Capture of Wejh 1917
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 23 January 1917 – 24 January 1917 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1917 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Saudi Arabia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Arab Revolt | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Hejaz, Ottoman Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 26.2833, 36.4167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The capture of Wejh (modern-day Al Wajh, Saudi Arabia) took place on 23–24 January 1917 when British-led Arab forces landed by sea and, with the support of naval bombardments, defeated the Ottoman garrison. The attack was intended to threaten the flanks of an Ottoman advance from their garrison in Medina to Mecca, which had been captured by Arab forces in 1916. The sea-based force was to have attacked in co-operation with a larger force under Arab leader Faisal but these men were held up after capturing a quantity of supplies and gold en-route to Wejh. The sea-based force under Royal Navy leadership captured Wejh with naval artillery support, defeating the 1,300-strong Ottoman garrison. The capture of the town safeguarded Mecca, as the Ottoman troops were withdrawn to static defence duties in and around Medina.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Capture of Wejh (revision 1370609912), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Patrol of Buwat · 288 km
- Battle of Khaybar 628 · 295 km
- Capture of Yanbu (1811) 1811 · 296 km
- Assassination of Uthman 656 · 340 km
- Battle of Abraq 632 · 349 km
Other battles of the Arab Revolt
- Siege of Medina 1916
Browse more: battles in Saudi Arabia · Asia · World War I era battles