page_title: ANZAC Mounted Division
section_title: Summer in the Jordan Valley
hierarchical_section_title: ANZAC Mounted Division / Service history / Summer in the Jordan Valley
caption_attribution_description: English: Men of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade patrolling the Jordan Valley, February 1918. (Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division)
context_page_description: The Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division was a mounted infantry division of the British Empire during the First World War. The division was raised in March 1916 and was assigned to the I ANZAC Corps. On establishment, it consisted of four brigades comprising three Australian light horse and one New Zealand mounted rifles, supported by British horse artillery. In 1917, one of the Australian brigades was replaced by a British yeomanry brigade. After April 1917, the standard order of battle was reduced to two Australian brigades and one New Zealand brigade, although the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade and other British mounted brigades were temporarily attached several times during operations.
  The division had two wartime commanders; the first was the Australian Major-General Harry Chauvel, who had commanded the 1st Light Horse Brigade at Gallipoli. When Chauvel was promoted to command the Desert Column – of which the division was part – he was replaced by the New Zealander Major-General Edward Chaytor from the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, who remained in command for the rest of the war.
context_section_description: In normal times, no one lived in the Jordan Valley during the warmer months of the year; the residents of Jericho left the village for the cooler hills. The residents said it was impossible for Europeans to live there after April. To prevent the Turkish Army from re-occupying the valley, Allenby had to keep a defence force in place. To that end, the division patrolled the southern sector, which included Ghoraniye and the Dead Sea. The division was reinforced by the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and the 181st (2/6th London) Brigade. The infantry held the Ghoraniye bridgehead on the eastern side of the Jordan river. Because of the severe climate, there was little daylight activity during the summer. Patrols would normally be sent out at night, often returning in the morning after encountering Turkish cavalry trying to reach the Jordan to water their horses. The divisions were sent, in turn, to rest at Bethlehem and were given leave in Jerusalem. During this time, the division conducted training camps for non-commissioned officers, Hotchkiss machine-gunners and signallers, and all ranks took part in general military training. However, the troops left in the valley were being beginning to suffer from "malaria and other diseases".
  In June, the 1st Light Horse Brigade returned from Bethlehem and replaced the 4th Light Horse Brigade in the Musallabeh sector. The brigade deployed with two regiments forward and one in reserve at the Wadi el Auja front line. By early July, they had 3rd Light Horse Regiment on the left, 2nd Light Horse Regiment on the right and the 1st Light Horse Regiment in reserve. Because of illness and a lack of replacements, the 3rd Light Horse Regiment had only 210 men available and the other regiments were in a similar condition. Since they arrived, the brigade had been subjected to Turkish shelling. Activity then increased to such an extent that a Turkish attack was expected at any time. In preparation, extra water and ammunition – enough for two days – was cached in the defence posts. On 13 April, Turkish artillery fire on the brigades' positions increased and that night, movement could be head at the barbed wire defence line. At 01:00 on 14 April, the forward troops reported that the enemy appeared to be massing, and later a "strong body of troops" about 1,000 yards (910 m) to their front. Lieutenant-Colonel George John Bell, commanding 3rd Light Horse Regiment asked for a protective artillery barrage in front of his position. The Turkish responded with shelling of their own, which lifted at 02:30. In the quiet, the regiment heard some commands shouted in German. Then the Turkish artillery laid down another one-hour barrage. When that lifted, around one thousand troops attacked the brigade's forward defences in what became known as the battle of Abu Tellul. In the 2nd Light Horse Regiment's sector, some forward posts were withdrawn to safer areas. Regimental headquarters was overrun and other positions surrounded. Other troops were overrun but regained their posts by counter-attacking. Further west, a position held by the regimental adjutant, a signals officer, grooms, batmen and signallers, was all that remained between the attacking Germans and the division's artillery batteries. Troops were then withdrawn to a trench line below a crest so the attacking Germans coming over the skyline were easily targeted and the brigade held off the attack for the next hour.
  Chaytor, informed of the attack, sent a squadron from the 4th Light Horse Brigade – which was still close by – to reinforce the position. Cox, commanding 1st Light Horse Brigade, ordered the 1st Light Horse Regiment – his only reserve – to counter-attack the Germans. At 03:30, one squadron and four machine-guns were sent to reinforce the position at Abu Tellul. At dawn on 14 April, it became clear that the main German assault was centred on Abu Tellul, so two more squadrons were sent to assist them. The reinforcements assembled below the crest, fixed bayonets and counter-attacked the Germans, whom taken by surprise, broke and withdrew to their 
caption: New Zealand Brigade patrol in the Jordan Valley.
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