Beyond Beersheba: Completing the Task

May 15, 2018
various world war 2 leaders looking from the Mount of Olives

While there was tremendous interest in the 100th Anniversary of the Charge of Beersheba last year, the success of that event only led to the liberation of the southern part of the Holy Land up to Jerusalem. The task was not yet completed. As Malcolm Turnbull said at the commemoration service at Beersheba, “Had the Ottoman rule in Palestine and Syria not been overthrown by the Australians and the New Zealanders, the Balfour Declaration would have been empty words.” Three quarters of Palestine and all of Syria were still under the Ottomans at the end of 1917. There was a muddy, cold winter and hot, dry summer to endure and many more battles to fight before the Balfour Declaration could be implemented.

The Turkish defence line had been re-established north of Jaffa from the Mediterranean Sea right across to the Jordan River and was held by the Turkish 7th and 8th armies. Over the Jordan River was the 4th army. Two attempts to capture land in today’s Jordan in March and April of 1918 were unsuccessful physically although General Allenby felt strategically that it kept the focus on the eastern side while he was concocting his plan to attack on the western flank. For the same reason, he insisted that a presence be kept in the Jordan Valley over summer, which even the locals called uninhabitable due to the relentless heat, lack of any breeze and swamps which bred hordes of malarial mosquitoes. The ANZAC troops bore the brunt of this decision, with many considering this the worst torture of the whole war. Furthermore, the troops were seemingly mindlessly marched down the road to Jericho by day, and transported back up the hill in lorries by night to simulate an entire corps preparing for war on the eastern border before the final breakthrough.

On September 19th the Allied troops made their move by air strikes on communication centres and bombing and artillery attacks of trenches near the coast, followed by infantry forcing a breach in the defence line through which the mounted troops galloped. These headed up the coastal plain and over the Carmel range to encircle the two armies in the mountains of Israel and take the towns of Nazareth, Afula and Beit Shean. Some of the 5th Cavalry branched off to Haifa and Akko. After 34 hours in the saddle with no sleep, most of northern Israel was captured, and with the coordinated work of infantry, air force and mounted troops, two Turkish armies had been largely put out of action. The Chaytor Force went into action in the east to capture Amman, which they successfully did before moving north towards Damascus. 

…We cannot afford to… revel in the glory of one great dash. There is much more work to do be done. 

On September 25th, 1918, the 4th Light Horse brigade was sent to capture the railway station at Semakh at the foot of the Sea of Galilee. Included in this was the Queensland ‘Black Watch’ which was now part of the 11th Light Horse regiment, which included 26 aboriginal soldiers, who had now been allowed to join the army. One of the scouts that went ahead to check out the situation was Frank Fisher, the great-grandfather of Olympic sprinter Cathy Freeman. Brigadier Grant commanded a moonlight charge of the heavily-fortified station and the fiercest fight of this part of the campaign erupted, which was eventually won by the Allies after the machine guns silenced the gunfire from the station windows and the ANZACs were able to break in and engage in hand-to-hand combat through each room of that station fortress. The now-restored station is a tribute to their legacy. Following that, Damascus surrendered on October 1 and the rest of Syria and Lebanon fell in the ensuing days through the remainder of October. 

In six weeks of exhausting warfare, the Allied troops had captured 75,000 Turkish and German prisoners, defeated three Turkish armies, ended the Ottoman rule and liberated what later became the nations of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Australian General Harry Chauvel commanded 34,000 mounted troops in this campaign – possibly the largest mounted corps ever under one commander and they had travelled 560 km from Jaffa to Aleppo on horseback. In addition, plagues of sickness were ravaging the troops. New Zealand General Edward Chaytor led the troops in Eastern Palestine. These men who carried out Allenby’s brilliant and ambitious plan should be honoured, this part of the campaign commemorated and all the troopers remembered who fought so gallantly to bring the victory to end the war in the Middle East.

While Beersheba was a mighty victory against one city and its precious wells, this ‘Megiddo sweep’ was across a 100 km front in Israel plus another 60 km to Amman and required immense coordination of troops from Great Britain, India, France, West India, Hong Kong and Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and the Jewish Legion – the first fighting force in the modern era to defend their ancient territory. The Arab tribes under Lawrence and Faisal were also playing their part. The final breakthrough did not occur until the aboriginals took their place and also the Jews and the commonwealth nations were all assembled and working together for a common goal. Is this prophetic?

Beersheba is the city of the patriarchs, the wells of Abraham (well of the seven or well of the oath – sheva having the same Hebrew root as the cutting of a covenant), and the city of the first successful covenant between Jew and Gentile. The ‘great race’ final thrust that completed the task is strangely called the ‘Megiddo sweep’. Megiddo was not even a city at the time, but was only known for the pass through which the 4th cavalry passed over the Carmel range. It has a long past history, guarding the north-south trade route and has a commanding view over the Jezreel Valley, which was rather swampy in WW1. It is a synonym for the battles between world powers that have clashed in this area throughout history and is mentioned in Revelation 16 as the gathering place of the kings of the earth in the final battle of the ages (Armageddon = Har Megiddo in Hebrew). 

Semakh (חמצ – Tsemakh) comes from the Hebrew root meaning bud, to spring forth or grow. However, it is used five time in the Hebrew text to mean ‘Branch’ referring to the Messiah as the righteous Branch who will reign in justice and righteousness – the Lord our Righteousness (Is 4:2, Jer 23:5, 33:15, Zech 3:8, 6:12). While Beersheba looks to the past and the faithfulness of God’s covenant, Semakh looks to the future of the Messianic kingdom. It is located very close to where Jesus walked, sailed and taught on the Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee and where he called his first disciples to follow him. With the capture of Semakh, the whole of Galilee was now liberated and prepared for the return of the Jewish people and the rebirth of Israel. The Balfour Declaration could now be enacted.

The ANZAC Light Horsemen finished the task appointed to them though it cost many their lives and took a tremendous effort physically, mentally and emotionally. They fought on until the job was complete. We cannot afford to stop at Beersheba and revel in the glory of one great dash. There is much more work to do be done. God’s promise in Scripture is: 

“I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you… and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you… I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees…you will be my people, and I will be
your God.” Ezekiel 36:24-27

This prophecy, and others like it, talk not only of a physical return but also a spiritual return of the people to their God. Christians who have a heart for Israel need to love the people enough to desire their spiritual return as well as their physical return and invest prayer time, effort and finance to see this aspect of the prophecies also come to pass. This is our anointing and our calling as Anzac nations. May we not fall short of completing the task God has set before us.

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Jill Curry

Jill Curry is the coordinator of the Jewish Prayer Focus ministry and the author of The Anzac Call - www.theanzaccall.com.au

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