Charge at Irbid The Charge at Irbid occurred on 26 September 1918 as a consequence of the victory at the Battle of Megiddo during the subsequent inland pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps to capture Damascus in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I . The charge occurred when the 2nd Lancers of the 10th Cavalry Brigade , 4th Cavalry Division , attacked the Ottoman Army garrison defending the town of Irbid . Remnants of the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies were retreating in columns towards Damascus from the Judean Hills via Samakh , Jisr Benat Yakub , Kuneitra and Kaukab , followed by the Australian Mounted and the 5th Cavalry Division s , while remnants of the Ottoman Fourth Army were retreating in columns towards Damascus along the Pilgrims ' Road through Deraa . The 4th Cavalry Division at Jisr el Mejamie and Beisan was ordered to march east to intercept this remnant of the Fourth Army . At Irbid the 2nd Lancers charged Ottoman rearguard units but were strongly counter - attacked and defeated . By the next morning the Ottoman force had withdrawn from the town . Background . Liman von Sanders and Fourth Army withdraws . Otto Liman von Sanders commander of the Yildirim Army Group arrived at Deraa on the morning of 21 September , on his way to Damascus after escaping from Nazareth the morning before . At Deraa he received a report from the Fourth Army , which he ordered to withdraw to the Yarmuk to Irbid to Deraa line . He had found Deraa " fairly secure , " due to the actions of its commandant Major Willmer , placing him in temporary command of the new front stretching from Deraa . During the evening of 21 September Liman von Sanders met the leaders of several thousand druses , who agreed to remain neutral . By 26 September the Fourth Army ' s Amman garrison ( less the rearguard captured at Amman ) had not been " heavily engaged , " and " was still intact as a fighting force even though it was in rapid retreat . " Sherifial Army . Three quarters of Feisal ' s 4 , 000 strong force including Nuri esh Shalaan ' s camel force , were irregulars . As remnants of the Ottoman Fourth Army retreated northward via Deraa towards Damascus they were pursued by Arab forces . 4th Cavalry Division . During the cavalry phase of the Battle of Sharon the 4th Cavalry Division had captured Afulah and Beisan , closing the last crossing points along the Jordan River between Jisr ed Damieh and Beisan , garrisoning Beisan and the Jisr el Mejamie crossing of the Jordan River north of Beisan . On 25 September the Central India Horse , 10th Cavalry Brigade , which had been garrisoning Jisr el Mejamie since 23 September , was joined by the remainder of the 10th Cavalry Brigade . They arrived from Beisan with orders to advance as quickly as possible to Irbid and Deraa , and to contact Feisal ' s Sherifial Army . The brigade began their advance to Deraa on 26 September , when they left Jisr el Mejamie and crossed the Jordan River , while the remainder of the 4th Cavalry Division followed , leaving Beisan for Jisr el Mejamie . The division ' s rearguard ; the 11th Cavalry Brigade arrived at Jisr el Mejamie at 18 : 30 on 26 September . Prelude . The 4th Cavalry Division , Egyptian Expeditionary Force ( EEF ) began the pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps to Damascus via Deraa away , the day before the Australian Mounted Division with the 5th Cavalry Division in reserve , began their pursuit around the northern end of the Sea of Galilee to Damascus . Battle . Late in the afternoon of 26 September , the 10th Cavalry Brigade was attacked by the Fourth Army ' s flank guard which held the country round Irbid in force . With the 2nd Lancers leading , the EEF ' s 10th Cavalry Brigade , 4th Cavalry Division , left Jisr el Mejamie at 08 : 00 on 26 September . As the regiment negotiated a " difficult defile in the gorge of the Wadi el Ghafr , " west of Irbid they came under rifle fire from the plateau above . As a consequence the regimental commander ordered an immediate attack . The 2nd Lancers attempted a mounted attack ; the charge failing when they suffered severe losses . The 2nd Lancers ' " C " Squadron was ordered to advance through the village of Bariha north - west of Irbid and get into position to attack Irbid from the east , " B " Squadron was to follow and attack mounted from the north while a third squadron ( probably D Squadron ) , simultaneously attacked Irbid from the south with " A " Squadron in reserve . The machine gun squadron was to target attacking machine guns . ( See Falls Sketch Map 40 for movements of " A " and " D " Squadrons ) " C " Squadron became lost , mistaking Bariha for Irbid and played no part in the attack . " B " Squadron was held up by machine gun fire and failed to get into position ; instead taking up a position north of Irbid , from which they fired Hotchkiss light machine guns in support of " D " Squadron ' s attack . After dismounting its Hotchkiss troop to provide covering fire , the approach of the , by now 48 strong " D " squadron , without its Hotchkiss troop , was heavily fired on by machine guns from the northern edge of Irbid . The ground was too rough for a charge , the squadron swinging west to attack the north - western corner of the town , but the leading troop continued straight on , to be annihilated . Only eight NCOs and men of " D " Squadron managed to retreat . The Berkshire Battery Royal Horse Artillery ( RHA ) did not get into position until 17 : 00 ; too late to help " D " Squadron , 2nd Lancers . However , hearing heavy firing the Central India Horse reached the plateau but its " C " Squadron , following the 2nd Lancers ' " C " Squadron to Bariha also became useless , while " D " Squadron Central India Horse ' advance towards Irbid was forced to move to the south . They reached a hill due south of Irbid with " B " Squadron Central India Horse in the same area , " A " Squadron 2nd Lancers had taken cover in a wadi on the western side of Irbid , when darkness ended the engagement . The 2nd Lancers and the Central India Horse suffered 46 killed and wounded , mainly from " D " Squadron 2nd Lancers . Aftermath . After holding its ground until dark , the Fourth Army remnant withdrew from Irbid during the night of 26 September , to Er Remte . During the night the scattered squadrons of the 2nd Lancers and Central India Horse established contact and at dawn on 27 September , patrols found Irbid " clear of the enemy . " This was the first failed attack by the 4th Cavalry Division since 19 September . " Haste to force the issue before dark , allied with the confidence born of many victorious actions , had caused the usual precautions to go by the board . . . there had been little or no reconnaissance of the ground ; no one had any idea of the strength of the enemy force . " Feisal ' s 4 , 000 strong force including Nuri esh Shalaan ' s camel force made a forced march overnight on 26 / 27 September , crossing the railway north of Deraa and tearing up rails to arrive at Sheikh Sa ' d north north - west of Deraa , at dawn on 27 September . Auda abu Tayi captured a train and 200 prisoners at Ghazale Station , while Talal took Izra ' a few miles to the north . They captured a total of 2 , 000 prisoners between noon on 26 September and noon on 27 September , when the Anazeh an Arab tribal confederation , attacked the rearguard defending Deraa . Fighting in the town continued into the night . Between 6 , 000 and 7 , 000 German and Ottoman soldiers remaining from the Ottoman Fourth , Seventh and Eighth Armies had managed to retreat via Tiberias or Deraa towards Damascus , before these places were captured by Desert Mounted Corps on 25 and 27 September respectively , and were at or north of Muzeirib .