page_title: Raid on the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway
section_title: Destruction of railway
hierarchical_section_title: Raid on the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway / Destruction of railway
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of railway bridge at Asluj blown up on 23 May 1917 by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
context_page_description: The Raid on the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway took place on 23 May 1917 after the Second Battle of Gaza and before the Battle of Beersheba during the Stalemate in Southern Palestine in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I.
  Substantial sections of the Ottoman railway line which ran south from Beersheba to Hafir el Auja were attacked and demolished by working parties of the Royal Engineers of the Anzac and Imperial Mounted Divisions and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade reinforced with men from the 1st Light Horse Brigade. They destroyed bridges, and rails between Asluj and the main Ottoman Desert Base at Hafir el Auja also known as Auja al-Hafir in the south. While the demolition force completed their work, the Imperial Mounted Division demonstrated against Beersheba covered by the Anzac Mounted Division on their right.
context_section_description: At daylight on the 23 May the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade was north of the planned demolition site and in touch with the Imperial Mounted Division, which was to demonstrate against the Beersheba line and prevent any Ottoman troops attempting to stop the destruction of the railway. Only a few snipers tried to interrupted the work.
  Chaytor's northern column reached Asluj at 07:00 on 23 May and by 10:00 had set and exploded charges cutting in half alternate rails on both sides of the railway line for 7 miles (11 km). The 18-arch Ashlar bridge at Asluj was also destroyed. Here every second arch was blown up. Meanwhile, the Imperial Camel Brigade, following the line of the frontier to Hafir el Auja was delayed. They arrived at 11:45 to begin demolitions along 13 miles (21 km) of railway line including seven bridges.
  The led horses were followed by the two teams of dismounted demolition men moving in single file at the walking pace. Setting the explosive charges began with the leading man placing a slab of gun cotton in the middle of a rail and then, missing a rail, to repeat his action, while the leading man of the second team put down a slab of gun cotton in the middle of the rail on his side which paired with the rail missed by the other team. The next man of both teams then wired the gun cotton to the rail and walked on to the next prepared rail, while the third man put into the gun cotton the detonator and fuse and the fourth man lit the charge. Each squadron blasted a 12–15-inch (30–38 cm) piece of rail along the 5 miles (8.0 km). In this way about 15 miles (24 km) of railway line was destroyed. The bridges were wrecked by placing gun cotton charges on alternate arches and firing the charges electrically. All demolitions were complete by 13:00 when the units returned to their bivouacs.
  The Imperial Camel Brigade fired the timed and instantaneous fuses together to destroyed "[a]pproximately 7,600 yards (6,900 m) of single track (each rail being destroyed at centre) beginning about 1 mile (1.6 km) E of Auja and destroying rails to within 1 mile (1.6 km) of Wadi Abiad Bridge." The six-span bridge over the Wadi Husaniya was "totally demolished" while seven piers and eight arches of the twelve-span bridge over the Wadi Abiad were demolished. They continued working till 17:00 when they withdrew with their escorts.
  Before noon on 23 May 13 miles (21 km) of railway line and six bridges had been wrecked. The raid was completely successful. Both columns returned to their base without being attacked. A many-arched and substantial stone railway viaduct was completely demolished with explosives, several miles of line being destroyed in the same way, thus isolating what remained intact of the railway to the south.
caption: Eighteen Arch bridge at Asluj after demolition
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)"}