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A Turkish Howitzer in World War I
On December 23, 1916, British troops successfully defeated a contingent of Ottoman troops in the Battle of Magdhaba, as part of a push by Allied troops to secure the Sinai peninsula in modern-day Egypt. The battle underscored the crisis-ridden character of the declining Ottoman Empire, which was increasingly under fire on every front and unable to defend its long-held territorial possessions.
During most of 1916, amid heavy fighting on the Western Front in northern France and Belgium, Britain had maintained a policy of defensive operations in other theaters of battle and had avoided major confrontations. In October, as the Battle of the Somme in France entered its final stages and it became clear that a decisive victory was unlikely, this policy changed. The move coincided with the replacement of H.H. Asquith as prime minister by Lloyd George.
In the weeks prior to the battle, British forces, including a large contingent of Arab troops, intensified their construction of railway lines to transport troops and supplies across the inhospitable terrain of the Sinai. In August, Allied troops successfully repelled the last ground attack by the Central Powers on the Suez Canal in the Battle of Romani.
On December 20, British troops began their advance, occupying the town of El Arish two days later. On December 23, Allied forces launched their attack on Magdhaba. They encountered machine gun fire from entrenched Ottoman forces. The Ottoman troops commanded five redoubts and a system of trenches. Allied troops effectively encircled the town, attacking from multiple sides and making use of new military technologies, including aerial reconnaissance and bombardment, enabling them to overwhelm the Ottoman defenses.
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