Battle of Rafa - Prelude

Prelude

Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode's Desert Column, rode out of El Arish at 16:00 towards Rafa where a 2,000-strong Ottoman garrison was based. Chetwode's force was the same as Major General Henry Chauvel commanded during the Battle of Magdhaba in December, with the addition of the 5th Mounted Yeomanry Brigade (which had been garrisoning El Arish) and No. 7 Light Car Patrol of 4 gun cars and 3 stores cars.

Risking an aerial attack, the force began the 30 miles (48 km) journey before sun set on 8 January in order to have enough time for the force to reach El Magruntein. For the first few miles they trekked over very heavy sand-dunes, which were difficult to negotiate for the doubled teams of horses pulling the guns and ammunition wagons. Once the great shallow trough worn down by traffic since ancient times along the Old Road or Pilgrims' Way appeared, the guns and ammunition wagons travelled on the firm middle way while the mounted units rode on either side. The vanguard of the column reached Sheikh Zowaiid at about 22:00 where Desert Column bivouacked near the cross roads to the west of the village. Here the first grass the horses had seen since leaving Australia was found on the edge of the fertile grasslands of the maritime plain 16 miles (26 km) north of El Arish.

The plan for the attack at Rafa the next morning, 9 January, was a repetition of Chauvel's successful attack at Magdhaba; the regiments and motor cars would surround the Ottoman garrison position, gallop up under fire, and then engage dismounted, the strongly defended, treble system of trenches and field-works around an earthwork redoubt on a knoll.