Prelude
The British plan to break the Gaza-Beersheba line had been formulated by General Chetwode following the failure of the two frontal assaults against Gaza. The Ottoman defences were formidable in the vicinity of Gaza, but to the east there was a wide gap between the last redoubt and the Beersheba fortifications. The Ottoman forces trusted that the lack of reliable water in this region, other than at the wells in Beersheba, would limit British operations to mounted raids.
Chetwode believed that the lack of water would be easier to overcome than the Gaza fortifications. A mammoth engineering and supply effort was undertaken to establish a forward base in the vicinity of Beersheba, from which infantry and mounted troops could stage an assault. The plan depended on the town and water supply being captured swiftly. If the attack was repulsed on the first day, the British would be forced to retire in search of water.
When Allenby took command, he set about implementing Chetwode's plan. The attack was to be made by two infantry divisions of the XX Corps, 60th (London) Division and the 74th (Yeomanry) Division and two mounted divisions of the Desert Mounted Corps, the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division (ANZAC Mounted Division) and the Australian Mounted Division. Directly under the Desert Mounted Corps HQ were the British 7th Mounted Brigade and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade.
The infantry, supported by heavy artillery, would attack from the south-west against the strongest Beersheba defences, while the mounted brigades would circle to the south and east. Once the outlying defences were overcome, it was intended to make a dismounted attack against Beersheba itself.
The Ottoman forces had ascertained where the likely attacks were to come from. In a telegram despatched on 16 August 1917 to the commander of the Ottoman Fourth Army, the intentions of the Allied forces had been clearly detailed by the intelligence analysts. The only thing they were missing was the date. They soon gained a reasonable idea of the timetable when the rail line terminated at Karm, a settlement between Gaza and Beersheba, on 25 October 1917.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Beersheba (1917)
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