"ملخص لثورة الحجاز" [ظ‎‎٧‎٨] (٣٠/٨)

I
npr week each way. The line was divided into five sections one day being required
to traverse each section or a total of five days for the whole d,stance as again. .
pre-war timing of 11 hours. Although the programme tor the evacuation of Medina
had been so mterfered with that it had been impossible to carry it through
iiaraeraph G), the early evacuation of the Hejaz from Medina to Maan was again under
conslrleration, and arrangements were made tor the rapid removed northwards ol
Xcnments. money and telegraph instruments, &C., from Medina, Medam Saleh, El Ula
and Tebuk.
16 In April, Sherif Feisal's armv, divided into three columns, was operating in
the Maan are- 1 as follows :-Iiis soiitlu 'rn column captured and blew up Ghadir el Haj
station on the 11th, destroying 1,000 rails and 40 Dridges and cuherts, but the lurks
recaptured the remains of the station on the 12th. Bir es Shedia station was also
attacked, and the line south of Maan received damage which the enemy estimated
would take at least a month to repair.^ In these operations the I urkish
casualties amounted to five officers and 220 other ranks Feisals northern column
destroyed 200 rails just north of Maan, and on the 13th captured and burnt Jerdun
station, taking 200 prisoners and two machine guns, while the ondge over Wadi
Jerdun and 159 rails were destroyed.
On the 13th the central column stormed the Semna position, 5,000 yards south-west
of Maan, and captured a machine gun and 30 prisoners. 1 he attack was continued on
the 14th and 15th ; on the 16th Maan was surrounded, while on the 1/ th the station
was temporarily occupied by the Arabs who, however, subsequenilv withdrew and
occupied th© outer defences. Two more machine guns and 70 prisoneis were captured
during these operations. _ ,
About the 20th April, the stations o^ Batn el Ghul, AN adi Kethem, tel es Shahm
and Ramleh, south of Maan, were captured and burnt by a detachment of the Egyptian
Camel Corps and British armoured cars, and important bridges and telegraph lines
were destroyed. Tel es Shahm station surrendered with 52 prisoners, 450 boxes of
bombs, and 280,000 rounds of small-arm ammunition ; a quantity of food-stuns was
also captured. Minor attacks by tribesmen resulted in the capture o: prison* ro and
a machine gun near Mudowere. " ^.
In the southern Hejaz, 700 rails and two culverts were destroyed between l^huk
and El Ula, another 100 rails and three culverts between Matali and Abi^'l aka,
8 Turks being killed and 1 captured about the same period. South of hi ^ 1^
an Arab demolition party destroyed 560 rails, killing 7 Turks, while a force ^f
Sherif Ali's attacked the line iust north of Medina, and destroyed a bridge apd
200 rails.
17. In spite of all Turkish attacks, Sherif Feisal's central column continued to
hold the Semna position, and had thus succeeded in completely isolating Maan irom
the south, and practically so from the north. About 1,000 casualties were inflicted on
the Turkish forces in this area during April and May.
18. Owing to General Allenby's operations east of Jordan the Turks had been
unable to send a strong force to the assistance of their Hejaz garrisons, but a small
force sent from Kutrani managed to recapture the station at Jerdun, though it failed
to get through to Maan. On the 12th May extensive demolitions were carried out by
the Arabs at Batn el Ghul (south of Maau), 1,500 rails were destroyed as well as a
large cutting. The enemy estimated this damage would take 500 men a month to
repair, but as this demolition was carried out over very sharp winding curves, in
what was originally the most difficult section to build on the whole Hejaz Hail way, it
was probably irreparable owing to lack of material.* Meantime, the Arabs had
continued operations further north capturing Ferifreand Hasa stations (45 and 35 miles
respectively north of Maan), where extensive demolitions were carried out between the
2.dh and - s th May, which the enemy estimated would take 500 men 15 days to
repair. Ihese stations were again occupied by the Arabs on the 30th.
19. Ihe Maan garrison was thus in difficulties, being cut off from the north
with no prospect of supplies reaching them and with but 11 day's rations in
hand. Medina now appeared to be really running short of supplies, for, on the
i8th Apiil 1 akhri Pasha had reported that but I tt month's rations remained, and the
extensive demolitions of the line south of Maan, which had rendered some 60 miles ot
f 0 ^ 0 at V n1 ?!' l la T 7 et J )een ma( i e to mend the break in the line south of Maan by the end of Augrusl,
nueud the^reak north"of ii erem or ^ ere( l the sector south of Maan to Ghadir el Ilaj to be pulled up to