Capture of Yanbu

The battle of Yanbu was an Ottoman attempt to recapture the city of Yanbu.

Battle of Yanbu
Part of Arab Revolt of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
DateDecember 1, 1916 – January 18, 1917
Location
Yanbu, Hejaz Vilayet
Result British and Arab victory. Ottomans fail to capture the city.
Belligerents
United Kingdom
British Raj
Arab Army		 Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
T. E. Lawrence
Edmund Allenby
Faisal bin Hussein
Abdullah bin Hussein
Ali bin Hussein		 Ahmed Tevfik Pasha
Fakhri Pasha
Strength
~4,000 2 brigades
Casualties and losses
Minimal Heavy

Battle of Yanbu

The Battle on Yanbu began on December 1, 1916, when Fakhri Pasha, when two brigades invaded the outskirts of the city. The Ottomans initially had repelled the Arabs from strategic points in the city. Within a couple of days Pasha controlled all routes in and out of the city. The Arab soldiers in the city began constructing a makeshift airstrip for use by British aircraft. More Arab and British reinforcements arrived and strengthened defenses in the city.

Five British Navy ships also arrived to help in the defense of the city, including Dufferin, HMS M31 and HMS Suva. T.E. Lawrence stated, "Afterwards, old Dakhil Allah told me he had guided the Turks down to rush Yenbo in the dark that they might stamp out Faisal's army once for all; but their hearts had failed them at the silence and the blaze of lighted ships from end to end of the harbour, with the eerie beams of the searchlights revealing the bleakness of the glacis they would have to cross. So they turned back: and that night, I believe, the Turks lost their war."[1]

By December 9, Arab counter-attacks opened up the routes to the city, and flights from HMS Raven II severely attacked the Ottoman columns. Because of the Navy's presence in the ocean off of Yanbu, Pasha called off all advances on the night of December 11/12. Due to logistical errors, and counterattacks from the Arabs, the Ottomans started the retreat to Medina on January 18, 1917, thus ending the recapture of Yanbu.

References
  1. Lawrence, T.E. (1935). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. pp. 129-130.

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