 On 22 September, with about 700 German and 1,300 Ottoman soldiers of the 16th and 19th Divisions, von Oppen was moving northwards from Tubas towards Beisan when he learned it had already been captured. He decided to advance during the night of 22 September to Samakh where he correctly guessed Liman von Sanders would order a strong rearguard action; however, Jevad, the commander of the Eighth Army, ordered him to cross the Jordan instead. Von Oppen successfully got all the Germans and some of the Ottoman soldiers across the Jordan River, before the 11th Cavalry Brigade attacked, capturing those who failed to cross the river.
