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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. ==British defeats at Gaza== After the first British defeat at Gaza in March 1917, the commander of Eastern Force, Lieutenant-General Charles Dobell, had sacked the commander of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, Major-General A.G. Dallas, while the division was transferred from the Desert Column to Eastern Force. However, after a second defeat on 21 April, General Archibald Murray had in turn sacked Dobell, promoting the commander of the Desert Column, Lieutenant-General Philip Chetwode, in his place. Chetwode was replaced by Harry Chauvel, promoted from command of the Anzac Mounted Division, while Edward Chaytor, commanding the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, was promoted to replaced Chauvel. Yet General Murray would also be relieved of command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) in June and was sent back to England.〔Grainger 2006 pp. 61–2〕〔Powles 1922 pp. 108–9〕〔Falls 1930 Vol. 1 p. 351〕〔Erickson 2007 p. 99〕 With its back to the Negev Desert following their defeat at the Second Battle of Gaza, the EEF had been fortunate that the Ottoman forces did not launch a large-scale counter-attack, as such at attack would likely succeeded in pushing the EEF back a considerable distance.〔Moore 1920 pp. 71–3〕 Regardless, the EEF faced the urgent problems of securing the positions it held at the end of the battle, and reorganising and reinforcing its severely depleted infantry divisions.〔 The British suffered nearly 4,000 casualties during the first battle for Gaza,〔Falls 1930 Vol. 1 p. 315〕 and more than 6,000 casualties during the second.〔Falls 1930 Vol. 1 p. 348 note〕 These casualties had to be managed, with the dead buried and their personal effects stored or sent home, and the wounded cared for.〔Brittain 1980 p. 370〕 Meanwhile, the EEF's railway, which had reached Deir el Belah before the second battle of Gaza, was extended by a branch line to Shellal.〔 As the EEF withdrew following the Second Battle of Gaza the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade took up a position at Tel el Fara on the Wadi Ghazza, south of Gaza, where they dug trenches in case of a counter-attack.〔Moore 1920 pp.70–1〕〔Falls 1930 Vol. 2 p. 131〕 Both sides constructed extensive entrenchments, which were particularly strong where they almost converged, to defend the Gaza to Beersheba line. These trenches resembled those on the Western Front, except they were not so extensive and had an open flank.〔Bruce 2002 p. 106〕〔Woodward 2006 pp. 88–9〕 Between apart, the defensive lines stretched from Sheikh Ailin on the Mediterranean Sea to Sheikh Abbas and on to Tel el Jemmi and Beersheba. However, from a point just beyond Sheikh Abbas, the continuous trench lines became a series of fortified strong points, as the Ottoman line extended south-east along the Gaza to Beersheba road, while the EEF line following the Wadi Ghazza turned more sharply south to be as much as south of the Ottoman line.〔Woodward 2006 pp. 87–8〕〔Powles 1922 p. 106〕〔Bou 2009 p. 162〕〔Blenkinsop 1925 pp. 185–6〕〔Downes 1938 p. 622〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stalemate in Southern Palestine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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