Battle of Ayun Kara

Battle of Ayun Kara
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War
Map showing the positions of the Ottoman and New Zealand forces during the battle
Date 14 November 1917 Location Ayun Kara 31°56′54″N 34°46′32″E / 31.94833°N 34.77556°E / 31.94833; 34.77556 Result New Zealand victory
Belligerents
Dominion of New Zealand	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
William Meldrum	Unknown
Units involved
~1,940 troops New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade 4.5in shrapnel artillery battery	~1,500 troops 18 machine-guns artillery battery 3rd Infantry Division
Casualties and losses
44 dead 141 wounded	182 dead (Possibly 400) 300 wounded 34 prisoners of war 5 machine-guns captured 2 Lewis guns recovered

The Battle of Ayun Kara (14 November 1917) was an engagement in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and a similar-sized rearguard from the Turkish 3rd Infantry Division, which was part of the XXII Corps of the Ottoman Eighth Army under Kress von Kressenstein.^{[nb 1]}

Following their success in the battles of Beersheba, Gaza, and Mughar Ridge, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force was pursuing the retreating Turkish forces north. The New Zealanders, part of the ANZAC Mounted Division, were on the division's left heading towards Rishon LeZion, when nine miles (14 km) south of Jaffa they encountered the Turkish rearguard on the edge of sand dunes to the west of the villages of Surafend el Harab and Ayun Kara. The Turkish forces consisted of around 1,500 infantry, supported by machine-guns and artillery.

The battle started in the afternoon with the New Zealanders caught in the open. Despite Turkish artillery, machine-gun fire, and infantry assaults, the New Zealanders gradually fought their way forward.

The New Zealanders won the battle for the cost of 44 dead and 81 wounded. The Turkish casualties were 182 dead and an unknown number of wounded, but it was their last attempt to secure their lines of communications. By that night the Turks were in full retreat and soon after the Egyptian Expeditionary Force occupied Jerusalem.

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