Stalemate in Southern Palestine

Stalemate in Southern Palestine
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
British Army map of the Gaza and Beersheba areas
Date April to October 1917 Location Gaza to Hareira/Gamli, and the open eastern flank to Beersheba Result Ended with EEF victory at the Battle of Beersheba
Belligerents
British Empire  France  Italy	Ottoman Empire  German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Archibald Murray (to June) Edmund Allenby (from July) Edward Bulfin Harry Chauvel Philip Chetwode	Mustafa Kemal Pasha (resigned in October 1917)[1] Fevzi Pasha Erich von Falkenhayn (from June) Friedrich von Kressenstein
Units involved
Egyptian Expeditionary Force Eastern Force Desert Mounted Corps XX Corps XXI Corps	Fourth Army XX Corps XXII Corps Yildirim Army Group Seventh Army Eighth Army (ex Fourth Army) German Asia Corps

The Stalemate in Southern Palestine was a six-month standoff between the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and the Ottoman Army in World War I. The two hostile forces faced each other along the Gaza to Beersheba line during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, with neither side able to force its opponent to withdraw. The stalemate began in April 1917 with the defeat of the EEF by the Ottoman Army at the Second Battle of Gaza and lasted until the EEF offensive began with the Battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917.

Previous to the stalemate, units of the Ottoman Fourth Army had been forced out of the Sinai Peninsula by a series of EEF victories: the Battle of Romani in August 1916, the Battle of Magdhaba in December and the Battle of Rafa in January 1917. The EEF followed up those victories by making two unsuccessful attempts to capture Gaza: the First Battle of Gaza in March, and the Second Battle of Gaza in April. These two Ottoman victories halted the attempted EEF invasion of southern Palestine, leading to the stalemate.

During the six-month-long stalemate, the EEF held positions on the edge of the Negev Desert, while both sides engaged in continuous trench warfare and contested mounted patrolling of the open eastern flank. Both sides took the opportunity to reorganise their forces, change commanders, conduct training and prepare for future major battles, which resulted in the EEF capture of Jerusalem in December 1917.