page_title: Stalemate in Southern Palestine
section_title: Tel el Marakeb
hierarchical_section_title: Stalemate in Southern Palestine / Desert Column reorganisation / Rotations / Tel el Marakeb
caption_attribution_description: English: 4th Light Horse Regiment on the beach at Tel el Marakeb.
context_page_description: The Stalemate in Southern Palestine was a six month standoff between the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Army in World War I. The two hostile forces faced each other along the Gaza to Beersheba line during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, with neither side able to force its opponent to withdraw. The stalemate began in April 1917 with the defeat of the EEF by the Ottoman Army at the Second Battle of Gaza and lasted until the EEF offensive began with the Battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917.
  Previous to the stalemate, units of the Ottoman Fourth Army had been forced out of the Sinai Peninsula by a series of EEF victories: the Battle of Romani in August 1916, the Battle of Magdhaba in December and the Battle of Rafa in January 1917. The EEF followed up those victories by making two unsuccessful attempts to capture Gaza: the First Battle of Gaza in March, and the Second Battle of Gaza in April. These two Ottoman victories halted the attempted EEF invasion of southern Palestine, leading to the stalemate.
context_section_description: At Tel el Marakeb, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast, the men could swim in the Mediterranean Sea and be entertained at concert parties. At the end of July, the whole Australian Mounted Division surfed, played sports, sunbaked, and swam the horses every day, while at Tel el Marakeb. There were short foot races on the beach, obstacle races, mounted rescue races, and a mounted tug-of-war competition. "With twelve mounted men on each side, everything depends on the steadiness of the horses." Extensive trials and practices took place before the three days of heats and finals. Here semi-permanent bivouacs were constructed from "iron standards ... phone wire ... [and] sheets of iron."
  Chauvel inspected the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance while they were at Tel el Marakeb in August. "The bearers, all smartly dressed, stood in line, with their saddle cloths spread out on the sand in front of them. On each saddle cloth, in similar positions, lay each man’s full equipment of about 25 separate items, all cleaned and polished up to the nines—saddles, stirrups and irons, bridles and bits, water bottles, feed bags, greatcoats, saddle bags, dixies, etc. etc." On Friday 17 August, the Division moved back to El Fukhan. "Six men on leave to Port Said." The New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade arrived at Tel el Marakeb the next day for a fortnight on the beach before they returned to El Fukhari near Tel el Fara.
  While at Tel el Marakeb, Captain Herrick, New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, who was in charge of Hotchkiss gun training, redesigned the pack saddle for these guns so that one could be carried on the centre of the saddle instead of to one side. The brigade farriers reworked the pack saddles in the field, to Captain Herrick's design. The brigade was still in reserve at Tel el Marakeb, when on 13 September the brigade held a rifle competition.
caption: The 4th Light Horse Regiment, on the beach at Tel el Marakeb
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