Charge at Kiswe

Charge at Kiswe
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
Date 30 September 1918 Location near Kiswe in the Hauran area, about 9 miles (14 km) south of Damascus on the Pilgrims' Road from Deraa Result British Empire victory
Belligerents
British Empire  India  Arab Revolt	Ottoman Empire  German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Edmund Allenby Harry Chauvel Henry John Macandrew	Otto Liman von Sanders Mustafa Kemal Pasha Jevad Pasha
Units involved
5th Cavalry Division Desert Mounted Corps	remnants of the Tiberias Group a portion of the 24th, 26th and 53rd Divisions and the 3rd Cavalry Division assigned to the defence of Damascus Fourth Army Army Troops/rearguard from Yildirim Army Group
Casualties and losses
5 killed and 4 wounded	594 prisoners

The Charge at Kiswe took place on 30 September 1918 about 9 miles (14 km) south of Damascus, during the pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps following the decisive Egyptian Expeditionary Force victory at the Battle of Megiddo, the Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub and the Charge at Kaukab during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. As Desert Mounted Corps rode along the main road from Nablus, units of the 14th Cavalry Brigade, 5th Cavalry Division, were ordered to charge a rearguard north of Kiswe, protecting columns of the Ottoman Fourth Army, retreating towards Damascus.

Following the victories at the Battle of Sharon and Battle of Nablus during the Battle of Megiddo, remnants of the Yildirim Army Group's Fourth Army retreated from Amman along the Pilgrim's Road, via Deraa (captured by Arab forces), while the Seventh and Eighth Armies retreated in columns towards Damascus from the Judean Hills. Rearguards established at Samakh, at Tiberias and at Jisr Benat Yakub were all captured by the Australian Mounted Division with the 5th Cavalry Division in reserve. On the way to Deraa from the Jordan River, the rearguard at Irbid was attacked by the 4th Cavalry Division.

A portion of the surviving German and Ottoman garrisons from Samakh and Tiberias, (formed from remnants of the Seventh and Eighth Armies) which had withdrawn from Jisr Benat Yakub and deployments from the Fourth Army, entrenched themselves on the high ground of the El Jebel el Aswad to protect the columns of retreating Fourth Army on the Pilgrims' Road, which had outrun the pursuit by the 4th Cavalry Division. The charge by the 14th Cavalry Brigade (less the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry), resulted in the capture of part of the rearguard and caused the remnant Fourth Army column to split in two, in disorder.