Fourth Army in retreat, they continued to Amman, where they attacked and captured a strong Ottoman rearguard of the Fourth Army's VIII Corps, which fought a determined action. Subsequently, Chaytor's Force accepted the surrender at Ziza of the Southern Force of the Fourth Army's II Corps, which had garrisoned the Hejaz Railway south from Amman to effectively end military operations in the area. Together these EEF victories during the Battle of Megiddo, resulted in the capture of the equivalent of one Ottoman army and many miles of territory, and forced the remnants of two armies to retreat in disarray.

First Battle of Amman
First Battle of Amman

The First Battle of Amman was fought from 27 to 31 March 1918 during the First Transjordan attack on Amman of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. The 60th (London) Division and the Anzac Mounted Division attacked the Ottoman garrison at Amman deep in enemy occupied territory, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from their front line, after capturing Es Salt and Shunet Nimrin. The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was successfully counterattacked by Ottoman Empire forces forcing them to retreat back to the bridgeheads captured on the Jordan River. Following the victories at the Third Battle of Gaza and the Battle of Beersheba, the EEF had pursued the retreating Ottoman armies, fighting successful battles at Mughar Ridge in November and capturing Jerusalem in December. During the winter of 1917/1918 these considerable territorial gains were consolidated and the front line established. In February 1918 the front line was pushed eastwards by the EEF when the right flank of the Jaffa to Jerusalem line was extended by the capture of land from the east of Jerusalem stretching down into the Jordan Valley to capture Jericho. In early March the front line from the Mediterranean to Abu Tellul in the Judean Hills, was pushed north during the action of Tell 'Asur. These two adjustments to the front line were necessary precursors, to advances by Allenby's EEF across the Jordan River and into the hills of Moab to Es Salt and Amman. The Passage of the Jordan was effected by a British Empire force of Australian and British swimmers, crossing the fast-flowing river while under fire. Pontoon bridges were quickly constructed and the infantry and mounted troops crossed the river to establish bridgeheads on the eastern bank, before advancing up to and across the high country; the infantry moving along the main road with the mounted columns riding on both flanks. They were to cut the railway line to the north and south of Amman by destroying long sections of the Hejaz Railway, including bridges and a viaduct. Amman was strongly defended by the Fourth Army garrison which was further strengthened by the arrival of reinforcements. British Empire infantry and artillery reinforcements from Es Salt strengthened the 181st Brigade and the Anzac Mounted Division's attacking force travelling across difficult and unfriendly terrain. Although the combined force of infantry and mounted troops made determined attacks on Amman over several days, the strength of defence and threats to lines of communication forced a retreat back to the Jordan Valley. The only territorial gains following the offensive were the establishment of bridgeheads on the eastern side of the river at Ghoraniyeh and Makhadet Hajlah.

Amman
Amman

Amman (English: ; Arabic: عَمَّان, ʿAmmān pronounced [ʕamːaːn]) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant region, the fifth-largest city in the Arab world, and the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East.The earliest evidence of settlement in Amman dates to the 8th millennium BC, in a Neolithic site known as 'Ain Ghazal, where the world's oldest statues of the human form have been unearthed. During the Iron Age, the city was known as Rabat Aman and served as the capital of the Ammonite Kingdom. In the 3rd century BC, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, rebuilt the city and renamed it "Philadelphia", making it a regional center of Hellenistic culture. Under Roman rule, Philadelphia was one of the ten Greco-Roman cities of the Decapolis before being directly ruled as part of the Arabia Petraea province. The Rashidun Caliphate conquered the city from the Byzantines in the 7th century AD, restored its ancient Semitic name and called it Amman. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, the city alternated between periods of devastation and abandonment and periods of relative prosperity as the center of the Balqa region. Amman was largely abandoned from the 15th century until 1878, when Ottoman authorities began settling Circassians there. Amman's first municipal council was established in 1909. The city witnessed rapid growth after its designation as Transjordan's capital in 1921, receiving migrations from different Jordanian and Levantine cities, and later several successive waves of refugees: Palestinians in 1948 and 1967; Iraqis in 1990 and 2003; and Syrians since 2011. It was initially built on seven hills, but now spans over 19 hills combining 22 areas, which are administered by the Greater Amman Municipality. Areas of Amman have gained their names from either the hills (jabal) or the valleys (wadi) they occupy, such as Jabal al-Luweibdeh and Wadi Abdoun. East Amman is predominantly filled with historic sites that frequently host cultural activities, while West Amman is more modern and serves as the economic center of the city.Approximately one million visitors arrived in Amman in 2018, which made it the 89th most-visited city in the world and the 12th most-visited Arab city. Amman has a relatively fast growing economy, and it is ranked as a Beta− global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Moreover, it was named one of the Middle East and North Africa's best cities according to economic, labor, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. The city is among the most popular locations in the Arab world for multinational corporations to set up their regional offices, alongside Doha and only behind Dubai. The city is served by the Amman Bus and the Amman Bus Rapid Transit public transportation systems. Another BRT system under-construction will connect the city to nearby Zarqa.